FB ad help

Is this your first book, or do you already have others out? I've heard it's generally tough to get pre-orders if you're self-pubbing and just getting started. So many authors out there that everyone gets lost in the shuffle.

Some people use subscription services like KU or Amazon free giveaway days to try out indie authors who are new to them. Once I find an indie author whose writing I really love, I'll pre-order or purchase their books in the future, but I probably wouldn't pre-order someone's book randomly based on an ad. Just being honest. I have no way to know if their writing style is going to work for me. Same goes for trade-pubbed authors.

Last year I experimented by running Facebook ads for one Goodreads giveaway, and doing nothing for the next. (Same book.) The Goodreads signup numbers were essentially equal.

I've found Facebook a nice place to keep in touch with people who are looking for me specifically, but not a useful platform for selling books. YMMV, of course.

Do you typically find new authors to read through clicking on Facebook ads? If not, how do you find new authors? Is the type of book you wrote the same type you like to read? How do you find other new authors who write books like yours (India romcom) when you want to purchase books?

I found my Facebook ads totally ineffective. After several hundred alleged clicks in the USA I received two likes from Facebook users in the middle east.

I am happy to pay for advertising if it drives visitors to my novel.

regards

Richard

Okay, I am not your targeted customer (I am Canadian, not American). I am not on Facebook, I don't like video ads. I am not big on rom-coms in general. So I can't help with 'Facebook advertising', but maybe I can help, in general.
I watched your Facebook ad, went to your Amazon listing, then checked that it was available on Amazon.ca Kindle.
I like humorous spy novels, something light, so I might consider a humorous spy story set in a different culture, in a foreign setting. I mean, Western spies are always going to foreign places, why not see what Indian spies are up to?

Not a fan of video ads. Books (or Kindle) are very different from videos. Your ad says very little. The book's blurb is not giving me a feel for the book. Maybe if you had a stock video of Mumbai streets with a pretty girl who might be your character? Something interesting, scene-setting perhaps? More movement than the jiggling cover you've currently got.

If you're making the effort to take out a Facebook ad, why not put a 'Look Inside' sample on your Amazon listing?
Let me get an idea of the humour. There are many different kinds, from wordplay, to slapstick, to observational humor. Give me an idea of your kind.
And, give me a sample of your writing. I kind of know you from AW, but if I'm a total stranger, seeing your book on Amazon, how do I know you can write, that you can write well, and that your subject and style appeal to me.
Also, I would suggest working on your blurb. The point form character description gives me little sense of the story.
And what you've got now has less description of your main character than anyone else. The target's description is almost perfect for a light spy novel.
BTW, is 'target' meant to be the same as 'suspect' in the threat's description,or a different person? It's confusing.
Also, if you're aiming for an American market that may not be familiar with Indian names, I'd emphasise that Seema is female. Maybe change 'child-pickpocket' to 'girl-pickpocket' (which seems a really useful background and skill for a spy ).

All-in-all,I like humorous spy novels, something light, so I might consider a humorous spy story set in a different culture, in a foreign setting. I mean, Western spies are always going to foreign places, why not see what Indian spies are up to?
And, Auntie sounds interesting - an interfering relative, looking after the spy's best interests (at least in Auntie's eyes) is not a normal feature of spy-fiction.