Advertising on Amazon

You published your book! Congratulations! Now the hard part begins… marketing and selling your book. Did you think the hard part was over? We work so hard creating our books and then publishing and think we can now sigh with relief that it is done. Sadly, the work is just beginning.

I always say that publishing and selling a book on amazon is like being a guppy in the ocean. How many guppies do you see? The only people that will typically see your book are the people that follow you on social media, and your family. You will get initial sales from them, but it will slow down. You cannot and should not depend on friends and family for sales. Or reviews for that matter. (Amazon checks somehow and will remove reviews from friends and family)

You must advertise on amazon. I know that I was quite naive about advertising on amazon, and you may be as well and that is why I am writing this blog.

Basically, when you do a search on their site for a product, the items that come up first are people that are bidding to be seen first. It is a race to be seen first so you will buy their item.

We authors make sure we have engaging covers, interesting blurbs and enough of the book showing so that readers will purchase it with that first click. Because the more buyers click the more the bidder pays. Even if they do not purchase your book, you still pay for that click. Which is not ideal. I even have a girlfriend that after I explained this process to her, now apologizes in her head when she clicks on many items.

But back to advertising….

When you publish a book on kdp, if you look in the area of “bookshelf” you will see “promote and advertise.” Click on here and then pick the location you want to advertise in.

It will ask you for a credit card to pay for your advertising, which after it is setup you will be able to make your first ad. I am not going to get into the logistics of creating ads as it is very time consuming and a lot of work. But you must learn how to do it. And as with anything once you learn it it becomes much easier. So please do not be intimidated.

I took the Author challenge with Bryan Cohen and firmly recommend it. It is worth every penny. Bryan will teach you to bid moderately and safely.

Other authors may tell you to make ads and use suggested bid. You must be careful doing this as sometimes the suggested bid is over $1.00. When you may only make a profit of $3, this eats into your profits quickly. Trust me. The trick is to be seen on the first few pages of a search and not spend all your profits doing so. It takes a little while to learn this and I have been doing it a few years and am still learning! Bryan’s class also gives you access to a Facebook group that you can post questions in. And be answered incredibly quickly. Honestly, I have gotten a ton of knowledge from this group alone and I love having access to this wonderful source of information.

I know this blog does not get into the creation of an advertisement and I apologize for that. But the message of this blog is to get out there and learn how to do it through all the sources available online. Bryan’s group offers a free challenge a few times a year, and this challenge shows you how to make ads… and if you have a good product, you will see results with just those few ads. Which will make you want to proceed further to pay for course with access to group. At least it did for me, and I am truly grateful for it.

I have to end that I do not get anything from Bryan Cohen or his group. I just like sharing information that helps me, as I hope it helps you as well.

So what are you waiting for? Get going and do some research on how to make an ad… or sign up for Bryan’s challenge. To get info on Bryan’s ad course please click here.

And if you have a simple question, please reach out to me and I will do my best to help!

More blogs to help you self-publish!

1-Do you need help beginning to self publish? Click here!

2-A publisher has contacted you? Are they a Vanity publisher? Click here to learn more!

3-Ready to start your files? Here is a blog that will help you set them up! Click here!

4-Need tips for finding an illustrator for your book? Click here!

5-What is a blurb? Click here for help creating one!

6-Feeling overwhelmed? This post will get you moving… Click here to get started!

7-Your book is done! Do you need an author page in your book? Yes you do! Click here to see the reasons why.

7a- How to upload your book to KDP… the actual platform that you publish from! Click here to visit!

8- Your masterpiece is complete!  How do you get printed copies of your book? Click here for some ideas!

9- If you have published on amazon you need to advertise! Click here for tips!

10- Want to submit your book to a literary agent? Click here for info!

Need an illustrator? I have illustrated many books of my own and other authors. Please visit my website by clicking here, to contact me or see examples of my work.

If I have helped you and you feel inclined to purchase a book of mine, please click here to visit amazon. Thank you!

I am also available for hire to help you publish! If interested, please contact me at artistmarnie@yahoo.com.