Figuring Out How to Create a Facebook Ad, This Week

Tulip time at our house
Photo by JQ Rose

Hello and welcome! Spring is in the air and while we are basking in the cool spring weather and enduring Mother Nature's tantrums, my thoughts and prayers are with those in other parts of the US who are enduring tornadoes and floods.

Figuring Out How to Create a Facebook Ad

Last week I tried something new and failed. But it was a good learning experience.

I decided to advertise on Facebook. My updated e-book for girls, Girls Succeed! is on sale for 99 cents through Wednesday. So I tried to "boost" a post on my J.Q. Rose Author page about the sale. I sweated over every detail--gender, age group, dollar amount to spend on the ad. Then I used my new book cover for the image. 

Girls Succeed! Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women
Inspiring and empowering girls.

The ad was rejected because I had too much text on the image. Say what? It's the book cover, for Pete's sake, and the ad is all about the book's special price. I shook my head in disbelief. 

FB has a "grid tool" to check to see if the image is too wordy, so I uploaded the file and discovered I had 64% text on the page--way beyond the maximum of 20% text. 

I opened my trusty canva.com to design a less wordy image for the ad. I tried five times before I finally caught on.

After the book cover, I pared down the words,
but it didn't pass because too much text covered the space.

So I decided to make the font smaller. But still too much coverage.

I finally decided to just put the words at the top instead of using space at the bottom. And it worked!  I have to keep the words, Girls Succeed, so close to the top because I can't lower the second line or it will be in another box on the grid and put me over the 20% text allowed. 

$$$$

My next hurdle was to decide how much to spend on the ad. FB is recommended for advertising because it has the ability to make choices on the targets or audience for the ad's message. One day costs $5.00, so I decided to be wild and crazy and spend $10. for two days, but when I put that amount in, it said I could get 3 days for $3.33 a day. Hmmm, does that mean I get fewer ads for $3.33 a day, but more days for my $10.? I don't know the answer to that question, but I'm sure somewhere in their support information I could find the answer. But at that point I was just too frustrated to continue or even think about wrestling with the process again. 

Have you noticed how they are paring down views on your author page when mentioning your books or blog posts? Yes, they want you to boost the post. And honestly, $5. is very reasonable. It just strikes me as odd how a picture of my tulips will get hundreds of views! 

Have you tried using Facebook to advertise? Please share your experience with FB. 

Feel free to include your FB page link in your comment so we can like it. Here's my link to my J.Q. Rose page http://facebook.com/jqroseauthor

This Week:

Wednesday, May 4--Join in The Insecure Writers Support Group blog hop. Visit  100's of writers' blogs for inspiration, fun and wise advice.

Romamce Readers Want to Know
Every Thursday on the J.Q. Rose blog

Thursday, May 5--Southern author Gail Brannan answers reader's questions. You're invited to come back and ask her about her writing process.

Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop: Blogging Etiquette

Welcome to  the Internet Writers Support Group (IWSG) blog hop.  .

What is IWSG? Founder of the  Insecure Writer’s Support Group and author Alex J Cavanaugh explains the group's purpose is "to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!" You're invited to become a member of this supportive group.

The group blogs the first Wednesday of every month.  The list of bloggers is always available so you can hop around to the author blogs filled with humor, advice, and thought-provoking topics on writing and publishing. You can find the list of participants at Alex's IWSG page. 

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Hello and welcome to the J.Q. Rose blog. I'm J. (Janet or Jan) Q. Rose.

Yes, this is a rendition of J.Q. Rose from my friend Miss Mae.
This drawing does resemble me quite a bit!!

Last month I co-hosted the IWSG event. I'll admit I was a bit nervous about doing it. But I discovered instead of being insecure about hosting, I was exhilarated by purposefully visiting over 70 bloggers. My head swam with all the amazing, brilliant, funny, talented, wise people who participated on this blog hop. 

Kudos to you all for being insecure! Hmm...that didn't come out exactly right. But if we didn't air our insecurities during this monthly  event, then there would be no need for the IWSG. So thanks for sharing your insecurities and thanks to those who are here to support us all and lift us up with their assurance and advice.

I appreciate Alex and all the co-hosters who keep these insecurities alive. Oh wait, that didn't come out right either.  Just plain thank you for all the folks behind the scenes and the many bloggers who allow us space to come together as a community every first Wednesday of the month.

I'm looking forward to visiting with you here and on your blogs. 

Questions for you.
 Photo by Master isolated images
Courtesy of freedigitaldownloads.net

Blogging Etiquette by J.Q. Rose

I have a question for you about blogging etiquette. When I leave a comment, is it wrong to leave my # on the list or to leave my website addy? I ask this because I must admit I didn't get to visit some of the folks who left their comments on my blog because I couldn't find their blogs. 

When I clicked on the commenter's name, sometimes I would find their google profile with their blogs listed. At other times, the G+ page came up and no blog information. 

As far as I'm concerned, if you leave a comment below, you're welcome to leave your blog address so I can find you. I appreciate you taking time to visit my blog and I would like to return your kindness.

What do you think? Is it wrong to leave my # on the list or to leave my website addy when I comment on blogs? Thank you.

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Romance Readers Want to Know Thursdays on the J.Q. Rose Blog

Come back on Thursday, February 4 when author Nancy Bell kicks off the new series, Romance Readers Want to Know. She answers her readers' questions and is generously offering her e-book as a prize to a lucky commenter.


Visit Books We Love for 99 cent reads Valentine event.
Books We Love

Sharing a little love with my readers by offering my latest mystery,  Deadly Undertaking, for 99 cents this month. Visit my publisher, Books We Love, to discover a wide variety of full-length novels for 99 cents.

Deadly Undertaking Buy Links::

Amazon US  http://amzn.to/20kKUmN

Amazon CA http://amzn.to/1nFVuH4

Amazon UK http://amzn.to/1nrEx3v

Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/1H72tvV

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/deadly-undertaking