How to use the right ads to launch your book to bestseller
—without wasting time or money doing what doesn’t work
For most indie authors, ads are the hardest part of launching a book. But they don't have to be.
Discover how to get your book in front of thousands of people who are looking for books just like yours
Find out which services will give you the most impact from the smallest budget
See exactly how to set up the 5 specific ads you'll need to launch your book to bestseller (including a step-by-step checklist and video demos)
You’ll get all this and more inside the Bestseller Ads Masterclass.
You’ve spent all the time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears to write your book and get it ready to publish. Now it’s time to sell it.
Most authors make one of three mistakes when they get to this point:
They assume all they have to do is put the book on Amazon, and Amazon will make sure it sells. False! There are over 33 million books on Amazon. Amazon does promote some books—the ones that are already selling. That’s why you have to make the first move to get yours selling.
They waste all their time doing tons of high-effort, low-impact activities to sell their books, and never get anywhere.
They have no idea how to market a book. They get so overwhelmed by all the conflicting advice, they go into spin-lock and never market the book at all.
If you recognize yourself in any of these, don’t worry. I’ve done all three. My first book had a total of 15 downloads during its big launch—and it was free! I’ve spent hours dragging paperbacks to local stores and live events, only to make tens of dollars in sales. And I’ve procrastinated with the best of them. (My last book didn’t get launched until five years after publication!)
If you’ve made these mistakes, too, it’s not your fault. The fact is, selling a book requires a completely different set of skills than writing a book. After all the work of finishing and publishing the book, the project of launching and selling hits a lot of authors like discovering a family of rattlesnakes living in the walls of your house. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
It turns out that selling books isn’t magic, and you don’t have to be famous to do it. You just need to know what works, and do it.
For most authors, the hardest part of that is ads.
Do you need ads for your launch?
If so, which ones work?
How much should you spend?
How does it all work, and how do you set it up?
How can you make sure you get the most sales from your budget, without wasting money on stuff that doesn’t work?
When I started out as an indie author, I was convinced that advertising was a sucker’s bet—just a way to waste money.
My first attempts at advertising a book seemed to prove me right. I ran my first ads on Facebook and Goodreads, and they generated a total of zero sales.
It wasn’t until a few years later that I found out what I was doing wrong.
I wasn’t getting the book in front of the people who wanted to buy it.
Across the internet as a whole, 1 person out of every 100 people who visit a sales page will actually buy. That’s an average; some pages do better than that, and some do worse.
But assuming your book’s page on Amazon is average, that means you need to send 100 visitors to the page to get one sale. If your goal for your launch is to sell 500 books, you’ll need to send 50,000 visitors to your sales page.
But here’s what most people miss: Not all visitors are created equal.
If your book is about hunting and cooking the most delicious venison ever, and you send 50,000 vegans to your page, you can’t expect to make great sales. Even if you send 50,000 venison fans who never buy books to your page, you’ll still struggle to meet your goals.
But what if you could put your book in front of people who have specifically expressed an interest in books like yours, and asked to be notified when new ones come out? What if you could put it in front of people who were already shopping for other books on hunting or cooking venison?
Those people are already predisposed to want to buy your book. That makes it a lot easier to sell it to them.
The good news is, services exist to allow you to put your book in front of exactly those people. And they’re not very expensive.
For my first bestseller client, we spent less than $150 in ads, and his book hit the top 10 in 7 categories. For my last book, I spent about $450, and my book hit #1 in 8 different categories in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. When I taught 10 other people my process, their clients became bestsellers, too.
The process works. And I want to give it to you.
I’m tired of watching authors like you and me pour their hearts into writing the best book they possibly can, only to sell 17 copies and never be heard from again, while terrible books make millions, just because they had better marketing.
You’ve put in the time and effort to write a great book. You know it could touch readers’ lives and make the world a better place… if you could just get it into readers’ hands.
That’s why I created the Bestseller Ads Masterclass. It’s an on-demand video course that will show you how to set up the exact ads you need to launch your book to bestseller, without wasting money on ads that don’t work.
Inside, you’ll discover:
The best ads to launch your book to bestseller on a budget
How to know which services to use and how much money to spend
How to set up your ads and when to run them for greatest impact
At the end of this course, you’ll be ready to go into your book launch with confidence and make your book a bestseller.
And after years of flop launches, I can tell you: there’s no feeling like the exhilaration of watching your book climb the bestseller charts.
You feel powerful, on top of the world. You bask in your family and friends’ pride and excitement for you.
Most importantly, you get the gratification of knowing that all of your work is paying off—you created something great, and now it’s about to touch readers’ lives.
That’s what I want for you, and that’s why I created the Bestseller Ads Masterclass.
Here’s what you’ll get.
The Bestseller Launch Masterclass, delivered in video lessons with handouts and workbooks so you can apply it to your own book
Bonus: Full video demos, walking you through setting up ads on two of the most powerful ad platforms (and the only two that have enough of a setup process to need a demo)
Bonus: End-to-end video demo, where you can watch over my shoulder as I set launch goals and choose and ad budget for a real book
Bonus: Ad setup checklist, so you don’t have to remember all the steps or worry about missing anything
Bonus: Launch schedule cheat sheet, so you can easily visualize your whole launch and when the various ads will run
Total Value: $297
Yours today for only $97
When I launch a client’s book using this exact system, I charge $6,400.
And it’s worth it. Becoming a bestselling author is priceless. If you’re in business, even if it helps you win just one new client, it’s more than paid for itself. And that’s not counting the value of the visibility and authority that come with being a bestselling author.
If you write fiction, it’s harder to justify spending $6,400 up front on your book launch, but there’s no question that becoming a bestselling author would help you build your fan base and make it easier to sell all of your future books.
Either way, if someone had handed me this system back when I was starting out, I would have paid thousands—and it would have paid for itself many times over, between the impact on my career and all the time I would have saved. And now I’m giving this shortcut to you, boiled down into one short masterclass.
Who is this for?
The Bestseller Ads Masterclass is for you if:
You’ve written a great book and you want to get it into readers’ hands
You’d rather do six things that actually work, than feel important and busy by doing 50 things that don’t.
You’re ready to make a greater impact by reaching way more people than you could through your connections alone
You’re not best friends with Oprah
You’re an action-taker. You apply what you learn, and use it to create success.
…but it’s not for you if:
Your book isn’t any good
You’re dead broke and can’t spend any money to promote your book
You think advertising is dumb and have no intention of using it to promote your book
You just want the fastest way to make a quick buck
You let your excuses stop you from getting what you want, instead of finding resources and solutions
Wondering what kind of results we've had with this system?
My first bestseller client hit these bestseller rankings, despite no email list, no PR, no following, and no connections:
- #2 in Communication in Management
- #3 in Human Resources & Personnel (Management)
- #3 in Strategic Management
- #3 in Organizational Change
- #4 in Organizational Learning
- #6 in Mentoring & Coaching
- #7 in Human Resources & Personnel (Industry)
- #11 in Teams
My book had been sitting in Amazon’s graveyard for five years before I launched it. By following the same system you’ll learn in the Bestseller Launch Blueprint, I was able to hit:
- #1 in Digital Publishing (US)
- #1 in Electronic Publishing (US)
- #1 in Book Making & Binding (US)
- #2 in Nonfiction Writing Reference (US)
- #5 in Authorship (US)
- #1 in Education Research (US)
- #3 in Writing Skill Reference (US)
- #3 in Business Writing Skills (US)
- #2 in Language Communication (UK)
- #1 in Electronic Publishing (UK)
- #1 in Desktop Publishing (UK)
- #2 in Authorship (Australia)
- #1 in Computer Graphic Design (Australia)
- #2 in Authorship Reference (Australia)
- #1 Book Making & Binding (Canada)
- #4 in Writing Skills Writing Guides (Canada)
- #5 in Computer Business & Culture (Canada)
- #3 in Authorship (Canada)
My first book also camps at the top of its categories, week in and week out.
It’s not just my books or my clients’ books. In 2020, I hosted a certification program to train 10 people in this system. Their clients’ books also became bestsellers, including many #1s, tons of top-10 rankings, and a few international bestsellers.
Will your book get the same kind of results? On their own, most self-published books sells fewer than 100 copies. Most authors have no idea how to market their books, so they either take the “publish and pray” approach, or they spend tons of effort on things that don’t move the needle. The result is: their books don’t sell.
I can’t tell you how your book will do. But I can tell you that, if you follow this system and it doesn’t work, I’ll refund your money.
One-Year Full Results Guarantee
If you implement everything I show you in this program and your book does not become a bestseller on Amazon, I’ll give you 100% of your money back. I’m so confident, I’ll give you a whole year to try it.
What People are Saying
Great information for any level of writer. Knowing this before you publish your first book is essential and it will save you a lot of time, spare you of the frustrations of not knowing, and get you on the road to writing and publishing success right from the start.
Jason Moser
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
I bought your information. Actually, I had indie-published 4 #1 best sellers and I wanted to compare how I marketed them before and after publishing to what you did. Your information was spot on with what worked for me and had I read it earlier I would have saved a bunch of time and money for things that did NOT work. I've recommended it to many other authors.
LB Johnson
about Bestseller Launch Blueprint
Great Stuff
Course was terrific. Great information to use in the future. Thank you!
Beverly Jones-Durr
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
I'm blown away
I'm so glad I signed up for this course. I haven't even gotten halfway through yet, and I've already gotten a wealth of information! My book seems more possible than ever!!
Mercedes Bullock
about Author • Expert • Bestseller
I recommend this to anyone starting their publishing journey.
Mike Nemeth
about Bestseller Launch Blueprint
Tips to Launch Your Best Seller
I have accomplished some of the items in the course, but the amount of information was outstanding. I am armed with tips and suggestions to enhance the sale of my current books, and set the stage for the next one out the door. Great job!
James Kelly
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
Streamlined & Actionable! High-Quality Content!
I truly enjoyed this course and think that its worth every penny spent. The content has strong impact, with actionable, streamlined steps for accomplishing every Authorpreneur's goal: a growing audience with high conversions into buyers.
Lex Brown
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
Just bought and like what I'm reading. Finally a tangible, manageable and doable path. Now I've got to get to work!
Karla Kamstra
about Bestseller Launch Blueprint
Helpful Information
I was looking for someone to break down the steps to a book launch in simple, actionable terms. This course did exactly what I needed. I appreciate the timelines and templates. Worth the time and money!
Shannon Beets
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
Best Training
The best training I have taken thus far. It was very informative and inexpensive.
Thomas Wideman
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
I recommend this. She lays it out in steps. Very easy to follow and apply. Beginning work today
Randall Rittenberry
about Bestseller Launch Blueprint
Comprehensive, step-by-step plan
I was skeptical because so many courses simply don't deliver on the promised value. This is NOT one of those courses. This is a true, actionable, step-by-step guide to accomplishing a bestselling launch for your book. I'm so excited to get started!
Amy Burgess
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
Frequently Asked Questions
Meet Cara
Cara Stein is an idealist who has stopped trying to play it cool. She believes the only reason people don’t like business or marketing is that they don’t know how to do it well—yet. She's often praised for her no-bullshit style and her wry humor.
Cara has been helping people finish and publish their books since 2012. She’s guided over 200 books through the publishing process. She’s also the #1 international bestselling author of five books of her own, including How to be Happy (No Fairy Dust or Moonbeams Required), Getting Unstuck, and Finish and Publish: Write the Book You’ve Always Wanted to Write. Her peeves include chipmunks, fakery, and the word “peeve.”