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Mastering Amazon Ads: An Author's Guide
Find Readers.
Build your brand.
Change your life.
Mastering Amazon Ads will let you reach your goals. You'll learn what it takes to understand how to manage your ad dollars to maximize your return-on-investment.
Whether you're an Indie author self-publishing for the first time or an experienced author working on your book marketing skills, this book will help you build an advertising and marketing plan that will find readers and end up selling lots of books.
Learn how to:
- run ads
- manage ads
- analyze ads
- optimize your description for improved conversions
- build a long-term plan
This book will give you the road map to success you need to quit your day job and get back to writing.
Build your brand.
Change your life.
Mastering Amazon Ads will let you reach your goals. You'll learn what it takes to understand how to manage your ad dollars to maximize your return-on-investment.
Whether you're an Indie author self-publishing for the first time or an experienced author working on your book marketing skills, this book will help you build an advertising and marketing plan that will find readers and end up selling lots of books.
Learn how to:
- run ads
- manage ads
- analyze ads
- optimize your description for improved conversions
- build a long-term plan
This book will give you the road map to success you need to quit your day job and get back to writing.
251 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 17, 2017
223 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
About the author
Brian D. Meeks
22 books100 followersBrian D. Meeks is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in Economics. He is the author of the Henry Wood Detective Series, a satire series, Underwood, Scotch, and Wry, and has some stand alone YA, a science fiction series, and in 2019 is working on a 10 book Epic Fantasy series.
He lives on the Las Vegas strip.
And really loves people who post pictures of guinea pigs on Facebook.
They are adorable!
He lives on the Las Vegas strip.
And really loves people who post pictures of guinea pigs on Facebook.
They are adorable!
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
July 5, 2018
I'm at a bit of a loss in how to review this book. On the one hand, there are some aspects of the book that are very interesting. I'd say the first third to half of the book was worth the read. Unfortunately, the last half was difficult to get through.
The information itself in the book is okay. I've heard such incredible things about the author and how he's a genius at AMS that I was willing to put down a whole $10 for a book. For me, that's a lot more than I normally spend, and the book itself has a very low-cost production feel to it and not enough new information to make it worthwhile. If you have never tried AMS before, have no idea how to gather data and analyze it, and are completely in the dark about ad copy and such, then you'll probably love this book. For everyone else, it's going to be hit and miss as to whether this book is useful.
Honestly, the biggest issue I had with the book is that his writing style just didn't work for me. There's a lot of rambling, stream of conscious narrative that was difficult to follow. Some of it was meant to be cutesy, but I didn't find it entertaining or particularly funny. Mostly, it just made it difficult for me to glean the useful bits that were buried in rambling. There were entire chapters that I'm still straining to understand what it had to do with anything, why he included it (other than for some sort of comic relief), and if I'm missing something that I didn't find it entertaining or informative.
UPDATE: I did a little digging into this guy's sales on Amazon and none of them are selling that well (at least according to his Amazon ranking). Either he's not doing his AMS advertising anymore (which he claims in his book is such a huge moneymaker, so why would he stop?) or he's padding his success with AMS. Something isn't adding up. Either way, I'm starting to get a bit suspicious about a lot of his claims in this book.
UPDATE OF MY UPDATE: So, I did try to follow Meeks' advice on running / setting up my AMS ads, and it was an unmitigated disaster. Sure, his techniques are not going to work for everyone, but every single ad I ran using his suggested set-up ended up losing me money hand over fist. I am not dropping my review down to 1 star because he does have some great advice on how to look at the data and his basic description of AMS. But I would be hesitant to take most of what he says as fact. I'm becoming more and more convinced that his ads aren't as successful as he claims them to be. It looks like this book is his only one that is doing well, which isn't a ringing endorsement for his ability to sell books.
Bottom line, I wouldn't suggest putting money down on this book. Check out Dave at Kindlepreneur. He has all the same kind of good info this book has but for free. FREE! And I'd say his advice on running ads tends to be more accurate.
The information itself in the book is okay. I've heard such incredible things about the author and how he's a genius at AMS that I was willing to put down a whole $10 for a book. For me, that's a lot more than I normally spend, and the book itself has a very low-cost production feel to it and not enough new information to make it worthwhile. If you have never tried AMS before, have no idea how to gather data and analyze it, and are completely in the dark about ad copy and such, then you'll probably love this book. For everyone else, it's going to be hit and miss as to whether this book is useful.
Honestly, the biggest issue I had with the book is that his writing style just didn't work for me. There's a lot of rambling, stream of conscious narrative that was difficult to follow. Some of it was meant to be cutesy, but I didn't find it entertaining or particularly funny. Mostly, it just made it difficult for me to glean the useful bits that were buried in rambling. There were entire chapters that I'm still straining to understand what it had to do with anything, why he included it (other than for some sort of comic relief), and if I'm missing something that I didn't find it entertaining or informative.
UPDATE: I did a little digging into this guy's sales on Amazon and none of them are selling that well (at least according to his Amazon ranking). Either he's not doing his AMS advertising anymore (which he claims in his book is such a huge moneymaker, so why would he stop?) or he's padding his success with AMS. Something isn't adding up. Either way, I'm starting to get a bit suspicious about a lot of his claims in this book.
UPDATE OF MY UPDATE: So, I did try to follow Meeks' advice on running / setting up my AMS ads, and it was an unmitigated disaster. Sure, his techniques are not going to work for everyone, but every single ad I ran using his suggested set-up ended up losing me money hand over fist. I am not dropping my review down to 1 star because he does have some great advice on how to look at the data and his basic description of AMS. But I would be hesitant to take most of what he says as fact. I'm becoming more and more convinced that his ads aren't as successful as he claims them to be. It looks like this book is his only one that is doing well, which isn't a ringing endorsement for his ability to sell books.
Bottom line, I wouldn't suggest putting money down on this book. Check out Dave at Kindlepreneur. He has all the same kind of good info this book has but for free. FREE! And I'd say his advice on running ads tends to be more accurate.
July 15, 2017
Like many other authors, I'd been using Amazon ads, but wasn't convinced they were doing me any good. I was resigned to using them in a limited fashion just to get eyes on my books. Expectations were low. This book changed everything.
I knew I'd written good books that readers loved, I just couldn't find enough of those readers to make much money. I'd already tried all of the usual promotional sites and realized they wouldn't do much more for me. Once I started reading this book and following the instructions, I quickly turned things around. I'm finally making enough money to consider quitting my day job, without spending any more than I used to. I'm just spending it smarter.
Make no mistake- Amazon ads aren't an easy fix. You'll spend a lot of time and energy setting up and analyzing ads on a daily basis. But Brian Meeks guides you through the bewildering masses of data, and before you know it, you're running experiments on your own, with the knowledge that you aren't just blindly throwing money at an advertising method that may or may not yield results. And best of all, you don't have to discount or give your work away.
Get this book, follow the instructions while chuckling at the dorktastic witticisms, and watch your books find their audience!
(cross-posted to Amazon)
I knew I'd written good books that readers loved, I just couldn't find enough of those readers to make much money. I'd already tried all of the usual promotional sites and realized they wouldn't do much more for me. Once I started reading this book and following the instructions, I quickly turned things around. I'm finally making enough money to consider quitting my day job, without spending any more than I used to. I'm just spending it smarter.
Make no mistake- Amazon ads aren't an easy fix. You'll spend a lot of time and energy setting up and analyzing ads on a daily basis. But Brian Meeks guides you through the bewildering masses of data, and before you know it, you're running experiments on your own, with the knowledge that you aren't just blindly throwing money at an advertising method that may or may not yield results. And best of all, you don't have to discount or give your work away.
Get this book, follow the instructions while chuckling at the dorktastic witticisms, and watch your books find their audience!
(cross-posted to Amazon)
August 30, 2017
I did the math
ROI on this book is very poor. Three quarters of it is the author rambling and talking BS. Price should be in the $2.49 range. This book IS an Ad. Self-promotion dominates the whole content. Little valuable information divided by high price minus equals disappointed reader.
ROI on this book is very poor. Three quarters of it is the author rambling and talking BS. Price should be in the $2.49 range. This book IS an Ad. Self-promotion dominates the whole content. Little valuable information divided by high price minus equals disappointed reader.
September 17, 2017
Excellent. Truly. I will say that it focuses heavily on data, but Meeks is funny and has that rare quality of being able to translate data-ladened concepts into digestible chunks that actually made me excited to capture and analyse my own data, a trait worthy of an oscar if you ask me!
This is the kind of book that will certainly require a re-read, I made notes and highlights as I went, but as I go back and start to embed some of his practices (which I certainly will) I'll have to re-read the instructions again.
This book is both full of strategic principles you can think and chew over as well as the nitty gritty and super practical actions you should take.
Frankly one of the best and most useful writing related non-fiction books on the market right now.
I've already made three writing friends but copies.
Thank you for writing such a handy book.
This is the kind of book that will certainly require a re-read, I made notes and highlights as I went, but as I go back and start to embed some of his practices (which I certainly will) I'll have to re-read the instructions again.
This book is both full of strategic principles you can think and chew over as well as the nitty gritty and super practical actions you should take.
Frankly one of the best and most useful writing related non-fiction books on the market right now.
I've already made three writing friends but copies.
Thank you for writing such a handy book.
August 19, 2017
What could possibly be better than a book that helps you figure out how to successfully use Amazon advertising to sell books? I’ll tell you what: A book that achieves that objectives while being entertaining to read. Brian Meeks has achieved both, and I am in his debt!
December 30, 2017
A guide that takes you by the hand and walks you through the logic, the maths and the mechanics of Amazon Ads; and does it with humour. My favourite reference book this year. (Use it in conjuction with Brian's Facebook group for even more help.) You will probably need to read it more than once - I know I am.
May 9, 2018
Don't get lost in the technical aspects of this system. Turn your brain off and follow along and you'll start to see results. The key is also patience. If you're looking for a get-rich-quick scheme this isn't the book for you, but if you're a serious author looking for results long-term and building your career, this is a must-have.
February 24, 2019
This book needs an update: several things have changed in the Amazon Ads world since it was published. Also, the structure wasn't that easy to follow: a couple of chapters were repetitive and each chapter would have benefited from some sub-headings. Nonetheless, the core message of "test, test, test some more" was helpful and I definitely feel better equipped now to start my own ads.
August 17, 2018
Mastering Amazon Ads: An Author’s Guide is widely known among authors as THE definitive guide to how to get Amazon ads working to sell your book, and there’s good reason why. Brian D. Meeks has spent an enormous amount of time and effort, and a fair amount of money, figuring out the arcane art and he really has mastered it.
The burning question, of course, is can you make this method work for you and YOUR books? Meeks does his level best to hold your hand every step of the way, patiently leading you through Amazon’s different types of ads and how best to make them work, keyword selection and even optimising cover design.
Now, I bought this book more than a year ago, and I’ve been slowly and intermittently puttering along trying to follow all the steps to get things right, but I’m pretty ADHD and I really think this is one thing you need to dedicate time to every day in order to really see the results. Which means I’m not really seeing them. Yet. I’m not giving up, though, because I really do think this is something I can get to work for me, once I get my keywords sorted out and a proper set of ads up and running.
It’s something of a logic equation. IF you have the patience and the time to put in on a daily basis to follow Meeks’ program AND IF you have a quality product (professional book cover, ad copy, blurb and well-reviewed) THEN you WILL see good results. You don’t need a heap of money like you do to experiment with Facebook ads; it’s actually very possible to run an extremely profitable set of ads on $10 a day or less.
There’s follow-up support available in a Facebook group where Meeks himself is an active presence, and plenty of people who are happy to give you advice and feedback on your book cover and ad copy. That in itself is absolutely invaluable; too often there’s no support for you to figure out where you’ve gone wrong.
In summary, if you consider yourself a professional self-publishing author and your book is eligible for Amazon advertising (you can’t advertise erotica, for example) you should have this book, and you should work through it. Take it at your own pace, but do it. Unless you have an advertising budget in the thousands to spend on Facebook, Amazon ads really are where it’s at. You can start small and scale up once you’ve found the sweet spot of readers and keywords which work for you.
Five stars for a book which should be in every serious self-publishing author’s library.
The burning question, of course, is can you make this method work for you and YOUR books? Meeks does his level best to hold your hand every step of the way, patiently leading you through Amazon’s different types of ads and how best to make them work, keyword selection and even optimising cover design.
Now, I bought this book more than a year ago, and I’ve been slowly and intermittently puttering along trying to follow all the steps to get things right, but I’m pretty ADHD and I really think this is one thing you need to dedicate time to every day in order to really see the results. Which means I’m not really seeing them. Yet. I’m not giving up, though, because I really do think this is something I can get to work for me, once I get my keywords sorted out and a proper set of ads up and running.
It’s something of a logic equation. IF you have the patience and the time to put in on a daily basis to follow Meeks’ program AND IF you have a quality product (professional book cover, ad copy, blurb and well-reviewed) THEN you WILL see good results. You don’t need a heap of money like you do to experiment with Facebook ads; it’s actually very possible to run an extremely profitable set of ads on $10 a day or less.
There’s follow-up support available in a Facebook group where Meeks himself is an active presence, and plenty of people who are happy to give you advice and feedback on your book cover and ad copy. That in itself is absolutely invaluable; too often there’s no support for you to figure out where you’ve gone wrong.
In summary, if you consider yourself a professional self-publishing author and your book is eligible for Amazon advertising (you can’t advertise erotica, for example) you should have this book, and you should work through it. Take it at your own pace, but do it. Unless you have an advertising budget in the thousands to spend on Facebook, Amazon ads really are where it’s at. You can start small and scale up once you’ve found the sweet spot of readers and keywords which work for you.
Five stars for a book which should be in every serious self-publishing author’s library.
September 2, 2018
I couldn't have possibly imagined that a book about Amazon ads could ever be so entertaining, so engaging, so... well... readable. But it was.
Sure, inevitably, there was a whole load of maths that really hurt my head, but even that doesn't seem quite as terrifyingly daunting when presented in Meeks' highly approachable style.
Highly, highly recommended. It's almost - almost - made me excited about data analysis. But let's not go totally crazy!
Of course, I'm not actually going to know how good this book really is until I'm floating off the coast of Southern France on my private yacht.
Sure, inevitably, there was a whole load of maths that really hurt my head, but even that doesn't seem quite as terrifyingly daunting when presented in Meeks' highly approachable style.
Highly, highly recommended. It's almost - almost - made me excited about data analysis. But let's not go totally crazy!
Of course, I'm not actually going to know how good this book really is until I'm floating off the coast of Southern France on my private yacht.
March 27, 2020
The author does a good job of digging into a complicated topic, but that's also the problem with it: this is a complicated topic. Some of the math (yes, there's lots of math!) I followed quite well, but others of it I truly struggled with and largely bypassed. I'm not sure if graphics and pictures might have helped, but I could see where he was trying to keep it simple. It's just, well, not. That's not to say that the book isn't worth investing in and working through, but some of it I'm going to need to sit in front of my computer with AMS Ads loaded and try to read and decipher much more slowly.
September 5, 2017
This book is an absolute must if you're trying to get to grips with Amazon ads for your books - not only will it show you how to set up your ads, but it goes much further and illustrates how to understand the data your ads produce, and how to 'manage' this in order to improve the ads you set up - overall the results are positive and you will see more sales. The book is written in a clear & understandable way with a dash of humour throughout. Well recommended.
January 3, 2018
As I tend to do with marketing books, I read through this pretty quickly and didn't dwell on the detail. It's good to read a book that takes things one step further than just using keyword ads, and has some info about how to start off product ads. I will definitely return to this and try out some of the ideas in my AMS campaigns. However, I will say, that this book simply confirms there is no easy solution. Try stuff out. Test. Experiment. Analyse. Try again.
January 24, 2018
There is good information here. I've tried a bit of it, and am not having much luck. I think the lesson throughout the book is test, review your data, test again. I'm still working on that part of it.
I learned a lot about ad copy, and Amazon description, and how to set up ads.
I think it was worth the cost of admission. Nicely done, Brian Meeks.
I learned a lot about ad copy, and Amazon description, and how to set up ads.
I think it was worth the cost of admission. Nicely done, Brian Meeks.
August 4, 2017
A lot of very useful advice—the book will pay for itself quickly. It's easy to read, and occasionally even funny. I gotta take a star off for some editing and structure issues that can be distracting.
September 20, 2017
A lighthearted and very transparent guide through all the noise surrounding AMS. I had a ton of questions, and nearly all them were answered objectively with data to support the experience.
Best guide out there.
Best guide out there.
October 1, 2017
Comprehensive guide to understanding the data behind ads
A great book for breaking down the variables and giving you a concrete plan for building your own ad campaigns. Highly recommended if you want to understand Amazon ads.
A great book for breaking down the variables and giving you a concrete plan for building your own ad campaigns. Highly recommended if you want to understand Amazon ads.
May 25, 2018
I've never tried Amazon ads before, but it seemed like time to learn. Meeks does a great job of demystifying the whole process, even though he seems to love data far more than I ever will. I look forward to dipping my toes into this new water...
Read
June 11, 2018This book is dense and the writing lacks clarity. Some of the advice might be useful. I'll have to return to it after more experimentation.
October 18, 2018
Have you entered the conundrum that is Amazon Marketing Services(AMS)? Were you completely lost like I was? Then, this book is for you.
I started AMS ads with absolutely no knowledge of how they worked and spent a long time learning and re-learning the ins and outs of ads. Am I an expert know—No, but I am a lot better than I was. This book is great for people starting out or trying to learn why their ads are failing. It's an easy to follow, well explained, step-by-step guide on how to set up your ads and how to maintain them also.
If you're going to be jumping into the pool, or looking to improve your ads grab a copy of this book, you won't be sorry!
I started AMS ads with absolutely no knowledge of how they worked and spent a long time learning and re-learning the ins and outs of ads. Am I an expert know—No, but I am a lot better than I was. This book is great for people starting out or trying to learn why their ads are failing. It's an easy to follow, well explained, step-by-step guide on how to set up your ads and how to maintain them also.
If you're going to be jumping into the pool, or looking to improve your ads grab a copy of this book, you won't be sorry!
September 3, 2018
An essential read if you're trying to understand how to use Amazon Ads. Meeks steps through the various types of ads and how to use them. He also emphasizes the importance of great ad copy and a great description in selling your book. Occasionally I found his explanations confusing and vague, but for the most par, the book is very useful.
May 25, 2018
I have yet to try any ads, simply because this book was so painful to get through. It has barely any organization- it's more of a stream-of-consciousness tome about doing ads.
Jesus. Just make some steps and tell people how to analyze the data. Then write some more steps on how to try another ad to get different data. Remember the word problems you hated in math in school? Imagine that, in book form. It's seriously hard to get through.
And I can't BELIEVE he let this thing go out with NO editor at all. It's riddled with typos and errors, which, for a technical writer/editor like me make it particularly painful to read.
It may have some great info in it, but I'll have to make myself re-read it to get to it.
Jesus. Just make some steps and tell people how to analyze the data. Then write some more steps on how to try another ad to get different data. Remember the word problems you hated in math in school? Imagine that, in book form. It's seriously hard to get through.
And I can't BELIEVE he let this thing go out with NO editor at all. It's riddled with typos and errors, which, for a technical writer/editor like me make it particularly painful to read.
It may have some great info in it, but I'll have to make myself re-read it to get to it.
August 25, 2018
Helpful but falls short
This is a helpful read esp for those new to AMS ads. It was the first book I read, then halfway I set it down to read others and watch YouTube videos. This book gave me a good basis for understanding more complex material, esp some videos. I later came back and finished it. What disappointed me about this book was ch 25. I actually thought he was setting up an experiment with 5 of his books and excited to see the results. There were no results. When ch 26 began and ended in 2 min I was left out in left field. To use a little of Brian’s humor it was like he heard the tea kettle go off and so did he and forgot to finish ch 25. I think his point was that anything is possible. And if that’s true...what’s the point in reading this book.
This is a helpful read esp for those new to AMS ads. It was the first book I read, then halfway I set it down to read others and watch YouTube videos. This book gave me a good basis for understanding more complex material, esp some videos. I later came back and finished it. What disappointed me about this book was ch 25. I actually thought he was setting up an experiment with 5 of his books and excited to see the results. There were no results. When ch 26 began and ended in 2 min I was left out in left field. To use a little of Brian’s humor it was like he heard the tea kettle go off and so did he and forgot to finish ch 25. I think his point was that anything is possible. And if that’s true...what’s the point in reading this book.
August 23, 2017
This is THE book to read to understand Amazon ads for authors. I do wish the author had given some resources for formulas and such for ad performance analysis, or a few more hard numbers to help figure out when an ad is "done," but then again, having to do the work myself is also a great motivator to really learn this stuff rather than operate by a formula that I don't understand. So I get why he didn't.
I'll be using this book for reference a lot going forward. I really can't recommend it highly enough.
I'll be using this book for reference a lot going forward. I really can't recommend it highly enough.
April 22, 2018
I found this book useful, which is all that matters right? But to be honest I could have done without the conversational writing style, and more information on how to do analysis and work out what to do next would have been useful.
March 1, 2018
It was okay. I wanted more.
I wish he gave more detail on how many ads to run. All in all, it did clarify much. It was ok
I wish he gave more detail on how many ads to run. All in all, it did clarify much. It was ok
May 12, 2018
I don't normally buy kindle books at this price, but this one had a lot of useful information in it. I'll probably re-read it a few times as I play around with ads for my own books.
May 16, 2018
Not for the beginner
Way to detailed. Repetitive. It sets the hook with the title. Then puts you to sleep with the details. Sorry
Way to detailed. Repetitive. It sets the hook with the title. Then puts you to sleep with the details. Sorry
March 3, 2019
Great introduction and guidance for authors wanting to try Amazon ads.
September 4, 2019
Some of the information in this book is out of date now because Amazon has changed it's ad interface.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews