#MKTG – Part 9 – Amazon Ads

/ Jan Sikes

Hello, SE’ers. Happy Holidays!

I’m sorry to tackle such a heavy subject so close to the holidays. I promise I’m only going to skim the surface today. It will take more than one post to explore how to effectively place an Amazon Ad.

Created in Canva by Jan Sikes

Yes. That picture was me after three days of slogging through Dave Chesson’s course on Amazon Ads. Let me just preface this post by saying there is nothing easy about setting up an Amazon Ad. And, before you consider it, I do highly suggest you explore the course modules. Otherwise, you will be totally lost.

When I began this marketing series, I promised to experiment with every platform I blog about, so that includes Amazon Ads.

First and foremost, where do you go to set up an ad? To promote a book, or run a book deal, we all know to go to our KDP page and move forward from there. But for Amazon Ads, you go to an entirely different website, https://advertising.amazon.com/. You log in to your Amazon account from there to get started.

Once you click the Register button and log in, you are prompted to choose a country.

Next are two options: Advertising Console and Advertising DSP Console.

You want to choose Advertising Console. You will need to click on the “New to Amazon Advertising – Create an account.” You will choose ‘Sponsored Products.’ Then connect to your KDP account.

From there, you are directed to a page entitled “Campaigns.”

This is where you will set up your ad.

However, before you even get to this point, Mr. Chesson highly recommends that you have 200 – 300 keywords saved in an excel spreadsheet. As I moved through the process I found out why. The more you can target, the better chance of your ad being seen.

I know, and I heard you gasp. 200 – 300 keywords? That process alone was extremely time-consuming and I’ll be honest, I wound up purchasing lifetime access to Publisher Rocket to gather this list. This is not something everyone will be willing to invest in. For me, it was a no-brainer, if I was going to do this effectively.

This is what Publisher Rocket looks like. As you can see there are a lot of tools to help indie authors!

Okay, so you have your keywords and are ready to set up a campaign. You will need to name it. Mr. Chesson suggests you name it the title of your book and perhaps a date or something else to help identify it later.

Choose a start date. He recommends no end date, but that is entirely up to you.

Set your daily budget. How much are you willing to spend per day to advertise your book?

Next is targeting. You will want to choose manual targeting. And this is where you get to import that massive list of keywords you have saved on your excel spreadsheet. You are allowed to have up to 1,000 keywords. Even if you don’t want to invest in Publisher Rocket, I do recommend you watch this section of Mr. Chesson’s course to get some idea of how to come up with the list.

Once you have the targeting list completed, you move to your campaign-building strategy.

  • Dynamic Bids Down
  • Dynamic Bids Up & Down
  • Fixed Bids

Choose the middle option — Dynamic Bids Up & Down.

This is where you set the amount you want to bid for each click. I started off bidding .21 cents. For some reason, he recommends you choose an odd number, not even like 50 cents.

Next, create your ad. This is where you want your text to sell your book, so be creative.

When you’re satisfied with the ad, hit “Launch Campaign.” Amazon will let you know when it is approved.

That was a lot of information to take in, and believe me, I barely scratched the surface.

I built a campaign for Mountain Laurel Christmas on Dec. 10th. I got over 10,000 impressions right away, but no clicks. That told me my ad was not effective. So I created a second one on the 16th and paused the first one. Again, I got lots of impressions, but no clicks. I revisited Dave Chesson’s lesson module to see what I could tweak and wound up rewriting the book blurb. Will that help? Time will tell.

As of this posting, I’ve had over 22,000 impressions, but zero clicks. And, I’ve spent $1.71. I will give it a few days to see if changing the book blurb helps. I also take into consideration this is Christmas week. If I don’t see any clicks in the next two days, I will pause the ad until after Christmas day.

Like I said, there is a lot more I need to cover in my next post, specifically about keywords and targeting.

I hope your head isn’t spinning too much.

This is my last Story Empire post for 2021 and I want to express my appreciation to my fellow SE members as well as all of our followers who share, comment, and support our posts!

In case you missed any of the previous book marketing posts, here you go:

#MKTG Part 1 – OVERVIEW – BOOK MARKETING OPTIONS

#MKTG Part 2 – FACEBOOK ADS AND PASSION PAGES

#MKTG Part 3 – FACEBOOK ADS DETAILS

#MKTG Part 4 – TWITTER ADS

#MKTG Part 5 – INSTAGRAM

#MKTG Part 6 – PINTEREST

#MKTG Part 7 – IN-PERSON EVENTS

#MKTG Part 8 – GOODREADS

52 thoughts on “#MKTG – Part 9 – Amazon Ads”

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  11. Pingback: #MKTG – Part 10 – More on Amazon Ads | Story Empire

  14. These are great tips and advice, Jan. I’ve used the Amazon Ads in the past, for my books and for other FIG authors. Never really saw results. But perhaps I’ll approach it differently in the near future. Thank you for sharing.

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  15. Jan, this is a terrific help and I’m truly grateful to you for going to all this trouble and then sharing the process so clearly. This has been bookmarked! (I loved Mountain Laurel Christmas, by the way, and have posted on Goodreads as Alex and on Amazon UK as MacTrish.) Have a lovely Christmas and may 2022 be a good one for you. xx

    Liked by 1 person

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  17. Picking keywords is a challenge for me and suggesting using a service to help is a great idea. I do want to try an Amazon ad and appreciate your insight and experience on this subject, Jan. Great post. Merry Christmas!

    Liked by 2 people

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    • I’m always happy to share anything I can learn, Denise. I am no expert for sure and still have lots more to figure out about keywords and targeting. I appreciate you stopping by and leaving a comment. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  19. I’ve made two slap-dash, fingers crossed attempts at Amazon ads and failed both times. They’re intimidating. Thanks for doing all the hard, gritty work and sharing it with us. And good luck finding what “clicks” for you. I really enjoyed Mountain Laurel Christmas. Hope your holidays are blissful.

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    • Hi, Judi. Slap-dash is a great word. 🙂 I’ve also heard it referred to as throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks. You’re right. Amazon ads are intimidating. I’m happy to share anything I can learn. I would like ALL of us to make some money for our work. Thank you for the Mountain Laurel Christmas recommendation and for stopping by. Merry Christmas to you!

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  21. I have been working on Amazon ads for three years. This is all good information on how to set them up. Getting them to work is a definite challenge. BTW If you had a spend, then you did get some clicks. Kudos for going through the process.

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  22. Great information, Jan. I’ve never attempted an Amazon ad, but I’ve done Google ads (for the day job) and this sounds along those lines. I always find it exhausting, especially the list of keywords. It does sound like Publisher Rocket would be a good investment for anyone wanting to really buckle down and tackle Amazon Ads. I look forward to your next post.

    Merry Christmas!

    Liked by 1 person

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  23. Jan, you are a brave soul (but we already knew that!) to tackle such a subject. Thanks for all the hard work you did to bring us tips throughout the year. May you and yours enjoy a beautiful, peaceful, and happy Christmas! “See” you next year!

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    • Thank you for the kind words, Maura Beth. I am always happy to share anything I learn along the path of the marketing maze. I wish you and your family a fabulous holiday season! Thank you for your support throughout the year!

      Liked by 1 person

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  24. Wow, Jan, I’m impressed by your diligence. Thank you for sharing this step-by-step process for creating Amazon ads. Should I summon the determination, I know where to go for help. This is brilliant. Merry Christmas to you and yours! 💕

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    • And, I would be more than happy to help, Gwen. This is all a deep learning process for me. And I hope to come out of it with some kind of a picture of where is the best place to throw what little money I have to spend on marketing. I’d like to see some rewards. Thank you for stopping by! Merry Christmas!

      Liked by 1 person

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    • I do believe there is a way, Craig. I hope I can find it. I’d like to make some money for a change. 🙂 And I’m happy to experiment with the different platforms. I’m learning lots as I go. Thanks for stopping by.

      Liked by 1 person

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  28. Thanks for this post, Jan. I’ve never tried an Amazon ad, but I might get brave enough one day. I do think I’ll invest in Publisher Rocket (something I’ve considered for a while).

    Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • I truly think Publisher Rocket is a good investment, Joan. It provides many tools for indie authors and right now, the cost is for lifetime access. It could go to a monthly charge at any time. Thank you for stopping by! Merry Christmas!

      Liked by 1 person

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    • You nailed it, Sarah. Utterly terrifying! I’m glad you enjoyed the post and if you decide to run an ad, I would be happy to help in whatever way I can. Thank you for stopping by and Merry Christmas to you as well!

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