Lincoln Cole's Blog, page 6
June 18, 2017
Kindle Scout Campaign - Guide - Part 4 - Coming to a Close
Final Days, and more reviews of the new services I tried.
Coming to a CloseThe campaign is winding down now and I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I put a lot of effort into this campaign to drive nominations and traffic to my Kindle Scout book, and then hopefully I can drive that traffic back out into my other platforms.
Some of the things I did for this campaign didn't pay off at all, but some of them did even better than I expected. I've talked in previous posts about a couple of the better options I found while running this, and now I'm going to go into detail about some of the meatier (and more expensive) options that I used to drive nominations.
Scout BoostThis became available not long after I was selected through Kindle Scout, so I didn't get a chance to try it that first time around. That always sort of bugged me because I wanted to be able to get a solid review of the program in my Kindle Scout Guidebook but wasn't able to accurately review it. Running this campaign gave me a chance to actually sit down and test out their offering and see how worthwhile it really is.
They will let you pay for their service up to four times, but I couldn't bring myself to do that. It is simply too expensive, so I only ran it twice. I also signed up for their email to get 25% off, but even that isn't enough to take the sting out of the sheer cost of this promotion. When you're talking something that costs over $90 for a promotion for something without a guaranteed return, then you're talking something crazy expensive.
So, how well did it do?
...
...
Not well. It was, in fact, one of my worst performing days in pageviews, and that is compared to similar days with almost no promotion. Considering how expensive this promotion was, I know without a doubt that if I had just upped my facebook promotion to pay directly for clicks (even with relatively expensive clicks) I would have gotten a lot more traction out of it than I got.
I have another promotion with them coming up in a couple of days, so there will be a second chance to see if it performs better this time around, but all in all I'm thinking this one doesn't have a lot of bang for its buck.
Best Indie PressThis one went live Wednesday and works for four days. I actually scheduled this one and then ran into a problem wherein all of the emails they sent me went directly to spam (thanks to Google) so it took a while to get in touch. When we finally did, we had to adjust the days a little bit, which wasn't a big deal for me.
Working with them has been easy, and they are encouraging and offer some new ideas that are pretty cool. For example, I was encouraged to modify my thank you note at the end of the campaign with an offer.
Basically, I sent in:
THANK YOU! When you read this, you'll already know whether or not The Everett Exorcism has been selected by Kindle. If it was selected then you'll get a free e-book copy directly from Kindle. However, even if it hasn't been selected, I would like to give you a copy anyway. To do that, though, you'll need to give me your email address so I can tell you when the book is available for free on Kindle. Click here to give me that information: http://bit.ly/teefree Thank you so much for your support!
The note now offers a direct copy of the book whether or not it is picked, and this will hopefully get signups either way after the campaign ends. It'll also help with early reviews if the book isn't picked, so it is a win/win.
They also recommended creating a book trailer, which I did, and then their goal is to drive traffic through likes to the trailer to get people to visit on facebook.
All in all, some really solid suggestions...Which means, the only thing left to do is see how well they performed...
Book TrailerI know this one is just showing up out of the blue, but that is because it sort of happened out of the blue. I didn't really plan to make a trailer early in the campaign, and none of my efforts were tied to it, but about midway when I was bored and without anymore things to work on I decided to try and have a book trailer built.
I made one previously for Raven's Peak and thought it turned out really well, but this time I wanted something different. I wanted something themed around the genre rather than something that tries to stand as a real trailer. Ideally, it would get the blood pumping and make people excited without really delving too much into the story.
Did I succeed? You can be the judge. I do wish the guy who made the video had made it a little bit darker, but the music cue and timing is spot on, and the after effects are really cool.
So the question is: how did I do it, and do I recommend it...
Yes. For the most part, it was a super easy experience and the trailer came out really well. It was a little longer than I would have liked, but that isn't really a problem. It looks good in Facebook's timeline and only took a couple of days to make. Fiverr is a great place to find people to work on something like this, and Videohive is a great place to get videos you can use in the trailer. Frank is the
I will try to keep track of it and see how things pan out, and then I'll let everyone know what comes of it.
Social AdvertisingTwitter has been fairly steady but not amazing with results. Facebook is, of course, rather expensive. My clicks have been coming in around 4-10 cents per click, which is worse than expected. I actually stopped the ad, changed a few things and modified the targeting, and then I'm running it again to see if this time I can do better.
I made a bookbub ad and I'm giving that one another try, but the clickthrough was abysmal the first time around. Reddit is too costly to recommend. Stumbleupon is pretty good, but I'm not sure how well that translates to page views because of how they display pages.
Goodreads is just completely not worth it. I overpay dramatically for clicks, and in general they still don't see as much traffic as I would like. In general, it just isn't really panning out and I don't think I'll bother re-upping the account next time. Bing didn't do bad, but the cost per click was expensive.
With Google, my ads have been costing about 1 cent per click, and I'm directing the traffic to my giveaway page. That has actually paid off really well and seems to be driving a lot of traffic back out to my campaign page. Penny click ads can be worthwhile when they work, but it's been slipping in results for the last few days and I don't know if it will manage to stay valuable.
In general, with ads you will want to start small and slowly ramp up. Pay as little daily as possible, monitor results, and make sure you are getting value out of it. The ads that seem to do well you can ramp up to higher cost per day, and the ads that perform poorly should be turned off or re-evaluated.
Don't go overboard or wish for huge results, because it is really easy to spend dozens or even hundreds of dollars and get almost nothing in return. I play around with ads on a regular basis because I want to get better at using them, and I've gotten to a point where I can get decent results fairly cheap. That being said, it cost me a lot of wasted money to get to this point.
However...it feels like email advertising (which used to be an author staple) is really slipping in value. It is expensive and the results keep diminishing, so I think we are reaching a point where (at least for a while) social advertising might be one of the better ways to generate returns. Just be careful, take your time, and constantly monitor your results.
UpcomingOne more post about the campaign itself, and then you can expect to see a post after the acception/rejection email is sent from Kindle Scout, and that should cap off my Kindle Scout flurry of posts. I didn't go way into depth about what Kindle Scout is or if you should try it out (I did that last time around when I ran my Raven's Peak campaign and wrote my guidebook) and I wanted all of this information to be a pure supplement of everything I did before. I used a lot of the tips and tricks from my guidebook so I'm not going to spell them out again.
I've had a lot of fun with this one with trying all sorts of new things, because a lot of the promotional methods I've been trying out will also go into new promotional campaigns I run to helps sell books or for other reasons.
More Blog PostsJune 14, 2017
AMA: Taking Questions
I'll be taking questions for the next couple of weeks about anything: upcoming projects, my newest book, or any other topics. I will make a short video to post on youtube answering the questions, as well!
To submit a question, just post it in the comments of below! I'll also post the Q&A in a blog post linked to the video, so there will be multiple ways to see the answers!
June 13, 2017
Summer Solstice - Lincoln Cole - Dark Times Ahead
I wrote the short story Dark Times Ahead for the Summer Solstice Anthology. Raven's Peak is actually due out in audio format at the end of June, and the rest of the series will be out by October (including The Ninth Circle!).
[image error]
A quiet little mountain town is hiding a big problem. When the townsfolk of Raven's Peak start acting crazy, Abigail Dressler is called upon to discover the root of the evil affecting people. She uncovers a demonic threat unlike any she's ever faced and finds herself in a fight just to stay alive.
Abigail rescues Haatim Arison from a terrifying fate and discovers that he has a family legacy in the supernatural that he knows nothing about. Now she's forced to protect him, which is easy, but also to trust him if she wants to save the townsfolk of Raven's Peak. Trust, however, is something hard to have for someone who grew up living on the knife's edge of danger.
Can they discover the cause of the town's insanity and put a stop to it before it is too late?
About Lincoln Cole
Lincoln Cole is a Columbus-based author who enjoys traveling and has visited many different parts of the world, including Australia and Cambodia, but always returns home to his pugamonster and wife. His love for writing was kindled at an early age through the works of Isaac Asimov and Stephen King and he enjoys telling stories to anyone who will listen.
He has won multiple literary awards for his novels. He has also been a bestseller in multiple different categories.
Summer Solstice - R.E. Carr - The Jumper
R.E. Carr was kind enough to include a short story, The Jumper, in the Summer Solstice anthology. She is another one of the newest authors in Kindle Scout and her book is looking pretty incredible!
The Download [image error]
It's not every day that your roommate accidentally teleports you across time and space, but Jennifer MacDonald is not having an ordinary day. A chance encounter with a custom-built computer and an ancient pyramid sends Jennifer to a faraway land with six warring civilizations and an ancient prophecy that has a visitor from the stars at its heart. All she has to do is unseal one measly, missing god.
Now the fate of an alien world is in the hands of a gal who's never landed a steady job or boyfriend, but at least she has watched a few years' worth of archeology documentaries. Hopefully that will be enough to get by, since it seems like most of Earth's lost civilizations ended up stranded in this extraterrestrial zoo too. Also, there is the trivial matter of a Mayan assassin sent to kill her...
We are all our own worst enemies, but maybe Jennifer has a chance to break that mold.
R. E. Carr likes to split her time between the alien (well, resident alien) she married, her two adorable offspring and the vast army of characters who constantly argue in her brain. She uses her past life as a video game reviewer to remind herself just how awesome it is to be writing novels now.
Rachel writes because she knows so many people and places that never quite made it into this version of the universe. It’s her duty to let them out. Writing also gives her mind a certain peace and calm rarely felt in this multi-tasking, wired world.
Summer Solstice - Lee Isserow - A Sense of Purpose
Lee Isserow was kind enough to include his short story, A Sense of Purpose, in the Summer Solstice anthology. His book, Touch Sensitive, is incredible and should definitely be checked out!
Touch Sensitive [image error]
John Ballard is a PI with a condition. One in a million born with a sensitivity.
He absorbs the memories of whatever or whoever he touches.
The cops call him in to help on a case, a gruesome and inexplicably artistic murder that only someone with his gift can solve.
But absorbing the memories of the mutilated body is going to send John's life spiralling out of control, force him to cross every line, betray everyone who trusts him.
He doesn't just want to find the killer - he needs to find her - because the one thing that's clear about the woman behind the crime, is that she's a sensitive too.
And the more he learns about this mysterious woman that shares his gift, the more he's convinced he's in love with her, and will do whatever it takes to keep the police off her scent.
About Lee
Lee Isserow is an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker, with over fifteen years spent trawling the back streets and dark alleys of the 'entertainment' industry.
He's pretty sure he has some traits of autism, because he's been constantly working and obscenely prolific for the entire duration, writing over a hundred screenplays, many of which he's adapting into forthcoming books, because nobody is willing to turn them into movies. Yet.
He lives in Liverpool, England because he accidentally bought a house there. He's not quite sure how that happened - but assumes part of that is because he used to drink a lot.
Summer Solstice - Jina Bacarr
Jina was kind enough to include a short story in the Summer Solstice anthology. Her book looks incredible! She also created a bunch of really cool videos about her books, and those are all linked down below for everyone to check out!
Love Me Forever [image error]
When Liberty Jordan travels back to Antietam in 1862 during a Civil War re-enactment, one stolen kiss with Union officer Major Flynt Stephens makes her wonder if she wasn’t sent here for a reason.
But Flynt is engaged to Pauletta Sue Buckingham, Liberty’s mirror image and a Confederate spy who lost her husband. The war heats up when Pauletta Sue saves Liberty from rotting in a Yankee prison. Her price? Pretend to be her so she can fight for the cause. Can Liberty pull off the charade and find love with Flynt? But even if she does, would their love be able stand the test of time?
About Jina
I'm thrilled my Civil War Time Travel Romance, LOVE ME FOREVER, is a Kindle Scout Winner. Thank you to everyone who nominated my book. And thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy.
No one will ever forget the war between the North and South. I wanted to write a story about family...and how the war between the states shaped the lives of two women.
I love family gatherings. Storytelling is at its best in my Irish family. Oh, the tales I've heard over the years...
Social Media
Once upon a Story blog
Facebook: http://facebook.com/JinaBacarr.author
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jbacarr
Videos: https://vimeo.com/user216350
Summer Solstice - Louise Cole - Sweet Poison
Louise Cole was kind enough to include her short story, Sweet Poison, in the Summer Solstice anthology. Her book The Devil's Poetry looks incredible and is one of the newest additions to the Kindle Scout Family!
The Devil's Poetry [image error]
Questions are dangerous but answers can be deadly.
Callie’s world will be lost to war – unless she can unlock the magic of an ancient manuscript. She and her friends will be sent to the front line. Many of them won’t come back. When a secret order tells her she can bring peace by reading from a book, it seems an easy solution - too easy. Callie soon finds herself hunted, trapped between desperate allies and diabolical enemies. The Order is every bit as ruthless as the paranormal Cadaveri.
Callie can only trust two people – her best friend and her ex-marine bodyguard. And they are on different sides. She must decide: how far will she go to stop a war?
Dare she read this book? What’s the price - and who pays it?
Commended in the Yeovil Prize 2016, this is an action-packed blend of adventure, fantasy and love story.
'Twisty, suspenseful and occasionally heart-rending, The Devil's Poetry is a captivating read. I raced through it." Emma Haughton, Now You See Me
Louise Cole has spent her life reading and writing. And very occasionally gardening. Sometimes she reads as she gardens. She can be seen walking her dogs around North Yorkshire - she's the one with a couple of cocker spaniels and a Kindle. She read English at Oxford - read being the operative word - and hasn't stopped reading since.
In her day-job she is an award-winning journalist, a former business magazine editor and director of a media agency. She writes about business but mainly the business of moving things around: transport, logistics, trucks, ships, people.
Her fiction includes short stories, young adult thrillers, and other stuff which is still cooking.
Her YA and kids’ fiction is represented by Greenhouse Literary Agency and she is also published on Amazon as one of the Marisa Hayworth triumvirate.
Summer Solstice - Michelle Hughes - Sanctuary
Michelle was kind enough to include a short story in the Summer Solstice anthology. Her book is fantastic and well worth checking out!
Cowboy Sanctuary [image error]
Dana Waterfield’s well-organized life gets tipped upside down when the brutal murder of her twin sister Danielle threatens to unravel everything she’s worked so hard to achieve. Having found herself the sole guardian of her sister’s newborn lovechild, Jeremy, and at the receiving end of her ex-brother-in-law’s unchecked rage, Dana flees to the safety of Dixon Ranch and the strong, muscled arms of Brock Dixon. In order to protect the baby from the wrath of Danielle’s husband and murderer, Dana must assimilate into the daily routine of ranch life, and rethink who she really is. When the wrath of a madman threatens the life of her nephew and everything she holds dear, will Dana put her trust in Brock or let the winds of change tear her family apart?
Falling for her sister’s lover was never part of the plan, but there’s something about a cowboy that no woman can resist. After all, the safest place to be is in a cowboy’s arms…
Michelle Hughes is an American author who writes sensual romance and paranormal fiction. Hughes was formerly a country singer/songwriter and toured with a national satellite talent showcase. Recently, she was awarded a Kindle Press contract for her western romance, Cowboy Sanctuary. Other books in her library are: Fantasy’s Bar & Grill series, Tears of Crimson series, Sin, Rude, and the You Don’t Know Jack series. Hughes lives in Alabama with her husband and five children.
Summer Solstice - Cristiane Serruya - Damaged Love
Cristiane was kind enough to include a short story in the Summer Solstice anthology. Her book looks incredible! Definitely worth checking out if you love a good read!
Love Painted in Red [image error]
Tavish MacCraig, thirty-three-year-old Highlander, forsook his medical and military career, after being a POW for 6 months in Afghanistan, to run his family’s internationally renowned art gallery in London, The Blue Dot. Despite being surrounded by wealth and beauty, Tavish’s days are bleak, his nights, living nightmares, and his heart, an empty shell. But when he meets Irish painter Laetitia Galen, a powerful and sizzling attraction ignites between them.
Laetitia, who fled hell on earth when she was sixteen, now works as a well-paid housekeeper in a forsaken country manor in Warwickshire and sells her paintings in an obscure gallery. To preserve her new life and recently found peace, she resists Tavish and The Blue Dot's fantastic offer of an exclusive contract.
Laetitia becomes Tavish’s obsession; Tavish, Laetitia’s unattainable dream.
Meanwhile, a man with a burning grudge plots his long-awaited revenge, which could destroy them all over again.
About Cristiane
I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with my six-foot-six husband, two teenage daughters, and Loki, my Shetland sheepdog. I'm a writer, a lawyer, a reader, a woman, a mother, and a wife. Not necessarily in this order. Or in any order...
I have a Master's in Business Law and a BA in Fine Arts. In 2012, after twenty-two years of practicing law, I decided to give writing a go. And--amazingly--it was just the piece that was missing in the puzzle of my life.
