Blog Archives - Page 18 of 23 - Elite Writer's Lab with Ron Douglas

Traditional Publishing versus Self-Publishing

Many new writers agonize over whether to try the traditional publishing route or opt for self-publishing. Here are four factors to consider to help you decide.

1. Is it fiction or non-fiction?

2. Does it require a lot of images?

3. What genre of fiction is it?

If it is comics, manga or anime, print might be the best option.

4. Is there a traditional publishing house that regularly prints your type of work?

If you write romance, for example, there are a range of choices. Each of these traditional houses has a publishing program with “slots” that need to be filled. They also offer the advantage of marketing your book and getting it into stores as well as making it available online.

The Traditional Process

In traditional publishing, the author gets an idea for their book and either finishes it, or sends a query letter to see if the publishing house would be interested in it. They might send the letter themselves, or with the help of a literary agent, who will take a commission for the sales of the book.

Once the query letter or manuscript gets to the publishing house, an acquisitions editor reads it and decides whether or not it is a good fit for their list. This does not always have anything to do with how good the book is but rather, how well they think it will sell.

If they accept the book, the publisher buys the rights from the writer. The terms will vary from loose to very strict. They will pay the author an advance on future royalties. The royalty terms should be clearly specified.

The publisher then arranges for the printing, design, cover, manufacture, distribution, and marketing of the book. The advance may be generous or not. For a typical royalty, expect to earn about 35 cents per book sold.

The Self-Publishing Process

With self-publishing on the other hand, especially through the Kindle program at Amazon, you are in control. Upload your Word document and cover, set your price, and your book can be up and selling within a couple of days. You set the price. Price your book at $2.99 and at 70% royalty, you would get around $2 per book.

You retain your rights to your work and Amazon will help with some of the marketing. You will have to do your own editing and get a cover, but you can hire a professional on Fiverr.com. If you want to create a paperback of the book, to be sold via Amazon as a print on demand title (that is, one book published each time there is an order), you can do this using the same Word file through Amazon’s printing division CreateSpace.

The key issue is how much time you have to market your book. You will be taking on a lot of the chores of a traditional publisher. Having said that, the most successful authors with traditional publishers are those who are willing to market themselves at book signings, conferences and so on.

Determine your skills, time and interest, and how much money you want and control over your book, and then choose which publishing option is right for you.

Do This Next, If You Want to Make a Better Living from Writing

WriterHelpWanted.com and EliteWritersLab.com co-founders, Ron Douglas and Alice Seba, recently got together to discuss the 5 obstacles that keep most writer from earning a good living from their writing.

It’s Not Just about the Writing When It Comes to Fiction

Whenever a fiction writer decides to self-publish their work, they can be so excited at the prospect that they slip up on some of the most basic details. These details can make all the difference between success and failure. Here’s a checklist of essentials which go beyond the mere writing and contribute to the bestseller status of a book.

1. The Cover

People really DO judge a book by its cover. It has to be as good as anything you would see on a store shelf, or side by side with your book on Amazon. Don’t skimp. Unless you are a professional artist and book designer, hire a pro on Fiverr.com. Check out their portfolios to make sure their style is in line with your vision of what your cover should look like. Discuss your ideas, and make sure your contract allows for revisions.

2. The Proofreading

The book should be as error free as possible. Make sure you have at least one person other than yourself read over a printed copy of the book, not just a digital one. Word’s spelling and grammar checker are useful, but not perfect.

3. The Editing

It can be tough to judge your own novel, especially if you have been slaving away over it for months. A professional editor, or a friend who loves to read, can make sure you have a powerful beginning and ending. They can also look for inner logic in the novel, such as characters, situations and settings. You would be amazed at how many characters’ eyes start out brown and end up green by the end of the book!

4. The Marketing Copy of the Book

There are two forms of marketing copy that will appear on or in the book:

* The “Blurb”
* The teaser copy

The “blurb” goes on the back of the book and sometimes on the first page inside the book as well. It is like a summary of the story and should entice people to read it.

The teaser copy can be on the back as well, and/or on the first page inside the book. It should be a dramatic excerpt from the novel that draws the potential reader into the story.

5. The Marketing Copy for the Book

A lot of different marketing copy can surround the book. For example, the blurb and teaser will appear online in most cases. You might even include them in a promotional package to a book reviewer. Once the reviews start to come in, if they are good, you can quote from them to help market your book.

If you know any prominent authors or agents who might be kind enough to take a first look and write a comment or two, or even a foreword, this would also be incredibly useful for selling more books.

6. A Great Author Biography, Website/Blog, and Social Media Presence

Readers love to feel they “know” authors and that they are accessible, not hiding in a cave writing all the time. In order to convey that you are a real person, write a great biography, include a professional headshot to use as a promotional photo anywhere you need one, and create a great website or blog to showcase your work.

Have a page at all of the most important social media sites and interact with fans regularly, and you should have no trouble making sales.

Do This Next, If You Want to Make a Better Living from Writing

12 Fiction Marketing Tips

There are a number of ways to market fiction effectively. Here are some of the top ways to sell well:

1. A Great Cover

People really DO judge a book by its cover, so make sure yours is as good as anything you would see on a store shelf. Hire a freelancer at Fiverr.com to turn your vision of your cover into a work of art.

2. A Great Blurb and Teaser Copy

The “blurb” is what goes on the back of the book. The teaser copy can be on the back as well, or on the first page inside the book (you can put the blurb there too). These pieces of content are both designed to encourage the browser to read more.

3. A Great Author Website and Webpage

Be proud of your work and showcase it on your site. Also make it a place where you are accessible, and interact with people through comments, questions and so on.

4. See Yourself as a Brand

Brands like Coke, Nike and McDonald’s all have a unified marketing plan, in which every ad or other material build on the brand’s image and reputation. In a similar way, see your author name (or pen name) as a brand you wish to present in a certain way, and don’t want to damage or dilute.

If you want to write a different genre, create a different pen name and website or blog for it. For example, writer Nora Roberts is a brand synonymous with romance, and J. D. Robb, her second pen name, is synonymous with mystery and suspense.

5. Give Interviews

People always wonder what it is like to be a writer. Give interviews and post them at your site.

6. Attend Publishing Conferences and Writing Groups in Your Genre and Geographical Area

People do business with people they like. Attending live events and networking with publishing professionals, other authors, and aspiring authors, can lead to all sorts of promotional opportunities. It also makes you more visible and shows you are someone who cares about your craft.

7. Be Charitable

Giving things away may seem an odd way to make money, but “giving back” to new writers or donating your profits to a worthy cause can create a lot of goodwill and show you are a good person, not just a “greedy author”.

8. Join Writer-Related Organizations

Romance Writers of America, The Author’s Guild and so on can all help raise your profile.

9. Leverage Social Media

Have a social media account for your writing at all of the top social sites, such as:

* Facebook
* Twitter
* LinkedIn
* Pinterest
* Tumblr
* YouTube
* Instagram

Keep fans up to date on all your news.

9. Create a Facebook Contest

Contests are a great way to grab attention.

10. Give a Webinar

Host a webinar about how to become a better writer, and give attendees a special discount on your books. You can do this through PayPal or create a store for yourself at a site like Gumroad.

11. Get Book Reviews

As soon as your book is done, start gathering reviews for it. They can really make a difference when it comes to sales.

12. Organize Book Signings

If you have a paper book, organize book signings at bookstores, your local libraries and so on.

Follow these marketing tips and see your sales increase as a result.

Do This Next, If You Want to Make a Better Living from Writing

Fiction Writing Basics

There are several basic rules when it comes to writing fiction.

1. Character Is Key

You need to have a main character that readers can identify with. They don’t have to be perfect. To make them interesting, they do need to have some issues to work through in the course of the novel.

2. Outline Your Plot

Write an outline of what is going to happen in the beginning, middle and end of the book. This will give the characters some direction in your novel. It’s okay to change things if your characters or situations in the book take on a life of their own, but have a general idea of the point of the story.

3. Start in the Middle of Things

“In media res” is a common literary term. It is Latin for “into the middle of things”. It helps get the novel off to an active start. Then you can fill in the back story as you go along.

4. Choose a Point of View That Makes the Most Sense for Your Novel

Some write in the first person (“I”), while others use the third person (“he” or “she”). The narrator can be limited or omniscient (all knowing), giving us information about what is going on with other characters in the book. A third person-limited narrator might not know the whole story, but this can be a good thing for certain genres, such as mystery or horror, with the story unfolding for us as it does for the main protagonist.

5. Use Dialogue to Move the Character and Story Along and Fill In the Back Story

Dialogue can do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to drawing a character, advancing plot, suspense, tension and so on. The conversation between characters can also give us a sense of their past and make them more well-rounded and three-dimensional.

6. Show, Don’t Tell

Here we are referring to descriptions of people, places, and emotions, not to dialogue. When you are showing, you are giving details that all add up to the reader drawing a conclusion about what they are reading.

For example, if you describe a person as, “scowling, fists clenched, panting with fury”, you won’t need to say, “He was angry”. If you say, “The snow was thawing and the first daffodils were just starting to peep through the ground as Amy hurried home to get ready for her Valentine’s date”, there is no need to tell us it’s February in the northern hemisphere.

7. Give the Characters Motives

What drives your characters to do what they do? Even a villain will have some reason. Motiveless evil gets pretty dull after a while.

8. Engage the Emotions

Feel the emotion as you write and your readers should feel it as they read. Don’t make it all about plot. Make the characters real people with believable feelings and reasons for all they do.

9. Write What You Know

Don’t make your character a rocket scientist if you flunked science. Don’t write about a painful divorce if you are happily married with three kids, unless you have a friend who is spilling her guts to you every night on the phone about the terrible time she is having.

10. Revise Carefully

Try to make your work as error-free as possible.

Use these tips to ensure that your writing is as good as it can be. Perhaps your novel will become the next bestseller!

Do This Next, If You Want to Make a Better Living from Writing

Before You Write Fiction: Ask Yourself These Questions

If you’ve been thinking about writing fiction, there are a number of questions to ask yourself before you start.

1. Can I write what people want to read?

There are two key aspects you need to think about:

* Are you a great reader?
* Are you familiar with the bestsellers in the genre you want to write?

If you are a reader, you should have a good idea of what you enjoy. Chances are that other people will have similar tastes. If you tend to read the top bestsellers in your favorite genre, such as romance, mystery or horror, you will also have a pretty good idea of what sells.

It may sound crass to talk about bestsellers and money, but the fact of the matter is that publishing is a business. You might be disappointed to find out that it has very little to do with creativity or even talent and everything to do with providing a “product” that people want to buy.

2. Can I write something with broad appeal?

Since product is what it’s all about, you need to consider writing something with broad appeal. A lot of people aspire to write the great American (literary) novel, but the fact is that literary fiction is a small percentage of the book-buying market. If you want to be successful as a writer, a better strategy would be to aim for one of the top genres mentioned above, such as romance (55% of the US market) or mystery (27% of the market). Horror and fantasy are around 10%.

Each of these genres have avid fans, but they also have top writers who command attention every time they release a new book. Nora Roberts is synonymous with romance, but she is also associated with mystery and suspense under her pen name J. D. Robb. Stephen King is the master of horror, but he used to write other novels as Richard Bachman.

3. Am I prepared to be my own brand?

Even if you use a pen name, you will still have to be prepared to be your own “brand” and take the criticism along with the adulation. It can be intrusive sometimes. Success can actually make it tougher to find the time to write. It can be difficult to write a book and market it, and to not earn a lot of money, but sometimes it can be even harder to suddenly make it big and become the center of attention.

4. Am I a good writer?

If you haven’t picked up a pen to write a story since high school English, you might want to start small, with short stories and creative blogging, and get some feedback on your work.

5. What am I prepared to sacrifice to become a writer?

Most aspiring writers think about fame and fortune. They don’t think about the many hours alone working on their novel. Writing can be a lonely business. It can be even tougher if you have a family. You might have to sacrifice sleep, TV time and more to make your dream come true.

Be realistic rather than starry-eyed, and you should soon determine whether or not writing a book is the right move for you.

Do This Next, If You Want to Make a Better Living from Writing

Top Tips for Connecting With Niche Influencers

If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “It’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know,” you will get an idea of just how important it is to network regularly in your business, and in particular, to connect with top influencers in your niche.

Niche Influencers – What and Why

A niche influencer is a person who has an established name in their field of expertise and within the social networks through the content they publish online and their niche-related activities, such as appearing in interviews, conferences and more. If we hear the names Bill Gates, Emeril, Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil we immediately know what niche they are associated with, and the fact that they are high-profile because of the media attention their activities garner.

Connecting with a few key online influencers will can give you far better results than connecting with lots of people who have no influence, don’t know that much about the niche, and don’t know or care who you are or what you do. If you can get their attention, it can open up a new range of opportunities and a much wider audience.

The trouble is that everyone and their dog will want to connect with these influences too. Here are some top tips for connecting with niche influencers successfully to grow your brand and increase your profits.

* Know your niche. Know where your ideal customer is hanging out, who they are paying attention to, and who they are buying from.

* Identify top influencers. Find out who the influencers are in your niche and where they are. Use tools to accomplish this, such as BuzzSumo, BirdSong Analytics, and Twellow.

* Follow the influencers. See what kind of content they are publishing in relation to your niche. What kinds of products and services are they selling? What kinds of feedback are they getting? Make notes as you go along to inspire you in terms of trying to do things better, faster, and cheaper. Also, note ways in which you complement each other, rather than compete with each other.

* Spruce up your professional profile. Create an awesome profile for every network you are on. While you are following the influencers, check out their profiles. Do you see something you’d like to add to your own profile? If so, add something similar while also making it unique to you.

* Interact with the influencers. Once you have been following them for a while and have got your profile up and running, you can start to interact with the influencers in a low-key way. Comment, like, and share in a structured way related to your marketing strategy, that is, what you wish to accomplish.

* Contact influencers. When you do contact influencers, be specific. What do you want from them and what can you bring to the table? If you would like to be a guest blogger, give them samples of your work. If you would like them to be a guest blogger, or allow you to interview them, make sure your site looks great and is packed with niche-related content that their audience will be interested in as well.

Also look for events they’ll be attending and speaking at. There is nothing like solidifying a relationship by actually meeting in person.

* Be patient. Plan to do things or make changes over a 6 month period. Take your time to get to know them, and vice versa. The better you understand them and their product line and influence in your niche, the more likely they will want to work with you down the line. You knowledge will shine through compared to the many people who want to connect with them for the own benefit.

While these top tips for connecting with niche influencers will increase your chances, it’s up to you to make it worth their while. So, start your transformation into becoming an influencer in your own right and see how many niche influencers you can connect with on a meaningful level.

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Writing for More Social Media Interaction

Most social media marketers aim for eyeballs, but it’s engagement that will drive high page rankings and more followers, for increased profits. Getting more interaction on your site, blog, and social profiles is the name of the game. There are several ways to accomplish this through the content you write.

1. Know your niche. Give them the content they want. How do you know? Answer their frequently asked questions, comment, on what they say, and hang out where they do. Offer advice, hints, and tips they will not only read, but share.

2. Join the conversation. Online publishing allows your information to spread far and wide, but it should not be a one-way street. Join in conversations. Don’t be a lecturer. Comments, likes, shares on your part will encourage others to behave in the same way.

3. Invite guests. Guests broaden the conversation and reduce the need for you to crank out more content. Inviting guest bloggers and encouraging contributions builds relationships with your existing followers but can also bring in new ones connected with your guest.

4. Create surveys and polls. People love to be asked what they think. Create short surveys and polls to get information and encourage an atmosphere of interaction. You can also give them an incentive or little surprise thank-you gifts, such as special reports, handouts, cheat sheets, and other free information items that can also broaden out the conversation in relation to your niche.

5. Create contests. Everyone loves a good contest. Make contests related to your niche and the free items you wish to give away, or products you wish to sell.

6. Perk up their passions. Choose hot topics that are currently being discussed a lot or items in the news. Avoid being offensive or controversial, unless that’s your thing, but do ask what they think.

7. Use images strategically. A picture is often worth a thousand words. Use images to support your content and grab attention in a way that a headline might not. The image could also encourage comments and other forms of engagement.

8. Use videos. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a good video could be worth tens of thousands of words. Post on prominent social sites and embed in your own site or blog. Consider including a transcript to post on the social site page and you will pick up traffic based on keywords. Turn on the comments section and see what people are saying. Engage in conversation with them as appropriate.

9. Use tags. Think of tags as keywords that will drive traffic in a number of ways. The easiest these days is that users of social sites can click on a tag and see all of the latest information published in relation to that tag. Tagging is therefore one of the best ways to attract a niche audience, who will be the most interested in engaging with you.

10. Create your own group. Using groups on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn are a great way to boost engagement and create interaction through social media.

What would happen if you focused on writing for more reader interaction, rather than more traffic? Try these suggestions and test out your theory. The results may surprise you!

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In this package, you get:

Our very own Insiders Social Media Strategy Guide
Social Media Plan Checklist and Brainstorming Sheet
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Visual Guide to Social Media Site Posts and Image Size Specifications
Hootsuite Bulk Scheduler Tool and Guide
149 Selected Success / Motivational / Inspirational Quotes
20 Graphics with Success / Motivational / Inspirational Quotes
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Building a Strong Online Community – Forget the Numbers

A strong online community is not just about numbers. It’s also about how people engage with your business or brand and the ways they do it. Here are some tips for you to build a strong and loyal community of followers who will love sharing your content and sending you new customers…

Make The Most of Your Blog

Your starting point should be your website and/or blog. Yes, we know it’s not always to come up with great content consistently, but it is a powerful way to prove what you know and that you are worth doing business with.

In addition, if you have a WordPress blog, you can use it to build community through the plugins and themes available. Creating a discussion board or forum, inviting guest bloggers, getting comments, and actively asking for endorsements and testimonials are all signals that you are a thought leader in your niche.

Offering free special reports or ecourses as an incentive to register for your email-marketing list also creates community, rather than visitors who come once for a few seconds and never return. The repeat visitors are the ones who will form your community over time. Using the plugins that allow people to share content on the social networks will also build a strong online community that will create all new opportunities for your business.

Connect with Niche Leaders

We are often judged by the company we keep. Being seen at the same sites as other “thought leaders” in your niche is always a good idea. Even better, this can create the opportunity for new product creation and joint venture (JV) partnerships. For example, you can interview each other online and publish or sell the resulting product to build brand and/or make more money.

In a JV, you would email each other’s lists with a special offer. Anyone who signs up from their list would be your customer and possibly listed as your affiliate. Even if their list has 5,000 people and you have only 1,000 people, you can offer to mail 5 of their offers during a specific time. JVs then split the profits 50/50 or each gets a special affiliate link. This allows you both to profit from more exposure and/or sales to people interested in your niche.

If you missed our tips on becoming a thought leader yourself, you can find those here.

Social Network Profiles

If you have not already taken the trouble to build a full, robust profile on the major social networks, put this at the top of your marketing list. Social search, that is, search within a network, is rapidly overtaking search through search engines like Google. You can only build community if people can find you. They will only want to join your community if they see things on offer that interest them, products, services, information, and eye-catching content.

Make The Most of Groups

One key aspect of top social media sites is whether or not they have groups you can join in order to connect with your targeted audience and like-minded people. Facebook and LinkedIn are examples of social media sites that have popular and active groups, where you can connect with prominent influencers in your niche and position you as an authority.

Other groups you may want to consider include active Pinterest boards that allow guest pinners. This will mean more of your pins are shown around the clock, not just the times you pin. Don’t forget Yahoo groups and Google+ circles. Both of these can also help you build a strong online community related to your niche.

Be Helpful, Not Pushy

Finally, the best way to build a community is to participate in communities. Join groups, participate, share, and don’t just try to push all of your products for sale. Social media is all about connection and community.

If you’ve wondered how to build a strong online community, try these tips to start a strong community or even fine-tune your existing community. It’s never too late to get your group or community on the right path.

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Our very own Insiders Social Media Strategy Guide
Social Media Plan Checklist and Brainstorming Sheet
7 Social Media Site Checklists (all the big ones in this one)
2017-2018 Social Media Content Planner
Visual Guide to Social Media Site Posts and Image Size Specifications
Hootsuite Bulk Scheduler Tool and Guide
149 Selected Success / Motivational / Inspirational Quotes
20 Graphics with Success / Motivational / Inspirational Quotes
20 Eye-Catching Blank Graphics to Work Your Magic On

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Becoming a Thought Leader on Social Media

Whether you’re an author, a freelancer, info product seller or just about anything else, becoming a thought leader in your niche or industry is all about establishing yourself as someone worth paying attention to in your niche or industry. If you think of yourself as a brand in your own right, not just your company as a brand, imagine instant name recognition by those in the know in that niche. If we say Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, most people know who we are talking about and what they are famous for.

Becoming a thought leader in your niche may take some time and effort, but the financial and professional rewards can be well worth it long-term.

* Do your niche research. Where do people interested in your niche spend their time, and money? What social networks do they visit? What do they talk about? What are their pain points and problems in relation to the niche? What solutions are they willing to pay for and how much will they pay? Who are your main competitors and how good are their products? What are niche customers saying about those products? Can you come up with even better ones?

* Create great content. Use your niche research to create content readers/ followers want. People learn visually most of the time, but offering a range of content gives them a choice. The more content you create, especially free content, the more traffic you will get from search engines and social sites. Seeing your name and (good) content appearing repeatedly will make potential customers check you and your item out more closely.

* Connect on social media. The secret to success in social media is in the name itself: social. People are on social networks to connect with others, not to see your latest promotion. However, people are always on the lookout for products and services that make their lives easier. Be helpful in all your interactions and people will appreciate and remember what you do for them.

* Make the most of groups. Are there social media groups you can join in order to connect with your target audience and other like-minded people? Facebook and LinkedIn have some very active groups. Some popular Pinterest boards allow guest pinners and can provide another way to get you noticed.

* Convert connections. Rather than focusing on quantity of posts, tweets, and pins to convert your connections into email subscribers, focus on quality. Use the information you gained from your research and insights to provide a special offer that is specific to your followers on a particular social media platform. For example, a cooking related niche could provide an exclusive and free offer, available only to Pinterest followers who sign up for updates during a specific time.

Using social media to establish yourself as a thought leader can take time. However, the more quickly you get started, the more quickly you will arrive at your desired destination. Put these ideas into action to begin your journey to success.

What to Do Next: Save 30% on Our Easy-to-Use Social Media Templates

In this package, you get:

Our very own Insiders Social Media Strategy Guide
Social Media Plan Checklist and Brainstorming Sheet
7 Social Media Site Checklists (all the big ones in this one)
2017-2018 Social Media Content Planner
Visual Guide to Social Media Site Posts and Image Size Specifications
Hootsuite Bulk Scheduler Tool and Guide
149 Selected Success / Motivational / Inspirational Quotes
20 Graphics with Success / Motivational / Inspirational Quotes
20 Eye-Catching Blank Graphics to Work Your Magic On

Click here for full details and to get your templates.

Enter coupon code: 30SOCIALNOW and you’ll get an ADDITIONAL 30% off the already discounted price.

Are you limiting your traffic opportunities? Probably…

It’s Alice from Elite Writer’s Lab. Ron’s around too, but being a bit of a technophobe, I wanted to reach out to you on this one myself.

If you’re looking to expand your reach to grow your audience of potential customers and clients, it’s easy to hit a brick wall if you’re limiting the ways you try to drive traffic.

We talk to a lot of writers and information publishers and they always say they need to venture into paid ads…and are looking at advertising through Facebook…but they feel intimidated by the whole process.

Even though Ron is a master at that stuff…I certainly know how that feels.

As a writer, I just love to write content and grow my traffic organically. And sometimes I avoid doing stuff because it seems too technical and so I limit my ability to grow. I learned that’s a HUGE mistake because all that content I’ve created can be in front of more potential customers because I let myself get out of my comfort zone and learn something new.

Here’s one thing I’ve learned about ensuring success with Facebook Ads and it’s something that Ron himself taught me and that’s ENGAGEMENT.

If you’re frustrated with spending money on Facebook ads but not seeing much return (or you haven’t even tried yet), this is important stuff. Whether you need this information for your own business, to get more interest in your books or for the services you provide for your clients, this is critical.

Here are 3 important tips for Facebook engagement…

Facebook is all about the user experience. They make money by running ads, but the last thing they want to do is frustrate their users with the paid ads and make them want to leave…they would be losing business then.

Therefore, they love it when ads get a lot of good engagement because it shows that Facebook users really like the ad. To them, it’s a win-win situation, so they reward ads that have good engagement with a ton of inexpensive clicks and impressions.

To improve your engagement:

1. Ensure your ads are targeted to the right people. You can base your ads based on geographic location, advertising, age, interests, income, occupation and more. You can also target your own customers/subscribers or previous website visitors to get an even more likely response.

2. Post content your audience will be passionate about. You can use controversial topics, polls and other content designed to get a reaction from those who view your ad. Take a look at the ads in your own Facebook stream and see which ones are getting the most engagement.

3. Test your images. You might be surprised at how different images will perform in your ads. You can test the use of text that illustrate a benefit of your ad (ex. “Free Trial”), but do keep in mind that Facebook only allows 20% of your image to be text. If you’re showing people in your image, happy people tend to get more engagement, but you can certainly test this with your unique ad.

Those are just a few tips to get you started. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to set up a successful ad campaign and there is some trial and error involved, but luckily we have some Facebook Ad templates we’ve developed for you as well…and you can save 30% on these templates if you enter coupon code: FBADS

We’ve also got 27 Facebook ad examples and ideas for you. It’s a free to download guide you can get right here.