Amazon Ads for KDP Authors - Beginners Introductory Guide

New to KDP Publishing? - Start Here: • How to Make No Content...
If you're an author or publisher and want to increase the sales of your low content book or standard book then it is worth looking at Amazon ads to promote your book and collect more royalties. In this video I give an introduction to Amazon ads, what they are, the terms that you need to understand and the basic strategies employed to get more sales and increase the organic ranking on your books.
Tools and Resources I use:
Gumroad Shop for Keywords and Interiors: paulmarles.gum...
Creative Fabrica: bit.ly/3XLaKoc
Canva: bit.ly/paulcanva
Publisher Rocket: bit.ly/2ThC390
Helium 10 (50% off and 10% off Deals): bit.ly/334S3A3
Book Bolt (Use paul20 to get 20% OFF): bit.ly/3jY7K2L
Vecteezy: bit.ly/3z6AApA
Tubebuddy: www.Tubebuddy....
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos. Thank you for the support!
EARNINGS DISCLAIMER: This video is for educational purposes only. There is no guarantee that you will earn money using the techniques and ideas in this video. This is not financial advice or investment advice. While it is possible to minimize risk, your investments are solely your responsibility. It is imperative that you conduct your own research. I am merely sharing my opinion with no guarantee of gains or losses on investments. Your level of success in attaining the results claimed in this video will require commitment, hard-work, experience and knowledge. We have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the information in this video is accurate but we cannot represent that the website(s) mentioned in this video are free from errors. You expressly agree not to rely upon any information contained in this video.
About this video - This video explores Amazon ads for authors and publishers to increase book rankings and make more money with royalties.
Instagram: / paulmarles
Twitter: / paulmarles

[@EmmanuelOluwamuyiwa]

I love your honesty and simplicity! You've clearly helped me understand the concept ads on Amazon. Thanks Paul 💖

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome. Glad you found it helpful.

[@LizDelaney3]

The way you present makes so much sense. Thanks again Paul.

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome. Glad you found it helpful.

[@judynieman269]

I’ve been waiting for a video like this thank you so much for explaining this to me. I’ve taken several classes and just your simple explanation means so much.

[@paulmarles]

Thank you 🙏

[@QuizNow18]

yes he is good

[@LisaBoulders]

You're a natural teacher. Very straightforward. Simple yet clear explanations. Thank you.

[@dxsudokuchannel]

The information is delivered at the right speed for maximum understanding. Really nicely done!

[@paulmarles]

Thank you. Glad you found it helpful.

[@robertclark7540]

Love your videos! I made my first sale using your suggestions!!! :) I designed everything myself, it's a Graph Paper composition notebook. I just wanted to tell you thanks! I made the sale in less than a week I did use Amazon marketing.

[@paulmarles]

That’s great and in a competitive market. 👍👍

[@liveforthenow]

Just published my first book and found this video really useful. Thank you. Its a minefield to a newbie, but i am loving learning.

[@paulmarles]

Congratulations! That's great to hear.👍

[@sallyalter6003]

Paul, I love your videos. I have looked at this one twice now and am still learning. Thanks.

[@paulmarles]

Thank you. Glad you've found them useful.

[@riddlerhymes512]

Thank you, Paul! You are the real deal. I've just retired from 40 years in media sales, and now having a blast writing books on Amazon. So nice to encounter an honest voice in this space. Advertising is an investment, not a get rich quick scheme. I will be experimenting with your protocols. Sending you energy and prosperity.

[@paulmarles]

Thank you. Glad you've found the videos useful. Thank you for watching and best of luck with your experimenting!

[@googlesubsciber2414]

Talking percentages and initials such as AOC or whatever makes my mind wander. It's like being in math class. And that new thing you're doing at the end of videos with your hand zooming to the camera makes me feel like I'm about to get hurt. I still enjoy the videos.

[@paulmarles]

Theres a lot of maths involved in Amazon Ads!

[@sebastiantevel898]

Thank you for the great video which summarizes the essentials of what we need to know to start on KDP ADs. I am sure there is more to find out that cannot be covered in a 20 minutes video, but this video should be of great help for anyone starting. I am new to this KDP business and published my first 2 books on October 30th, I have been running ads for almost 2 months and I came to the same exact conclusions: they definitively help to start organic sales. Cheers.

[@paulmarles]

They do. Well done for starting 👍

[@sebastiantevel898]

Paul, Is it a decent performance 80 sales out of 45 titles in the first 45 days? A couple of books sold 10 copies each, of which 50% were organics sales. I sold copies of 29 titles. Mostly lined pages interiors and a few cooking journals. Although it was through Christmas, which obviously helped the sale significantly.

[@NiazMohammad]

The most detailed and easy-to-understand video on ads or for the most part any video from Paul is up to the mark - high class. Thanks a lot

[@paulmarles]

Thank you 🙏

[@justsayin644]

Hi Paul, thank you again for all your helpful videos. There is one thing in regard to the ACOS data that I discovered after my first few weeks of using KDP ads. The ACOS data given in the real-time campaigns are not including VAT (for those of us located in countries where amazon charges us VAT on our advertising invoices). I'm located in the Uk so that applies here. I only realized this once I received my invoices and did the maths. This makes a significant difference to whether we are in profit, breaking even, or making a loss. Amazon ad campaigns do not make this clear in real-time so it's easy to be misled into thinking that if your displayed ACOS is equal to or less than your royalty that you are either breaking even or in profit accordingly. However, the true ACOS may need to have VAT added to get the real figure. For example, if your royalty after printing cost is 29% of the sale price then ACOS will need to be 24.16% or less to be in profit in order to accommodate 20% VAT due on the advertising cost. Ultimately it's the true cost of advertising that counts in terms of being in profit or not so it's very important to take this actual final advertising cost into account as per the final invoiced amount of advertising and not the real-time campaign ACOS. I rang amazon to confirm all this just in case I had got my maths wrong and they did confirm that VAT is not included in the ACOS in real-time and only added in the invoice. They said it was a very valid point and would feed it back to the development team and hopefully ACOS with and without VAT included will be displayed in future development updates to the campaign user interface to avoid confusion. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated. thanks.

[@paulmarles]

In countries where VAT is applied that would be the case. I guess you could also take into account those that are registered for VAT and could claim back the VAT.

[@justsayin644]

@@paulmarles As far as I'm aware even if someone is registered for VAT it doesn't apply to Amazon royalties because the VAT has already been paid by Amazon.

[@andyhewitt7588]

At last! Someone who does not assume that the viewer knows Amazon-speak. Thank you for a great introduction to ads 😀

[@t.j.scifiquest2331]

Excellent video. Loved the part about the different strategies. That was incredibly useful. Thank you.

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome. Glad you found it useful.

[@heathermacdonald6404]

Such clear information delivered with a cool head. Perfect! Thanks, again.

[@hebbiederman]

Thanks for explaining this so well! Definitely going to catch the next ones!

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome.

[@stephaniedelacruz2779]

Greetings from Dominican Republic 🇩🇴. I never miss your videos, great content, I have learned a lot from you. Thank you!

[@paulmarles]

Thank you Stephanie, that's very much appreciated.

[@TimLinklater]

So helpful! Thanks so much Paul! I look forward to learning more and trying your awesome strategies.

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome. Glad you found it helpful.

[@chinapoetry]

Thanks for your useful experince on KDP Ads

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome. 👍

[@dlangley012]

Thank you so much for being willing to teach us. I'm about to run ads and need this education. Thanks.

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome. Thank you for watching.

[@aliensarereal_4556]

You are brilliant, thank you.

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome and thank you too.

[@xyzziaq3463]

As always, great video. Very informative and thorough. Your video are educational and not a 'buy this' video. Enjoy watching you and your videos as they make me feel I am actually listening to a real human that is sincere in helping . Thank you!

[@paulmarles]

You’re welcome. Glad you’ve found the videos useful.

[@rosec-g764]

Hi Paul, Thank you for making this video presentation very easy to understand. I have spent many hours watching other presentations on ads, but now I finally understand how the bids work on Amazon. I just published two low content books by following your instructional videos. I think I am ready to try an Ad for one of my books. I am looking forward to watching your other presentations on ads. Take care and thank you for your support~Rose

[@paulmarles]

I’m glad you fund them useful. Thank you for watching and good luck 👍👍

[@grayfreeman]

Really helpful, thanks.

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome.

[@mommajarritos9312]

Appreciate all of your videos Paul!

[@paulmarles]

Thank you. Glad you like them!

[@royaltywizard]

Awesome video! Ads. is an important strategy in my KDP busiess

[@paulmarles]

Absolutely!

[@obibear123]

A really helpful Video = thank you.

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome. Glad. youfound it helpful.

[@alejandroinversor]

Thank you for sharing this valuable information

[@chukwumaanolue2571]

Another excellent video. I now understand more about how Ads work. Thanks

[@paulmarles]

You’re welcome. Glad you found it useful.

[@pianomusicl5062]

Super well explained! Thank you very much!!

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome.

Very interesting Paul, greetings from Spain.

[@paulmarles]

Thank you and welcome from Spain!

[@april3492]

Thankyou Paul 😊

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome. Thank you for watching.

[@kimsutherlandcozy]

WOW WOW WOW !!! Thank you!

[@AnnaS1371]

Great explanation, definitely worth trying. I look forward to the video on how to set the ads up, as I tried to do an ad and don’t think I did it right at all... 😕

[@Hb1NewFine]

Same

[@paulmarles]

Coming soon!

[@maheshghugare3232]

Thank you very much for this video. It was quite useful.

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome. Glad you found it useful.

[@KDPfullServices2022]

Top 😉Good work to all 💪💪💪

[@paulmarles]

Thank you 🙌

[@apriltheInvincible]

I need to restructure. Thank you!

[@BonMooney]

i prefer the black T shirts to the gingham shirts - but its all pretty cute

[@tutorialswithdila3584]

thank you so much😃

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome. 👍

[@nikepearse1612]

Thank you so much for this detailed information.

[@paulmarles]

You’re welcome.

[@rm6442]

Makes perfect sense. Thanks Paul 🙏

[@paulmarles]

You’re welcome.

[@saramagdy2753]

Very very wonderful videos. Thank you for watching all your videos, but you can translate the rest of the videos into Arabic so that I can listen to them, please. May God bless you.

[@midnightwriter9658]

... best video I have seen on this subject matter. Thank you Sir 👍👍

[@paulmarles]

Thank you. Glad you found it useful.

[@adoublejayproduction]

Super helpful. Thanks Paul. Looking forward to my first campaign

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome.

[@redballtrading]

This was some awesome sauce, my friend! 💯🙌

[@paulmarles]

Thank you. 👍

[@Love.sex18]

Thanks.. Worthwhile content

[@paulmarles]

Thank you 🙏

[@lettienugent]

Thank you so much, for putting this together. I'm soaking this up.

[@paulmarles]

You’re welcome.

[@UzzolMias]

Hello, Paul, thanks a lot. Could u please show us how to set up ad campaign, successful way from your point of view... please.

[@paulmarles]

Yes, it will be an upcoming video. 👍

[@bill-gray]

great video. very interesting.

[@paulmarles]

Thank you.

[@user-sw2lv3zp6o]

Very useful, Paul. I'll watch it a second time later to make sure I've got it.

[@paulmarles]

Thank you.

[@imeneimene744]

Thank you

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome.

[@DonSimkovich]

Basic but you make it wonderfully understandable. My co-author partner and I just set up our first campaign today. I'll watch your next video. :) Do you recommend doing ads on new releases? Or what are the variables you take into account?

[@paulmarles]

I usually wait for a few months to see what happens to the books initially as sometimes they will rank well without ads. I know some people advertise straight away.

[@dawidciura6647]

Great explains. Very valuable video

[@paulmarles]

Thank you 🙏

[@LylePublishing]

Well said. Helpful. Thanks!

[@paulmarles]

Thank you 🙏

[@BobSmith-pn5mo]

Right video at the right time! Thanks

[@paulmarles]

You’re welcome 👍

[@Dumdidumdumdum]

Well explained, thank you very much!

[@paulmarles]

You’re welcome 👍

[@thebestreviewer8404]

Thank you.. you are the best

[@paulmarles]

You’re welcome 👍

[@sarah6moshe]

So clear and helpful!

[@philiplearner3224]

Thanks for this video, I found it to be helpful. 👍

[@paulmarles]

You’re welcome.

[@inspiredtopics]

You are a very good teacher. Thanks Paul

[@paulmarles]

You’re welcome.

[@coreycepeda637]

Great advice Thank you sir!

[@paulmarles]

You’re welcome 👍

[@abdo_techm7940]

Hi captain, Please🙏 we want the second part of the campaign creation method and all the details. Greetings, Abdelmouhamen from Algeria😊 I also apologize for the weakness of my English.

[@paulmarles]

On it’s way

[@Lilione111]

Your English is pretty good.

[@DZTechNet]

Well done Paul!!

[@paulmarles]

Thank you 🙏

[@robertperry6974]

Thank you, I hope to learn.

[@pinkpopsubliminals]

thank you so much for a another simplistic video. I want to run ads. instagram does the same. I have had promotions on instagram. And the reach is never the same. I could do same days and same amount of pay and my video with have completely different reached. Based upon the amount of views, likes etc.

[@ecodvc5074]

Did it work on Instagram?

[@paulmcdonald9257]

Love your videos Paul, but are these ad videos still relevant? I'm sure the algorithm must have changed several times

[@fabuloussounds]

Hi Paul! At 17:24 you talk about long term strategy. How would you define long-term? 1 month, 2 months, 6 months? I understand that at the end of the day a long-term strategy depends on the nature of the business/goals/objectives/etc. But, in a ball park, for a beginner, could you narrow it down? Thank you in advance! Yours truly, A Fan :)

[@paulmarles]

I want my books to make money for as long as I have a KDP account and Amazon remains in business. The point I'm making is I'm not looking to make a few quick sales with my books, but build up sales over 6 12 months and maintain those sales into the future.

[@safiabderrahmen6711]

hi MR : Paul Marles have a nice day

[@paulmarles]

Thank you, and you.

[@jono3697]

Good video thanks. New Sub

[@paulmarles]

Thank you. 👍

[@thepurpleufo]

Brilliant!!!

[@springoflifeeternal]

Cannot find the follow-up video on how to set up a break-even campaign step by step. Link please.

[@paulmarles]

You should find it in my Amazon Ads playlist.

[@dariusz1031]

here you are

[@paulmarles]

👍

[@BrainNuggets88]

Thanks a lot

[@paulmarles]

You’re welcome 👍

[@abdennassermedjamia698]

You are awesome 🔥🔥👏👏

[@paulmarles]

Thank you 🙏

[@nathanstepp86]

How long do you leave your ads going before you take them down? And how much do you spend for those ads? Also how long will a low content book sales go on after you do the break even ad approach?

[@paulmarles]

I stop them if I am losing money and can't get the ACOS down. If they are profitable I keep them running until I can get a good organic ranking. There is no particular amount I spend on ads. It all depends on many factors. I don't have a fixed budget. If you get a good organic ranking and it stays there after running ads there is a good chance it will stay there.

[@saramikuzfegic4947]

Good introductory video. Do you turn on the ads even if the book has no reviews yet? Books with at least 1 review tend to have a better conversion rate but it is hard to get them if the book is not selling

[@paulmarles]

Yes, the books I’ve been targeting have been on Amazon for a while but few sales and no reviews.

[@Frankcombat]

Would there be a specific bsr that you'd get to, when you'd stop ads on a book?

[@paulmarles]

No, I look at where the book is ranking for my target keywords.

[@1minutesfreelancerschool841]

Supper Amazing Mentor ❤️

[@paulmarles]

Thank you 🙏

[@cabbagedavidge]

I have a couple of Amazon ads active but need to find out what keywords phrases are getting impressions so I can move ahead with improving my campaigns. Where is the link for me to download my reports on my campaign dashboard? Not getting very far in trying to find this out? No videos to help with this either?

[@paulmarles]

You don’t need to download. That information is within the dashboard. I will be doing videos on it in the near future.

[@cabbagedavidge]

@@paulmarles Thanks Paul! Any idea when? Or where else I can find this info?

[@mansoorsajedi7316]

Perfect

[@paulmarles]

👍

[@Swiss_views]

God bless you in Jesus name... thank you for video

[@paulmarles]

You're welcome.

[@vladimir.zlokazov]

Thank you for this video! I use the strategy you've mentioned too - break even or small loss on ads. However at times I must say I switch the ads off before the book gets better ranked just to cut those losses. I wonder when you decide that enough is enough?

[@paulmarles]

If I don;t make a sale after 10-15 clicks.If the loss is too big I will also switch off.

[@judynieman269]

Paul Marles Then do you start a new ad on that same product?

[@oneskillbranding4730]

thanks ^^

[@lullaban6044]

I ran an ad on amazon kdp at 0.20 cents per click but didn't get any views and put 98 related keywords

[@paulmarles]

You're bid amount may be too low for that particular niche. Increase the bid amount slighlty until you start to see impressions.

[@ShoshanahShear]

Thanks Paul. Do you recommend completing the full playlist before starting to work on an Ad campaign?

[@paulmarles]

No, it's not necessary. You could start at the first video and then just create a basic auto ad and go slowly from there. I don't advise rushing into doing lots of different types of ads.

[@ShoshanahShear]

@@paulmarles thanks. I am thinking of watching the first two. Did this one, now have the second and then hope to start testing ads. Thanks for your help

[@MusclesbyMarcell]

Are there any updates for the info in this video?

[@paulmarles]

All the videos I've done on Amazon ads are in my Amazon ads playlist.

[@kaypitt2591]

How am I able to see how much I've spent on ads? I can't seem to see this information in reports.

[@Cloud-ty9ys]

Which one better Auto targeting or manual targeting

[@paulmarles]

I've had more success with manual targeting.

[@Cloud-ty9ys]

How much keyword are you add on manual targeting

[@messaoudabdelbaki3940]

I didn't understand the campaign earnings process, If you would explain it on a board or wrote down, it would have been better

[@samanthamonoyou484]

Help! I've created an ad based on your fab tutorials but I can't find any kind of reports. Amazon make it so complicated!

[@paulmarles]

It’s on the Amazon ads platform. Click on campaigns in top left corner.

[@anasnitro6552]

Thanks

[@paulmarles]

No problem

[@vladimir.zlokazov]

Another question I have is whether it's worthwhile starting a campaign as soon as your book goes live? I tend to start campaigns as soon as the Look inside feature appears which takes a couple of days usually but I don't know - maybe it is too soon.

[@paulmarles]

I would wait until at least the look inside appears. Personally I would leave it for a minimum of a month for Amazon to index your keywords and for Amazon’s algorithm to see where your book sits in the grand scheme of things in terms of keywords. I gave books that all too often do nothing for two to three months then suddenly start to rank. That’s when I would prefer to do ads. But it’s a personal decision. I don’t have any scientific based rules.

[@vladimir.zlokazov]

@@paulmarles thanks! I should probably be more patient :)

[@utopiadweller]

Important Points: 6:00 14:50

[@megtheenvirobunny4740]

Hi. Do you have to have a professional seller's account to run sponsored ads for kdp books, or can you do the ads with just an individual seller's account? Thanks for your help.

[@paulmarles]

No, you don't need a sellers account to run ads.

[@lorenelukejack]

Hi Paul, do you have to place ads in the different countries eg .uk or .com or does one ad cover all market places? Thanks.

[@paulmarles]

You have to place in different countries.

[@nikossmouliotis4053]

Hey Paul I launched bout a week ago and I immediately began an auto ppc campaign and I had many clicks but no sale. Just realize that the look inside feature is not yet activated. Also should I wait 2-3 weeks more so that my book gets indexed as you said?

[@paulmarles]

Yes and to wait for the look inside feature.

[@iturraldeluis]

can you run ads on books that contain profanity?

[@paulmarles]

Yes, I think so.

[@catharinef.40]

I created a video ad for one of my books....how do you get those to show as an ad on amazon? I put it on the page that my book is on but I would like to see it as a sponsored ad.

[@paulmarles]

That's actually something I'm researching at the moment. As soon as I find out I will do a video on it.

[@catharinef.40]

@@paulmarles That's great, I look forward to that episode.

[@raysrcsandtech]

Does anyone know if you can export all your books ASIN and titles into a spreadsheet from KDP easily.