Tag: marketing for writers

The art of being patient… with Amazon Ads.

Another week has flown by and here I am drinking green tea (part of my new intermittent fasting regime), staring at the screen, still trying to fathom Amazon Ads.

I told myself to be patient and not expect fast results but then I did get a fast result, however, I am always suspicious when things happen too quickly. Experience has shown me that if you get a quick sale, it’s likely to be the only sale for quite a while. It’s some kind of weird law of the universe.

I am still very much in the experimental phase of Amazon Ads. Every day I read my book by Deb Potter – Amazon Ads for Authors 2021 and I watch YouTube tutorials. I have a creative brain rather than an analytical one so I am training myself to understand logistics, statistics etc… From what I can gather the experimental side of it never truly changes. Even the most experienced Amazon advertisers are constantly monitoring and devising strategies.

When I got a sale via one of my ads I felt very smug. It only cost 10p out of my £2 daily budget. Instant success! I have to assume my keywords for that book are good. Having said that, it sold a few days ago and no sales since. So it could just be a fluke. This is the most likely scenario in my sometimes pessimistic mind. So I’ve raised the daily budget to see if that makes a difference. So far, no, but I am trying to be patient. We are only talking a few days.

It seems you have to have your eye on the ball all the time, working out what does and what doesn’t work. It feels fairly daunting at this point but I am determined to succeed. I have worked hard and created around a hundred books already, so I have plenty to experiment with. It’s one thing to create, but another to sell. I concentrate on quality over quantity and I’m devoting equal time to creating and marketing at the moment.

The important thing is to keep an eye on profit. This is tricky when you are experimenting and speculating to accumulate. I made a profit with my sale which is great but I will have lost money by not getting the formula right with other books. So it has to be balanced off.

The good thing is, while I am intensely focused on the mysteries of Amazon Ads, I don’t think about food. The intermittent fasting is working extremely well, far better than I imagined it would. I know this is off topic but in a way it isn’t. As I feel lighter and sharper, the more able I feel to work effectively and absorb information. Intermittent fasting isn’t for everyone but it seems to be working for me, which is great.

One of the YouTubers suggested you need to wait a week to see how your ads do. I’m not finding this easy so I prefer Dale’s suggestion of checking every day. What I don’t want to do, is become too obsessed but it is fascinating to check in to see how many impressions each book gets and try to work out what I am doing right, or wrong. What I don’t want to do is lose too much money in the experimental phase so I think checking every day (not every hour) is a good thing to do.

If you’d like to see some of the books I have created, you can check them out here or at Amazon via MyriadLifeBooks and MyriadLifePhotoArt. Any money raised helps me keep this site going, so please support this indie author by buying one of my lovely notebooks or cards if you can.

If you’d like to share your experiences of Amazon Ads I’d love to hear them.

I will give an update of my progress (at least I hope it will be progress…) next week.

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I write as PetraKidd.com so please check out my short stories there:

The Isolation Sex Stories

The Eight of Swords

The Putsi

Switching – my method of doing the things I’m not so comfortable with.

It’s a beautiful Norfolk day as I sit here on my balcony writing this. Instead of sunbathing, typically I’m writing, well actually I’m doing both but one by default!

Today I want to share with you some of my methods to motivate and block out negative thoughts, mostly learned during lockdown. This is connected to writing but can be applied to most life situations.

Luckily I’ve never struggled much with motivation. If the idea of a story bites, I’m off, burning to write it. For me, that works with any idea, as soon as I think of something, I want to make it happen. But like many other writers, I do sometimes struggle with self belief or a need to organise myself or I have to stop myself avoiding the jobs I hate.

When the COVID 19 pandemic hit last year, it came as a blessing in disguise. Suddenly I found myself getting up early, doing yoga, learning to meditate, finding out how to do simple coding, completing a cycle challenge for charity and writing a book of short stories – The Isolation Sex Stories. Instead of life getting in the way of the things I really wanted to do, suddenly, I simply did the things I wanted to do (within the safety guidelines of course). Lockdown gave me time to breathe, enjoy my own space and company and evaluate what I really wanted from life.

I know I was lucky, COVID has been a cruel visitor to so many.

When I spoke to friends, I found that some of them had quite liked the first six weeks of the world shutting down too. The later lockdowns were more difficult to get through. Now that peaceful time has well and truly passed and I’m back to trying to organise myself to get as much done as possible which isn’t easy with all the interruptions and distractions of the outside world. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, I’m enjoying a lot of the normality that has returned but my mind races again as I race to achieve all I want to and it can be frustrating.

I’ve learnt to look for answers from others on how they cope with the onslaught of everyday living, achieving goals and fulfilling ambitions. During my search on YouTube I came across a lady by the name of Mel Robbins. I watched an interview with Mel who came across as extremely honest about the troubles she had endured and how she now makes decisions using the 54321 method. I have in the past used a different method to avoid doing things I know I shouldn’t, like drinking wine every night or thinking of someone who has annoyed me or to avoid a horrible memory. I used to call it ‘switching’. The minute I thought of something I knew I shouldn’t think about I’d switch the thought to something more positive. It’s easier said than done but if you practise it, it really does work. It works in reverse too. If you procrastinate or put things off, which I admit I used to do from time to time, you simply switch your thoughts to getting that thing done without letting any negative thought enter or pull you back. You force the positive thought into your mind before letting the negative thought take hold. Mel will no doubt explain it better than I have so take a look. (Caution: Mel uses some colourful language at times so be warned!) Mel Robbins

Like everything else in life, this can be applied to writing. If you are thinking, ‘I don’t have a good idea for a story.’ Replace that thought with, ‘where can I find a good idea for a story?’ If you think, ‘I’m not a good enough writer,’ switch to thinking of something you have written in the past that you are proud of. If you think, ‘I can’t face promoting my work,’ switch to thinking, ‘how can I find a way to promote my work that I will enjoy?’

Ali Abdaal, again a YouTube motivator says that you need to work at the jobs you feel weakest at or like the least rather than always turning to the ones you find easiest or like the most as that’s the only way you will learn. This is very good advice. I always hated maths at school and whenever I have to do something figure related it gives me an unpleasant feeling deep in my gut. When I set up my first business I made myself learn spreadsheets and how to do figures. I even had to present a business plan to the bank. This was way out of my comfort zone but with support and determination I did it. I had to switch from thinking, ‘I hate maths,’ to forcing myself to be interested in it. Instead of avoiding figure related work, I don’t think too much about it, instead I try to throw myself into it before I think too much and end up avoiding it. This must be one of the most useful techniques I have ever had to learn!

What does maths have to do with writing? Well, if you are an indie author, unless you are doing it as a hobby, it is like any other business, the figures will have to add up. You will need to study marketing, how to promote yourself and your product. Some people are natural at this but many are not. There is a lot of advice available, but you will need to separate the wood from the trees or you could lose a lot of time and money.

Learn to love promoting yourself and your work, it can be fun.

Something I never used to do was ask other people to help. I was so shy and I still find this difficult. This time when I published my short stories I still felt shy about promoting them but with the help of a very talented professional I actually did the launch live on Facebook. It was nerve wracking to begin with but once I started reading, I began to relax and even enjoyed it. Seeing the comments from the viewers afterwards was one of the best experiences ever! They had been discussing the book between themselves as I read. It was heartwarming and gave me huge confidence in going forward to promote the book. I’d never have done this without help so if you can find someone who will help you, do it.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to other writers. I find Twitter a great platform to meet other authors and book reviewers. It seems to be the most interactive and supportive. #Writingcommunity is a useful tag to visit and use. By reading the experiences of others, you can only learn.

Every week I will share what I hope will be useful information for you.

If you are an indie or traditionally published author and would like to be featured on this website please email me at myriadlifebooks@gmail.com for further details. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

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This week on the balcony… the tomatoes have been coming thick and fast now the sun has finally made an appearance. I’m waiting for my chilli peppers to turn red but I’m not sure they ever will! It hasn’t been a good year for strawberries, maybe I didn’t get them early enough or there hasn’t been enough sun.

Autumn is creeping in and soon I won’t be able to work out here (unless I buy a heater…) so I’m making the most of it. If you write outside, send me a picture and I’ll feature it on the website, I’m always interested to see where people create their masterpieces!