To get started with AMS, you need to have at least one of the following accounts:

• Vendor Central
• Seller Central
• Advantage Central
• Kindle Direct Publishing

Once you’ve created your account, you need to follow 6 steps to set up Amazon Marketing Services.

Step 1: Pick the type of ad

Log in to your Amazon account and click on Campaign Manager > Choose an Ad Campaign Type. After that, choose the type of ad you want to sponsor. For instance, let’s assume you pick Sponsored Products.

Step 2: Select the product

Once you’ve selected your type of ad, type the ASIN of the product you want to advertise into the search bar and click Add.

If you're unfamiliar with ASIN, it's the Amazon Standard Identification Number, a mix of letters and numbers. You'll find it in the URL of the product page and the product details.

TIP: Ideally, select products in high demand amongst your audience, are seasonal, or have performed well in the past.

Step 3: Give your campaign a name

Naming your campaign is a separate step to remind you to create a system for campaign names. It helps you look for and compare your campaigns later.

For example, you can name your campaigns as product_audience_date or however else you see fit.

Step 4: Decide on a budget

Deciding on a budget for AMS is more complicated than identifying a marketing budget you can afford. But, if you want your campaign to be successful, you'll have to dig deeper.

Start with calculating your Average Cost of Sale. You can do so by calculating your profit per item. Whatever that comes out to be, your average cost of sale has to be less than that.

You should also consider the length of the campaign. How long do you want to run it? If it’s for a month, is a budget of $1000 good enough (that roughly comes up to $33 per day)?

Next, decide on the cost of your click or the bid amount. A low CPC will have a much higher conversion rate if the ad is optimized well and reaches your target audience.

Finally, decide on the ROI that you’re hoping to get. This can help you figure out (in reverse) how much money you must spend to reach the desired outcome.

Step 5: Pick an audience-targeting strategy

AMS allows you to define your audience manually and automatically.

If this is your first time setting up an ad, pick the automatic option. Based on Amazon’s algorithm, it’ll determine the audience and keywords for you.

However, if you’ve done this before, the AMS manual allows you to pick your own keywords and audience. Keep in mind that you’ll need to bid before getting the option to add keywords in manual settings.

Step 6: Launch the campaign

Before you launch the campaign, review it. Once you’re satisfied with the details, click on Launch Campaign. After that, Amazon will take a maximum of 24 hours to accept or reject your campaign and send a notification accordingly.

If it’s accepted, you’re ready to reap the benefits of AMS. However, you'll get a report containing the campaign's errors if it's rejected. You’re required to make the necessary changes and resubmit the campaign.

If you follow Amazon's guidelines, you should get approved the first time around.