Running an Amazon ad campaign can be a great way to introduce your book to new readers and increase sales, but there’s no denying that Amazon Advertising comes with a learning curve. Let this article serve as your introductory guide to effective Amazon ad campaigns.

As of October 2020, you can run two types of ads through Amazon Advertising: Sponsored Product Ads and Lockscreen Ads. Sponsored Product Ads appear on relevant search result pages and individual product listings, while Lockscreen Ads are shown on readers’ Kindle lockscreens.

To succeed in the business of writing and selling books, you’ll need an online headquarters — a place that readers can visit to learn everything they need to know about who you are, what you write, and where they can purchase your books. In other words, you’ll need an author website.

What information should an author website include? How does one go about creating an author website, exactly? When is the right time to create and launch your online headquarters?

Every successful author needs a platform, which publishing professional Jane Friedman defines as “the ability to sell books because of who you are or who you can reach.”

Unless you’re a celebrity, politician, or public speaker, you probably won’t find commercial success as an author simply because of who you are. Instead, it will be your ability to reach and engage with readers that will ultimately determine your success as a writer.

So, how do you build an author platform that will help you develop a readership and writing career?

It’s no secret that social media can be both an incredible tool and an incredible distraction.

Unfortunately, that distraction isn’t limited to the amount of time we spend mindlessly scrolling. Maintaining an active social media presence can also eat away at the limited amount of time most writers have to dedicate to their work. It’s no wonder I’m often asked how one can balance writing and social media marketing, or even whether writers must have a social presence in the first place. It’s the latter question I’d like to address in depth today.