Change your Book Cover and Increase Your Sales?

Change Your Book Cover and Increase Your Sales?

Can changing the cover of your book really increase sales? Well the last couple of weeks I have been a little quiet on the blogging front because I have been concentrating on finishing my current book and marketing my other books. I had a rather lovely synchronicity whereby my friend had figured out how to market his company's health products to the world. In doing so he managed to completely wipe out all of their stock. What a success story eh? So after excelling at that marketing challenge, he decided he would like to see whether his formula worked on books. Yep and you guessed it - I am the experiment. I do like being an experiment in marketing - especially when it my money being invested rather than the budgeting resource of a company.

So how we went about it was go to Amazon Ad Sense. We created an advertising campaign using my top selling book. We started the campaign and registered the number of impressions according to key words. We then counted how many clicks are made on a key word and which key words generated the most clicks. Take for example my LOVE HUNT - The Love Game. This was listed under romance, contemporary romance, love, dating etc. All these key words are linked to your book and when a book in your genre is being looked at, yours joins a queue to be listed as relevant. When your book is noticed and the customer clicks on your book, that is when you are charged a small fee. The fee is based on a bidding process. In actual fact it is all quite simple: basically every time your advert is clicked upon you are charged. You can set an advertising budget each day which once it is reached your advert will no longer appear. That means you can invest as little as a few dollars each day to advertise your books to a specific target audience, according to your key words. In the case of LOVE HUNT - THE LOVE GAME - the most impressions and clicks were made by those who were looking up romance or contemporary romance.  The romance market is huge and one of the most popular so it was not a surprise that this was the 'big clicker!'

So how does this relate to a change of cover?
Well there has to be a reason that a customer potentially clicks on your book. What makes your book stand out against the others that are lined up to advertise at that very same customer? Well it is the cover and the 'strap line.' So I have to be honest my click rate was failing dismally. After 32,000 impressions, where customers had my book appear on the page, I had a whole - are you ready for this - 9 clicks! They did not result in sales. So I was affectively advertising and getting no response. Boooo!

Admittedly it takes time for a sales campaign to kick in; however, something has to make the 'customer' want it now. People don't have time to return to a book they might have seen briefly and they certainly don't retain the title unless it is astounding! So what do you do? You make a cover which screams click on me. So here is my 'before' cover - I quite liked this one... 

I thought it was clean, quirky and to the point. According to my marketing pal it needed to appeal to the 'romance market' and stand out as fun, mischievous and girly. Hmmmm!
So this is the new cover:

Yes it is very pink!!!! Very, very pink! The thing is I then had to change the second in the series too from:

I really liked this one too. I liked how clean it was...
So this then was changed to:

Again - it is VERY PINK!

So guess what happened? The number of impressions continued at the same rate and the click rate increased. What do you think happened with the sales? There was a gradual increase. So what did that mean? Well, it meant that my blurb had to change. I know... Something was stopping people going 'yeh! now! Now and NOW!' Also my friend said that the reader wanted to discover something: an insight.

So take a look - this is how it was:

Come on admit it - as much as we deny it - we ladies like a good love hunt.
We have tick lists, ideals, and we hunt in high-heeled packs. Of course, we're all hunting for that elusive right man who ticks every box and even has tidy nostril hair. Okay maybe not you, but you know other ladies who love the hunt.

Well, it's time for Eva and Gracie to love hunt, and their 'targets' are rich men - the golden sperm. Such exciting escapades would provide the pair with entertaining discussions during their dull office hours - or so they thought. What they did not anticipate was the discovery of the "booby man"; humorous but very hard truths about wealth, themselves, power; and the RichIdiot.com phenomenon.
The question remains: can love really be hunted?

THIS IS THE NEW VERSION

LOVE HUNT - Dating Game: A Kiss and Email Romantic Comedy

Did you know there are numerous secret female dating discussions taking place in your office? Discover the hidden world of women hunting rich men in hope of escaping office drudgery. All around you your colleagues are gossiping about their dating adventures whilst pretending to work. This laugh out loud romantic comedy reveals numerous dating disasters, female analysis and an insight into the world of ridiculous dating rituals - all of that in hope of finding that Mr Right. Does he really exist?

This and more from Eva, the Russian gold digger, who reveals a world of high-class meals and luxurious lingerie. While Gracie, the straight-laced female analyst demonstrates how the mind can run riot with random thoughts: what about the grey-knicker women who have settled for the men with sheds? Are they happy? Why are their knickers grey? Why choose a man with a shed?
A laugh out loud conversation in the form of emails about life, hide the sausage and dating blooming disasters! Be astounded by what is discussed during nine to five!

___________________

So what do you think happened? Honestly I have no clue how life works....

Well the audio sales went up! Admittedly Helen is a fantastic narrator and her Russian accent is brilliant, I just have not quite figured out how that has worked. Also what is also interesting is there is a higher level of sales in the U.K. than the U.S.

My friend Matt says that is because the U.K. has 11 5 star reviews whereas the U.S. have not been placing so many reviews. Again I wonder why that is. So in answer to the question - Can changing your cover increase your sales? Most definitely; however, there are other factors such as 'strap line and your blurb.' If you manage to combine the perfect formula then you have a potentially winning advertising campaign! YEY!!!!

Good luck. I hope this helps all the other lovely authors out there who are also attempting to figure the marketing puzzle out. If I find out anything else I will definitely share. If you have any comments or findings please could you add them to the comments. I would love other authors to have an easier journey to making a living from the book market!

LINK TO KINDLE:

LOVE HUNT - Dating Game: A Kiss and Email Romantic Comedy
by Ruby Allure  LINK: https://amzn.com/B00ATF8QF2

LINK TO AUDIO :https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Hunt-Dating-Game-Idiot/dp/B015G4GAIU/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1470326107&sr=8-2

Oh and I just worked out why the audio sales went up - the audio is on at £3.99 rather than £15.69

If I had not written this blog I would never have figured it out. So that is why the audio sales increased because the advert worked - the customer just happened to explore further. The only problem now is how do I change the audio cover? Any ideas?

The Reality of Being an Author

The Reality of Being an Author

For some reason when people find out you are an author they have belief that you can waft around thinking of literary prose. The have images of cafes, days just dreaming and literary events with horsey-style laughter. In truth, I don't know many authors who have this luxury. In fact, most of the authors I know, who make money and are having films produced, still work. The image painted in films is remote beaches, romantic views and international jet-setting. Nope, and I don't want to disappoint, but the reality is usually a full time job, often in an unrelated subject, so that there is mental space for writing.

 

Let me give you some examples, my friend who is having a film produced of her book, by day works in a care home. The shifts enable her to attend literary meetings. She has an internationally renowned agent but can still be found bathing old people in their beds and you know what? She loves being able to care for others. Another friend of mine, who also writes and earns money from her book sales, works full time as an English teacher. So much of her inspiration comes from her students and what they say.

One author, who was catapulted into stardom overnight, maintained her job working in a bookshop because she loved working with books. She also said that she was going to remain humble and monitor her sales. The first book sold more than fifty thousand copies but her royalty was around fifty pence per book. That is only a basic wage for one year. It was a 'nice to have' in addition to her income and she was glad that she kept her job. Finally, another author I know works as a lawyer, her relaxation time is writing because she gets to dream.

It seems everyone has this idea that you write a book and are catapulted to wealth and stardom. For a few that happens; however, I was discussing an author, who was at the top of his field with my brother. It turned out that the author accidentally let it slip that he worked as a decorator to supplement his income. It seems that people prefer the ideal rather than the image of their favourite author painting a wall.

The years that I spent teaching creative writing evening classes revealed the aspirations and illusions so many people have. Numerous fresh students professed that they desired to be the next J.K. Rowling and that was their reason for learning to write. You never want to smash peoples dreams; however,  if that is the one and only motivation to write then there is a very long and arduous journey ahead.

I am not saying that it isn't possible to become a full time author; and I do know one author who earns their living purely through being an author. He gave up his job when he reached one million sales. He is signed with a publisher and releases a book a year. He has over ten books on the market. He said that once he had made a million sales and had a three year reserve in the bank he would then write full time. So it is possible, yet what you might not realise is your work place is the perfect place to observe characters, understand human dynamics and listen to people's stories. My advice is if you want to be an author live, work and gain inspiration. In the meantime, set yourself a goal: say three years income in your bank before jumping into the financially unknown.

NEW!!!!  RUBY WRITES BOOKS - LINKS TO AUDIBLE FREE TRIALS :)

LINK TO AUDILE FREE TRIAL http://www.audible.com/offers/30free?asin=B012OVUKE8

 

 

 

LINK TO LOVE HUNT FREE TRIAL: http://www.audible.com/offers/30free?asin=B015G4ICYA

 

 

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Chapter 3 - A Short Course in Creative Writing

 

A Short Course In Creative Writing

 

CHAPTER 3

Narrative Voice and Style

The storyteller, who is the narrator, has numerous choices regarding how to narrate their story. It is better that this decision is made early on to stop confusion or constant flitting about throughout the story. 

First Person

The first person narrative is one of the most common approaches to narration whereby the author narrates by becoming a character within the story. The plot is revealed by referring to this viewpoint character as ‘I’. Usually, the first person narrative is used as a way to provide internal insight and convey the deep internal unspoken thoughts of the narrator. The narrator's story often revolves around themselves as the protagonist. This method allows this protagonist/narrator character's inner thoughts/perspective to be conveyed openly to the audience. It also enables the character to be further developed through his/her style of story telling.

Example: It wasn’t as if I could do anything. I sat there helplessly watching Russet, my dog, devour my date’s beautiful shoe. I glanced at her sleeping beside me and wondered what else I could give Russet to chew on.

Second Person View

The rarest mode in literature is the second person narrative technique whereby the narrator refers to the reader as ‘you’. Using this style of narrative the author makes the reader feel as though he or she is a character within the story. Second person narrative mode is often paired with the first person narrative mode in which the narrator makes emotional comparisons between the thoughts, actions, and feelings of ‘you’ versus ‘I’.

The second-person point of view provides an intense sense of intimacy between the narrator and the reader. That way the reader feels involved but powerless as they are escorted through the plot.

Example: You are not the kind of person who should be here. So why are you here when you were not invited? You are at this party, so maybe you are here for a reason. You must know why you have chosen this situation. Maybe it is your idea of an accident or a joke. So why do you invade this space? All eyes are on you because something isn’t reading right.

Third Person View

Third person narration is the most flexible and the most common approach within literature. I often liken it to an observer standing on a cloud who is able to view all things. In the third person narrative each character is referred to as ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, or ‘they’. The third person narrative enables the narrator distance without attachment and makes it obvious that the narrator is an unspecified entity, voice of God or an uninvolved person. That entity narrates the story from an objective or subjective perspective.

Chantelle strolled into the lounge with a look of delight on her face. Admittedly there were hints of what she had been up to decorating her face. She even had pink icing on her cheek and eyebrow.

“I finally managed to achieve my goal!” She exclaimed with joy.

Chantelle had devoured thirteen pink cupcakes in a row without feeling queasy. She was ready for the village cupcake eating championship!

Subjective narrative describes one or more character's feelings and thoughts often in Italics.

Objective narration does not describe the feelings or thoughts of any of the characters. Instead, the focus is on the actions. Those actions are ‘shown’ for the reader to interpret.

An omniscient narrator has knowledge of all times, people, places, and events, including all characters' thoughts.

A limited narrator, in contrast, may know absolutely everything about a single character and every piece of knowledge in that character's mind, but the narrator's knowledge is ‘limited’ to that character. That is, the narrator cannot describe things unknown to the focal character.

Alternating Person View

The alternating point of view seems to be what often happens when students desire to reveal as much as they can about characters. They often start with first person and then add in a point of view from a new character. This is where the author has to make a definite decision about the approach because the worst thing that can happen is that the author writes the whole book and realises that multiple character viewpoints have become confusing. This is why the general rule for novels is to adopt a single point of view approach throughout a narrative. There are exceptions to this rule and some stories, especially in literature, alternate between the first and third person. This technique enables the author to move back and forth between the God view (with a third-person narrator) to a more personal first person narrator. However, bear in mind your reader and the potential for dis-engagement according to complexity and attention span.

 

The Stream of Consciousness Narration

This technique is often from a first person point of view. The intention is to provide a narrator's perspective by attempting to replicate the thought process rather than speech or actions of the narrative character. This is where interior monologues, inner desires or motivations and pieces of incomplete thoughts are expressed to the reader. The other characters within the story often remain unaware of these thoughts.

Epistolary Narrative

The epistolary narrative uses a series of letters and other documents to convey the plot of the story. Although epistolary works can be considered multiple-person narratives, they also can be classified separately, as they arguably have no narrator at all, just an author who has gathered the documents together in one place.

A bit of a fun writing break. Have a rest and look at the below prompts:

Write a piece on the following:

·         The funniest situation I can remember/imagine

·         The most awkward moment

·         An act of idiocy

Now look at what you have written. Did you automatically fall into first person or third person? You may have fallen into second person. Which point of view is most natural to you? Once you have written one piece try another one of the prompts using another point of view. Was that easy or more difficult? The reason that you are doing this is to find out your easy way before writing an epic and finding out that maybe you should have written it from a different point of view.

Before writing consider the following:

Who/what is telling the story?

·         Me?

·         Third person?

·         Voice of God?

·         Second person?

·         A specific character?

·         A journalistic - real approach?

With every piece you write it is worth answering the following questions to enable clarity:

·         What style?

·         What era?

·         What is the purpose of what I wish to write?

·         What do I wish to learn about?

·         What part of me do I wish to explore?

·         What makes me special?

·         What can I give?

·         What do I/character care about?

·         Who is my audience?

·         What do I want them to experience/feel?

·         What do I/or my character want to overcome?

·         What are my/my character’s motivations?

·         What do you want readers to take away from the story?

·         What am I specialist in?

 

The Three States of You and Your Writing

 

Now this is something worth considering prior to writing your first piece. Which part of you is writing the story? Consider this: we have you at your best, you at your worst and you at your neutral state where you simply get on with it. Obviously there are variations of those states in-between. I had never really considered the difference in my style of writing according to my mood or my state of being. Once I discovered this I purposely began to step into the state of me at my best where I considered how I would inspire and uplift through writing. When I was in my worst state, I tried writing from this point of view, writing was like mud and the writing landscape became murky. It was fascinating because even writing like that became a chore. The neutral state of writing was simply a case of not gauging a mood and writing simply to write. There is nothing wrong with this state of writing; however, the writing that I produced in my ‘best state’ was quite beautiful in comparison to the other versions. Again this relates to writing to heal and catharsis. Try writing in your three states:

 

When I write at my best I am… and I feel….

When I write in my neutral state I am and I feel…

When I write in my worst state… I am and I feel.

 

Have a read of the three pieces of writing and notice the wording you use.  Is there a difference? So with this in mind, pick one of the below prompts and see what you do with them according to the state you choose:

 

What caught my attention about him/her was…. (write from each state).

The situation I found myself in resulted in….

When I was handed the key I instantly thought…

 

BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER – Notice the voices in your head. Listen to what they are saying. Is one of them being negative and saying “Why are you doing this? It is just a waste of time? I will never be good enough?”

If so you are really not alone. One of the biggest struggles I witness with my students is that the inner critic comes out when they are being creative. It gains power when they are about to read out their work too. There are many ways to deal with the inner critic, however, I have learned to thank it when it starts chatting. It is there for a reason – it tries to stop you feeling ridiculed or stupid. So, it kindly sets you up to fail before you have even started. Now not only do you have an inner critic, there is also an inner coach. The coach will be excited about all the possibilities to write. When you start feeling not good enough and the critic is rife, switch to the inner coach. Listen to all the positive aspects you are experiencing through writing.

Another huge thing that I have noticed is that when the students become overwhelmed by the inner critic, they delete huge sections of good writing. So with this in mind, always write in version 1. This is your first draft and keep writing it until it is complete. It will not be perfect, no one can ever write a perfect draft – fact! So write your story or  book until complete. Save it as version 1 and every time you edit, save it as the next version, 2,3,4 however many. That means that your first draft is never lost and good writing will never disappear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

LINK TO SOUNDCLOUD

https://soundcloud.com/ruby-allure/creativewriting-edit-99-retail-sample-mastered

 

 

LINK TO BUY ON AUDIBLE:

http://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/A-Short-Course-In-Creative-Writing-Audiobook/B012OVUKE8/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1443260320&sr=1-1

 

LINK TO PAPERBACK ON AMAZON.COM

A Short Course in Creative Writing
by Ms Ruby Allure
Link: http://amzn.com/1517234832