Today marks the end of the first official, full workweek of 2022. That being Monday through Friday. And I can say that things are flowing relatively well in my world. How are things shaping up for yours?
I know it's kind of early to tell how your year is going to unfold after just one week. But the dork in me has a spreadsheet that will accurately estimate how many words I'll write, how much time I spend on making YouTube videos, and how much time I spend on client work throughout the entire year.
So, I can safely say that 2022 is already moving ahead smoothly. I just need to keep it up for the next 51 weeks.
Amazon Lockscreen Ads a No-Go
One of the things I tried to do this week was launch an ad campaign using Amazon's lockscreen ads for Kindle and Fire devices. Unfortunately, my book violated their guidelines for that particular advertisement.
Essentially, since my book deals with a lot of sad life events, it's not "suitable for all audiences." Even though the book itself is more about hope and never giving up.
It's all good, though. There are plenty of ways to market a book online. The hard part is coming up with the money to do so. Right now, I don't have a lot of disposable income to dump into marketing.
However, I am excited to see what platforms perform the best for generating sales. I plan on showing you how to do ads on Facebook, Google, and possibly even Twitter. So, there is a lot of marketing content on the horizon.
A Freelancer's Tale Ad Campaign Starts Tomorrow
Speaking of marketing, even though I can't use lockscreen ads, I can set up Sponsored Products on Amazon. This part was relatively easy, but I think it's going to come down to trial and error.
This time around, I've invested $100 for a 30-day ad campaign. That's really all I have the money for at the moment. The purpose is to see if ad campaigns make any kind of dent in the sales of a book of this nature.
To be honest, I'm not expecting a lot of sales for A Freelancer's Tale. I'm just not popular enough when it comes to autobiographies. However, I am learning a lot from the experience, which is why I wrote this book in the first place.
At any rate, the video of setting up this campaign is scheduled to publish in a few hours. Then, I'll do a follow-up video after the 30-day campaign so we can all see the results. Though, I have no doubt I'll have to change up my tactics a bit if I truly want ads to work in my best interest.
Out of the $100 investment, I need to sell at least 29 books to break even.
Exceptionally Excited for My Next Book
My next book is a fantasy/gothic horror novel. It was a project I started for NaNoWriMo last November, and so far, it's easily becoming one of my favorite works yet. This is saying something considering how much I love "VII," even though I need to clean it up.
The goal was to have it written by February, though I'm not sure that's going to happen. I am only a third of the way through the estimated 120,000 words. But if I keep up the progress I've had for the year, it won't be long until Kingmaker is added to my list of books under my Amazon author page.
Remember, the goal is to self-publish at least three books this year. That is still the goal, and according to my spreadsheet, still within my grasp.
Priority Mail Boxes Are Coming!
For the Buy Me a Coffee monthly members, I finally have priority mail boxes coming in. Between the snow here in Denver and my lack of time during the day, I just wasn't able to get out to the post office. With Sam and my daughters being out with COVID, I've been flying solo all week. So, I just ordered them instead...because USPS will ship you priority boxes for free.
I should have done that when I received my own copy of the book back in December.
Anyway, they should be in today and I'll be autographing your copies of A Freelancer's Tale this weekend. Hopefully, you guys will get your books before Tuesday or Wednesday.
Looking Good for the Year
I can safely say, "So far, so good." I have been motivated to make 2022 my best year yet and have taken the first steps to make it happen. Hopefully, your first week was just as productive for your goals.
Because that's probably the vast majority of any kind of success: mindset. Being confident and feeling positive about where you're going just makes things so much easier to accomplish. It's all about making the decision to achieve what you want in life and then keeping yourself moving forward.
Now, I'm not saying that confidence and positivity are going to guarantee success in whatever you seek. However, these two elements exceedingly improve your chances overall.
Keep your momentum going forward and make 2022 the best year yet.