World, Writing, Wealth discussion
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Why wasn't it liked?
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I'm not an expert, but I know that people can be hard to predict. Perhaps you posted it at the wrong moment, when people were too busy to bother. Or maybe people suddenly lost interest because God knows why.Honestly, I don't think it's your fault. So I wouldn't worry too much about it. Anyone who's really interested will eventually get around to reading your work :)
Gem, it's better to see than to hear, so if you can put a pic of both posts (in case you have them), we'll take a look and comment..In many things - there is a first time, which garners more response than the 2-nd with the same texts ... or maybe people see some pic and skip over without reading, assuming it's some ad ... or whatever other reason beyond logical explanation -:)
And on any cover art the opinions will always differ, hopefully with much more liking it than not..
Nik wrote: "Gem, it's better to see than to hear, so if you can put a pic of both posts (in case you have them), we'll take a look and comment..In many things - there is a first time, which garners more respo..."
ok this was the first post, a very bland and if i'm honest boring to look at description.
Post 1
Ethereal Lives By Gem Stone - Coming soon!
Blurb:
Hearing word of Earth’s pending destruction, Ax and his men decide to grab a human and sell it to the highest bidder. But he didn’t realise what he was getting when his men picked Ariane. Believing humans to be simple, docile creatures, he gets a big shock when he finally meets one.
Ariane grew up tough. She knows how to defend herself, and has no plans to go to the auction block quietly. She intends to stop at every planet, see everything, and push every button she can along the way, and she’s dragging Ax along for the ride.
Excerpt:
The human rolled its eyes. “Come on, drop the act. You’re human just like me. Now I’ve had enough, take me back to my holiday, or home, whichever.”
Ax crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. He’d had enough of its questions. “We may look human but I assure you we are not. This image,” he waved a hand in front of himself. “Was merely to make you feel more comfortable, you are the only human here. In fact, as of five Earth hours ago you are the only human in the universe. Your planet no longer exists. You are the last human and my prisoner. As soon as we reach the Sixth Galaxy you will be sold to the highest bidder, making me and my crew very rich.”
Many emotions flash across the human’s face before it finally settled on disbelief. It squared its shoulders taking a stubborn stance. “Alright, if you’re not human, show me what you really are..... (cut the end off as it's l
The second post was basically the blurb and front cover. I have no idea how to put a picture on here to show you it but its on my profile page if that helps.
Rachel wrote: "I'm not an expert, but I know that people can be hard to predict. Perhaps you posted it at the wrong moment, when people were too busy to bother. Or maybe people suddenly lost interest because God ..."I'm not so much worried as confused about why a plain post with no picture would do better. I wonder if it was the time of day i posted it or something.
Graeme wrote: "What's the "Boost" feature?"It's a way to sponsor your posts so more people view them.
So you pay facebook to push your posts?
yes. Thought I'd try it just out of curiosity. It's just the results confused me.
Took a look at the cover at your profile page.Well, I think when you add the cover, it's not longer solely about the book -:) The cover is half a poster and some may like it, but would refrain from publicly 'liking' or 'sharing' it on Face for various reasons -:)
I think that if even without the pic your post got some echo it's a good sign (although I can't tell whether 800 is considered a lot or not), while the 2-nd post may be equally or more attractive, but not all would want to admit it publicly
Nik wrote: "Took a look at the cover at your profile page.Well, I think when you add the cover, it's not longer solely about the book -:) The cover is half a poster and some may like it, but would refrain fro..."
Maybe you're right. I just wondered if it could be the time and day I posted it or something like that, as I have no experience with these things but you make a very valid point. I think I'll have to experiment with it just out of curiosity and see what happens.
I'm pretty sure 800 is not considered a lot but I'm taking small victories where I can find them. lol Anything above the average is a plus and for me, the average is a reach of about 60, lol
Experiment should be good, but hold your money/ammo -:), unless it's unlimited for adding a purchase link to the ad would be a baptism of fire
Hi GemI really like your cover - the colours are gorgeous. :)
However, one thing I've been hearing lately, is that readers are 'tired' of the naked chest/bared abs images on covers.
Personally, I've never been a fan of them, and there's been so much till now that I almost totally gloss over a cover that has a bared body/body part on it. Could be the case with your readers.
Another thing - I've also heard that visuals do best ... however, I see more likes and interaction on my posts when there's just text rather than when I post a picture. (I use my personal profile on FB, though. Not a page). Kinda makes me think everyone wants to snag attention with a pic, so the ones who do text stand out and thus people go and take the time to read the text so this could explain the reach.
Hope this helps!
Zee wrote: "Hi GemI really like your cover - the colours are gorgeous. :)
However, one thing I've been hearing lately, is that readers are 'tired' of the naked chest/bared abs images on covers.
Personally, ..."
Hi Zee
Your comments were really helpful. Thank you for taking the time to reply. Perhaps you're right about people tired of pictures like that. Unfortunately, I love it now so wouldn't dream of changing it lol. Think I will do more posts of just text though to see if they do perform better than images.
Gem.
Gem wrote: "Zee wrote: "Hi GemI really like your cover - the colours are gorgeous. :)
However, one thing I've been hearing lately, is that readers are 'tired' of the naked chest/bared abs images on covers.
..."
Absolutely! Go with your gut, always!
I think part of the issue too may be that the excerpt gives a very different impression of the book than the cover. Reading the excerpt I thought the book was going to be a YA adventure novel about a human hopping between planets with an alien race trying to avoid a life of slavery. The cover is very pretty, but it gives off the vibe of being a dime-store romance novel for adults. That disconnect may also play a role as to why there was the sudden drop off. If the original people who liked and shared the post thought it was a YA adventure novel, then FB would target people similar to them when you launched the second post. There is a good chance that people looking for a YA adventure wouldn't be interested in an Adult Romance novel, plus the ones that are may not want to broadcast that to all of their friends, so they might have quietly wrote down your book title, but don't want that flashing across their walls.
You may want to make your description more adult-sounding and romance centered so it doesn't feel at odds with the cover and that might make the ad a little more successful.
Unfortunately advertising can be a little maddening because you set it up and hit start and then you see the results, but everything in between is a black box.
About a week ago I decided to try boosting a facebook post. It was a very plain post simply saying my book title, blurb and an excerpt and said coming soon.
It surprised me by reaching over 800 people and had a lot of likes and shares. Since I'm an unknown who is not even published yet and only has 100 followers on my blog I was rather pleased with this.
This week I received my compleated cover so did a cover reveal post with my blurb and once again used the boost feature. But for some reason, I didn't reach half as many people and it didn't get liked much.
I had exactly the same experience on my blog.
The cover is professionally done and In my opinion looks amazing. The people who did like it gave great feedback so I can't understand why a post with just text and no picture would do better than a post with a great picture. We all hear that visual advertising is better so, where did I go wrong?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.