I’m thrilled that Amazon Marketing Services offers a way for authors to advertise their books, but it’s not as easy as you might think.
First, you have to figure out which type of ad you want to run. They have three or four types (maybe more). I’m still learning. Then you need to find good keywords. Those are the words that customers might search on to find books–keywords can be book titles, author names, subjects, etc.
You have to set a budget, too, and you may have to revise your budget from time to time.
Lastly, you have to write the ad copy, which is supposed to be a good ‘hook’ with only 150 characters (that’s letters, spaces, punctuation). The wording of the ad is the hardest part for me, and I often have to experiment.
Here’s an ad for Inherit the Past: An American flies to Germany with his teen son to sell the house he inherited, but their plans go awry when they get swept into the 18th century.
Here’s an ad for In the Shadows: Do you love a modern mystery? Do you like gossipy French villages? You’ll love this series, because it has all that, along with a subterranean town.
Here’s an ad for Breadcrumbs and Bombs: All-American Lucas Landry finds WWII diaries, by two German girls, in his father’s attic and must assemble these breadcrumbs to reveal his ancestry.
Here’s an ad for Not Expecting This: A pregnant foster teen wants her father’s love, but instead gets catapulted back in time to the Colorado Gold Rush era, with only a dog as companion.
Here’s an ad for The Handyman: To escape Paris after he was betrayed, Joshua accepts a handyman job in a French village. How could he know he was stepping into a murder mystery?