Smart Visibility with Paid Ads

In the last blog post, we talked about your Author Presence—your connection layer. If you missed that one, you can catch up on The Buzz any time.

Today, we’re moving into Row 3: Buzz Builders—the outward-facing strategies that help you show up in front of the right readers at the right time.

This is where visibility really starts to scale.

🐝What’s in Your Buzz Builder Layer?

• Paid Ads (Meta, Amazon, etc.)

• Permanent ARC Team building

• Newsletter swaps and author collaborations

• Strategic short-term pricing (free or 99¢ deals)

It’s not about making more noise. It’s about getting seen by the right readers. Visibility isn’t about volume—it’s about direction.

🐝 Let’s talk about paid ads.

If you’ve ever run a Facebook ad and thought, “Is this even working?”—you’re not alone. Ads can be powerful, but only if you use them to amplify a strong foundation, not replace it.

Here’s what paid ads can do:

• Build visibility with new readers who've never heard of you
• Support your email list growth
• Boost traffic to an optimized book page (with a strong title, cover, blurb, and reviews)

Here’s what they can’t do:

• Fix a weak book package
• Magically generate reviews or loyal fans
• Replace real engagement or author presence

If you're sending traffic to a leaky bucket, no ad strategy can patch it.

🐝 A quick word on ROI:

Ads aren’t always about instant profit—and that’s okay. Sometimes, especially if you’re promoting a standalone or a first-in-series, your return might look like more visibility, a growing email list, or building reader trust that leads to sales down the road.

The best long-term results often come when you have a backlist or a series to support your ads—but even without that, a smart ad strategy can help you show up consistently, get discovered by new readers, and start building momentum.

🐝 The budget question

You don’t need a massive ad budget to get started. For many authors, $5–10/day is a good testing ground. The key is to:

• Start small
• Track what works
• Tweak based on actual results (not vibes)

Some authors spend hundreds or thousands (and we work with them, too!)—but most start small, see what’s working, and scale from there. That’s the sweet spot.

🐝 Real talk: Paid ads work best when the rest of your Hive is ready.

I’ve seen it again and again: when an author’s book package is on point and their website or list is set up to catch traffic, ads work.

→ One client recently hit #1 on the Amazon Bestsellers List using strategic ads across multiple platforms. (Ads were one part of a multi-layered strategy, which included ARC and street teams, strong backlist support, and more)
→ Another author went from nearly zero to over 150k KU page reads per month within three months of launching—with Meta ads supporting a clear, smart funnel.

It’s not about chasing trends. It’s about using ads to amplify what’s already working.

🐝 The takeaway:

Paid ads aren’t a magic button—but when used well, they’re one of the most effective Buzz Builders in your Hive.

Next time, we’ll talk about Row 4: Superfan Systems—how to keep those new readers coming back for more.

And hey—if you're already running ads but not sure they're doing enough (or anything), we’d love to help you get more clarity.

👉 Check out our services here — or just send me an email at [email protected] and tell me what you’re currently running.