Isn't it Ironic

[Demesnedenoir]

Okay, I've got the song in my head, so had to use the line. So, no arguing the semantics of irony, heh heh.

Anyhow, I just found this amusing. I'm running a Countdown deal on Amazon, but this only works in the US and UK, so I went over to Australia (which has done well for Eve of Snows over the past month) and dropped the price to $3.99 (the lowest Amazon will allow)...

AND!

Sales dropped off by about half. Granted, it's a small sample source, but it left me with a chuckle.

 

[Night Gardener]

Any data (demographics, view counts, search results) from Australia sales to offer an explanation why that happened? Isn't that just a black fly in your chardonnay? I'm nowhere near ready to publish on Amazon, but I find quirks like that interesting. (Call it r&d.)

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Amazon is waayy too opaque when you have KU. The clicks were there on FB ads... Could be a total fluke. The data sample is too small to make any judgment. It’s kind of like judging a FB ad too quick. They’ll give you some notice like: Your ad is running 25% cheaper to X demographic... yeah well, it’s a $5 per day ad, the sample size makes it pointless, but the kneejerk is to adjust. If you start taking a look at daily demgraphic movement, you’ll see wild shotgun patterns of who’s clicking at what rate, and of course we still have no damned idea which ones are buying. This will go for day-to-day ads as well. You can get some wild price per click fluctuations, and be convinced an ad is crap. And next day, it runs like wild fire.

Now, the bad part is when FB decides your ad should be expensive. I have a banner ad (with text! anathema to FB, apparently) and it was running this weekend at 12-15% CTR and costing more per click than ads running at 7%, because FB refused to bring down the cost per thousand. Dumb asses.

Canada is crazy with clicks and a lack of sales. I’m going to drop KU and go wide, and that will at help clear up some of the questions. Being so cold, do Canadians who read and buy on Amazon all have KU? LOL. Who knows.

I don’t think they really want us getting too much data, we’d be able to fine tune our ads too much and screw their profit margin. heh heh.

 

[Night Gardener]

Heaven forbid sellers could make informed decisions with transparent, full spectrum analytics!

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Well hey, Amazon can’t even keep their reviews straight... Eve has been sitting at 40 for a bout a week, today has 39, But if you count them, there’s still 40. Huh? And I won’t even go into Amazon somehow not paying me last month. That still hasn’t been sorted out.

 

[Night Gardener]

I'm still over here waiting for technology to make my life easier, more efficient and convenient.

That all sounds like a damn headache for sure.
I never here stories of Amazon and Kindle accidentally over-paying sellers either. I hope that all gets sorted out for you sooner than later.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I've gotten 2 emails in the last 10 days... no word on what the hell is going on. Sucks, because I just flip that money back into advertising and Amazon gets its cut again, and the audiobook will hit retail any hour now, so my ability to promote is diminished... I'll avoid the rant, LOL.