• Bestseller Brief
  • Posts
  • Bestseller Brief Newsletter | 🧠 Outthink Last Click Attribution

Bestseller Brief Newsletter | 🧠 Outthink Last Click Attribution

Plus, NYT bestseller trends signal new genre opportunities for publishers.

Author

Sophie Bruxner-Randall
April 09, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 31 minutes

Heads up! To ensure you continue receiving our newsletters, please add [email protected] to your contact list!

Welcome to Bestseller Brief, your essential newsletter for book, publishing and media professionals.

Editor’s Pick 🌟

Curious to know the optimal way to allocate your Google Ads budget? Fospha’s latest analysis of top performers reveals key insights into balancing Performance Max (PMAX) and Paid Search:

🥇 How Top-Performers Do It: For the highest-performing 25% of brands, a strategic allocation of around 55% of total Google budget to Performance Max and 12% to Paid Search appears to be the sweet spot for driving results.

🏢 Size Matters: Note, this optimal allocation does vary slightly between different brand sizes. Top-performing small brands were found to have a 52% PMAX / 15% Paid Search split, while top-performing large brands allocated more to PMAX, with a 59% PMAX / 9% Paid Search split.

Why? Consumer goods adopt search-heavy strategies because their products often address specific functional needs that consumers actively search to solve. Fashion brands, by contrast, primarily sell products through visual storytelling and emotional appeal, better suited to other Google ads formats including PMAX.

Unlock the full potential of your Google Ads budget! Fospha’s new Performance Max and Paid Search Playbook is your guide to cultivating cross-channel synergies, reducing wasted ad spend, and maximizing blended performance.

Sector Spotlight 🎥

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

This curated roundup of top critic- and editor-approved reads serves more than just literary inspiration—it’s a strategic resource for marketers. Featuring titles with proven audience resonance, these selections reflect emerging consumer interests and buying behaviors across fiction, non-fiction, and genre categories. For eCommerce and performance marketers in publishing, aligning campaigns with trending titles can boost CTRs, engagement, and conversion rates. By integrating these high-interest reads into ad creative, influencer content, and merchandising strategies, brands can ride the wave of organic momentum to maximize ROI and enhance audience targeting precision.

LITERARY RECOMMENDATIONS

Jennifer Weiner’s April 2025 reading recommendations—featuring titles like Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister and The Friend by Sigrid Nunez—present valuable cues for marketers. Her curated list highlights themes of emotional depth, suspense, and literary credibility that resonate with modern audiences. These selections spotlight the types of narratives that drive engagement, making them ideal candidates for feature placements, influencer partnerships, and content marketing. Leveraging trusted voices like Weiner’s can enhance discoverability, while aligning campaign tone with these narrative elements can boost storytelling impact across digital channels.

BESTSELLING TITLES

The New York Times Best Sellers list for April 6, 2025, provides an authoritative insight into current book market trends in the U.S. Highlighting top titles across genres, it serves as a strategic tool for marketers seeking to align promotional efforts with consumer interests and sales patterns. The list also offers profound value for identifying influential literary works shaping current cultural and intellectual landscapes.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS

Bradley Hawkins' "Unshakable Life" tops bestseller lists, offering readers strategies to transition from survival to abundance by aligning with divine purpose. The book explores discerning divine will, maintaining faith, and applying biblical wealth principles, essential for marketers seeking deeper purpose in brand narratives. Hawkins' blend of entrepreneurship and spirituality provides actionable insights into overcoming challenges.

PUBLISHING HIGHLIGHTS

Unity Books highlights New Zealand's literary scene with its bestseller chart featuring notable titles, underscoring the dynamic and diverse publishing landscape. The chart offers invaluable insights into consumer preferences and emerging trends, presenting opportunities for marketing professionals to align promotional strategies with contemporary reader interests. This tool is essential for understanding market dynamics and enhancing engagements with book-related content.

BOOK MARKET TRENDS

Graydon Carter's memoir "When the Going Was Good" enters the Canadian bestseller list, reflecting nostalgia for the vibrant magazine era—a valuable insight for marketers about storytelling's lasting appeal. Meanwhile, Mark Carney's "Values" tops the list, underscoring the importance of aligning with societal values—a critical strategy for market positioning. Both highlight how narrative and values can influence market trends.

BOOK-TO-FILM ADAPTATIONS

Colleen Hoover's transition into cinema is gaining momentum, with four of her novels, including "It Ends with Us," adapted or in progress. This marks a significant opportunity for marketers in the film and publishing industries, leveraging Hoover's strong audience engagement and cross-platform potential. The adaptations promise to enrich her brand and expand her influence, attracting marketing professionals focused on strategic cross-media audience targeting.

Influencer Corner 📣

In our Shoptalk 2025 wrap up with ClickZ.com, one thing was clear | Lee Arthur

This industry is operating in a new reality. From full-funnel AI to omnichannel orchestration, the conversations weren’t speculative,they were tactical.

Here are the biggest shifts we heard on the ground:

🔹 AI is everywhere
“AI isn’t a concept -it’s a capability,” summed up by voices across the floor. From text-to-buy to media measurement, brands are moving from testing to scaling.

🔹 Omnichannel is baseline
“Omnichannel isn’t a trend - it’s the new baseline,” said Sam Carter, CEO at Fospha. The new standard is unified journeys online and off.

Optimization Hub ⚙️

BUSINESS MEASUREMENT FRAMEWORK

Breaking organizational silos is essential for building effective measurement frameworks, ensuring data-driven insights drive marketing success. By involving all stakeholders and focusing on real-world applications, businesses can align metrics with strategic objectives. Tailored frameworks improve communication and performance across departments, essential for today's competitive landscape.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Instagram's new monthly recap feature provides creators with valuable insights into their content performance, including total views, follower engagement, and specific audience activity times. This feature aids marketers by offering actionable tips to enhance content strategy based on the unique behaviors of their audiences, fostering a more tailored approach to growth and engagement.

ECOMMERCE OPTIMIZATION

Adjusting the Google Ads bid strategy, specifically the Target ROAS, can enhance Shopping Ads revenue without reducing profitability for eCommerce businesses. Use Impression Share and Search Lost IS metrics to identify and rectify revenue loss. Gradual budget and ROAS adjustments ensure consistent performance improvement.

📲 Like what you’re seeing?

Get real-time insights from top industry events, expert takes, and behind-the-scenes content. Follow ClickZ on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for your daily dose of marketing intel.

ClickZ is a Contentive publication in the DTC eCommerce division