Facebook Ad Account Audit for Authors: Key Insights and Strategies
Are you struggling to make sense of your Facebook ad performance? Wondering how to optimize your marketing efforts and maximize your return on investment? In this post, we break down an author ad account audit with actionable insights, tips, and strategies to improve your campaigns. Whether you’re a seasoned indie author or just starting out, these ideas can help you navigate your advertising journey without losing your mind—or your budget.
Grab a coffee, hit play, and follow along with the full video here:
Understanding Your Brand and Audience
Before diving into ad performance, it’s essential to define your brand and target audience. For authors, this means knowing the tone, genre, and core themes of your books. Zee Irwin, the steamy contemporary romance author featured in the audit, shared details about her brand:
- Genre: Steamy, small-town contemporary romance with lighthearted twists.
- Book Niches: Small-town romances, military ranch stories, and billionaire romances with relatable and softer characters.
- Collaborative Projects: Multi-author small-town romance series like Kissing Springs and Betting on Christmas. These collaborations help build networks and introduce new readers to her books.
Key takeaway: Know exactly who your audience is and create a brand that resonates with their expectations. If your target reader enjoys small-town billionaire romances, your marketing materials and targeting options should appeal to those tropes.
Breaking Down Facebook Ads for Authors
When it comes to Facebook ads, success hinges on understanding your data and audience behavior. Zee’s challenges mirrored those faced by many authors: running campaigns, testing strategies, and navigating Facebook’s evolving targeting tools. Here are the key insights based on her audit:
Use the Right Ad Strategy
Zee’s campaigns were set up with different text and imagery, but she grappled with identifying which performed the best. Facebook’s dynamic ads were helpful but, at times, felt confusing when trying to pinpoint specific winning images or texts. The solution? Ad duplication and accurate testing.
What Works:
- Test one element at a time (image, copy, or headline).
- Measure ad performance using attribution tags during testing.
- Stick to a smaller, focused audience to increase precision.
What Doesn’t:
- Overcomplicating campaigns by testing too many variables at once.
- Running ads on auto-pilot without monitoring which pieces work best.
Tighten Audience Targeting
When it comes to audience targeting, authors should focus on a specific age and interest group that matches their genre. In Zee’s case, this involved refining the following:
- Age Range: Adjusted from 35–65+ to 25–65+ based on new targeting recommendations.
- Interests: Romance novels remained the core interest, but adjustments catered to the specific themes of her books (e.g., small-town romance vibes).
Pro Tip: Don’t target too broadly. Facebook thrives on finding patterns, but you need to guide it by narrowing your audience.
Monitor Conversion Rates
The real success of an ad isn’t just in the clicks—it’s in the conversions. Using Amazon attribution tags and ReaderLinks, Zee was able to identify how ads performed in terms of sales, page reads, and read-through rates. Here’s how you can do the same:
- Calculate Conversion: Use clicks and completed sales/read-throughs to come up with conversion rates (e.g., sales/clicks = conversion percentage). In Zee’s audit, she maintained a conversion rate of over 2%, which indicated strong ad performance.
- Track Trends, Not Day-to-Day Results: Sales aren’t instant. Give your campaigns at least two weeks before making major decisions.
Accuracy may vary because tools like Amazon Attribution Tags don’t capture every user action, but trends will provide a useful guide.
Scaling Facebook Ad Spend
One common question Zee posed was: “How do I scale my ads without breaking my budget?” The advice was simple:
- Scale ads gradually. Increase your budget by 20% every few days to avoid shocking Facebook’s algorithm.
- Want to go faster? Duplicate the winning ad instead and start fresh with a larger budget. Original campaigns should remain untouched unless outdated.
Scaling too quickly can throw ads back into Facebook’s learning phase, hurting your overall results.
When to Change Book Covers
Zee plans to relaunch her first series with fresh covers in January, a smart move for re-engaging readers and bringing more attention to backlist titles. However, here’s a critical tip:
If you’re testing new covers, wait until after the holidays. December data can be inconsistent due to fluctuating buyer behavior caused by holiday spending, travel, and distractions. Start fresh in January when your audience has more mental focus and cash flow.
Build a Strong Foundation for Success
Zee’s ad setup has laid a solid foundation for long-term growth. Here’s how you can follow in her footsteps:
- Ensure your onboarding process (e.g., email sign-ups and automations) is smooth and efficient.
- Set up backend tools like ReaderLinks and Author Helper Suite to track your book sales and series read-throughs.
- Leverage your backlist strategically—use freebies or discounted leads to encourage readers to commit to entire series.
Success doesn’t come overnight, but with the right tools, insights, and patience, your ads can be a major driver of engagement and revenue.
Conclusion
Zee’s Facebook ad account audit revealed some crucial strategies for authors navigating the world of digital marketing. From audience targeting to ad duplication and scaling, even small changes can have a big impact. If you’re in the same boat, start by testing what works and monitoring your read-through rates.
Want to dig deeper into how ad account audits can transform your strategies? Watch the video and take notes!
With these actionable steps, you’ll be well on your way to mastering your author ads while staying within budget. Let us know your thoughts—comment below or ask questions, and don’t forget to subscribe for more tips like these!
