A while ago, I asked some of my fellow writers what they would love to know more about when it comes to digital marketing, and more specifically, how it pertains to authors wanting to sell more books. One question that I wasn’t sure about, despite working in the digital marketing space for a few years now, was the question about Google Ads and how much they would cost. I said I’d need a bit of time with that, then COVID happened, life became chaotic, etc.

But recently, during a meeting I had with John Daniels from The Lean Marketer, I found the answer.

Depending On Your Product, You May Not Like The Answer

I could give the usual answer (which is the rather disappointing phrase, “It depends”) since it’s accurate… but it’s also unfulfilling. Instead, I want to tell you what John told me. When I raised this question, John brought out this amazing spreadsheet he made and explained with clarity why Google Ads wouldn’t help me to sell my one book.

Do The Google Ads Math

There’s a simple equation that you need that will tell you how much you should be spending on paid advertising, such as Google Ads. If you are going to spend more money than you’ll get in, you will quickly run into some financial problems. Using the example of books, a writer such as myself with only one book on Amazon at £2.27 – here’s my shameless plug – will only see 70% per sale (£1.58). Amazon keeps their 30%, which I think is fair enough since they do deliver this service for free. 

Ideally, I would not want to spend more than 20% of my profit (£0.31) on paid advertising to get a sale. But then we didn’t even factor in conversion rate just yet. See, for Google Ads you pay per click. But not everyone who clicks on my ad will buy my book. Let’s say 1 out of every 10 people who click on my £0.31 ads will go ahead and click to buy the book. That means that I’ve spent £3.10 for 1 sale which would only get me £1.58. I would lose a whopping £1.52 on ads per sale, AND I use what would have been profit to pay for half of every 10 ads as well. I would pay for the rest out of my own pocket, thereby losing a lot of money. Not a sound business, if you ask me. 

Keep in mind that my math skills are a bit shaky. Let me know in the comments if something literally doesn’t add up. 😉

When Is Google Ads Viable?

Google Ads becomes a game changer for your business when your products don’t give you a tiny profit. John used an example of selling a book but having add-ons. The add-ons will pay for the ads. You can add the book to cart, but how about also adding an hour of virtual writing coaching valued at £15? And how about a signed bookmark from the author at £1? Of course, if you have a product that sells for a lot more than my 1 book, you’ll have better maths to play with and a much better chance of success with Google Ads.

Get in touch with John if you want to see whether or not you stand a better chance at Google Ads than I do. 

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