Tag Archives: authors

Not one of our books, but one of our authors: Ruth Fox has a new children’s book out via Amazon

Posted on by

Cover of Sand Dog by Ruth FoxAs the title says, Ruth Fox has a new children’s book out called Sand Dog. Its not one of ours, and I haven’t read it yet, but it would be worth checking out. The book is available as both an eBook and paperback (in full colour) from Amazon.

Sand Dog:

Print Length: 26 pages
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00J7ZBYSG
Price: Paperback $10.20
Price: eBook $4.13

“I was pretty sure I was going to hate living in Sunshine Bay. There was no skate park or video store, just a beach and a lot of clouds. But then I met Sand Dog …”

A young boy moves house with his mother. Far from the city where he has grown up, the beach seems a desolate, uninteresting place. But with the help of a very special friend, maybe things won’t be so bad after all! Sand Dog is a story of friendship, adjustment and acceptance, as well as the wonder and importance of an active imagination. Accompanied by bright illustrations in a unique style, this story will resonate with anyone who has ever felt in need of a companion.

 

Marketing for authors: what to expect from click-through and conversion rates

Posted on by

CTR tag cloudBeing presently involved in an advertising campaign for our latest release Lights Over Emerald Creek by Shelley Davidow, I thought I’d check to see how our advertising compares to industry averages for click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates (CR). Surprisingly, given the poor return we’re getting, it turns out we’re actually achieving average rates in both categories.

Specifically:

  • CTR = 0.05%, i.e. for every 2000 views of an advertisement, we expect to get 1 person clicking the advertisement to visit our site; and
  • CR = 2%, i.e. for every 50 people visiting our site we expect to get 1 sale.

And no, the financials don’t necessarily add up. For a series of advertisements designed to be viewed 86,000 times we’re paying $330. That will probably give us 43 click-throughs, and possibly between one and two sales (at $5 each). At the moment we are still working to improve future CTR by focussing our ads in those blogs which give us the best return (the ads are presently being tested across 8 blogs, all with either a focus on YA Fiction, or SF&F). However, we are also using alternatives which have the potential of either increasing the CTR, or reducing the cost, for those with limited budgets.

Continue reading →