Are you SMART?

Advertising can feel overwhelming for authors with so many platforms, budgets and targeting options to choose from. It is so easy to spend money and yet not see much return on your investment.

This is where the SMART process can help you: a simple and structured method designed to plan precise advertising campaigns and measure what works.

SMART is used by businesses across the globe and not just by writers, but it can be very useful to you as an author if you are planning to run an ad on platforms like Amazon, Facebook or Instagram.

It can turn the vague hope of “I want more readers” or “I want to sell more books” into a clear, actionable goal.

SMART stands for:

·       S – Specific

·       M – Measurable

·       A – Achievable

·       R – Relevant

·       T – Time‑bound

Each part helps you shape a goal that is realistic and trackable and aligns with your long-term needs.

S — Specific

Know exactly what you want your ad to do

“Sell more books” is too broad.

“Grow my audience” is too vague.

A specific goal looks like one of these:

• A) “Increase sales of Book One throughout July.”

• B) “Grow my newsletter list with more subscribers.”

• C) “Reach out to new readers in my genre and encourage them to my site.”

Being specific can help you choose the right platform to advertise on, the demographic you should target, and the type of platform that they will engage with the best.

M — Measurable

Choose numbers you can track

If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it, so here are examples of some measurable advertising goals:

·     A)  “Sales of Book One to increase by 15% from last month’s figures

·     B) “Achieve 20 new email sign‑ups in July.”

·     C) “Increase website page views by 30% from last month.”

Your advertising platform will provide detailed analytics, as does your website and KDP dashboard. Use this data to monitor changes and success.

A — Achievable

Set goals you can realistically reach

Ambition is good, but unrealistic goals lead to frustration. To make your goal achievable, you should consider:

·       A) Your budget – how many days can you afford to run the ad for? What daily budget can you set?

·       B)Your current audience size – If you have 110 sign-ups already, is it more realistic to settle for 120 by the end of the campaign rather than hope for (and fail to get) 150?

·       C) Your genre – will you really be able to attract 50 new followers if you write in a niche genre?

Achievable goals keep you motivated and focused, and avoid inevitable failure before you even begin.

R — Relevant

Make sure your goal supports your author career

Your advertising should always connect to your wider strategy. Relevant goals might include:

·       A) promoting Book One because you are trying to build a series

·       B) Where are you in your career? Would it be better to grow your newsletter organically first before you advertise, so that prospective sign-ups will have a backlist to view first?

·       C) What are the tropes of your genre that you want to stay true to? Build on these rather than try to replicate what someone else does.

Irrelevant goals waste time and money and eat away at your self-belief.

T — Time‑bound

Give your goal a clear deadline

A time‑bound goal creates urgency and structure.

Some examples:

·       A) “Run ads for 14 days from 01 to 14 July.”

·       B) “Increase my newsletter list by 14 subscribers by 31 July.”

·       C) “Use three different images in my ad for the first 7 days, then focus on the most popular one for the final week.

Deadlines help you evaluate results and decide what to adjust.

Understanding the results

At the end of your campaign, you will be able to see from your results what worked and what did not. Use this information to inform your decisions for next time.

For example,

• If you did not have many clicks on your ad, then your visuals or message were not appealing enough.

• If you had clicks on your landing page but very few sales/ calls to action, then try to understand what put them off. Was it the loading speed, the cost, or that the product did not live up to the expectations of the ad?

  
  

• If one image was more popular for clicks than the others, why was that? How can you build on this for your next campaign?

  
  

• If you got the results you were hoping for or exceeded your expectations, then give yourself a pat on the back. Next time, you can be even more ambitious.

Why SMART matters for authors

The SMART process helps you:

·       avoid vague advertising

·       stop wasting money

·       understand what works

·       build confidence with ads

·       make data‑driven decisions

·       grow your readership steadily

It turns advertising from guesswork into strategy.