I admit, I get both a little excited and a little cringey when posting blatantly promo posts. I want to talk and tell you a story about something fantastic, then end with, oh by the way, the books are under three bucks today. Here’s the link.
But marketing and algorithms have other ideas.
And we don’t have time. It’s TODAY ONLY, hence the need big loud promo starbursts and BUY NOW buttons. I get it. As an email opener myself, the person emailing me has about one second of my attention before I move onto the next email. So, cringe as I do, I still need you to know that for today only, Kindle ebook versions of Paris Letters and Dear Paris are only $2.99 USD.
I get so excited when my publishers email me with this information.
Even though I’ll only get about fifty cents in royalties per copy today. Harsh but true. Why I like the promo, besides saving you some cash which is nice these days when everything is pricey. These promos triggers the algorithm to place my books higher in search results for the next few months. This helps even more than the fifty cents I’ll get if you purchase one of my books today.
It is a little sad that writing has become CONTENT and playing the ALGORITHM.
Algorithm is such a yucky word. Like phlegm or whom.
I think this is another reason playing with my typewriters has been a joy for me. I’ve been able to write as a writer writes and not to trick the algorithm to trend my titles.
However, today is the only day the algorithm might be helpful. So even if you don’t want the books, or because you have them already (thank you) or if you prefer the print versions (which are not on sale), clicking the link is helpful. It’s free and it’s helpful. While you’re there, feel free to click on the other books just to tickle the algorithm.
Also because of a secret life I’ve been living this year.
I’ve been creating books on Amazon. Loads of books. Loads of books that are easy to make and buy and use. Workbooks and planners and such. I haven’t told you about it. I want to tell you about it once I’ve cracked the code so you can do it, too, if you are so compelled. These titles are under various noms de plum because enough with the fame already. I’m trying to figure out how to win at the Amazon algorithm, and I’d rather do it silently, without the big JANICE MACLEOD banner all over everything. Plus, I’ve been failing here and there and it’s always nice to fail silently.
This is the art of testing.
When I was in advertising, we tested everything. We would put out two ads with slight differences. One would win. The next round, we would run that ad and test it against a new ad. One would win. And so on.
We tested everything.
The world is like a giant testing lab for an ad agency.
I bet you didn’t realize any of it when you sifted through your mail. But there it is. A society of guinea pigs, all of us, all the time, without even realizing it.
It felt like gamifying the job. Which ad will win this month? Which ad will win next month? Sometimes it was sad. We would test different ethnicities in photos and most of the time the ads with the white people would win. Then the next month, it was white vs white. And that is a sad truth. I hope the world gets better and sticks to their guns a little more with respect to change and kindness and skin tones.
Last week I ran a test with you. Did you know? Ew! Yes. I asked if you would prefer to read the whole post in an email or with a READ THE POST button to take you to the post. Most of you want to click through to the post. I prefer to read the whole post in the email, but hey, I’m clearly a bit old school… letters in the mail… typewriters for heaven sake! Getting with the times is a bit off brand for me.
However, the algorithm must be petted gently from time to time, so if you feel compelled to click through to the books Amazon, it might be good. I’m not sure yet. Testing, testing… is this thing on?