Self-publishing makes you a writer, speaker, and publicist if you want readers. In an earlier blog article, I discussed Kindle Ads for books. Today we delve into Kindle Lockscreen Ads.
When starting a Kindle device, the screen shown when it wakes up is the Lockscreen. While apps for tablets and laptops do not have Lockscreens, 22 million Kindle devices were sold last year.
I tried a simple Lockscreen ad for Members of the Cast. The setup was a bit daunting because the minimum ad limit was $100. At that rate, I could only choose a bid of $1 per click but reasoned that if it started to cost too much, the ad could be paused. Like most KDP endeavors, my ad required clearance. Amazon doesn’t want questionable material to appear on their Kindle owner’s screen.
After two days, my ad began appearing. The blurb says, “Members of the Cast is a lovely story about the family you are born into and the family that grows around you.” (Thanks to Ernie Fink, of Twitter fame- @ErnieFink) It displays that the book has garnered 37 ratings.
I eagerly watched the statistics for my ad. Impressions began to tabulate, but Clicks did not. To date, 172 Kindle readers have “seen” my ad. I am OK with that, but there can be no purchase without a click. The result is no money spent—with no resulting book purchases. (I am selling books, but not with Lockscreen ads.)
I will let this ad run. It’s cheap enough so far, but the ad begs the question: is the cover not attracting clicks? Are my impressions leaving a bad impression? I love my book cover by Abigail Silver. (Twitter @SilverAbby84.) Are the words from Ernie’s review of Members of the Cast not catchy? I think Ernie encapsulated the theme of the book beautifully.
A writer must always acknowledge that their book is not what readers want. Another possibility is that people who turn on their Kindle pay no attention to the Lockscreen. The image may be annoying because what they want to do is read their current book. Reading time is too precious to wait for some chump’s ad to get out of the way!
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