Audrey Hirschberger
In November 2019, Amazon replaced its Amazon Product Ads with Sponsored Amazon Display Ads. These ads can play a pivotal role in growing your brand or helping you to achieve more sales through Amazon.
Amazon display ads are wonderful Amazon ads for authors, as they can put your books front and center on the screens of potential readers. But how do Amazon display ads work? And what is the difference between sponsored ads and regular Amazon product ads?
Today we will give you everything you need to know about Amazon display ads: what they are, how much Amazon ads cost, and how and why to set them up during and after your book launch.
This Guide to Amazon Display Ads Will Cover:
What Are Amazon Display Ads?
Sponsored Amazon display ads are paid ads that give advertisers a better opportunity to target their audience. These ads can appear both on and off of the Amazon website.
The main purpose of Amazon display ads is to target the interests of different shoppers and get ahead of competitors in your niche. If you are an author, paying for sponsored Amazon book marketing can help boost your book royalties and achieve extra visibility for your author brand.
One great thing about Amazon ads for books is that they are “retail aware.” This means they won’t show up if you don’t have any products in stock.
The ads reach a wide range of customers and appear on the Amazon home page, product detail pages, search results pages, and third-party websites as well. This sets them apart from regular Amazon product ads, which only appear on the Amazon website.
How Much Do Amazon Ads Cost?
How much sponsored Amazon ads cost is up to you! Amazon display ads are charged by CPC (cost per click). It’s easy to control your spending by setting the ad budget and your bid per click.
Most successful campaigns cost between $50 to $100 per day, but you can spend as little as $5 and still see success! It’s really up to you and your budget.
What Are The Benefits Of Sponsored Amazon Display Ads?
Sponsored Amazon display ads help to retarget potential buyers both on and off Amazon. They make great Amazon ads for authors because:
- You can advertise your books to a wider audience
- They give you control over your advertising budget
- They help you track how well your ad campaigns are doing
- They let you select the placement of your Amazon book ads
- They can increase awareness of your book and your author brand within your niche
- You can place your book underneath your competitors’ listings
- You can view clicks, impressions, sales, and more
- You can re-engage your customers even off Amazon
- You can passively grow your book royalites
Who Is Eligible for Amazon Display Ads?
Sponsored display ads on Amazon are available to any professional sellers enrolled in the Amazon Brand Registry, as well as vendors and agencies selling on Amazon.
If you are an author selling on Amazon KDP, you should be eligible for sponsored Amazon ads for books.
How To Create Sponsored Display Ads On Amazon
Creating sponsored Amazon ads is a very simple process that you can complete in a handful of steps. Authors take note: here are the steps you need to follow to create your Amazon book ads:
Step 1: Select A Targeting Mode
The first step to creating Amazon ads for books is to choose your method for targeting. Amazon offers you a few options here.
Product Targeting
The Product Targeting mode allows you to manually select which products you want to target with your ads. For example, you may want to focus on a competitor’s products. You get to promote your own books or products, as well as some complementary products on the side.
Audiences: Views Remarketing
If you are hoping to target high-intent audiences with your ads, this is a good targeting option for you. Views can re-engage your target audience and anyone who has viewed your product details page or products in a similar category.
The look-back window for this targeting is 30 days.
Audiences: Interests
This targeting mode is for vendors only. This mode is probably your best option if you want to boost your brand awareness. The audience interest target mode allows you to reach any customers who have browsed similar products to yours.
The look-back window for this targeting is 90 days.
Step 2: Select a Bid and Daily Budget
Once you have chosen your targeting option for your Amazon display ads, you need to select your bid and your daily budget. As stated above, your budget is completely up to you. If you only have $5 a day to start out with, then that’s what you should go with!
Most successful campaigns spend around $50 to $100 a day, so if you have this in your budget, it’s probably going to be the sweet spot for your campaign.
As for bids, a bid is the average amount that you’re willing to pay for a click or view of your ad. Amazon will suggest a bid for you based on recent winning bids that are similar to yours.
Step 3: Select the Product to Create a Campaign For
With your budget squared away, the next step in creating a display ad campaign is to choose the product or products you want to create the campaign for.
Amazon will automatically create the ad creatives for your campaigns based on the targeting type you selected in step one.
Step 4: Preview Your Campaigns Before Submitting
When Amazon creates your display ads, it automatically takes the product image, pricing, and star rating from your product details page. You want to double-check that everything looks correct before you submit your ad campaign.
Your ad will also have a “Shop Now” button that redirects potential buyers to your product detail page. You can follow the link to ensure it is directing buyers to the correct product page.
Step 5: Submit Your Campaign
Once you are all ready to go, you can submit your ad. Amazon will review your campaign and approve it within 3 business days as long as it meets Amazon Ads Policy guidelines.
Once your ad is approved, it will automatically go live. And that’s it! Amazon ads for authors (and other vendors) are super simple to create.
Best Practices for Creating Sponsored Display Ads
When optimizing your sponsored display ads for Amazon, here are a few best practices to keep in mind:
- Add all necessary products to your campaign and slowly organize your campaign structure over the course of time.
- Use your campaign metrics to make informed decisions on your bids.
- If possible, make sure that your daily budget will actually last you throughout the day. Regularly track your campaigns to see if you are missing out on potential impressions and adjust your budget as needed.
- Keep auditing your campaigns to match their performance up against your campaign goals.
- Remember that you can optimize bids individually based on targeting options.
- Customize your views remarketing campaigns with a custom logo and headline.
Make the Most of Book Marketing Online
And that’s all there is to it.
Now you know how to successfully create sponsored display ads on Amazon. Of course, Amazon display ads are only one form of marketing you should be focusing on after you’ve self-published on Amazon.
There are so many opportunities for book marketing, both on and offline:
- Pre-sale and pre-order campaigns via Amazon
- Social media contests, giveaways, and other promotions
- An author blog on your website
- In-person book signings and readings at coffee shops and bookstores
- Other paid ads for authors via Google, Instagram, and TikTok
- BookTok reviews and collaborations
- A virtual book launch party
- Podcast interviews
This is just the beginning!
If you need help navigating the marketing and book launch process, the team at selfpublishing.com is happy to assist you. We regularly launch our clients to bestseller status through with our tried and tested marketing tactics.
Excited to publish a book but intimidated by ads and marketing? Apply for a free strategy call with our team to see how we can help you!
