Episode 278 - The Perks and Pitfalls of Facebook Ads with Malorie Cooper
11 March 2025
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Malorie Cooper discusses THE PERKS AND PITFALLS OF FACEBOOK ADS, including the significance of high-contrast images and textual elements in ad creatives, the benefits and drawbacks of Facebook's automated targeting suggestions, and the latest updates in Facebook's targeting mechanisms that can affect ad performance. Mal emphasizes the need for authors to diversify their advertising efforts, touching on the importance of also experimenting with platforms like Amazon Ads and BookBub for broader marketing success.
Malorie Cooper has been teaching authors how to run Facebook ads for over 7 years. Nothing makes her day more than knowing what she does helps to elevate authors' careers.
Malorie Cooper has been teaching authors how to run Facebook ads for over 7 years. Nothing makes her day more than knowing what she does helps to elevate authors' careers.
Episode Links
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Summary
Matty Dalrymple talks with Malorie Cooper about the intricacies of using Facebook ads as a promotional tool for authors. With extensive experience in teaching authors how to leverage Facebook ads, Malorie offers valuable insights into navigating this ever-evolving platform. The discussion covers the challenges and strategies associated with Facebook advertising, the importance of creative content, targeting, and how authors can diversify their advertising approach across multiple platforms.
Introduction to Facebook Ad Challenges
Matty kicks off the conversation by sharing personal challenges faced when running Facebook ads around 2020-2021. Malorie acknowledges these challenges due to frequent and sometimes significant changes Facebook makes to their ad platform. Such changes can disproportionately affect different genres or marketing strategies.
Malorie points out that Facebook has made several substantial changes annually, affecting some authors more than others. She mentions the impact of genre targeting and how certain techniques for targeting readers may have become less effective due to algorithm updates or changes in Facebook's ad delivery priorities.
Understanding Facebook's Algorithmic Changes
When discussing algorithmic changes, Malorie highlights that while Facebook occasionally releases information about upcoming changes, they rarely offer details sufficient for precise prediction of performance shifts. Authors often rely on self-assessment and anecdotal observation to gauge the effectiveness of their ads.
Matty and Malorie also explore the impact of legal requirements, such as changes following the iOS security updates and compliance with the FTC and COPPA laws, which influence how and where ads can be placed effectively.
Diversifying Advertising Efforts
Malorie advises authors against putting all advertising efforts into Facebook alone. She emphasizes that multi-platform strategies ensure visibility even if a significant platform change occurs. Facebook ads should be part of a broader promotional strategy that might include Amazon ads, BookBub ads, or other platforms like Pinterest and YouTube.
She suggests that while Facebook offers broad reach, its audience is not specifically looking for books, unlike Amazon and BookBub, where the audience is more inclined towards book purchasing. Thus, spread-out advertising efforts can hedge against platform-specific issues and ensure steady reader engagement.
Creating Effective Ad Creative
Effective ad creative is paramount, as Malorie outlines several best practices. She advises ensuring images are high contrast for visibility and legibility, even in grayscale, to check color contrast and accessibility for colorblind viewers. Text is now crucial in creative due to people's expectations from TikTok and reels, providing context promptly.
Additionally, she warns that Facebook's AI might ignore initial targeting instructions; hence, it's essential to visually and contextually signal the ad's purpose—such as including a book cover to confirm it’s an ad for a book.
Optimizing Targeting Techniques
Exploring targeting in more detail, Malorie discusses how Facebook's implementation of Advantage Plus Detailed Targeting can override manual selections, showing ads to unintended audiences.
Despite AI-assisted targeting, manual interest-based targeting tends to outperform Facebook's broader strategies. Malorie suggests testing broad targeting first and then narrowing it down to optimize ad performance.
Analysis and Realistic Expectations
Malorie highlights the importance of analyzing the performance of ads by using tools like Amazon attribution links, acknowledging that attribution data isn’t foolproof but offers a relative comparison. She gives practical metrics: aiming for at least ten pages read per click for KU books and one sale every 50 clicks for non-KU books.
For newcomers to Facebook ads, Malorie advises setting aside a budget and patience to allow for a learning curve that could span a few months, emphasizing the value of test-driven adjustments.
Conclusion: Broader Advertising Strategy and Commitment
In conclusion, while Facebook ads are not the easy wins they once were, they remain a critical component of a well-considered advertising strategy. Malorie encourages authors to bravely navigate the complexities of ad creative, targeting, and platform changes to drive their book marketing efforts effectively. Investing time and resources into such ad campaigns, with a willingness to adapt, can yield significant returns over time.
Introduction to Facebook Ad Challenges
Matty kicks off the conversation by sharing personal challenges faced when running Facebook ads around 2020-2021. Malorie acknowledges these challenges due to frequent and sometimes significant changes Facebook makes to their ad platform. Such changes can disproportionately affect different genres or marketing strategies.
Malorie points out that Facebook has made several substantial changes annually, affecting some authors more than others. She mentions the impact of genre targeting and how certain techniques for targeting readers may have become less effective due to algorithm updates or changes in Facebook's ad delivery priorities.
Understanding Facebook's Algorithmic Changes
When discussing algorithmic changes, Malorie highlights that while Facebook occasionally releases information about upcoming changes, they rarely offer details sufficient for precise prediction of performance shifts. Authors often rely on self-assessment and anecdotal observation to gauge the effectiveness of their ads.
Matty and Malorie also explore the impact of legal requirements, such as changes following the iOS security updates and compliance with the FTC and COPPA laws, which influence how and where ads can be placed effectively.
Diversifying Advertising Efforts
Malorie advises authors against putting all advertising efforts into Facebook alone. She emphasizes that multi-platform strategies ensure visibility even if a significant platform change occurs. Facebook ads should be part of a broader promotional strategy that might include Amazon ads, BookBub ads, or other platforms like Pinterest and YouTube.
She suggests that while Facebook offers broad reach, its audience is not specifically looking for books, unlike Amazon and BookBub, where the audience is more inclined towards book purchasing. Thus, spread-out advertising efforts can hedge against platform-specific issues and ensure steady reader engagement.
Creating Effective Ad Creative
Effective ad creative is paramount, as Malorie outlines several best practices. She advises ensuring images are high contrast for visibility and legibility, even in grayscale, to check color contrast and accessibility for colorblind viewers. Text is now crucial in creative due to people's expectations from TikTok and reels, providing context promptly.
Additionally, she warns that Facebook's AI might ignore initial targeting instructions; hence, it's essential to visually and contextually signal the ad's purpose—such as including a book cover to confirm it’s an ad for a book.
Optimizing Targeting Techniques
Exploring targeting in more detail, Malorie discusses how Facebook's implementation of Advantage Plus Detailed Targeting can override manual selections, showing ads to unintended audiences.
Despite AI-assisted targeting, manual interest-based targeting tends to outperform Facebook's broader strategies. Malorie suggests testing broad targeting first and then narrowing it down to optimize ad performance.
Analysis and Realistic Expectations
Malorie highlights the importance of analyzing the performance of ads by using tools like Amazon attribution links, acknowledging that attribution data isn’t foolproof but offers a relative comparison. She gives practical metrics: aiming for at least ten pages read per click for KU books and one sale every 50 clicks for non-KU books.
For newcomers to Facebook ads, Malorie advises setting aside a budget and patience to allow for a learning curve that could span a few months, emphasizing the value of test-driven adjustments.
Conclusion: Broader Advertising Strategy and Commitment
In conclusion, while Facebook ads are not the easy wins they once were, they remain a critical component of a well-considered advertising strategy. Malorie encourages authors to bravely navigate the complexities of ad creative, targeting, and platform changes to drive their book marketing efforts effectively. Investing time and resources into such ad campaigns, with a willingness to adapt, can yield significant returns over time.
