Mark Dawson has a short free Kindle book on AMS ads available on Amazon, but the big changes in AMS/AA probably are not reflected in it; that is, it may not have been updated. Key is the change in the dashboard options when setting up the ads. Another very significant change is the AA suggested bids are two to three times higher than before--and in live ads those high keyword bids seem to be sustained. Which puts being able to advertise on AA economically at risk, IMO.
I've been doing these ads successfully for the past two years and have achieved consistent sales on titles that were doing nothing and I have gotten sales for new stand-alone titles in well-defined markets. Those ads stopped spending much money a few months ago but still produce sales. My most recent ad, however, which I started this week, has acted like a Facebook ad--spent a huge amount of money without good results, and with enormous keyword costs. This is not the way these ads used to work. The AA dashboard of course doesn't show any sales at all yet, but my KDP dashboard clearly shows them, and they are pitiful.
I'm fine with pay to play. That's what I've been doing for the past couple of years. But when the dollar amounts and the results go wacky, I'm concerned.
I've recently experimented yet again with FB ads and I can't say they're performing any better than they ever have, that is, they cost too much for too little result. This despite endless efforts to improve my sales copy and visuals and getting the best advice from numerous FB ad gurus.
