In this episode we are going to talk about everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask … about Amazon Book Ads! And to help us with that is our special guest, Brian Berni …
Show Notes

* Brian is a former Vatican Secret Archives employee, and is now a bestselling author under multiple pen-names. He blogs for writers and self-publishers at AuthorsTech and is the co-founder of BookAds, an agency that helps authors advertise their books through AMS (which stands for Amazon Marketing Services) and BookBub Ads.

Questions:

* What are Amazon ads?

* Similar to FB ads
* Big difference … on Amazon people are primed to buy

* Why are they so popular right now?

* New updates have happened that shows Amazon believes in this program and they’ve given people better tools to work with

* Walk us through the process of creating our first ad …

* Advertising.amazon.com

* What are some of the best practices when it comes to creating amazon ads?

* Experiment, have a scientist mindset, you’re testing and discovering what works
* Don’t limit yourself to too few keywords. Use lots!
* Use auto targeting- improved lately. Try it.

* What are realistic expectations on how well an ad will work?

* Tough to answer, but we see trends. Fiction and nonfiction is difference. Non-fiction tends to do better. New books tend to do better
* Start small. $2 or $3 per day. But run as many ads as you can with your budget
* Four hundred to five hundred percent return is not unusual

* What tools make advertising on Amazon easier? What do you use for keyword research, that sort of thing.

* Words in reviews
* Be creative with your keywords
* KDP Rocket

* What are some common mistakes you see authors makes on their ads?

* The ads are NOT set and forget

* At least 3 – 4 times per week, go in and check so you can adjust

* They don’t use all the tools available

* Experiment with them

* They don’t have the fundamentals in place

* Cover
* Number of reviews, 10+
* 150 character book blurb

* Negative keywords are key.
* What other changes have you seen in book ads over the last year or so?

* Getting more competitive, yes, but probably no more than 10% of indie authors are using Amazon ads
* Consumers are starting to trust these ads, good time to dive in

* Before we go, tell us about the Indie Author Summit.

* Online event aimed at those who have never written or finished their novel.
* Step by step from A – Z.

* Where can our listeners find out more about you and what you do, Brian? AuthorsTech and at BookAds.

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