Setting Goals to Propel My Writing to the Next Level by Kathy Coatney

FALLING IN LOVE SERIES

When I was offered the opportunity to write this blog for Romancing the Genres about taking my writing to the next level, it came just as I was investing some real time into marketing my books on Facebook (FB).

I have limited fiction writing time because I’m also a freelance photojournalist/editor. I write at least three articles a month and edit three different magazines, so I’m not an author who can write three or four books a year. Two is the best I can do.

I seriously considered hiring someone to do FB ads for me, but one thing kept stopping me. No one knows and loves my books as much as I do, so who better than me to write the ad copy? And if I can do that, I’ll have much better success with my ads, and improve my writing.

So, I’ve decided to give up some fiction writing time for the next 30 days to buckle down and learn how to market the books that are already published. To that end, I’ve committed myself to learning the ins and outs of FB ads. I have set aside time to work on my ads every day, which not only includes writing ads, but searching for new and better audiences, learning the jargon and the different ways to determine if my ads are successful. I feel this is critically important to moving my career to the next level.

There are several steps to FB ads from learning how to maneuver in business ads manager to becoming comfortable with all the steps in creating an ad. My first ad took two days to put together! The second ten minutes, so huge progress there.

THE CROOKED HALO CHRONICLES

Another big step is the ad copy. I needed snippets, headlines, and call to action. Fortunately, I took a blurb class last winter from Kathryn Jane (I highly recommend this class). I spent a lot of time developing new blurbs for all five of my books, worked on call to action, headline and snippets, which gave me enough to get my first ads up and running, but I will also have work on more because, what I’m learning is, you have to keep changing and tweaking your ad copy.

To date, I have managed to put seven ads together, I’ve paused the first three, and I currently have four others running, but I will be pausing another one soon. While the cost per click is in a good range, and I’m getting lots of clicks, I’m worried the photo may misrepresent my book.  Here is the link to the ad. https://fb.me/27qrinMXi6GMOxW

This ad is doing pretty well for me, too.

https://fb.me/1P4EFeoKCm5aINk

I will be keeping it because this photo very closely represents my story and my main character. I will be tweaking the photo on this ad as I want to change the look of the book cover on it.

Here are the two new ads I have out.

https://fb.me/2uN3TBmOpmoYNtu

https://fb.me/2mWo8nnHC9thakV

SHE'S OUT OF HIS LEAGUE

I’m testing these ads with different audiences, text, and photos. If you look close, you’ll see the man laying in the grass is the same model from a previous ad with my book cover on it.

It’s still too early to tell if these ads are successful, but early indications have shown they are at least doing okay. I will keep developing new ads, so that when these aren’t successful, they will be replaced.If you’re like me you’re probably saying, yeah, yeah, I agree with you, but I just don’t want to take time away from my writing, or it’s just too hard and I can’t figure it out.

I used those excuses for the last two years, but it occurred to me that if I want to be a successful, independently published author, I have to learn how to market my books or I will be doomed to write more and more books, faster and faster until I burn myself out.

I don’t want to lose the pleasure of writing my books so I’m determined to learn this. I also believe that just like I had to learn about POV and telling versus showing, that seemed oh so complicated all those years ago, I will learn how to do these ads. I have to.

LEAVE ME BREATHLESS

Before I sign off, just a little bit about my books. I write deeply emotional, small town, romances. I have a three book series out, Falling For You…Again, Falling in Love With You, Falling in Love for the First Time.

I also have She’s Out of His League that is a stand alone at the moment, but I have two more books in the series that will be released shortly.

Leave Me Breathless is a romantic mystery, and I will have more books to follow in that series, too.

I also have a short story series, The Crooked Halo Chronicles, that I will be developing into a full series that has love, romance, and guardian angels. 

You can get Angels R Us for free just for subscribing to my newsletter.

Thank you all. It was lovely spending time with you. I look forward to meeting up with you on FB, TW, and kathycoatney.com.