I have written a complete Amazon KDP advertising guide, breaking down the costs and benefits of the different types of ads. I have also provided 7 tips to help you get started properly so you can skip the learning curve and make the most out of your Amazon KDP advertising campaigns.
So if you're looking to give your book sales a boost, keep reading!
What is Amazon KDP Advertising?
Amazon KDP Advertising is a program that allows authors and publishers to advertise and promote their books or ebooks on Amazon. With KDP Advertising, you can pay to have your book featured in the Kindle Store, on Amazon.com, on Kindle devices and tablets, and on other websites that are part of the Amazon network.
How Does Amazon KDP Advertising Work?
When someone clicks on your ad, they'll be taken to your book's Amazon page, where they can learn more about your book and purchase it if they wish.
Advertising through Amazon KDP is an effective way to reach potential readers who might be interested in your book. The ads are targeted to customers based on their browsing and purchasing history, so you can be confident that your ad will be seen by people who are likely to be interested in your book.
There are two types of Amazon KDP advertising: cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-thousand-impression (CPM/Cost Per Mille). CPC advertising is the more common type, and it works like this: you pay a set amount every time someone clicks on your ad.
CPM advertising is less common, but it can still be effective. With CPM advertising, you pay a set amount every time your ad is shown 1000 times.
Both CPC and CPM advertising can be a great way to increase book sales, but it's important to understand the difference before deciding which one is right for you.
You also want to avoid some pitfalls of setting your ad campaign up incorrectly and watching your ad spend diminish while your sales haven't budged!
How Much Does Amazon KDP Advertising Cost?
How much your advertising campaign costs will vary based on your goals, the ad type you target, your budget, and a few other factors.
To give you an idea of how CPC and CPM advertising costs can vary, let's take a look at some real-world examples.
A CPC ad campaign for a Kindle book might cost $0.25-$0.75 per click, while a CPM ad campaign for the same book might cost $100-$200 per 1000 impressions.
The cost of your ad campaign will also depend on how competitive your book's category is. For example, if you're trying to advertise a book in a very popular category, you can expect to pay more for your ads than if you're advertising a book in a less popular category.
This is because you will be competing with other advertisers for space on the page or in the Kindle Store, and the more popular the category, the more expensive it will be to advertise in.
You will notice that the recommended bid on some search terms is higher than others. Amazon takes into account how likely it is that a customer will purchase your book after clicking on your ad, so this is factored into the price!
In short, the more competitive the search term, the higher the recommended bid will be.
You can also expect to pay more for advertising if you're targeting a Kindle device or tablet, as opposed to Amazon.com, as ads on Kindle devices and tablets are more likely to result in a purchase, so they are worth more to advertisers.
Choosing Between The Different Ad Types
Amazon offers several different types of ads and bidding strategies that you can use to promote your book:
- Lockscreen Ads
- Sponsored Product Ads
- Sponsored Brands
Lockscreen Ads:
These ads appear on the lock screen of Kindle devices when they're not in use. They're a great way to catch potential readers' attention and get them interested in your book.
Sponsored Product Ads:
Sponsored Products are a form of advertising that allows businesses to promote individual products on Amazon. In this case, your chosen title. These ads appear on product detail pages and shopping results of other books, and clicking on them takes customers directly to the book’s detail page.
Sponsored Product Ads are a great way to increase visibility for books, and they can be an effective tool for driving sales. However, it is important to note that Sponsored Products are not displayed randomly – you must bid on relevant keywords in order to have your ads appear in search results.
As a result, you must carefully consider your keyword strategy in order to be successful with Sponsored Products.
Sponsored Brands:
Sponsored Brands is a great way to promote your books and generate awareness for your overall brand. Your ads will appear in prominent search placements, and you can customize them to link directly to your book's landing page or your Amazon Store.
This makes it easy for customers to discover your books and learn more about your brand. Plus, with Sponsored Brands, you only pay when customers click on your ad, so you can be sure you're getting results for your investment.
Is Amazon KDP Advertising Worth It?
As any author knows, self-promotion is essential for driving book sales. With Amazon KDP Ads, authors can promote their books to readers who are already interested in similar titles. Not only is this an efficient way to reach potential readers, but it can also be cost-effective since authors only pay when their ad is clicked.
As you can see, your ad will get the impressions, but the conversion rate is up to you!
In my opinion, Amazon KDP Ads are an essential tool for any author looking to boost book sales. However, it's important to remember that simply running ads is not enough. Your book's sales page also needs to be well-designed and effective at converting visitors into buyers.
With a well-rounded promotional strategy that includes both advertising and effective sales pages, you can maximize your book's potential for success. So yes, it is worth it.
What Are the Benefits of Amazon Kdp Advertising?
- Target competitor audience
- Increased sales
- Raise brand awareness
7 Tips For Setting Up Your Amazon Ads Campaign
1. What Is Your Goal?
Before you launch an advertising campaign for your book, it's important to take some time to consider what your goals are.
Do you want to increase brand awareness? Drive sales? Boost engagement with your audience? Once you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve, you can start to develop a strategy that will help you reach your goals.
For example, if you're looking to increase brand awareness by promoting a free ebook, you'll need to create ads that are eye-catching and memorable. If your goal is to drive sales, on the other hand, you'll need to make sure your ads are targeted and relevant to your audience.
By taking the time to plan ahead, you can make sure your advertising campaign is as effective as possible.
2. Getting Started
First, you need to register for Amazon Ads. You will need to register your account for each country you wish to target.
Once you have registered, you will be able to access the Amazon Advertising Console. This is where you will create and manage your ad campaigns.
To get started, click on the "Create Campaign" button. You will then be prompted to select a campaign type.
3. Set Your Budget
Decide how much you want to spend per day or per month. You can always adjust this later but it is good to have an idea of how much you plan to spend overall.
4. Length Of Advertising Campaign
Decide how long you want your campaign to last. For example, if you have a Christmas themed book, you may want to run your ad from November to December.
You can also set a start and end date for your campaign if you want more control over when it runs.
5. Amazon Kindle, Paperback, Or Both?
If you have both a paperback version and a Kindle version of your book, you might be wondering whether to promote both versions or just one.
The answer to this question will depend on a number of factors, including your budget and your goals for the campaign.
As long as your book versions are linked up, promoting one will automatically generate interest in the other as the buyer will decide whether they want the digital version or physical.
6. Select Your Targeting Keywords
When creating your Amazon Ads, you will need to select keywords that you want to target.
Your keywords should be relevant to your book's topic and audience. For example, if you've written a book about gardening, some of your keywords might be "gardening," "plants," or "flower care."
However, these terms are very broad and you may end up wasting a lot of money if you target them and the searcher is only looking to buy plant pots rather than a book on growing tomatoes.
A good way to find more specific, targeted keywords is to use Amazon's search suggestions. Read our blog post on finding Amazon Kindle keywords here for a better understanding of using this technique to your advantage.
7. Campaign bidding strategy
Choosing the right bidding strategy for your ads can be the difference between success and failure.
With Dynamic Bidding, Amazon will automatically adjust your bids in real-time based on the likelihood of a click converting to a sale. This can help you maximize your conversion rate and ROI, while still staying within your budget.
You can use dynamic bidding to bid up or down. Up will match the highest bids while down will decrease your bid (which should save you money).
While dynamic bidding does have its advantages, it's important to remember that you'll still need to closely monitor your campaign performance to ensure that it's running smoothly. If you're not sure which bidding strategy is right for you, consider testing out both options to see which one gives you the best results.
The Export...
If you want to learn more about using Amazon to advertise your book effectively, they also offer a free training BootCamp with a wealth of knowledge and information on how to get the most out of your advertising campaign.
When you're first getting started, it's important to set a budget that you're comfortable with. You can always adjust your budget later on once you have more data on what is and isn't working.
Keep in mind that the length of your advertising campaign will also affect how much you spend, so monitor it to ensure you are not being charged well into February for a Christmas promotion!
