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Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man By Mary Trump
Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man By Mary Trump
An interesting glance into the Trump world but too fleeting. And, whilst I don’t doubt the veracity of the claims in this book, it was somewhat marred by the constant thought at the back of my mind – why did Mary Trump write this book? Throughout, the constant refrain was how badly the Trump family treated her and her immediate family, yet, despite knowing and understanding who they were and…

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HUNTED HOUSES
A house as old as this one becomes, in time, a living thing. … Crimson Peak I was recently watching Shudder’s Guide to haunted houses and this got me thinking. What are my favourite haunted house movies of all time? Everyone loves a haunted house. The idea that a seemingly ordinary (or sometimes extraordinary) home could also be the home of creeps and spooks, of ghosts and ghouls, is somewhat…

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The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson - Review
The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson – Review
The Gathering Storm (The Wheel of Time, #12)by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson A magnificent book. So much is now coming together. So many threads are weaving. I have enjoyed every book in the series so far but this is still one of the best. Part of it is because, after spending so much time with these characters (it has taken me just over two years so far), I can feel the urgency of the…

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Soul Food Cinema
I haven’t managed to watch a film for three days now and I think I’m getting withdrawal symptoms. I need to watch those wonderful images on the screen �� close-ups, dark shadows, fantastic editing. These are the things I love and the things I live for. I know, I live for my wife and kids too, but you know what I mean. I suppose I could watch something on my phone but I don’t like to do that.…

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13.05.21 - Women in difficult marriages
13.05.21 – Women in difficult marriages
Last night, whilst lying in bed, I did what only a cinephile would do and what anyone else would see as odd and, frankly, quite sad – I thought about movies. Not just a scene or a film, and it certainly wasn’t thinking dreamily of an actor or actress (which I may have done when I was younger but no longer), but a theme running through a number of films. I was prompted to do this by reading my…

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12.05.21 - Truffaut was an idiot
12.05.21 – Truffaut was an idiot
I’ve been on a bit of a Francois Truffaut binge recently. Not so much his films, although I did was Bed and Board recently (aside from the 400 Blows, which is a very different film, Bed and Board is the best of the Antoine Doinel films in my opinion. There is a frankness about the character that is both amusing and honest – I’ll have to write a review of it sometime if I get the time). I’ve been…

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Knife Of Dreams
Stephen Amos’s Reviews > Knife of Dreams Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, #11)by Robert JordanOK, this was fantastic. After the last few book which, although I enjoyed, I recognise they weren’t up to the standards of the earlier books in the series, we are now back with a bang. Knife of Dreams is one of my favourites. So much happens in this book. We have battles and intrigue galore and…

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Knife of Dreams
Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, #11)by Robert Jordan Knife of Dreams Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, #11)by Robert JordanStephen Amos‘s reviewApr 30, 2021 · editit was amazingOK, this was fantastic. After the last few book which, although I enjoyed, I recognise they weren’t up to the standards of the earlier books in the series, we are now back with a bang. Knife of Dreams is one of…

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Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, #11)by Robert Jordan
Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, #11)by Robert Jordan
Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, #11)by Robert JordanStephen Amos‘s review Apr 30, 2021 · OK, this was fantastic. After the last few book which, although I enjoyed, I recognise they weren’t up to the standards of the earlier books in the series, we are now back with a bang. Knife of Dreams is one of my favourites. So much happens in this book. We have battles and intrigue galore and there…

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Stephen Amos's Reviews > Knife of Dreams
Stephen Amos’s Reviews > Knife of Dreams
Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, #11)by Robert JordanStephen Amos‘s reviewApr 30, 2021 · editit was amazingOK, this was fantastic. After the last few book which, although I enjoyed, I recognise they weren’t up to the standards of the earlier books in the series, we are now back with a bang. Knife of Dreams is one of my favourites. So much happens in this book. We have battles and intrigue…

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Oh, Amazon, why have you forsaken me?
Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, once said: “Data is a precious thing and will last longer than the systems themselves.” This is one of those inspirational quotes that you often find on the innumerable Memes that make up a significant portion of the Internet. It’s truth is fundamental to any 21st Century business. Data is king. The more you know, the more you can achieve. It can be controversial, but it is certainly essential.
This is as true for the indie author as it is for a huge corporation. The algorithms that determine what products I may be interested in when browsing Amazon are, at the end of the day and at the most simplistic of ways, not much different to Campaign Management Screen on the Amazon Advertising site. We deal with several hundred keywords, Amazon deals with trillions, but the intention is the same. This data helps us to determine which campaigns work, and which don’t. Without this information, Amazon would lose millions. We don’t lose as much but it is all proportional.
So imagine the feeling I had when I received an email off Amazon telling me that one of my campaigns was out of budget but the Campaign Data Management Screen told me that everything was OK?
I contacted Amazon and their reply was perplexing. Firstly they said that we should only have two campaigns - one manual and one automatic. This flies in the face of what I had learned that very same week at the very excellent Amazon Ad School 5 Day Facebook challenge. Here we learned to create as many campaigns as possible, to use as many keywords as possible with the view to narrowing them down later once sufficient data has been collected. This works very well on the .com site but came to a grinding halt on the .co.uk site.
I am not intelligent enough to understand all the complexities or to pretend to try and use all the jargon, so here are all the to-ing and fro-ing I have had with the help-desk over the last week. I will update when I receive each reply:
(Please note: the most recent communication is on the top. If you want to read them in order, scroll to the bottom)
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Date: 6 Aug 2020, 06:57 BST
From: [email protected]
Hi 1. Can people stop marking this as resolved until it has been confirmed by both parties that it has been resolved. It is incredibly rude to continue assuming everything is fine and ignoring the issue. 2. The campaign 'LFE(2) Keyword entire' is showing 9070 on your systems, however, when I look, it is telling me that there is 'No Data Available'. I see no Impressions, no clicks and no sales. 3. On the Campaign Management Home-screen, where I should see ALL my campaigns and the grand total of impressions, clicks etc, I am being told that there is still (for 2 weeks now) only 8754 impressions, 3 clicks and 0 orders. This screen is not updating. This is the issue I have bee trying to get you to look into. 4. The US site is working fine. It is updating and, if I click on a campaign, then I get data for that campaign. That is not the case on the UK site. 5. I have tried accessing this information on two computers and a mobile phone. I have used Firefox (as recommended), Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Samsung. I have accessed the Campaign Management screen on my home network and via VPN. I get the same results every time. 6. I have cleared all Cookies and Cache, as recommended and this has made no difference. 7. This is NOT an issue of daily budgets, or spend etc. This is an issue of me not being able to see my data. Finally, I hope you take the time to read this. So far I am getting the impression that people are not reading these messages correctly and, instead of addressing the issue, they are assuming what it is then disregarding it. Thanks Steve
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Date: 5 Aug 2020, 22:35 BST
From: Amazon Advertising Support
Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I am Lu, from the advertiser specialists team. We understand your concern regarding the campaign manager showing the same information during the last 2 weeks. I have reviewed your account, currently only the campaign 'LFE(2) Keyword entire', is running, I can confirm that we are not able to find any errors in the account, I am providing screenshots for your reference. The campaign is showing 9070 impressions, it has received impressions in 3-8-2020 and 5-8-2020, please note that payment failures and orders that are cancelled within 72 hours will be removed from sales totals, so that information may change from the information provided on the screenshots. The history of this campaign, it was created on 30 Jul 2020 21:37 and paused on 31 Jul 2020 19:49, and re-enabled on 1 Aug 2020 21:09 and it has been delivering. About the lack of impressions, kindly note that receiving impressions is directly tied to winning auctions which is tied to CPC bids. Your current CPC bids may not be competitive enough to win auctions which would increase your impressions. If your average daily spend is near your daily budget, it is likely that campaign's daily budget is too low. If you want more clicks per day, then you may need to increase your daily budget. Make sure your budgets reflect the average amount you want to spend on ad clicks per day. If you are still not able to see the refreshed information, I will recommend clear cache and cookies on your browsers from your computer and devices. This case has been resolved. For a faster solution, If you have questions about a new concern, please create a new case. Kind regards and thank you for being part of Amazon. ............................................................... Were you satisfied with the support provided? If yes, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=A1QZIH6XET0Y7V&k=hy If no, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=A1QZIH6XET0Y7V&k=hn ............................................................... Best regards, Lourdes M. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help
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Date: 5 Aug 2020, 18:14 BST
From: [email protected]
Hi I would be grateful if someone here took my case seriously, actually looked into it, and sorted out the issue! How can you say there are no issues and close the case when there HAS BEEN NO UPDATES ON THE CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT SCREEN FOR POSSIBLY TWO WEEKS. The campaign management screen is showing 8754 impressions, which is excatly the same figure that has been there for 2 weeks! According to the campaign management screen my campaign LFE(2) Keyword entire has had no impressions, no clicks and no sales. However, if you run a report you will discover that this campaign has had 26 impressions, 3 clicks and £5.98 in sales. How can you say that there are no issues, dismiss me completely, without taking the time to look into this. The way you have treated me is appalling! Absolutley terrible. If I tried treating my customers like this, I WOULD BE FIRED. Now please, sort this out for me. Do not close this case until it is sorted. And please, do not wish me a nice day whilst treating me so disrespectfully.
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Date: 5 Aug 2020, 17:50 BST
From: Amazon Advertising Support
Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, On reviewing your account, I see that there is only one active campaign 'LFE(2) Keyword entire' in your account. All the other campaigns are archived. Please note that we will not be able to troubleshoot archived and paused campaigns. On reviewing the delivering campaign 'LFE(2) Keyword entire', I see no issues and it is receiving impressions. https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/cm/sp/campaigns/A0468560145XDJ1LLCCAX/ad-groups?entityId=ENTITY26HC1UR0YB6PU Therefore, please be sure that there are no issues and campaigns are working as intended. Have a nice day! ............................................................... Were you satisfied with the support provided? If yes, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=A27AKOXK7I7OKG&k=hy If no, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=A27AKOXK7I7OKG&k=hn ............................................................... . Best regards, Swetha S. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help
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Date: 5 Aug 2020, 16:24 BST
From: Amazon Advertising Support
Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, Thank you for writing back to us. In order to better assist you, I am transferring this case to a team that will be able to resolve your issue. Have a great day. Best regards, Bijeta A. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help
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Date: 5 Aug 2020, 15:36 BST
From: [email protected]
Hi The problem is not with my computer as I have tried accessing the information on multiple devices. I have also tried on Google Chrome, Firefox and IE. The Campaign Management Screen is the same on all devices and on all browsers. I am able to access all the information on the US https://advertising.amazon.com/ site. This is working perfectly. It is only the UK site that is not working. However, I did follow your instructions below just in cast - no change. Your instructions seem to indicate that the problem is my end, that you seem to think there is a problem with my computer, it is not. I am not getting any error messages at all. A quick glance at the screen would suggest it is all working. It loads correctly and quickly. However, the data on that page is from 2 weeks ago and nothing, and I'm quite honestly getting sick of saying this, has changed in that time. The data froze approximately two weeks ago and has not been updating since. I know you don't like me using the word 'frozen', however, I can't think of any other explanation. The data is not updating. Can I have this referred to a supervisor, please? It is obvious that you are not looking at the previous messages here and neither are you taking it seriously. If this is not sorted soon, I will want to make a formal complaint. Thanks Steve
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Date: 5 Aug 2020, 13:44 BST
From: Amazon Advertising Support
Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, Thank you for writing back to us. As you have said that Campaign Manager Screen is still has not updated. Upon replication, I was able to see the spends till now in the campaign manager page without any issues. I have attached screenshot related to the charges which were made on your campaigns. I've provided suggestions below that usually help with the kind of problem you're describing. a) Try reloading: If the site is taking a long time to respond, or if a page is timing out, try reloading. Go to the top of your browser window, click the "Stop" button, and then click the "Reload" or "Refresh" button. To perform a "hard refresh" and bypass cached pages, hold down the Control (CTRL) key while reloading, or simply use Ctrl + R. b) Check Ad Blockers: Open your browser's settings and disable any ad blockers you may have installed. These ad blockers can be add-ins installed manually. c) Clear your cache: Clearing your cache deletes temporary copies of pages and makes room for new ones. Go to the "Cache" or "Temporary Internet Files" option on your browser (in the "Tools" or "Options" area), and delete the files stored in your cache. d) Upgrade your browser: Most websites will work best with the most current version of your browser. You should be able to upgrade to the newest version of your browser by going to the website responsible for your browser. This is usually free of charge. In the case of Google Chrome, some options will not be compatible, so in this case we would suggest using Mozilla Firefox. e) Check your security settings: You must have cookies enabled to access pages in your Seller Account. In some instances, you may also need to be sure that other security or privacy options are set correctly. You'll find more information on the following Help page: f) Clear your cookies: The problem may be caused by corrupted cookie files on your browser. Clearing your cookies should solve the problem. For Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > General > Browsing History. For Firefox, go to Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies. g) Check your clock: When you log in, your cookies are validated using time settings, especially when you're trying to access order or payment information. Please make sure that the clock on your computer is set to the correct local date, time, and Time Zone. h) Check any proxy servers: If you are using a proxy server, try using a different web browser or access the site directly by changing your proxy settings. If your network is configured so that the only way to access outside sites is through a proxy, contact your network system administrator. i) Check any firewall settings: If you are protecting your system with a firewall, you may want to modify the firewall settings or try disabling it temporarily to access secure areas of our web site. If the problem is caused by a network firewall, you may want to ask your system administrator to reconfigure it. j) Check for parental software: If you are using any type of parental control software, or if your Internet Service Provider has such controls active on your account, please be sure that these functions are disabled. If none of these suggestions has solved the problem, please click the link at the end of this message to send us more information. By providing all of the information requested below, you can help us to troubleshoot the problem you're experiencing. 1. The last link you selected or last address you typed before the problem occurred. 2. The exact text of any error messages you received, whether in the browser window or in a separate pop-up window. 3. The complete URL that appears in the address window of your browser for any Amazon.com pages with error messages. 4. Your browser type and version (for example, Internet Explorer 7.0, Firefox 3.0). 5. Your operating system you are using (for example, Windows XP, Macintosh OS X). 6. Screenshot of the entire page including error and URL If you are still facing issue while checking the updated details, kindly write back to us with the screenshot by creating a new case. Note: Once you create a new case by providing the attachments, we will resolve that case and will work on this case. Also mention this Case 6222215132 as a reference, when you create a new case for providing us with the attachments. Simultaneously, provide the same content on the original case as well ( i.e this Case ID: 6222215132) as the new case will be merged to this case. Await your response. . Best regards, Bijeta A. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help
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Date: 5 Aug 2020, 08:58 BST
From: [email protected]
Hi I already attached screenshots of my Campaign Manager on the very first post I did when I reported this. The data hasn't changed since that data. What is on those screenshots is still the same as if showing today. Nothing has changed. Thanks Steve
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Date: 4 Aug 2020, 15:47 BST
From: Amazon Advertising Support
This is a reminder to let you know that we need more information to resolve your case. If you still need assistance, please respond to this message and provide the details we’ve requested below. If we’ve resolved your issue, no further action is needed and we’ll close your case. Thank you, Amazon Support -- Original Message -- Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I understand your concern about the advertising charges that was applied and you are not able to find the details for the charges. We apologize for the attachment that you have not received in the previous correspondence. I would request you to access the link below to download the Sponsored Products Targeting report: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/sspa/tresah/history/48b84fe6-0660-4751-bb84-f0dbe7ed0de3?ref_=AAC_gnav_reports&entityId=ENTITY26HC1UR0YB6PU Once you access the link you will find the download button at the right side of the table. Further, we would request you to attached a screenshot of campaign manager full screen to investigate why you are not able to see the data. Kindly attach the Screenshots ( In English ) by creating a new case. We would like to inform you that all the KDP authors will have an option to add an attachment while creating a case. Post this, if the same case is responded again, then the option to add any attachments is disabled. Due to this, you will not find an option to add an attachment on this case while you respond. Therefore, kindly attach the Screenshots ( In English ) by creating a new case. As an alternative, you can also provide us the link here instead of screenshot. Note: Once you create a new case by providing the attachments, we will resolve that case and will work on this case. Also mention this Case 6222215132 as a reference, when you create a new case for providing us with the attachments. Simultaneously, provide the same content on the original case as well ( i.e this Case ID: 6222215132) as the new case will be merged to this case. Awaiting your response. Have a good day. Best regards, Pradeep G. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help
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Date: 3 Aug 2020, 15:37 BST
From: Amazon Advertising Support
Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I understand your concern about the advertising charges that was applied and you are not able to find the details for the charges. We apologize for the attachment that you have not received in the previous correspondence. I would request you to access the link below to download the Sponsored Products Targeting report: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/sspa/tresah/history/48b84fe6-0660-4751-bb84-f0dbe7ed0de3?ref_=AAC_gnav_reports&entityId=ENTITY26HC1UR0YB6PU Once you access the link you will find the download button at the right side of the table. Further, we would request you to attached a screenshot of campaign manager full screen to investigate why you are not able to see the data. Kindly attach the Screenshots ( In English ) by creating a new case. We would like to inform you that all the KDP authors will have an option to add an attachment while creating a case. Post this, if the same case is responded again, then the option to add any attachments is disabled. Due to this, you will not find an option to add an attachment on this case while you respond. Therefore, kindly attach the Screenshots ( In English ) by creating a new case. As an alternative, you can also provide us the link here instead of screenshot. Note: Once you create a new case by providing the attachments, we will resolve that case and will work on this case. Also mention this Case 6222215132 as a reference, when you create a new case for providing us with the attachments. Simultaneously, provide the same content on the original case as well ( i.e this Case ID: 6222215132) as the new case will be merged to this case. Awaiting your response. Have a good day. Best regards, Pradeep G. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help
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Date: 3 Aug 2020, 12:11 BST
From: [email protected]
Hi, In your previous correspondence you said: I have attached the targeting report for the campaign "May 14th Start" which is a category targeting campaign and there are all the details of the campaign as to which category and product detail page got impressions and clicks with date. However, no file was attached here or on the email I received. I have, however, worked out how to find the information in Reports. The Campaign Manager Screen, however, still has not updated. I have archived all my previous adverts and created one new one, but the Impressions, Clicks and Orders figures have not updated from when I raised this complaint on the 30th July. My complaint was that I didn't think I should be charged when I am not getting any data to tell me what I am being charged for. If I had known that I was being charged so much, I would have cancelled the May 14th Campaign immediately as it was restarted in error. As a result of not seeing the data, I was charged over 27 times the value indicated on the Campaign Management Screen. This has not changed. I have created a single manual campaign as per your instructions, but the data still refers to prior the May 14th Campaign recommencement (I believe that was the 26th July). In other words, I am still not being told what I am being charged for. In your previous correspondence, you also said: I would like to inform you that campaign manager data takes up to 72 hours to be updated with accurate data. As the data has not updated in over a week, then clearly there is something else wrong. I know the value on this account is very small, and because of this, I am not a priority, but can I once again ask that this information be made available as soon as possible. I just want to see the information I am entitled to. Thanks Steve
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Date: 3 Aug 2020, 01:38 BST
From: Amazon Advertising Support
This is a reminder to let you know that we need more information to resolve your case. If you still need assistance, please respond to this message and provide the details we’ve requested below. If we’ve resolved your issue, no further action is needed and we’ll close your case. Thank you, Amazon Support -- Original Message -- Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I understand the email correspondence regarding campaign manager data was not updated. I would like to inform you that campaign manager data takes up to 72 hours to be updated with accurate data. However if you want to check the impressions and clicks data you can download targeting report which shows accurate data of impressions and which impressions got clicks. I have attached the targeting report for the campaign "May 14th Start" which is a category targeting campaign and there are all the details of the campaign as to which category and product detail page got impressions and clicks with date. You can also filter any campaign from the filter option in campaign column. Tips to update keywords in manual targeting campaign. 1. Choose multiple keywords that are relevant to your product. The more relevant the keywords you select, the better chance you have of receiving ad impressions and clicks 2. Group similar keywords together in ad groups. Create ad groups that follow similar themes around your products. For example, if you sell indoor and outdoor lights, create two ad groups: one that contains keywords for your outdoor lights and another that contains keywords for your indoor lights. 3. There is no problem if you have 2 campaigns for the same ASIN, as long as they are set up with a different targeting (manual or automatic). For a better performance, we recommend using a lower bid on the automatic campaign that the one set up for the manual campaign. 4. Try to have the keywords that you want to target on the ASIN's metadata (the title, bullet points, and product description) Please refer the below help page to know more about match type: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/help.html/?itemID=G201817600&referral=A1YJQRAEG7WUAZ_A3GW6IDARUDXM3&referral=A1663CMTCVYH3Z_A1P15CJVEH7D66&referral=A3LV5BEU71OJCU_A79HMAHA8PGIF We get different people on the page everyday and new sellers join advertising so from time to time, the advertisers will need to try different keywords, targeting, bids and/or bidding types until they find what works best for them. If you want to know any specific details about the charge please write back with the invoice ID of the Ad charge so that we can investigate if the charges are valid. Please stay safe and have a great day! . Best regards, Vivian L. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help
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Date: 31 Jul 2020, 01:31 BST
From: Amazon Advertising Support
Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I understand the email correspondence regarding campaign manager data was not updated. I would like to inform you that campaign manager data takes up to 72 hours to be updated with accurate data. However if you want to check the impressions and clicks data you can download targeting report which shows accurate data of impressions and which impressions got clicks. I have attached the targeting report for the campaign "May 14th Start" which is a category targeting campaign and there are all the details of the campaign as to which category and product detail page got impressions and clicks with date. You can also filter any campaign from the filter option in campaign column. Tips to update keywords in manual targeting campaign. 1. Choose multiple keywords that are relevant to your product. The more relevant the keywords you select, the better chance you have of receiving ad impressions and clicks 2. Group similar keywords together in ad groups. Create ad groups that follow similar themes around your products. For example, if you sell indoor and outdoor lights, create two ad groups: one that contains keywords for your outdoor lights and another that contains keywords for your indoor lights. 3. There is no problem if you have 2 campaigns for the same ASIN, as long as they are set up with a different targeting (manual or automatic). For a better performance, we recommend using a lower bid on the automatic campaign that the one set up for the manual campaign. 4. Try to have the keywords that you want to target on the ASIN's metadata (the title, bullet points, and product description) Please refer the below help page to know more about match type: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/help.html/?itemID=G201817600&referral=A1YJQRAEG7WUAZ_A3GW6IDARUDXM3&referral=A1663CMTCVYH3Z_A1P15CJVEH7D66&referral=A3LV5BEU71OJCU_A79HMAHA8PGIF We get different people on the page everyday and new sellers join advertising so from time to time, the advertisers will need to try different keywords, targeting, bids and/or bidding types until they find what works best for them. If you want to know any specific details about the charge please write back with the invoice ID of the Ad charge so that we can investigate if the charges are valid. Please stay safe and have a great day! . Best regards, Vivian L. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help
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Date: 30 Jul 2020, 22:07 BST
From: [email protected]
Hi I can now see what my charges are (£27.32 as compared to the £0.94 I was told I would be charged - that is a huge difference), however, I still can't see what I have been charged for. I need the information so that I can improve the advertisement. I need to know what keywords produced Impressions, what Impressions produced clicks and what clicks produced orders. Without this information, I have been grossly overcharged without benefiting from it at all, which means I will have to pay again to collect the 2 weeks of data which are missing. I have archived all my Ads now and have to start all over again, wasting far more money than I wished to spend. If there were any issues with duplications, surely someone should have informed me as soon as it happened instead of waiting for the charges to pile up behind the scenes. This smacks of a cowboy operation. I would be grateful if you could give me this information as soon as possible. Thanks Steve
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Date: 30 Jul 2020, 19:16 BST
From: Amazon Advertising Support
Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I understand that you have some concerns about campaign performance. 1. Amazon understand the fact that you are not happy with paying for something you are not able to see. The recommendation in this cases, if you do not want to reactivate campaigns that were created in the future is to archive them. If you archive a campaign, you will not be able to enable it. To archive a campaign, you can select it by clicking on the check box to the left to the button that you can toggle to activate or pause a campaign and they click on the button Archive that will appear above the sales column. Since this is a self service option you are in full control of enable, archive or pause a campaign. If you would like to check which campaigns are active and generating impressions or clicks, you can apply a filter on the Campaigns section. You will see the option "Filter by" that can be used to check which campaigns are delivering and active. If you are not sure about how to perform an update and have some other concerns you can request a call to guide you through over the phone. You can request a call from 8am to 5pm your local time. 2. The f act that your campaigns showed no impressions (frozen) is related to the fact that you created several campaigns for the same product. You may see some impressions in the first days, but as the system identifies duplication, impressions will stop. We recommend to have one automatic and one manual campaign per product to prevent performance issues. The system will let you create as many campaigns as you want to throughout all market places, but impressions will stop as soon as the system identifies duplication and this also happens on all marketplaces. 3. If you would like to know what are you paying for you can check the billing and payments section, by clicking on the main menu in your Advertising Account on the top left corner. In this section you will see your invoices and a break down per campaign and the number of clicks received. If you would like to keep track of each campaign in Campaign manager, you can also go to the Campaigns section and click on the Columns button. You will see the option "Customise colums" if you click on it you can select metrics from a list and click apply. If you would like to check which campaigns are having clicks you can select the Clicks metric. To check metrics on a specific date range you can select the button Date Range besides the Columns button. 4. We highly recommend to use Mozilla Firefox to prevent any issues with the platform as missing options or no visibility of some options at all. If you experience any of this the recommendation is to clear cookeies and cache. If the issue persists you can create a new case and send us a screenshot with the problem you are experiencing. 5. At the moment you have paused all campaigns and there is only one active: Horror Campaign. ............................................................... Were you satisfied with the support provided? If yes, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=A1XGPAA57ZIHY2&k=hy If no, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=A1XGPAA57ZIHY2&k=hn ............................................................... Best regards, Angel R. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help
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Date: 30 Jul 2020, 18:05 BST
From: [email protected]
Hi I understand and accept point 1, although I am not happy being charged for something when I am unable to find out what I am being charged for. However, point 3 (impressions not frozen but best try another browser) seems to contradict point 2 (The system identified the duplication and stopped impressions). I do not know the difference between 'system stopped' and 'frozen'. From the user point of view, they are the same thing - my impressions and clicks are not updating and I have no idea what I am paying for. I have paused all my ads but it has not updated so far. Will I be getting access to this information? If not, you can understand my reluctance to pay for something when you are unwilling or unable to tell me what it is for. Also with regards to Point 2, I have completed several training programmes and they have all recommended using as many adverts as possible, in order to maximise keyword searches. I have done this on the US site with no issue, even though I have almost 20 adverts for the same book. I have been led to believe that this is standard practice. Can I ask, what I need to do to stop this from happening again (in layman's terms if you will, please)? I have stopped and archived the May 14th Start Campaign, as well as all pre-July ads. Is there anything else I need to do? I have also paused all but one current campaign and hope to restart them over the next few days. Is this unadvisable? Thanks Steve
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Date: 30 Jul 2020, 13:51 BST
From: Amazon Advertising Support
Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I understand that you received an out of budget notification on an old campaign that was paused. Also you see that campaign manager is frozen and lastly you would like to know if we can process a refund on campaign May 14th Start. 1. The reason why you received the out of budget notification on campaign May 14th Start is because it was activated on July 28th the end date was 21/05 and it was modified to end on 08/16. You reactivated the campaign and it was running as usual until July 29 day in which you paused it. You can check the history on a campaign, by clicking on the campaign and going to the History tab to the left. That section records any update that you perform on a campaign. Since the campaign was reactivated, we are not able to process refunds for the charges you have received. 2. The reason why you do not see impressions on your campaigns, is because you have created multiple campaigns for the same book. The system identified the duplication and stopped impressions. In order to prevent performance issues, we recommend to have one automatic and one manual campaign per product. You can pause duplicated campaigns by going to the main dashboard in which all campaigns are listed and toggle the button under the Active column to the left. 3. I checked your account and did not find any issues with Campaign Manager, it is not frozen at the moment. The recommendation for this is to access the campaign manager using Mozilla Firefox (web browser) as it is the one that fits better and has the highest performance. If you experience any issue with Campaign Manager not working or freezing after installing Mozilla Firefox, we recommend to clear cookies and cache. If the issue persists the recommendation is to create a new case and send us a screenshot if the issues you experience. ............................................................... Were you satisfied with the support provided? If yes, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=AGHZOZS790TWB&k=hy If no, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=AGHZOZS790TWB&k=hn ............................................................... Best regards, Angel R. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help
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Date: 30 Jul 2020, 08:54 BST
From: [email protected]
Hi I have received an email to inform me that one of my advertising campaigns was out of budget, however, I have checked it and it shows no Impressions, Clicks or Sales. It is an old campaign (May 14th Start) which was reinstated in error and I would have cancelled it immediately had I seen the mistake. The problem is, I think my All Campaigns Management screen is frozen. The number of impressions, clicks etc for all campaigns has remained on the same figures for sometime and at the moment I am unable to tell if I am spending too much. This is very frustrating. Could you help unfreeze the screen please? Also, as this has hit me financially, could you refund or give me a credit for any expenditure on this campaign, please? Many thanks Steve EntityId: ENTITY26HC1UR0YB6PU EntityType: KDP_AUTHOR
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Life gets in the way of living.
I know this is something that a lot of authors, especially those of us who have not managed to get lucrative contracts, can appreciate: working full time, coming home to a family with young children, and writing, is incredibly hard to juggle.
Juggle? It is a bit of a cliché today to say that you juggle all the various parts of your life, but it is true. At any time, one moment of lapsed concentration, and the whole thing can come crashing down. Usually on your head. And the first thing to go is your writing. Work and family always come first -to do anything else is irresponsible – and before you know it, the book you have been working on starts gathering digital dust (unless you are an old fashioned typewriter and paper person, in which case the dust is real).
The release date of Lucy For Ever is the 29th February, a date chosen because I thought it would give me plenty of time to complete any last-minute revisions etc. (I also chose it, of course, because it is an auspicious date that only comes around once every four years, so quite easy to remember).
What I didn’t anticipate were the inevitable unknown events my family would throw up. It was only a few days after I set the date that my 13-year-old daughter (who has been given the temporary name of Grunt) announced that she had two weeks of exams coming up. So, instead of revising Lucy For Ever, I spent my evenings sitting down with her revising the Tudors, laws of magnetism, French, Welsh, etc. etc. etc.
The release date started to look like a mirage. I could see it on a calendar but there was no way I could meet it. That would not be good, would it? My first book and I can’t get it out on time.
Thankfully, last night the stars aligned, the gods smiled and the dice rolled a seven. Two and a half hours of sitting down – 60 pages read, adjusted, corrected, revised (add additional synonyms here)! I am now on schedule.
Of course, life does have a habit of getting in the way of living, so who knows what will happen over the next few days. Right now, however, I am hoping to finish everything this weekend.
Lucy For Ever will not take forever. Hopefully.
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Welcome to Trehenri...
Just under 3 weeks to go before LUCY FOR EVER is finally released and I’m getting very excited. It feels strange that the world is going on as if nothing unusual is happening, yet, here I am, living in a supernatural nightmare. The characters are so real to me at the moment. They have been my friends for quite a while and I’m going to miss spending so much time with them.
Hopefully, the readers will like them too.
With the release date so close, I thought this would be the perfect time to introduce you to Trehenri, the village in which LUCY FOR EVER is set. Firstly, I must point out that, whilst most of the towns, villages, valleys and landmarks in LUCY FOR EVER, are real, Trehenri itself is not. There is no way I could do to any of the real locations, what I do to this little town. Nowhere deserves this much horror.
The location of Trehenri is real. It is in the Rhondda Fach valley in south Wales, between two villages called Wattstown and Ynyshir, Geographically this is difficult, but the great thing about writing is that you can mould, adjust and downright lie about geography as much as you want.
Apart from the horrors that occur there, I am also glad Trehenri doesn’t exist, because the area is too beautiful to be dug up and paved. The hills that Catryn is embarrassed about are very picturesque, although I doubt most people around here notice. We are far too familiar with it.
The steep, narrow steps that climb at sometimes impossible angles are found throughout the valleys. The hills can sometimes climb quite dramatically up from the valley floors and there are many streets which are level with the upstairs bedrooms of the houses below them. It is possible to park a car, look to the side, and see someone in their bedroom. Because of the awkwardness of the terrain here, houses in the valleys are sometimes found at strange and often precarious angles. Gardens are rarely flat and often climb at 90-degree angles.
It is quite a unique area.
There is also a hell of a lot of history in these hills, some of it touched upon in LUCY FOR EVER. Don’t worry, you won’t need to take a test. This is a supernatural thriller, not a history lesson.
The supernatural has a perfect home in the valleys. The terrain is beautiful and wild. From the streets you can pretend that people have conquered the landscape, but if you look at us from the air, you’ll see that this is far from the truth. Step off the road and you are in the countryside, and suddenly the nights are black, the shadows are deep and who knows what creatures are watching you.
There is a favourite line I have from the poem A Welsh Landscape by R.S. Thomas:
To live in Wales is to be conscious At dusk of the spilled blood That went into the making of the wild sky
The past is very close to the present in Wales, and especially so in the Valleys. The sky is indeed wild, and a lot of blood has been spilt over the centuries. It has seeped into the ground and stained our lives. The dead are never too far away and, to quote Stephen King – sometimes they come back.
Something has come back to Trehenri…
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Lucy For Ever - an Introduction
Just over a month to go before the release of my first book, Lucy For Ever. I’m getting really excited, and more than a little bit nervous. Whereas in the past I really enjoyed reading it and took pleasure in every draft, now all I can see are flaws. Is this common with writers. I imagine it is.
I am so glad it is happening though. If I hadn’t done this, it would have been a waste of three years and would have been a constant ‘what-if’ in my life. There have been ups and downs along the way; many high hopes and disappointing setbacks. But now the time is almost here.
So, let me introduce myself to you. My name is no mystery - it is the name of this blog after all - Stephen R. Amos, but you can call me Steve. The ‘R’ is my real initial but, in all honesty, it’s only there so people don’t confuse me with the comedian Stephen K. Amos. I am not a comedian, and neither am I from Nigeria.
I live in the Rhondda, south Wales. A typical valley’s house in a very ordinary street. Kind of like the streets of Trehenri, the village in which Lucy For Ever is set. I’ll introduce you more to Trehenri and the surrounding areas over the next few weeks.
So, what is this book about. Well, the book description that will appear on the paperback and on Amazon is this:
Something is stalking the children of Trehenri.
In a small Welsh town, evil is lurking. Children are being kidnapped, taken into the shadows never to be seen again. The police have plenty of evidence but too many unanswered questions. How can a child be taken from a locked room? In front of witnesses who record it on their mobile phones? From the streets as television cameras look on?
When Catryn returns to her home town she doesn’t know if she is coming home or running away. But instead of memories, she finds nightmares.
Morgan, a lonely, divorced school teacher living a small life in the town he grew up in. A town that will be ripped apart as the world watches.
Jimmy, a happily married and very comfortable priest, confronts an evil that will make him question his faith and everything he believes in.
An evil from the past has returned, a terror that was forgotten, once again stalks the streets of this sleepy village and no one will be untouched.
There is a little history, a little romance and a lot of thrills. And it is due out on the 29th February.
In the meantime, here is the cover:
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