New book advertising opportunities from Amazon Ads and how they impact authors

Amazon Ads now gives you the ability to run a campaign in the US and EU marketplaces for books you have claimed (i.e., the books you’ve tagged as your own) on Amazon Author Central. What does this mean, and how can it help you reach new audiences? The biggest takeaway is if you’re a part of a multiauthor book or anthology, and you were not the publisher, you may now also run ads in the Amazon store for your book. But let’s go over the basics based on how you currently publish your books.

1. You publish books solely through Kindle Direct Publishing

If you’ve been self-publishing all of your books through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), then the latest news will not significantly impact the way you run ads. You can still create ads like you normally do from the Amazon Ads advertising console. You should still claim your books on Amazon Author Central though. This is how Amazon Ads identifies your brand and enables you to create Sponsored Brands campaigns, if you qualify. You can learn more about Sponsored Brands for authors in Amazon Ads help pages.

To claim your titles in Author Central, sign in with your existing KDP credentials, and click on the "Books" tab (it may take up to 48 hours for these updates to be reflected in your ads account). Unsure which book to choose for your ad? You can learn more through Amazon Ads’ recent webinar on How to get the most from your Amazon Ads.

2. You publish books through KDP and participate in multiauthor books or anthologies

This is where it starts to get exciting. When choosing to run ads for the books you published through KDP, you’ll go through the same process you always have. But if you’re a part of a multiauthor book or anthology, and you were not the publisher, you may also now run ads in the Amazon store for your book.

All you need to do, if you have not already, is claim your book in Author Central. Once the title has been claimed, you’ll be able to create a campaign for that book.

As a participant myself in multiple multiauthor titles, this new feature makes things much simpler for me when promoting these books. One of my successful ad campaigns that introduced me to thousands of new potential readers came from a multiauthor anthology. You can learn more about it from my recent case study featured on the Amazon Ads website.

3. You’ve written books that you did not publish yourself

The biggest change is reserved for authors who have books that were not published through KDP. If you claim the books you’ve written in Amazon Author Central, you can now promote your title with Amazon Ads.

This means that whether you published a book a decade prior, or you have a preorder listing for an upcoming launch, you’ll be able to advertise with Amazon Ads.

Simply visit your Amazon Author Central account, click on “Reports + Marketing,” and then click on the Amazon Ads button to set up your initial campaigns.

There are many training materials you can find on the Amazon Ads site, including this getting started guide.

Each quarter, my own company, Best Page Forward LLC, conducts a free week-long training on how to profitably set up your first campaigns using Amazon Ads solutions. You can register for the free 5-Day Author Ad Profit Challenge right here.*

Thanks for reading this short article. I hope you’ve found it helpful and that you're excited by the prospect of connecting with so many new audiences that can discover your work.

Thanks for reading this short article. I hope you’ve found it helpful and that you're excited by the prospect of connecting with so many new audiences that can discover your work.