I almost didn’t write an AMS article today. I tend to write non-fiction when I’m blocked on writing fiction, but in the last four months I’ve written and published six non-fiction titles and am almost done with a seventh. Which means I’m ready to escape back into a fantasy world where dragons are real and good eventually prevails.
But there I was, poking at my AMS ads just now and trying to figure out what to do about it, and I figured why not? I’m having a few thoughts worth sharing.
See, there’s a lot of talk lately about bidding low on AMS and waiting for ads to start performing, sometimes weeks later.
I’m personally a little too impatient for that approach. If I start a Product Display ad and it doesn’t move I keep upping the bid until it does. (And then think, oh shit, I need to turn that thing off before it spends all my money.)
But right now I have a few low-bid ads running. One is on the AMS book. It has 19,827 impressions, 29 clicks, an aCPC of 8 cents, has spent $2.36 and has reported sales of $14.97 for an ACoS of 15.76%.
That’s a successful ad. Do that a million times and you’d be rich.
But it’s taken it weeks to get those numbers.
On the flip side I have another AMS ad that’s currently turned off that has 81,314 impressions, 60 clicks, an aCPC of 31 cents, has spent $18.61 and has reported sales of $22.44 for an ACoS of 82.93%. (I should note that the book was in KU while this one was running so factor accordingly when looking at the ACoS.)
Not as successful an ad in terms of pure profit. But the ad built up most of that performance in a much shorter period of time which meant a good rank and good visibility and a shot at organic sales and momentum.
So which is better? The slow and low approach that’s pretty much guaranteed to be profitable but usually results in one isolated sale at a time and has no opportunity to build momentum? Or the fast and high approach that can result in a good enough ranking that it generates organic sales and maybe plays more into that seven-impressions-to-a-sale phenomenon but can cost money if it doesn’t work?
I tend towards fast and high. But I did hesitate to pause the slow and low AMS ad today. Partially because I think the fast and high ads require more attention than the slow and low and October is going to be one helluva month for me. But partially because that’s a nice profit margin and no guarantee the fast and high ad will deliver more sales if I turn it back on.
So it’s tempting to leave that slow and low one going. But there’s nothing like seeing sales hit your dashboard. And mama’s gotta get her fix. (Haha. I swear, I’m not drinking. It’s just Friday.)
Anyway. When it comes to bidding, both strategies can be profitable, but one probably has much more risk than the other. And also the potential for much better outcomes. It’s all a question of how much of a risk-taker you are.
M.L. Humphrey 