Amazon makes it easy for you to access their ads platform from a number of places. The Amazon Advertising dashboard is where you will create new ads and manage existing ads. In this checklist you will access the website and set up your account for the first time. There are also instructions on how to access Amazon Advertising from KDP and Author central.

Amazon Ads Website

In this section you will access amazonads.com and set up an Amazon Ads account if you haven’t haven’t set one up yet. There are also instruction to log in when you return to manage your ads.

Set Up Amazon Advertising

Use this checklist if you are accessing Amazon Ads for the first time. Once this section is complete, you will need to set up your account, which is not in this checklist.

1.Go to Amazon Advertising at advertising.amazon.com or amazonads.com.

NOTE: This checklist assumes you are in the United States. Consult KDP help to find the platform for the country in which you publish.

2. Choose Register.

3. In step 1 choose Sponsored Ads > United States.

4. Choose Products Sold on Amazon > Kindle Direct Publishing Account.

5. Enter your Amazon Login information. Your Amazon Advertising dashboard will open.

IMPORTANT: Your Amazon log in information is typically what you use for your KDP account. If you don't have a KDP account, use the Amazon account you use for your Author Central account.

Sign Into the Advertising Dashboard

If you are returning to Amazon Ads, follow these steps to log in to your account.

1. Go to Amazon Advertising at advertising.amazon.com.

2. Choose Sign In.

3. Choose United States, then click on Sign In.

4. You will either need to log in to your Amazon account or the ads dashboard will open.

KDP Marketing Page

Follow these steps if you have already set up your Amazon Ads account. This checklist will open the ads dashboard from KDP.

1. Sign in to your KDP account.

2. Choose Marketing from the top menu.

3. Go to the Amazon Ads section and choose amazon.com, then click on Go to Ads Console. Your Amazon Advertising dashboard will open.

KDP Bookshelf

Follow these steps if you have already set up your Amazon Ads account. This checklist will start an ad for a chosen book from the KDP Bookshelf.

1. Sign in to your KDP account.

2. On the Bookshelf page, find the book you want to advertise.

3. Under Kindle Book Options, choose Promote and Advertise.

NOTE: If Promote and Advertise isn’t available, use the More (...) menu to find it.

4. Go to the Run an Ad Campaign box and choose amazon.com, then click on Create an Ad Campaign. 

5. The page to start an ad campaign opens instead of the ads dashboard. If you want to go to the ads dashboard, click on Campaign Manager at the top left.

Author Central

Follow these steps if you have already set up your Amazon Ads account. This checklist will open the ads dashboard from your Author Central account.

1. Sign in to your Author Central account.

2. Click on Reports + Marketing at the top of the page.

3. Go to the Amazon Advertising box on the right side.

4. Choose United States under Choose a Marketplace.

5. Click on Go to Ads Console and you’ll go to the Ads dashboard.

It's that easy... and quite convenient to access the Amazon Ads dashboard from so many different locations.

1. Author Follows

Amazon is invested in understanding their customers’ preferences because it results in more sales, and every store wants to sell more products. The Author Follow button is one way Amazon can track what their reader base likes and is more likely to buy. Readers can follow authors from their Author Central page or any of their books’ product pages, but only if the author has an Author Central account. And once a reader follows an author, Amazon will show that author’s books to her in emails and on their website to promote more sales.

Identify the number of followers you have on your Author Central control panel. 

Similar to how you would encourage fans to follow your social media accounts and GoodReads author page, you should encourage readers to follow you on Author Central for the reasons previously mentioned. Put a link to the page on your website and include it on your promotional materials. Get your number of followers up, and you will sell more books.

2. Brand Awareness

Your Author Central page reflects your brand as an author. The profile you publish tells readers who you are and what you write. If you are producing a series, customers can easily find the next book or two they’d like to read in highlighted series sections. There are places to tell readers which of your books  they should read, along with recommendations for the books you enjoy. 

It’s important to note that the author name link on a book’s detail page or in search results directs to an author’s Author Central account. If you don’t set up an Author Central account, this link goes to a page that lists your books mixed with other authors’ books. This means you could lose a sale to another author whose book outshines yours, and I’m sure you don’t want that to happen.

Readers do want to know who you are, including your background, accomplishments, credentials, and that you are a real human. These days, not only do we compete with human authors, we compete against AI more and more. Readers are becoming even more invested in knowing the identity of an author. If they like you, they believe they will like your stories.

3. Google Search Results

Simply stated, Google indexes author page on Amazon. When someone googles your author name, you want all the top search results to be flooded with your website, social media links, and such. More so, direct links to buy your books are better at the top. Since you’ll sell more books on Amazon, it’s best that your Author Central account link be as close to the top as possible after a Google Search. Go google your author name now. Discover where it ranks. Any way that you can increase visibility of your books is a good thing!

4. Book Information Control

There are a number of book information updates you can apply to your books from Author Central: add editorial reviews, update your book descriptions, add author comments to a book page, and more. Editorial reviews are positive testimonials about your book that catch a reader's attention and tell them your book is worth reading. Actively updating your author comments tells both readers and Amazon you are invested in selling books. This option is especially helpful if you have a publisher and a lack of control of your books via KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).

5. Marketing Materials

Again, if you are traditionally published and do not have access to KDP, the marketing materials that Amazon provides in Author Central are extremely helpful to view your book rankings and manage your marketing needs. In the Sales Ranking report, you’ll find your rankings in the various Amazon marketplaces around the world. There is also a BookScan report available for free on Author Central, which expands a picture of your rankings across other bookstores. Author central also provides easier access to your review, so you can use them in your marketing materials on social media or print.

Finally, Amazon Advertising is accessible from Author Central. This is especially handy for traditionally published authors. If you haven’t already realized this, you won’t sell books unless you advertise on Amazon. Having control over your advertising is important because you also have control over advertising budgets. 

Part of being an author is getting your name and face and books out there for all to see. And your Amazon Author Central page is an invaluable tool every author needs to further your exposure. It’s easy to set up and maintain, so make an effort to visit your page and update it frequently.