Major Court Ruling Opens New Path for Mobile eBook Sales
By: Ginger | Posted on May 16, 2025
Trying to entice readers to buy more of your books through their mobile devices has been unnecessarily cumbersome for a long time, but we’re finally seeing a ray of hope. The battle between Epic Games and Apple has shaken the digital landscape, and the most recent ruling may have cracked open the paywall dead-ends and begun to loosen Apple’s grip on in-app purchases. It is already leading to meaningful changes that create a clearer path to smoother eBook sales and better returns for authors. As Ginger explains in this week’s blog, this is not just another tech industry headline. It is a glimmer of hope for authors struggling to simplify the buying process for readers, and Amazon has already pushed through an update to the iOS Kindle app to reflect these changes. Read on to understand what the court decisions mean, what has changed, and how these shifts might help… Read More >
Are Cost Cap Ads Key to Direct Sales Success?
By: Ginger | Posted on April 18, 2025
While direct sales can be a game-changer for authors with a solid series or bundle to offer, the cost of running standard Facebook ads can make turning a profit a real challenge. Even for marketing-savvy writers, the learning phase, where Facebook figures out who’s most likely to buy, can set your ad budget on fire before you see a single sale. But there’s a rarely used strategy that might just change the game for authors selling direct. In today’s blog, Ginger breaks down Facebook’s Cost Cap setting, a powerful but underused tool that lets you control how much you’re willing to spend per sale. When used correctly, it can help you start running profitable ads from day one, and find your ideal readers before your budget runs dry. So, if you’ve read any of my previous articles on the topic, you should know by now that I’m an evangelical when… Read More >
The One AI Use Writers Won’t Hate
By: Ginger | Posted on March 21, 2025
The soul of being an author is writing books—and no machine, no matter how advanced, will ever truly replicate that. But just because we don’t want AI handling our plot twists doesn’t mean it can’t serve us in other ways. In fact, when it comes to one of the biggest bottlenecks self-published authors face in selling more books, AI might actually be the perfect secret weapon. As Ginger points out in today’s blog, writing may be our passion, but publishing is a business. And buried in that business is a mountain of data—ad results, sales numbers, conversion rates—that most authors don’t have the time (or desire) to sift through. But AI was built to make sense of messy data, and in Ginger’s case, it helped diagnose the issues with his ads and pull him out of a recent slump. So if you’d like to stop crunching numbers and get back… Read More >
Does Running More Facebook Ads Produce Better Results?
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on November 22, 2024
Last week, we explored a question that many self-published authors grapple with: does increasing your ad budget directly lead to better sales metrics? While this strategy can yield results, it’s not without its risks. It also raises a less-discussed—yet equally important—question: regardless of your budget, could you increase sales simply by running multiple Facebook ads for the same book? As Ginger explores in this week’s blog, this isn’t about blindly multiplying your efforts and hoping something sticks. Instead, it’s about understanding the psychology of effective advertising and why diversifying your ad approach can have a significant impact. From the timeless “seven touches” rule to features built right into Facebook’s Ads Manager, Ginger breaks down why running more ads can deliver better results—and how you can easily implement this strategy without needing to redesign your creative from scratch. Last week, I wrote about how increasing your advertising budget could have a… Read More >
Does a higher Facebook Ads Budget lead to better metrics?
By: Ginger | Posted on November 15, 2024
Many authors wonder if upping their Facebook ads budget is the secret to unlocking better book sales. It’s a great question, but one without a straightforward answer. The truth is, while more money can amplify your ad performance, it’s not as simple as throwing cash at the problem. There are a variety of factors at play that could make – or break – your advertising success. That’s why today, Ginger is here to once again guide us through the world of Facebook Ads, with a special focus on the effects of scaling up your budget. He’ll break down why a bigger budget can improve metrics, how it influences ad reach, and the risks to be mindful of along the way. But before you reach for that credit card, remember: while a larger budget might get you closer to bestseller status, it could just as easily drain your wallet quickly if… Read More >
Grow Your Author Platform Organically on Facebook in 2024
By: Ginger | Posted on August 30, 2024
While newer social platforms like TikTok often steal the spotlight, Facebook remains the king of the hill when it comes to author engagement and audience connection. With its unique ability to foster deep, meaningful interactions and its unparalleled reach, Facebook is still a critical tool in an author’s marketing arsenal. But how can you make this platform work for you, especially when organic growth feels like an uphill battle? In today’s blog, Ginger offers actionable strategies to transform your Facebook presence from a stagnant page into a thriving community of engaged readers. Plus, he shares a treasure trove of relevant hashtags to use in your posts, helping you draw in future fans, not just the ones who have already discovered you. So read on for a quick guide on how to use your Author Page to supercharge your social game. Recently, I was asked why most of the articles I… Read More >
Breaking Free: Why Direct Sales Might Be For You – Part Four
By: Ginger | Posted on July 26, 2024
This month we’ve been discussing the Direct Sales model of book selling, as many authors look at alternatives to the downsides that come with using the big online retailers. As we’ve mentioned, selling direct isn’t for everyone, but there is a lot of potential for those that can make it work and are willing to put in the effort at getting it all running. Ginger has been our guide throughout this journey, and in today’s blog he is wrapping up this series by sharing and analyzing the results he’s seen after his first month of experimentation. Not only does he provide some raw numbers, but he also notes a surprising result and discusses whether or not he is going to continue forward with the Direct Sales model in the future. As this is the final installment of a four-part series, I would urge you to start at the beginning (if… Read More >
Breaking Free: Why Direct Sales Might Be For You – Part Three
By: Ginger | Posted on July 19, 2024
If there’s one thing that the big online eBook stores have going for them, is that they are relatively easy for authors to get started on. Entering product information is straightforward, and things like billing and content delivery are handled automatically. Yet, there are a host of downsides that make authors hungry for alternatives, which is why Ginger has put together this series on Direct Sales. Today in part three, Ginger goes into detail about what exactly authors are giving up, and taking on, when making the decision to switch to the direct sales model – and it can be significant. Authors that want to follow this path must be prepared for a variety of technical tasks, added expenses, and a setup that can take weeks as opposed to the days or even hours that they’ve grown accustomed to. But for those that follow through, the reward at the end… Read More >
Breaking Free: Why Direct Sales Might Be For You – Part Two
By: Ginger | Posted on July 12, 2024
Last week, Ginger began a series on direct sales – the idea of selling a book directly to readers from your own website, instead of through one of the traditional online retailers. Today we continue this discussion with part two, where Ginger walks us through his personal reasons for wanting to give the direct sales route a try. Through disclosure of some of his actual historical sales numbers, he provides context that may help others decide if selling direct is right for them. These numbers will also be useful to compare against in the future, when he takes us through how well his direct sales experiment actually went. Last week, I started a series about how I’ve spent a month selling my books directly to readers on Facebook, rather than sending them to my product page on Amazon. The direct sales model isn’t for everyone though, so it will help… Read More >
Breaking Free: Why Direct Sales Might Be For You – Part One
By: Ginger | Posted on July 5, 2024
Welcome to the first part of Ginger’s ongoing series about direct sales. In this series, he’ll explore why self-published authors should consider selling books directly to readers, rather than relying solely on traditional online book platforms. As we’ve discussed before, authors face significant challenges in gaining visibility on sites dominated by advertising. Even when readers click on an ad, making an immediate purchase isn’t always straightforward, and the delay in receiving payment can be frustrating. Direct sales offer a way to bypass these obstacles, presenting an appealing alternative to traditional eBook stores. However, it’s not for everyone. Over the next few weeks, Ginger will guide us through the benefits of the direct sales model, his personal reasons for choosing this path, the steps involved in setting it up, and the actual results he has seen since starting. Back last year, Craig and I were excited to have Steve Pieper as… Read More >
