#121: When Everything Is a Priority, Nothing Is

Read Time: 2.5 Minutes

I see it happen over and over again.

Authors spending $200 on Facebook Ads, $150 on Amazon Ads, $100 on BookBub Ads, and $50 on Instagram Boosted Posts.

All in one day.

Book sales? Zero (or a handful at best).

Here's the pattern I notice (and why most authors fall into this trap – and trust me, we've been there ourselves, so I'm speaking from first-hand experience when I say this).

They're chasing shiny objects instead of doubling down on what works.

Focus beats scattered effort every time.

And it's why I always tell authors to master one platform before moving to the next...

And why BookBub Ads Mastery For Authors (launching late October/early November) focuses on building real expertise in one of the most underutilized platforms for authors.

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The Spaghetti Strategy

Most authors approach advertising like they're throwing spaghetti at a wall.

A little Facebook Ads here. Some Amazon Ads over there.

Maybe TikTok because everyone's talking about it.

A sprinkle of newsletter swaps.

Oh, and some BookTok outreach because... why not?

It feels productive.

You're "diversifying."

You're "not putting all your eggs in one basket."

But here's the truth: You're bleeding money if nothing is working to its full potential.

The Real Problem

When you spread your budget across multiple platforms, you never give any single campaign enough fuel to reach profitability and momentum.

Think about it:

• $100/month on Facebook = Testing budget. You'll easily burn through this (and more) just learning the platform
• $100/month on Amazon = Same story. Not enough to find winners and scale them
• $100/month on BookBub = You guessed it. Dead in the water

But $300/month on ONE platform?

Now you're cooking.

You can test properly. Find what works. Scale the winners. Cut the losers.

You have enough data to make statistically significant decisions.

The Focus Framework

This is how I recommend approaching advertising to my clients:

Month 1-3:

→ Choose ONE advertising platform

→ Every dollar, every minute of attention goes here

→ Result: You find your winning ads and can easily scale from $10/day to $50+/day profitably

Month 4-6:

→ Add your second platform

→ Use profits from platform #1 to fund testing on platform #2

→ Result: Second profitable channel. Now you have backup when your primary platform has off days

Month 7+:

→ Add a third platform only when you have surplus budget and personal bandwidth.

→ Result: Multiple profitable channels working in harmony.

Your Next 90 Days

Pick ONE advertising platform. Just ONE.

Facebook Ads, Amazon Ads or BookBub Ads.

All three have massive audiences and proven systems.

If you're already profitable somewhere:

Great. Scale that ONE platform first.

Double down before chasing the next thing.

If one platform is break-even: Don't jump ship.

That's the danger zone where most authors quit right before breakthrough.

Optimize, test, persist.

The Hard Truth

I know this isn't exciting advice.

You want to hear about the latest AI tool or the secret TikTok hack.

But every six-figure author I know has one thing in common:

They found one profitable channel and got it running smoothly before adding another.

Focus isn't glamorous.

But it pays the bills and builds the business.

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful weekend.

See you next Saturday.

To Your Success
– Matt