While it might be hard to believe, ‘tis the season when readers start craving books with snowy settings and holiday festivities — and a comforting escape from reality. According to Google Trends, Google searches for “Christmas books” each year in the US tend to pick up just after Halloween, spike again after Thanksgiving, and remain trending all the way until Christmas Day.
Running BookBub Ads campaigns is a great way to reach readers from now through December. To provide you with inspiration, we rounded up 19 examples of holiday-themed ad campaigns that drove hundreds of clicks from our members!
1. Christmas in Silver Springs by Brenda Novak
From the title to the tree and jingle bells on the cover, everything about this book says it’s a Christmas story. Using a blurb from another author is also a great strategy to drive ad clicks — 76% of BookBub readers have purchased a book because it was recommended by an author they like!
2. Holiday Fling by Nicole R. Locker
This ad for a romantic comedy audiobook features a snow-covered book cover and an enticing blurb. It also highlights the limited-time deal price on Chirp, which is a proven way to increase ad clicks and sales.
3. Cherishing Christmas Love Boxset by Callie Gardner, Rosalee Adams, and Montana Ross
This ad successfully packs a lot of elements into a small image, maximizing the space to target the right kind of reader: a family-centric cover appealing to fans of sweet historical western romance; an Amazon badge to signal where the book is available; and a stack of books to clearly promote the boxset to readers who are ready to devour an entire collection over the holidays.
4. Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh
There’s a lot for readers to get excited about here, from the $0.99 deal price to the five-star review to the on-the-nose book title — all beautifully eye-catching against a clean design and bold holiday-red.
5. A Quilt for Christmas: A Christmas Novella by Melody Carlson
This quote from Publishers Weekly paints an inviting picture of cuddling up to read this cozy Christmas story. Quotes from recognizable publications can increase engagement, and the call-to-action is a softer one to draw in readers who might want to learn more before buying.
6. How Snowball Stole Christmas by Kristen McKanagh
A whimsical review of this “heartwarming” series from Modern Cat Magazine certainly sets the tone for this sweet romantic comedy! Decorated with candy canes, pine cones, and other trademarks of Christmas, the ad uses images of the new release rather than words to convey that it’s also available in print.
7. Home Sweet Christmas by Susan Mallery
We love the play on words in the copy for this book full of feel-good Christmas spirit — and Christmas cookies! The author name and publisher logo, both known for romances, are prominent against a background that pulls from the cover to tie everything together.
8. Mistletoe Is Murder by Lissa Larsen
Cozy mystery readers couldn’t resist this festive holiday-themed ad. The straightforward copy, snowflake-spangled background, and low price made for a highly clickable image.
9. The Gatekeeper’s Bride by Eva Pohler
This ad for a supernatural YA book shows you don’t need to have a holiday-themed story in order to run holiday-themed ads! The ad promotes a limited-time free deal, and uses ribbons and a holly bough to evoke a festive mood.
10. Unwrapping the Names of Jesus by Asheritah Ciuciu
This ad copy speaks perfectly to its audience — hundreds of our Christian Nonfiction and Religion and Spirituality subscribers clicked on this ad for an Advent devotional. We love the graphic background and clean design!
11. Overprotective Cowboy by Elana Johnson
This cozy, snowy cabin pulled from the book cover of Overprotective Cowboy makes a perfect wintry background for this ad. The book’s title and the $0.99 deal price were enough to hook romance readers who wanted to curl up with a cowboy for Christmas.
12. Comfort Crossing Holiday Collection by Kay Correll
Between the copy and the image of a woman bundled up in warm knits with a mug of tea, this ad for a collection of Christmas stories does an excellent job evoking a relaxed mood. The free offer is an extra incentive for readers to click.
13. Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert
This ad for a Christmas romance about a bad-boy tattoo artist keeps things simple. The image of a sexy, tattooed hero and a reference to Mariah Carey’s classic Christmas song were all many romance readers needed to click and learn more!
14. Match Made in Wyoming by Patricia McLinn
The mistletoe in this audiobook ad hints at a winter romance, and the $0.99 limited-time deal is a fantastic offer for audiobook listeners.
15. Cozy Mystery Christmas Box Set by Addison Moore
Ads for free books usually drive lots of clicks, and this image was no exception! We love this charming and snowy scene.
16. Mr. Naughty List by Leta Blake
This ad used our in-form creative builder for the design, which is simple but can be very effective! The ad copy highlights the relationship trope in this Christmas romance, and the cover lets readers know they’re in for a steamy M/M holiday read.
17. A Texas Kind of Christmas by Jodi Thomas, Celia Bonaduce, and Rachael Miles
This ad copy clearly lays out the setting and time period of this Christmas collection, appealing to fans of western historical romance.
18. Of Spirits and Superstition by Nyx Halliwell
This ad for a cozy mystery promises holiday magic, and judging by the witch and snowflakes on the cover, we suspect it means that literally! The sparkles in the ad background subtly reinforce that theme.
19. The Viscount’s Capable Wife by Bree Wolf
A snowy English manor and a fur-lined cloak set the wintry mood in this ad image, but the copy “warm up for Christmas!” lets readers know they can expect the hero’s icy heart to melt — and a happily ever after — in this Regency romance.
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Click to tweet: Authors, will you be running any holiday-themed book ads? There are some great design examples here! 🎁 #WritingCommunity https://bit.ly/35O8ZMy
Click to tweet: Great design ideas here for anyone who will be running holiday-themed book marketing campaigns! #pubtip https://bit.ly/35O8ZMy
This post was updated with new examples on November 21, 2022.
