Track Your Subscriber Behavior with Attribution Tags
By: Ginger | Posted on December 30, 2022
Generating a list of readers of your books is an invaluable marketing source that can be used in a number of different ways, and it’s one of the first things that authors should set up when they begin their self-publishing journey. Until now, however, many of the benefits you gain from your list were hard to directly quantify, especially for those that have a tendency to run multiple promotions at the same time as sending out newsletters announcing their latest release. In this final (for now) installment of our impromptu series of posts on Amazon’s new attribution tags, Ginger explains how these tags can take the guesswork out of the whole mailing list marketing process, allowing you to track your subscriber behavior down to the individual book purchase or page read. Not only can this knowledge help you grow your list and earn more money through more targeted advertising, but… Read More >
Self-Improvement Books To Help Ring in the New Year
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on December 27, 2022
For most people, the holiday season is filled with baked goods and indulgences. When it comes time to make (and fulfill) New Year resolutions, we are certain that there’s a self-help book out there for you within this broad category. With those thoughts in mind, today we’ve rounded up the self-improvement books our Hidden Gems readers loved the most recently. CDL Minded Business Startup Strategy Collection by Joe Ryder and Eric Balma With 120+ ratings and a 4.8 star average on Amazon, CDL Minded Business Startup Strategy Collection covers the essentials you need to start your own trucking business. Lee N. writes in his five star Amazon review, “This is a great book for any entrepreneur interested in getting into the CDL business. The author also goes into detail in helping you set your goals and changing your mindset on how to work smarter and not just harder. Mr. Ryder… Read More >
Use Amazon Attribution to Make Your Social Media Work For You
By: Ginger | Posted on December 23, 2022
As we continue to experiment with Amazon’s new attribution tags, we discover more uses for them that are worth sharing with the self-publishing community as a whole, which explains why this is now the third week in a row that we’re covering the topic. This time, Ginger is sharing his thoughts on how to use these tags to enhance what you do with your social media posts and profiles. In particular, how you can now overcome one of the biggest complaints you probably have about your author social media accounts: How can you tell if any of your tweets, shares, posts or followers are really making any difference to your bottom line? Last week I wrote a post about Setting Up Attribution Tags for your Facebook Advertising and that brought me around to thinking about other ways we can use the exciting new Attribution feature of Advertising on Amazon. One… Read More >
Author Spotlight Interview: Rene Astle
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on December 20, 2022
Today’s interview is with the sci-fi, fantasy and urban fantasy author who writes as Rene Astle and C. Rene Astle. It was an honor to learn more about her publishing journey, approach to writing and life outside of all that. We hope you enjoy learning more about Astle’s books and consider adding one or more to your TBR! HG: How would you describe yourself to somebody who isn’t familiar with your writing yet? RA: I write what I love to read: scifi and fantasy books driven by outsiders, the odd ones, trying to make their way in the universe. Add to the mix a dash of action and a kiss of romance. I love dashes and hate semi-colons. And I’ve been known to use conjunctions at the beginning of sentences. I write in Canadian English – I have a whole blog post about. HG: What inspires your stories and why… Read More >
How to Set Up Amazon Attribution for Facebook Ads
By: Ginger | Posted on December 16, 2022
If you’ve ever tried to advertise your book on Facebook, you are probably already aware of how difficult it is to judge their effectiveness and whether any of the clicks you’re paying for ever really turn into sales. Well, Amazon has finally rolled out a feature that can give you all that information, and it isn’t even that hard to start using. Ginger talked about it last week, but today he’s back to tell you just how to set up Amazon Attribution so that you can track not only your sales and other clicks, but your KU page reads as well. As he mentioned, this is a game changing feature that can really help authors improve their ad performance, so it’s definitely something you need to start using right away if you aren’t already! It’s finally here. After years of struggling to track the effectiveness of our Facebook ads (and… Read More >
Mystery Novels To Cozy Up and Read
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on December 13, 2022
One of the most amazing things about the mystery genre is that there truly is something for everyone. No matter which side of the spectrum you prefer, we can all agree that page-turning intrigue is a must. So, if the weather has you ready to cozy up with a good mystery, this list is for you. We’ve got one for everybody on this round-up of recently top rated mystery novels that our Hidden Gems ARC readers raved about. The Killing Woods by Linda Berry With 490+ ratings and a 4.5 star average, The Killing Woods is one that should be on your TBR list. Formerly published as Girl With the Origami Butterfly, this title follows Sidney Becker as she begins her tenure as the police chief in her sleepy hometown, only for a brutal murder to send her on a race to apprehend the killer. Diana U. writes in her… Read More >
How Amazon Attribution Changes the Game for Self-Published Authors
By: Ginger | Posted on December 9, 2022
Selling your books these days means advertising them, and up until now, if you were advertising an Amazon book on a platform other than theirs, you had to use a lot of guesswork to determine whether or not your ads were converting into actual sales. Recently, however, the retail giant has provided a method that allows you to track what happens when a customer follows your ad from elsewhere, and when used properly, this can be a game changer for self-published authors. Here’s Ginger to tell you all about it, and next week he’ll go through setting it up in more detail. Writing and self-publishing a novel is often only half the battle for self-published authors. The next step is to market that book to a receptive audience – hopefully one willing to reach into their wallets to support your work. That’s why advertising has become such a vital part… Read More >
Author Spotlight Interview: Ashley Bostock
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on December 6, 2022
Today’s interview is with USA Today Bestselling author of seductive, addicting, thigh-clenching romance, Ashley Bostock. It was a pleasure getting to learn more about her writing, publishing journey and life outside of that! We hope you enjoy learning more about Ashley and consider picking up one of her books as your next read. HG: How would you describe yourself to somebody who isn’t familiar with your writing yet? AB: I would say that my writing style is lighthearted, with some humor and I have no problems writing explicit sex scenes or cussing. I tend to write close-knit friends or family and most of the time there is always a grandma. HG: We all love a grandma figure! That’s fantastic. Tell us a bit about your publishing journey. How did you know you were ready to take on the “author” title? AB: Unlike a lot of authors who do their research… Read More >
What can Jack Carr teach us about writing?
By: Ginger | Posted on December 2, 2022
Despite following in the footsteps of Lee Child, there is still much to learn from the meteoric rise in popularity of former Navy Seal turned author Jack Carr. Carr is a relative newcomer to writing, with only about five books to his name so far, but he’s been a chart topper since his debut, and his first book has already been turned into a streaming series on Prime. That’s why it makes sense for Ginger to examine what it is that has led to Carr’s quick success and what it can teach us that can be applied to our own writing, in this latest installment of his informal writing lessons series. Right now, there are two deadly badasses on my Amazon Prime menu screen – Jack Reacher and James Reece. The former is played by Alan Ritchson, who takes the role of the eponymous star of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher… Read More >
