#083: Low Cost Facebook Ads Don't Always Work

Read Time: 1.5 Minutes

Testing Facebook Ads is fun for me.

Yes, I might sound a little nerdy saying that, but I love it.

And one of the recent tests I ran proved a theory I've had for a while now:

Cheap Facebook Ads aren't all they're cracked up to be and don't always result in lots of sales.

Last week, I re-ran some Facebook Ads for my wife, Lori's books, from 12 months ago that, back then, were getting £0.10 clicks.

This time around, they were getting £0.07 - £0.10 clicks.

Initially, I thought, "Great, we're on to something here."

But after just 1-2 days, when I was looking at Lori's overall performance (total royalties, total sales and total page reads), everything was down.

Even the bestseller ranks were dropping.

Despite the cost-per-clicks of below £0.10.

Despite the click-through rates of over 9%.

Despite all the social proof (1,000's of reactions, comments and shares) on the Ads .

Overall performance dropped by around 25%.

That's huge.

To prove my point even further:

When I tracked the conversion rates and cost-per-sale of these Ads with Amazon Attribution, the results were nothing to write home about:

– 1% - 1.5% conversion rates (my minimum target is 2%)

– £8 - £10 cost-per-sale (my target is £5)

And just in case I needed more proof:

When I turned these Ads off, overall performance of Lori's books started improving again (higher royalties, more sales and page reads, and improved bestseller ranks) within 1-2 days.

This is why I always, always, always look at the data in the Facebook Ads dashboard as secondary metrics.

My advice... never look at your advertising, on any platform, in isolation.

Always look at the big picture to see how your advertising, on any and all platforms, impacts your overall author business, for better or for worse.

That's how you make decisions.

Having tunnel vision with your advertising is how you destroy all chances of success as an author (however that looks for you).

I'm not saying that cheap Facebook Ads don't work. They can and they do.

But cheap clicks mean nothing without sales.

Cheap clicks are simply a vanity metric if they aren't turning into sales and ultimately, profit.

That's it for this week.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend.

To Your Success
– Matt