Show #8: How To Win With AMS Ads - An Interview With Our In House Expert Brenda Trim

Advertising your book on Amazon can really pay off if you select the right ad offering, zero-in on the appropriate keywords, prepare short, punchy copy for Amazon, and allocate a suitable (not cheap, but not expensive either) ad budget. In today’s episode, author Brenda Trim shares several tips and tricks to help you get your Amazon book launch off on the right foot. Brenda will also discuss the importance of constantly monitoring key metrics to test the effectiveness of your campaign, and what you need to know to strategically navigate through Amazon marketing services. Today’s guest is Brenda Trim, author of the Dark Warrior Alliance 15 books published to date  Reviewing the different AMS ad offerings Initially AMS ads were limited to authors publishing on Kindle Opening this ad platform to all authors has increased its effectiveness Two Types of AMS ads: “Sponsored product” ads and “Product display” ads  The likelihood of people seeing your ad is much higher in the former since your product shows up right below a specifically sponsored product  “Product display interest” ad and “Product display product” ad are the two types of “Product display” ads.  “Product display interest” ad shows up on Kindle e-reader. “Product display product ad” shows up below the purchase button Comparing effectiveness and costs of different ad types The sponsored product ad is cheaper, and yields immediate results  Rather than increasing your advertising budget, it is better to clone your ad Product display interest ads takes 2-3 weeks to show results Selection of ad type depends on a host of factors: your target audience, how you reach them, and how they respond Likely to see clicks and impressions right away via a Product display product ad Know your genre to zero-in on the right keywords Key Questions for an author looking to build the right keywords:  What are the keywords used to describe their books?  What are the keywords used by similar authors?  What are the keywords used while marketing any other book series? Targeted keywords are imperative for pulling in the right kind of audience Generic keywords result in a lot of clicks, but poor conversions More keywords the better. You can have up to 1,000 keywords Amazon dashboard lets you monitor how each keyword is performing Tips and tricks to write your Amazon copy Aim for a short, punchy description Take care to exclude odd punctuation. Amazon is strict about rejectingcopy that does not follow its guidelines Adding a “Call to action” is not permissible Image should be your book cover Strategizing your Ads Budget A high budget does not ensure more conversions $5 per day is an adequate budget Bidding process for each ad type differs  “Bid per click” for product display product ads and product display interest ads  “Recommended bid” by Amazon for sponsored product ad  Can opt to go lower than the recommended Amazon bid for sponsored product ad If you’re on a tight budget, it’s better to go with a sponsored product ad Amazon is a non-optimized ad platform Unlike other platforms, your ad budget does not last the whole day If your ad is popular and is garnering more clicks, your ad will get moved up Making sense of the various metrics in Amazon’s ads dashboard Ability to view key metrics such as impressions, clicks, cost per click and Average Cost of Sale(ACOS) 100% ACOS means you’re doing really good  Amazon does not count page reads by Kindle Limited clients  Hence, ACOS is not a good indicator of ad success Book sales—not page—are the true indicator of your ad’s success or failure Remember that there is a 3 day lag in Amazon reporting While testing the effectiveness of your online marketing, it is wise to change one thing at a time, and then analyze results 3 Key Points: If you have a tight budget, you’re better off going with a sponsored product ad. Product sales—not Average Cost of Sale (ACOS)—is the true indicator of your ad’s success or failure. Amazon is a non-optimized ad platform, so remember that your budget might not last a whole day. Resources Mentioned:    Amazon Marketing Services