I'm trying again with Facebook Ads

[LilyBLily]

Probably I should just pull bills out of my wallet and set them on fire. I sat through a two-hour free Facebook ads webinar today and decided to put my notes into action. (The webinar punchline was expensive hand-holding in the same price range as Mark Dawson's. Not knocking it for those who have the budget.)

I think it all hinges on writing super clickbait ad copy, for which I do not have a gift. There is a huge difference between having the knack for something and learning the principles and painstakingly applying them.

However...in a few days the ad will start and we'll see what happens. Hope springs eternal. 

[notthatamanda]

Well good luck.

[LilyBLily]

Thanks. I did a second ad today, replaying the webinar and stopping as I did each piece. The second ad has more bells and whistles than the first and is for a book that starts a series. Perhaps it will generate some interest. My only deviations from the "rules" were using the same art I use on the covers--but not the covers themselves--instead of other photos, and I did not search for authors who publish "books just like mine" because in the one case there isn't anyone and in the other case I simply wasn't prepared to. So these ads in effect will provide the A of A/B testing.

Bryan Cohen sponsored the free webinar and Alana Terry taught it. I have gone through Mark Dawson's and he does the same thing but this one doesn't concentrate on setting bid amounts at all whereas I seem to recall that Mark's does. I am hardly a beginner, but my prior experiences with FB ads have not been good. I plan to do at least one if not two more ads using this ad formula for my books in other subgenres. To start, I'm only wagering about $25 per ad.

I noticed that my blurbs for the books need updating, so that's a back-end issue worth addressing now, too. Can't hurt. I can't remember whether Author Central edits override KDP edits or vice versa, so I'm going with editing the blurbs in KDP.

[notthatamanda]

I think it is better to do it in KDP now, really through me for a loop on my last release.

[Marti Talbott]

Thanks. I did a second ad today, replaying the webinar and stopping as I did each piece. The second ad has more bells and whistles than the first and is for a book that starts a series. Perhaps it will generate some interest. My only deviations from the "rules" were using the same art I use on the covers--but not the covers themselves--instead of other photos, and I did not search for authors who publish "books just like mine" because in the one case there isn't anyone and in the other case I simply wasn't prepared to. So these ads in effect will provide the A of A/B testing.

Bryan Cohen sponsored the free webinar and Alana Terry taught it. I have gone through Mark Dawson's and he does the same thing but this one doesn't concentrate on setting bid amounts at all whereas I seem to recall that Mark's does. I am hardly a beginner, but my prior experiences with FB ads have not been good. I plan to do at least one if not two more ads using this ad formula for my books in other subgenres. To start, I'm only wagering about $25 per ad.

I noticed that my blurbs for the books need updating, so that's a back-end issue worth addressing now, too. Can't hurt. I can't remember whether Author Central edits override KDP edits or vice versa, so I'm going with editing the blurbs in KDP.

I will be interested to see how this works out. I've thought about it too, but I can't write a winning ad. Can it be easily changed? Maybe we should start a thread and help each other with that. Just a thought. Do you have a link to that webinar?

[LilyBLily]

Not sure this will get you to the free event, but it's a start: https://bryancohen.lpages.co/better-facebook-ads-2020/

[LilyBLily]

Here's a link to the replay: https://bryancohen.lpages.co/facebook-ads-may-2020-webinar-replay/

It was all clear enough. Facebook ads are set up for people doing multiples, which is why there are multiple levels to confuse us pikers. Or are we punters?

[Marti Talbott]

Here's a link to the replay: https://bryancohen.lpages.co/facebook-ads-may-2020-webinar-replay/

It was all clear enough. Facebook ads are set up for people doing multiples, which is why there are multiple levels to confuse us pikers. Or are we punters?

Thank you!

[Lu Kudzoza]

Thanks. I did a second ad today, replaying the webinar and stopping as I did each piece. The second ad has more bells and whistles than the first and is for a book that starts a series. Perhaps it will generate some interest. My only deviations from the "rules" were using the same art I use on the covers--but not the covers themselves--instead of other photos, and I did not search for authors who publish "books just like mine" because in the one case there isn't anyone and in the other case I simply wasn't prepared to. So these ads in effect will provide the A of A/B testing.

Bryan Cohen sponsored the free webinar and Alana Terry taught it. I have gone through Mark Dawson's and he does the same thing but this one doesn't concentrate on setting bid amounts at all whereas I seem to recall that Mark's does. I am hardly a beginner, but my prior experiences with FB ads have not been good. I plan to do at least one if not two more ads using this ad formula for my books in other subgenres. To start, I'm only wagering about $25 per ad.

I noticed that my blurbs for the books need updating, so that's a back-end issue worth addressing now, too. Can't hurt. I can't remember whether Author Central edits override KDP edits or vice versa, so I'm going with editing the blurbs in KDP.

Just one tip about your targeting that might help you. The reason people suggest you use authors/books/series that are close to yours as the targets is because of how the FB algo picks people to show the ad to. In the learning phase it takes people who have talked about an author or book and shows them your ad. Then as people click on the ad the algo starts looking for data points they have in common (age, gender, hobbies, profession, etc.). It takes the profile of commonality and shows your ad to people who meet the profile. So, if you get the targeting right in the beginning you're more likely to get the algo to show your ad to an audience that will buy your book. If your targeting is too broad it will take longer for FB to figure out the right audience if it does at all.

Good luck. I hope you have success with your ads.

[Mysterywriter]

Thanks. I did a second ad today, replaying the webinar and stopping as I did each piece. The second ad has more bells and whistles than the first and is for a book that starts a series. Perhaps it will generate some interest. My only deviations from the "rules" were using the same art I use on the covers--but not the covers themselves--instead of other photos, and I did not search for authors who publish "books just like mine" because in the one case there isn't anyone and in the other case I simply wasn't prepared to. So these ads in effect will provide the A of A/B testing.

Bryan Cohen sponsored the free webinar and Alana Terry taught it. I have gone through Mark Dawson's and he does the same thing but this one doesn't concentrate on setting bid amounts at all whereas I seem to recall that Mark's does. I am hardly a beginner, but my prior experiences with FB ads have not been good. I plan to do at least one if not two more ads using this ad formula for my books in other subgenres. To start, I'm only wagering about $25 per ad.

I noticed that my blurbs for the books need updating, so that's a back-end issue worth addressing now, too. Can't hurt. I can't remember whether Author Central edits override KDP edits or vice versa, so I'm going with editing the blurbs in KDP.

Just one tip about your targeting that might help you. The reason people suggest you use authors/books/series that are close to yours as the targets is because of how the FB algo picks people to show the ad to. In the learning phase it takes people who have talked about an author or book and shows them your ad. Then as people click on the ad the algo starts looking for data points they have in common (age, gender, hobbies, profession, etc.). It takes the profile of commonality and shows your ad to people who meet the profile. So, if you get the targeting right in the beginning you're more likely to get the algo to show your ad to an audience that will buy your book. If your targeting is too broad it will take longer for FB to figure out the right audience if it does at all.

Good luck. I hope you have success with your ads.

This is key.

What I did at the start was to run a number of low budget ads targeted at who I ‘thought’ my audience was with the sole aim of getting page likes. Once I had 20-50. I made a lookalike audience and touted my book at them full price. Then keep making lookalike audiences with narrow parameters as your page likes build up.

I pay 7c a click on average now and have made a lot of fans that way.

[LilyBLily]

I'll try that with the B tests of these ads. The problem with using author names is that Facebook won't let me list what it considers obscure authors. That includes authors who were major bestsellers years ago and might still have a large or dedicated fan base today.

I've dabbled in lookalike audiences before without success. One thing at a time--although this is why for some people buying an expensive course is the right answer.

[Mysterywriter]

I'll try that with the B tests of these ads. The problem with using author names is that Facebook won't let me list what it considers obscure authors. That includes authors who were major bestsellers years ago and might still have a large or dedicated fan base today.

I've dabbled in lookalike audiences before without success. One thing at a time--although this is why for some people buying an expensive course is the right answer.

I never use author names, I think they’re a waste of time on Facebook.

At first I used genres (drilled down as much as possible), and then ebooks, kindle etc. Age range is key too.

I write traditional/cosy mystery and my age group is 55+

[Lu Kudzoza]

This is key.

What I did at the start was to run a number of low budget ads targeted at who I ‘thought’ my audience was with the sole aim of getting page likes. Once I had 20-50. I made a lookalike audience and touted my book at them full price. Then keep making lookalike audiences with narrow parameters as your page likes build up.

I pay 7c a click on average now and have made a lot of fans that way.

This is a very interesting strategy. I've never tried a look alike audience because I didn't think 500 page likes was enough to create a good audience. Are you getting 7c CPC while advertising only in the news feed? Or do you have ads running in the audience network, instagram, etc. too?

[Mysterywriter]

This is key.

What I did at the start was to run a number of low budget ads targeted at who I ‘thought’ my audience was with the sole aim of getting page likes. Once I had 20-50. I made a lookalike audience and touted my book at them full price. Then keep making lookalike audiences with narrow parameters as your page likes build up.

I pay 7c a click on average now and have made a lot of fans that way.

This is a very interesting strategy. I've never tried a look alike audience because I didn't think 500 page likes was enough to create a good audience. Are you getting 7c CPC while advertising only in the news feed? Or do you have ads running in the audience network, instagram, etc. too?

That’s running across the whole network (though I may turn some off soon as they don’t do much for my audience).

Facebook is an incredible tool, but you really need to be granular. I now advertise to a couple of million, which may sound a lot, but that’s a VERY targeted pool of the global population.

I run a low cost $5 a day on there as most of my budget is at AMS, but I like it.

[jldii]

Hi.. This thread has caught my attention as I have also been making ads with Facebook. Just tried it a week ago, but unfortunately, the result isn't good. Maybe I have to be specific with my audience like what others have already done.

Still not losing hope, though. I will wait til my Facebook ads help me increase my KU reads and sale.

Thanks again.

With best regards,

JL


P.S. Here is my Amazon link just in case you are interested. Thanks! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088Q13SB2

[Mysterywriter]

Just to be clear from my earlier post... Facebook is pretty terrible for selling books. And you need a long history of tweaking to make it work. AMS will result in far more sales

[LilyBLily]

Just to be clear from my earlier post... Facebook is pretty terrible for selling books. And you need a long history of tweaking to make it work. AMS will result in far more sales

And yet Mark Dawson made his fortune with Facebook ads.

I haven't been successful advertising either of these titles with Amazon ads. Sometimes a category isn't well-defined or sometimes it's so huge there's no easy way to make an impact with an ad. The common wisdom is to go niche>niche>niche with Amazon ads but if it's a niche of one--my book--that's a problem. And there are some very hinky titles on Amazon that happen to share the same keywords but are nothing like my books.
 

[Mysterywriter]

Just to be clear from my earlier post... Facebook is pretty terrible for selling books. And you need a long history of tweaking to make it work. AMS will result in far more sales

And yet Mark Dawson made his fortune with Facebook ads.

I haven't been successful advertising either of these titles with Amazon ads. Sometimes a category isn't well-defined or sometimes it's so huge there's no easy way to make an impact with an ad. The common wisdom is to go niche>niche>niche with Amazon ads but if it's a niche of one--my book--that's a problem. And there are some very hinky titles on Amazon that happen to share the same keywords but are nothing like my books.

Sorry, I should have said for me they’re terrible! Not for others! I get loads of engagement, but conversion is poor. He is a rough overview of my numbers compared to AMS.

So around 500 ($40 odd for me) clicks through Facebook ads turns into about 8-10 sales (tracked by affiliate links). Normally I work on the basis that my page reads and sales are 50/50, so we can say this might be around 16-20 along with page reads. BUT, I don’t think I’m hitting as many kindle unlimited subscribers on facebook as I do on Amazon.

Amazon is easier to work out. My ACOS is 200% in the US (Which I think is break even on that one book, a first in series), and 90% in UK (where competition is lower).

So my advertising on Amazon is basically equivalent to giving first in series away free... except I get all the browsing buys on top that didn’t come through ads.

I hope that all makes sense!

[LilyBLily]

I'm comfortable with Amazon ads. My long-running ones bring in readers quite reliably. I quickly kill any ads (not readers!) that aren't profitable or aren't being shown, which usually is the case for any book that isn't number one in a series. My ads for stand-alones do well, too, but they are expensive and I'd much rather have an ad for one sell the reader on the others of that subgenre.

With Facebook ads, I'm still struggling because so much depends on writing catchy, clickbait ad copy, for which I have zero innate talent. I appreciate using this method of ignoring setting the click bids because I have no sense of what bid level works and it's very expensive to find out by trial and error.

So far, my two little FB ads have shown a loss on the first ad and a handful of sales on the second--which makes it profitable. I consider that a very good sign. Almost a miracle.

[notthatamanda]

I'm comfortable with Amazon ads. My long-running ones bring in readers quite reliably. I quickly kill any ads (not readers!) that aren't profitable or aren't being shown, which usually is the case for any book that isn't number one in a series. My ads for stand-alones do well, too, but they are expensive and I'd much rather have an ad for one sell the reader on the others of that subgenre.

With Facebook ads, I'm still struggling because so much depends on writing catchy, clickbait ad copy, for which I have zero innate talent. I appreciate using this method of ignoring setting the click bids because I have no sense of what bid level works and it's very expensive to find out by trial and error.

So far, my two little FB ads have shown a loss on the first ad and a handful of sales on the second--which makes it profitable. I consider that a very good sign. Almost a miracle.

Amazon ads - so you didn't notice any big shift in February? Mine just dived in spend and performance.

[LilyBLily]

In gross profit, February was about the same as January. March (what we just got paid for) was the lowest, and April was higher.

Ad costs for February were less than half of what they were for January or March, so you're right about that. If it was a global occurrence, at least I don't have to feel that it was my own personal failure.

[notthatamanda]

Thanks for the response. I did notice bids getting lower but eventually I just pulled it all. I may have to try that again.

[Anarchist]

This continues to be my feeling toward AMS...

[alhawke]

... Give me some of that magic.   

[Mysterywriter]

This continues to be my feeling toward AMS...

 

I honestly think most people over complicate it.

1. Go to the pop list in your genres

2. Copy the top 50 odd author names

3. Run an as against the exact matches only

Done

[notthatamanda]

I don't want to hijack Lily's Facebook ad thread but with regards to AMS I was running ads with best seller author names and book titles all last year, doing well, then it went to crap in February. Became hard to get impressions, even with high bids. It was weird, and disheartening.

Lily - I think I am about to order liquid laundry detergent from Walmart, I'll let you know later if it works. Sorry for the thread derail.

[Anarchist]

I don't want to hijack Lily's Facebook ad thread but with regards to AMS I was running ads with best seller author names and book titles all last year, doing well, then it went to crap in February. Became hard to get impressions, even with high bids. It was weird, and disheartening.

That's because everyone is doing that.

I think one of the reasons my AMS ads have been so profitable is because no one is doing what I'm doing. Or at least, no one is talking about it.

[notthatamanda]

I don't want to hijack Lily's Facebook ad thread but with regards to AMS I was running ads with best seller author names and book titles all last year, doing well, then it went to crap in February. Became hard to get impressions, even with high bids. It was weird, and disheartening.

That's because everyone is doing that.

I think one of the reasons my AMS ads have been so profitable is because no one is doing what I'm doing. Or at least, no one is talking about it.

I'm aware of that. I don't have any other ideas, and I understand that the people who are succeeding want to keep their methods to themselves.  So I'm back to AMS is pretty much pointless for me right now. As are newsletter promos. Bookbub has gotten ridiculously expensive, not that they would pick me anyway. I'll guess I'll have to take my 5-10 sales a week and go back to playing the lottery when it's available.

[Mysterywriter]

Have you friend what I posted above Amanda?

I get break even ads in US and profitable in U.K. just from doing those basic things.

If you can, set yourself a $100 budget and run at $10 a day for ten days.

You should see an immediate uptick in sales and after 4-5 days a rise in page reads. Then you can decide if it’s worth continuing with.

[notthatamanda]

Thanks MW. I assume you meant found? Read, maybe? So you are suggesting author names only?

I ran ads on the top selling books in my genres, authors and titles for keywords, plus older titles by the author. I liked to separate my campaigns out by author so they were small campaigns, but I had lots of them. I was running ads campaigns that had budgets of several hundred a day last year. Never broke those budgets, but AMS loved the two books I was advertising and I got great placement and profitable sales.

Maybe I'll poke around and set some up for the UK this week. Watching it crash and burn was really demoralizing. I don't have an advertising background, if I could have found a way to scale it up last year that would have been fantastic but I always seemed to hit some invisible ceiling and had no clue how to bust through and make the ads spend more.

Again, this is all AMS, I don't do Facebook, sorry Lily.

[Mysterywriter]

Thanks MW. I assume you meant found? Read, maybe? So you are suggesting author names only?

I ran ads on the top selling books in my genres, authors and titles for keywords, plus older titles by the author. I liked to separate my campaigns out by author so they were small campaigns, but I had lots of them. I was running ads campaigns that had budgets of several hundred a day last year. Never broke those budgets, but AMS loved the two books I was advertising and I got great placement and profitable sales.

Maybe I'll poke around and set some up for the UK this week. Watching it crash and burn was really demoralizing. I don't have an advertising background, if I could have found a way to scale it up last year that would have been fantastic but I always seemed to hit some invisible ceiling and had no clue how to bust through and make the ads spend more.

Again, this is all AMS, I don't do Facebook, sorry Lily.

Oh! Not sure how friend got in there!

If you’re in KU it’s important to target authors on the pop list rather than the bestseller list.

The poplist doesn’t count borrows and so is showing buying readers preferences. You need those to get on there and that drives Amazons algo’s to ouch you to KU subscribers.

There’s more nuance than this when you get deep, but sticking to exact matches of author names at the top of the pop list will be a great start.

[notthatamanda]

Ah, I'm not in KU. Maybe that's why AMS dislikes me so.

[Mysterywriter]

Ah, I'm not in KU. Maybe that's why AMS dislikes me so.

Ah! Then I’d focus on Facebook if wide (I did a post on this that might help as well), and we’ve brought the thread back on track!

[notthatamanda]

Yes, thread is back on track. I am not on Facebook but good luck everyone!

[Nick G]

If you’re in KU it’s important to target authors on the pop list rather than the bestseller list.

This might be a stupid question, but how do you find the pop lists for a given genre? I was curious to compare the pop list and the top 100 to see the different but even when I google pop list amazon x genre it brings up the bestselling 100 lists.

[LilyBLily]

I was just wondering that myself.

Not that the pop list for any category will do me much good. I entered "Gothic romance" and later "modern Gothic romance" in the Kindle Store and Amazon came up with an impressive array of "dark mafia" romances and men's torsos. Not the same thing at all, but there those books are. I had to google "bratva."

It's all very well and good to try to drill down, but FB won't let me enter modern Gothic author names because they apparently aren't famous enough anymore. Yet I really do not write like Emily Bronte.

[Mysterywriter]

If you’re in KU it’s important to target authors on the pop list rather than the bestseller list.

This might be a stupid question, but how do you find the pop lists for a given genre? I was curious to compare the pop list and the top 100 to see the different but even when I google pop list amazon x genre it brings up the bestselling 100 lists.

Go to kindle books on amazon (best to do so logged out and in a private browser window).

Then using the left hand menu, drill down as far as you can to match your book genre and make sure the drop down on the right hand side is set to ‘Featured’

The pop list is your most important tool when in KU (well, for me anyway)

[Mysterywriter]

I was just wondering that myself.

Not that the pop list for any category will do me much good. I entered "Gothic romance" and later "modern Gothic romance" in the Kindle Store and Amazon came up with an impressive array of "dark mafia" romances and men's torsos. Not the same thing at all, but there those books are. I had to google "bratva."

It's all very well and good to try to drill down, but FB won't let me enter modern Gothic author names because they apparently aren't famous enough anymore. Yet I really do not write like Emily Bronte.

This is the gothic romance pop list, and where I would start picking my author names to advertise against if in KU (which I know you’re not).

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=lp_158566011_nr_n_7?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A133140011%2Cn%3A%21133141011%2Cn%3A154606011%2Cn%3A158566011%2Cn%3A6487830011&bbn=158566011&ie=UTF8&qid=1590999517&rnid=158566011

[Nick G]

Thanks! I usually search for books to read on goodreads and just search for a title on amazon once I've decided on it. I appreciate you taking the time to explain.

[notthatamanda]

I was just wondering that myself.

Not that the pop list for any category will do me much good. I entered "Gothic romance" and later "modern Gothic romance" in the Kindle Store and Amazon came up with an impressive array of "dark mafia" romances and men's torsos. Not the same thing at all, but there those books are. I had to google "bratva."

It's all very well and good to try to drill down, but FB won't let me enter modern Gothic author names because they apparently aren't famous enough anymore. Yet I really do not write like Emily Bronte.

This is the gothic romance pop list, and where I would start picking my author names to advertise against if in KU (which I know you’re not).

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=lp_158566011_nr_n_7?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A133140011%2Cn%3A%21133141011%2Cn%3A154606011%2Cn%3A158566011%2Cn%3A6487830011&bbn=158566011&ie=UTF8&qid=1590999517&rnid=158566011

That pop gothic list is scary, and not in a fun, gothic way at all.  I don't know how anyone that wanted to read gothic romance would find it, but probably not there.

[Mysterywriter]

Interesting... those are the books that are selling the most copies in that genre (not including borrows).

Maybe you could advertise to their readers and show them how it should be done!

[notthatamanda]

I don't write gothic romance. The list has more contemporary romance on it than gothic. To me it looks like classic Amazon mis-categorizing. Lily - you have my sympathy trying to find these readers.

[Mysterywriter]

I don't write gothic romance. The list has more contemporary romance on it than gothic. To me it looks like classic Amazon mis-categorizing. Lily - you have my sympathy trying to find these readers.

Oh sorry! Replied to the wrong person!

[notthatamanda]

No problem. I hope I didn't come off as harsh, I wasn't trying to be.

[LilyBLily]

Nope. Almost none of the books on that page are Gothic romance. One that might have been was described as "super hot and steamy." Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier of course is a Gothic. I've read The Matrimonial Advertisement by Mimi Matthews and I think it does qualify as a Gothic. The rest are dark romance, which AFAIK means he's a meany and she ends up liking it. Dunno; I could be all wrong about that but I find them extremely off-putting and would not even read one free in KU. I don't care for the covers, either; these men look scary and not in a good way.

Interestingly, Phyllis A. Whitney's long list of Gothics hasn't got any ads on the first or second page. None. Victoria Holt, another major Gothic author of the mid-20th century, has a page with some intrusions from other authors of actual Gothics, both classic and recent.

Meanwhile, my modern Gothic Facebook ad has been a failure. No sales. It is in KU at the moment. If I can figure out where to do it, I'll shut the ad early. If I try another test of that ad I'll use Victoria Holt's name and search for some other authors who aren't writing books about mobsters.   

[RiverRun]

I've never used Amazon ads so this may be totally irrelevant.

But I like gothic romance and came across a new library book earlier this year that was very deliberate in the way it used the genre. (Sometimes in ways that were maybe more comic than intended, at least to me!) But the cover sold me.

Anyway, it was unashamedly gothic romance: The House of Brides. I know it can be hard to find modern books in the genre, so I thought I'd mention it. I'm seeing other titles on the page that also seem to be similar. Perhaps you can find some new author names to try. https://www.amazon.com/House-Brides-Novel-Jane-c*ckram/dp/0062939297

[LilyBLily]

That does seem like a real Gothic. Thanks.

I did shut the ad for my Gothic romance early because it was not getting any sales or KU page reads. Saved a few dollars and will try again with a better targeted ad.

As for the other ad, the cost was $20.83 and the gross profit from Amazon was $22.02. Net profit: $1.19. There were no sales on any of the other venues, so I ask myself again, why am I wide with this book and this series?

If I count the value of the amount of time I spent crafting the ad, it was a failure. If I don't count my time, it barely squeaked through as a success. I should be unhappy, right? But on this ad, for the first time ever, I did not lose money to Facebook. Cause for celebration. 

FB has suggested that I keep the ad on. It's Wednesday, and the public is distracted by exciting happenings. I'm thinking maybe I'll re-up the ad next weekend. If the world doesn't burn to a cinder between now and then.

[Nick G]

I'm thinking maybe I'll re-up the ad next weekend. If the world doesn't burn to a cinder between now and then.

If only that were super hyperbolic. I hope the ads work better this round!

[JRTomlin]

I'll try that with the B tests of these ads. The problem with using author names is that Facebook won't let me list what it considers obscure authors. That includes authors who were major bestsellers years ago and might still have a large or dedicated fan base today.

I've dabbled in lookalike audiences before without success. One thing at a time--although this is why for some people buying an expensive course is the right answer.

I never use author names, I think they’re a waste of time on Facebook.

At first I used genres (drilled down as much as possible), and then ebooks, kindle etc. Age range is key too.

I write traditional/cosy mystery and my age group is 55+

Caveat: I don't do FB ads only Amazon ads.

I think it may depend on genre whether it is better to do genre or authors. Using my own genre as an example, Historical Fiction is too broad and even Medieval Historical Fiction is too broad. Many historical romances get stuck in for one thing. Then there is historical fiction that is (😒 sorry I know no other way to put it) female and family-oriented of the Ann Boleyn type almost invariably with a female POV character. Then there is the Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden type which is mainly focused on wars and conflict with some family stuff thrown in. Then there are medieval mysteries. I am closest to Bernard Cornwell. I know the authors who write the sort of thing that appeals to my audience, so I target their readers. I suspect there is a whole lot less segmentation in cosy mysteries and believe me that must be a blessing.

ETA: Or to put it more simply, what Mysterywriter said. 😜

[LilyBLily]

I'll try that with the B tests of these ads. The problem with using author names is that Facebook won't let me list what it considers obscure authors. That includes authors who were major bestsellers years ago and might still have a large or dedicated fan base today.

I've dabbled in lookalike audiences before without success. One thing at a time--although this is why for some people buying an expensive course is the right answer.

I never use author names, I think they’re a waste of time on Facebook.

At first I used genres (drilled down as much as possible), and then ebooks, kindle etc. Age range is key too.

I write traditional/cosy mystery and my age group is 55+

Caveat: I don't do FB ads only Amazon ads.

I think it may depend on genre whether it is better to do genre or authors. Using my own genre as an example, Historical Fiction is too broad and even Medieval Historical Fiction is too broad. Many historical romances get stuck in for one thing. Then there is historical fiction that is (😒 sorry I know no other way to put it) female and family-oriented of the Ann Boleyn type almost invariably with a female POV character. Then there is the Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden type which is mainly focused on wars and conflict with some family stuff thrown in. Then there are medieval mysteries. I am closest to Bernard Cornwell. I know the authors who write the sort of thing that appeals to my audience, so I target their readers. I suspect there is a whole lot less segmentation in cosy mysteries and believe me that must be a blessing.

ETA: Or to put it more simply, what Mysterywriter said. 😜

Back when I was a historical fiction fan I read both types; I learned a lot about how armies fought and how sea battles were engaged, and I read biographies, too. So there may be some crossover, but with the plethora of quasi-historical fiction being published today there probably is less crossover than in the past.