Author Ads Pro

Guide

How to run Amazon Ads for your book

A setup that works for most series authors, and the 20-minute weekly routine that keeps it profitable.

By Michael Cortez, PPC strategist · Updated November 8, 2026

Before you start

  • Work out what a new reader is worth with the read-through calculator. It sets your bids.
  • Make sure the book page converts: cover, title, blurb, look inside, reviews.
  • Pick the book to advertise: usually book 1 of a series.

Step 1: an auto campaign to discover searches

Create a Sponsored Products campaign with automatic targeting. Amazon shows your ad on searches and book pages it thinks fit. Keep the bid modest. Its job is to find search terms, not to scale.

Step 2: manual keyword campaigns

Add a manual campaign with keywords: genre phrases, tropes, and comparable author names. Start with broad and phrase match to explore, then put proven searches into an exact match campaign. More on choosing them in Amazon Ads keywords for books.

Step 3: product targeting

Target the pages of comparable books (by ASIN) so your ad appears on them. Choose books your readers also read, not just bestsellers in the category.

Step 4: bids and budget

Start bids below what a click is worth (the bid calculator shows it), not at Amazon's suggested bid. Set daily budgets you're comfortable with; if a campaign spends its budget early every day and is profitable, raise the budget. See bidding for authors.

The weekly routine

  1. Download the search term report (30 days, ending two weeks ago).
  2. Negate searches with enough clicks and no sales or page reads.
  3. Lower bids on targets that cost more than they earn; raise bids on profitable ones.
  4. Move winning searches into exact match.

The Kindle Author Ads Analyzer does steps 2 to 4 from the report in about ten seconds, judged on series profit, and gives you one bulk file to upload.

Run your own report through the Kindle Author Ads Analyzer

Free, runs in your browser, no signup. See which terms to negate, which bids to move and which keywords pay across the series.

Analyze my report

Questions

Where do I create Amazon Ads for my book?

From your KDP Bookshelf choose Promote and Advertise, then Run an ad campaign, or go straight to the Amazon Ads console for your marketplace.

What budget should I start with?

A small daily budget you're comfortable spending while you learn, spread across a few campaigns. Budget only limits spend; your bids decide whether the spend is profitable.

Should I advertise book 1 or the whole series?

Start with book 1. That's where readers enter the series and where read-through value comes from.

How often should I change my ads?

Weekly is enough for most authors: add negatives, adjust bids on targets with enough data, and harvest winning searches.

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