Selling Cats to Dog People: Your Amazon Ad Comedy of Errors

Ever felt like you"re throwing money into the Amazon advertising abyss with nothing to show for it? You"re not alone—and the problem might be simpler than you think. When your Amazon ads aren"t performing, it"s rarely about bad ad copy or poor bidding strategies. The real culprit is usually genre confusion: putting your book in front of the wrong readers. Think about walking into a bookstore and finding a tax guide shelved between health and fitness books. That"s exactly what happens when authors mismatch their marketing to their actual content. Amazon"s algorithm punishes this misalignment ruthlessly. When people click your ads but don"t buy your book, the system registers your content as irrelevant or low quality. Your visibility drops while your costs climb—a devastating combination for your marketing budget and your author morale. The solution starts with brutal honesty about where your book truly belongs. A romantic suspense novel with light tension doesn"t belong in the thriller category alongside dark psychological dramas. A business book for seasoned entrepreneurs shouldn"t target new startups. As one successful indie author memorably put it, you simply can"t "sell a cat to a dog person"—you must identify and target the specific readers who want exactly what you"re offering. Amazon ads remain one of the most powerful tools in your marketing arsenal—the rare strategy that works 24/7 to introduce new readers to your books. But they amplify what"s already working rather than fixing what"s broken. Take 30 minutes today to ensure you"re showing your book to readers who actually want it. Your sales (and your wallet) will thank you. Send us your feedback! Buy Penny"s book The Amazon Author Formula Please leave a review! Locate Ratings & Reviews: Scroll down on our podcast page until you find the "Ratings & Reviews" section. Rate the Podcast: Click on the stars to give the podcast a rating. Write Your Review: Under the star rating there will be the most recent review and just below that click "Write a Review" and compose your review in the text box that appears. Save: Once you"ve written your review, click "Save" to submit it. Be sure you"re following or subscribed to the show first. Can"t leave one on your preferred podcast platform? Email us your review and we"ll put it on our website: info@amarketingexpert.com. Check out our full-service publishing consulting here: https://amarketingexpert.com/publishing-consulting/