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Publisher Rocket by Kindlepreneur Brings New Life to Keywords
When it comes to Amazon ads, we’ve established that manual targeting wins over automatic targeting. You can read the full article on why we prefer manual targeting for ads here.
AMAZON KEYWORDS. AUTOMATIC TARGETING VS CHOOSING YOUR OWN
Now, let’s talk about the best places to find keywords for your ads.
- Yasiv.com – a free website powered by Amazon that creates a matrix of books linked together by searches and sales data.
- Twinword.com – this website offers free and paid options and relies heavily on data from Google. A useful tool but the keywords are not tailored for use on Amazon.
- ApexAuthors.com – Apex Authors offers a subscription feature called Book Keyword Rocket that allows user to collect keywords while browsing Amazon pages.
- Kindlepreneur.com – Kindlepreneur has an app called Publisher Rocket a.k.a. KDP Rocket that offers a keyword search feature.
All four options above are great sources for keywords. Today, however, we are going to focus on Kindlepreneur and their newly updated app, Publisher Rocket.
In the past we have used and loved KDP Rocket from Kindlepreneur for researching keywords for Amazon ads. However, Amazon made changes in early 2019 that limited the searches and keyword output of the app. I’m happy to say that as of July 2019, that is no longer the case.
When Dave Chesson first created KDP Rocket, the program was geared toward marketing Kindle books only. However, as KDP Rocket has expanded to include features for marketing print books as well as Kindle books, the name was no longer a perfect fit. In May 2019 Kindlepreneur rolled out the updated and renamed app, Publisher Rocket. July 2019 ushered in additional enhancements that had us falling in love all over again.
The Kindlepreneur website has an article outlining all of the improvements to their system, but today we’re just going to focus on the AMS Keyword search feature.
As mentioned above, KDP Rocket was barely limping along earlier this year. Now, you can type in a phrase, competitive title or author that is pertinent to any book and Publisher Rocket will spit out a large list of keywords in seconds. You can also specify if you want to find keywords specific to a print or e-book – one of the upgraded features.
Even better, Publisher Rocket has expanded keyword generation. Not only will the app provide you with search terms, titles and keywords; they now also provide book ASINs!
Combine this feature with the January 7th changes at Amazon that allow authors and publisher to market by targeting specific books (using the ASIN) and this update is pure gold.
But wait, there’s more! (Said in my best Oprah voice.) Users can filter the keyword search results to ensure a curated list that fits their specific needs.
Pick and choose data such as Titles, Author Names, ASIN Numbers, Amazon Suggestions and Similar books to whittle down unwanted keywords.
To summarize, the updated app offers easy to use features that makes researching keywords for Amazon ads a snap. (Our team was able to use Publisher Rocket to find a list of 1,000 keywords – the recommended number for AMS ads – within just five minutes.)
We give the KDP Rocket to PubisherRocket overhaul two thumbs up!
Keri-Rae Barnum is the Marketing Director of New Shelves Books. She oversees New Shelves’ marketing programs and is passionate about helping authors and publishers find their unique voice in the ever-evolving world of book marketing.
Bookstores as the new Top 40 radio station?
It seems that each day brings another industry bulletin about how a bookstore has closed or how a chain will be reducing the number of titles it will carry. Brick and mortar stores are having to make hard choices; limiting their selection.
High retail rents, gasoline for delivery trucks, the economy, and unemployment can all be blamed, but not for long. Yes, it is time for consumers to tighten their budgets, but that is not the driving force behind the reduction in titles on bookstore shelves.
As a culture, we have become used to “shortcuts” and “hot-keys” in our work and home life. Our radios offer the same 100 songs each day with only a smirking nod to “independent” music. Technology does more than entertain and assist us; it often makes our choices for us. As we sink more deeply into our dependence upon technology, we lose our willingness to work for our pleasure.
Gone are the days when we slowly browsed a library or bookstore shelf looking for the perfect book to fit our mood. Those of us who find the time to read a book no longer have the time to search for one. We reach for the review section, listen to the latest NPR praise and ask our friends what their bookclubs are reading.
Armed with a vetted list, we can log on line or run into a bookshop and make a beeline for the front table. Chances are, the 11 books we have heard good things about are stacked there.
It is not that America does not have time for books, we don’t have time for bookstores. That is bad news for both parties. We want a quick hit, a guaranteed success, a sure thing. There is nothing wrong with that, but it will forever rob us of that one amazing “find” that could have altered our thinking; the hidden gem that could touch us so personally and deeply.
I understand the America is asking for fewer choices and that the bookstores have to do what is best for their business… I guess I was just hoping for more time before the book industry became what radio degenerated into 30 years ago…. a place for the masses to be told what to enjoy.
Your Book’s Journey
It is every writer’s dream to see his or her book in the front window of the local bookstore. It is fun to imagine tall, colorful stacks of your books surrounded by throngs of curious readers flipping through the pages as others rush to the cash register. Feel free to continue this fantasy as you pound the keyboard, but if you’re interested in turning the vision into reality, then suspend the writing and read on.
In order to make that dream come true, you have to stop thinking like a writer and start thinking like a publisher. For publishers, the dream location is not the bookstore shelf; that shelf is simply a short stop on the way to the real destination … a reader’s bookshelf. The only bookshelf that truly counts is the consumer’s. This blog has been created to guide your book into (and then out of) the hands of people who actually paid money to read it.
If you’re truly serious about publishing your book, then you need to shake off the fantasy and take a good, hard look at the challenge ahead. This isn’t meant to discourage you. The better prepared you are, the more successful you will be in reaching your goal.
The path a writer’s work takes through the publishing process, into the retail market, and then onto a consumer’s beside table is arduous. On this journey you will encounter misleading signposts, paths damaged by overuse, and rough road from underuse. But you will also experience a number of wondrous sights and resting places. The sweeps and turns of the publishing path can be fascinating—but even more rewarding if you know the lay of the land ahead of time.
As a writer on the verge of publishing, you are enthusiastic about your work and determined to see it through to book form. While these are certainly helpful qualities in battling the challenges ahead, there is one tool that will help you to overcome the obstacles and push forward during the final stretch: knowledge.
The best way to start a journey is to learn as much about your destination as possible. Once you know where you’re going, you’ll be able to plan your route to get there. So set your writing aside for the moment as we explore the book industry and the oh-so-important destination: the reader.
To be continued…
D5 Creation