3 Facebook Advertising Strategies for Authors

The wind doesn’t pick up books and make them best sellers. Advertising does.

Facebook advertising is the cheapest, most effective form of advertising out there. But nobody wants to buy books from a stranger. Sales pitches from unknown authors often fall on deaf ears.

So, what do we do? How do we convince readers to buy our killer book?

Start with a straightforward, three-step strategy.

1. Prepare a Customer Profile

Know your readers. Gleaning as much information about them as possible is key. Anything that sets them apart from the masses–such as common interests, age groups, and preferences–will be helpful. You can also get insights from the drop-down section on Facebook audiences.

However, we recommend a broader audience for the first stage of your marketing funnel. While advertising costs at this stage will be low, it’ll be largely ineffective. So, stay patient, and follow up on other strategies.

2. Give an Incentive

Your initial campaign objective should be to build an audience. Give them an incentive such as a free download in exchange for their email address.

If you’re a non-fiction writer, address a problem your readers may have and give a solution to fix it. Perhaps a checklist, tutorial, or a worksheet would be ideal.

Even fiction writers can make use of incentives. Deleted scenes, access to a private Facebook group, or a free accompanying eBook are some of the most intriguing incentives that have worked for us.

3. Leverage Remarketing

Remarketing caters to an audience already familiar with your work. They have moved through your marketing funnel with enough interest to stick around. According to The New York Times, remarketing is “the art of telling stories so enthralling that people lose track of their wallets.”

So the chance of them responding to your ads and placing a buy is high. Allocate much of your budgets to remarketing. Sharing your synopsis, authentic reviews, and snippets or even entire scenes from your book may serve as great conversion points.