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When should I start paying for Amazon Ads on a self-published book?

KDP does not publish a sales total or a review count you must hit before a book can run Sponsored Products, and that ad type does not require a series. You set the maximum you will pay per click and a daily budget, and you pay only when someone clicks. Whether Amazon Ads for books are worth that spend is a separate question from when you can start.

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The short answer

  1. KDP does not state a sales total or a review count you must reach before a book can run Sponsored Products. A series is not required for that ad type.[81]
  2. KDP says to start with Sponsored Products. You pay only when a reader clicks, and you set both the bid and the budget.[81][82]
  3. The minimum daily budget is $1.00, or the local equivalent. Sponsored Products have no monthly fee.[82]
  4. KDP tells you to put a clear summary on the detail page before you advertise. Up to seven keywords and up to three categories are how the listing is filed for search. They are not listed as an ads eligibility test.[81][84][85]
  5. Amazon Ads recommends letting a first Sponsored Products campaign run for 2 to 3 weeks. It does not publish a cost-per-click or a sales result that means the test worked.[82][83]

01

What Amazon says to have ready

KDP's advertising help says a strong detail page can help turn a click into a sale. It tells you to give that page a good summary of the book, and to be able to support any claim you put in an ad. A+ Content, which adds images and comparison tables, is optional. The same page says to add the book to Author Central. It does not say you need a set number of reviews, a finished series, or a period of unsponsored sales first. Keywords and categories are separate listing tools. You can enter up to seven keywords or short phrases, and you choose up to three categories when you create the book. KDP also says the title, subtitle, author name, and series information on the cover should match those metadata fields. None of these pages states a minimum review count for ads.[81][84][85][86]

  • KDP says to start with Sponsored Products. Sponsored Brands, which can show several books, requires at least one pen name with three unique titles in Author Central.
  • Ads for KDP titles are available in the US, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, India, Australia, and Japan.
  • If a book published in the last 15 minutes is not showing as eligible, KDP support handles that. If it is still ineligible after 15 minutes, Amazon Ads support handles it.

02

How Sponsored Products billing works

Sponsored Products use a cost-per-click auction. You set the maximum you will pay when a customer clicks. Amazon says a more competitive bid makes a display more likely. It does not publish a typical bid. You also set a daily budget, which is the amount you are willing to spend on that campaign over a calendar month. Amazon's own example is a $100 daily budget, which can allow up to $3,100 of clicks in a 31-day month. That figure is an illustration of the cap, not a required test budget. A small budget can be spent in a few minutes, because Amazon does not spread it evenly through the day. Amazon says the final cost will not exceed the amount you set for the campaign. You can raise or lower the daily budget after the ads are live. The minimum is $1.00. There is no monthly fee.[81][82][83]

  • Start from the KDP marketing tab, in the Amazon Ads section, and use Start Advertising. After that, manage campaigns in the ads console, which you can also open from the KDP marketing tab.
  • A new book ad goes through moderation. KDP says this is usually within 24 hours and can take up to 3 business days. The timelines page says the review is done up to 3 days after submission.
  • Adding or updating a card can place a temporary $50 pre-authorization hold. KDP says this is not the advertising charge, that you are charged only for actual spend, and that the bank releases the hold in 3 to 7 business days. The amount can vary by marketplace and payment method.
  • Amazon Ads says you are charged when clicks first reach $1.00, again when they meet a credit limit that starts at $50 and then rises to $150, $200, $350, and $500, and on the third day of the month for any balance still due. A seller or vendor account may have fees deducted from that balance instead. KDP's own help discusses card payment. It does not say ad spend is taken from KDP royalties.
  • After you pause or stop a campaign, KDP says clicks and charges can continue for another 24 hours. Kindle e-reader activity recorded offline can be charged for up to 10 days after the campaign ends. Those charges still cannot exceed the campaign budget.

03

What a first test can look like

KDP says the first campaign to create is Sponsored Products: choose the book, set a bid and a daily budget, and submit it. Amazon Ads says that first campaign can use automatic targeting, and it recommends leaving an initial Sponsored Products campaign running for 2 to 3 weeks so it can collect data. KDP says campaign metrics may take up to 14 days to appear, and that you should wait until orders data is populated before judging performance. The sales number in Amazon Ads is the value attributed to clicks. It does not include Kindle Unlimited pages read. A separate estimated page-read figure counts pages read within 14 days after a click. Your KDP reports are the record of royalties. Amazon does not state a cost-per-click, a sales count, or a return that means the test succeeded or failed.[77][81][82][83][89][90]

  • Inside KDP Select, a Free Book Promotion can run for up to 5 days in each 90-day term, at a price of zero, with no royalty on those downloads. Unused days do not carry over. Enrollment requires ebook exclusivity.
  • A Kindle Countdown Deal is the other Select price promotion. You can use only one of the two types in a term, and only one countdown deal per term. The ebook must already have been in Select for at least 30 days, and the digital list price must be unchanged for 30 days before the deal and 14 days after it. On Amazon.com that price must be from $2.99 to $24.99. On Amazon.co.uk it must be from 1.99 to 15.99 pounds, including VAT. The deal runs only on those two marketplaces, for 1 hour to 7 days.
  • Newsletter promotions are a separate purchase. KDP says you may promote through third-party sites, that you are responsible for their tactics, and that it advises against any site that guarantees a return. Amazon does not publish a price comparison between those promotions and Sponsored Products.
  • The publishing cost calculator prices production. It does not price ads. Keep advertising spend separate from editing, cover, and formatting.

04

Are Amazon Ads for books worth it?

This page covers when a self-published book can start Amazon Ads, and how Sponsored Products are billed. Amazon does not state a cost-per-click, a sales count, or a return that means a first test succeeded. Worth it is a different decision from the start date.[81][82]

  • KDP does not state a sales total or a review count you must reach before Sponsored Products.
  • You pay only when a reader clicks. The minimum daily budget is $1.00, and Sponsored Products have no monthly fee.
  • Amazon Ads recommends letting a first Sponsored Products campaign run for 2 to 3 weeks. It does not publish a result that means the test worked.

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