AMS Service Frequently Asked Questions
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How much does it cost?
I charge $600 per month for domestic (US) campaigns, $850 / month for a combination of domestic and international campaigns. Please see the Billing FAQs below for more details.
Do you also charge a % of the revenue you bring in?
No. I charge a flat rate and that’s it. Should your ad management prove to be successful beyond both our wildest dreams, then the rewards are all yours to keep. My intent is to charge a fair price for the service I provide, not gouge you.
What do I get for my monthly fee?
Following our initial onboarding, you’ll receive on average 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week, dedicated to managing your ad account. This includes:
- Management of up to ten domestic (US) AMS and/or Advantage ad campaigns (or split between them)
- Optional management of up to ten additional international campaigns split by up to three additional countries (English speaking only).
- New ad creation
- Ad Optimization
- Building and testing keyword lists
- Ad tagline testing (and construction if desired)
- Gauging Kindle Unlimited effectiveness (if applicable)
- Managing your established budget to ensure no overspend.
That sounds like an awful lot to do in half an hour.
You wouldn’t be incorrect. Daily monitoring will include a look at all of your running ads and appropriate keyword or bidding tweaks to each. The remaining time will be spent focusing more deeply on individual ads, thus ensuring that, over time, all of your running ads receive the proper attention. Some days will be heavier, some will be lighter. There will also be days where I’ll spend considerably more time on your account, building new keyword lists for implementation.
What does onboarding entail?
It’s all about getting a feel for your books, your brand, and your categories. During this time I’ll take a look at rankings, start building keyword lists, examine your existing ads (if applicable), and clarify any questions I might have so that I can hit the ground running. Expect 2 to 4 business days for this.
Why are you offering this service?
Simple. A lot of marketing companies are only interested in clients with budgets of $10k/month or up, and they likewise charge fees that would make it unwise to hire them for anything less. But what about mid-budget authors who’d rather spend their time writing rather than constantly worrying about ads? There’s a distinct lack of services for them, which is where I come in.
I’ve been advertising on AMS ever since Sponsored Ads was in beta. I spend time every day working on my own campaigns: tweaking, optimizing, and updating them. However, I realize this is a commitment not everyone is able (or willing) to make with regards to their own marketing. As such, I’ve decided to offer my services to a limited number of clients so as to give their ads the same TLC I give my own.
Who is this service for?
This service is primarily aimed at established authors with an advertising budget of between $1.5k to $4k/month who would prefer to outsource this portion of their marketing. It’s meant to give them an affordable option for outsourcing, while also providing them with the expertise of an experienced author who knows what it’s like to be in the trenches.
Speaking of which, I thought you were a full-time writer.
I am and will continue to be. However, I’ve set aside a few hours of my work day to share my experience. As such, I’m only opening this up to a limited number of clients. Once those slots are full, that’s it until such time as one opens up again.
Why should I work with you?
Because what you see is what you get. All of the work is done by me. I don’t have a staff of assistants to delegate this to and I don’t subcontract. There are no nameless/faceless account managers here. As for my credentials: I’m a best-selling author with over ten years of self-publishing experience, more than two dozen books, and half-a-million sales to my name. Before that, I spent 20 years in corporate America managing ecommerce departments with multi-million-dollar ad budgets.
What ACOS do you aim for?
This is a difficult question because a lot will depend on your individual circumstance. An ACOS of 250% would likely be disastrous for a standalone title or a book not in Kindle Unlimited. However, it could be quite lucrative for a first in series with healthy sell through. Ultimately, my goal is to make your ad spend profitable for you – whether that’s through sales, borrows, or sell-through.
What if you can’t make this work for me?
Any marketer who guarantees success is probably one to reconsider putting your faith in. Unlike some services, which will happily continue spending your money so long as you employ them, I have no interest in that. If, after three-months I feel I cannot do justice to your AMS needs, I will recuse myself from your account. The only guarantee I can or will make is I will try my best to make your campaigns successful. If I cannot, I’ll be honest about it.
What if another author publishing in the same genre as me hires you?
Your information, personal data, and campaign data are yours and yours alone. They will not be shared with other clients. The only information I will share with either you or other clients will be general redacted success stories which I feel highlight the service and/or customer approved testimonials.
Please note, however, that similar books in similar genres can and likely will end up with similar keywords in their active campaigns. This is simply the nature of how AMS works.
What if I need to speak to you?
In addition to a monthly check-in/summary, I’m happy to set up face to face meetings via Skype, Google Hangouts, or FaceTime as needed. I am likewise available for text chat via email or Facebook Messenger.
Will you help with creating marketing taglines/blurbs for my ads?
Yes, if you so choose. I can either work with your pre-existing blurbs or develop and test new ones. If you choose to have me do them, though, I ask that you make yourself available via DM to answer questions about your book(s) so I can make informed decisions.
I said my budget is $XXXX and you’re heavily under-spending it.
When creating new ads, I tend to be conservative – judging effectiveness before I ramp up spend. In addition, unlike other ad platforms – like Facebook – Amazon has limited inventory of ad space. The more competitive the genre, the more competitive those ad slots. Though ultimately you call the shots, my preference is to spend your budget wisely not recklessly.
What if I already have ads running, do those count as part of my 10?
That’s entirely up to you. If, for example, you have an automated ad running that you don’t want me to touch, then that’s fine. It doesn’t count toward your total. If you want me to manage them for you, then it does.
Will you teach me how to manage my ads?
This is a managed service. However, there are plenty of master classes out there if you wish to effectively manage your own ads.
Do I have to give you access to my KDP account for this to work?
No. Amazon keeps AMS and KDP separate. While you will need to add me as an editor to your AMS account (which you can revoke at any time), I will not have access to your book shelf or personal information. I will need access to be able to create, terminate, and modify your AMS ad campaigns but that is all.
How do I do that?
You’ll need to find Account Settings and Access under the Administration tab of your AMS Dashboard. Once there click the option to Invite User, add my name the and the email address I give you, then select the button to make me an Editor and click the Invite User button at the top of the page. Please note: Amazon is constantly updating their administration pages, so the steps may be a bit different. Don’t worry if it is. I’ll be there to help you during onboarding.
What if I don’t want to give you access? Can we just do this by email instead?
Not really. While I understand the concern, doing so adds both extra time and complexity to the ad management process which falls outside the scope of what is covered. Though technically possible, you would effectively end up with half the management you’re otherwise paying for.
What about Amazon Attribution ads?
Yes and no. I’m not trying to be difficult, but attribution ads are a different animal than the rest of AMS. They’re meant to provide you with links for use off of Amazon’s website (such as on Facebook ads or social media links). If you need help setting these up, I’m more than happy to provide it. They won’t count as part of your campaign total since setting them up is mostly a one-time thing. That said, how you use them beyond Amazon’s website is a bit beyond the scope of the services I’m providing here.
How long do I have to commit?
Contracts are month to month and you can cancel at any time.
What are your payment terms?
Your first payment is due upon start of service – including a non-refundable fee of $300, which covers onboarding and your first two weeks of ad management.
Following that, you will be billed at the beginning of each month (prorated to calendar month depending on start of service). Payments must be made via either PayPal or credit card and will be invoiced at Net 15 terms.
Can I get a refund if I cancel?
The charge covering your first two weeks of service ($300) is non-refundable. This takes into account my time to onboard your brand, determine your needs, and create initial ads (as well as your first half month of management).
Outside of that, refunds and/or reductions to your outstanding bill are made on a prorated basis dependent on when you cancel. For example, if you cancel a week into the month you’ll receive a refund of roughly three quarters your current payment to take into account the work already done.
My ad budget is smaller than you recommend. Do you have a cheaper tier than the one listed on the main page?
I am debating creating an introductory tier for those just starting out. But please know that ad creation and optimization will take longer the more time I cut down.
What if I have more than ten ads? Can I pay more?
Not at this time. I’m limiting this to set number of hours and clients. Writing remains my full-time endeavor. If your needs are greater than I can provide, I suggest seeking out a dedicated team of specialists to manage your account.
Please note: the ten-ad limit doesn’t count toward international ads if you choose to undertake those as well.
Can I cancel if you decide to raise the price?
That won’t happen. Existing clients are grandfathered to the monthly rate of when they first begin service. Please note, however, if you cancel service and decide to sign back up later you will be considered a new client again.