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You’re expected to deliver actionable insights, not just raw numbers—your reports should clearly flag what’s underperforming, what’s scaling, and what needs testing.
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Clients want trendspotters, not historians—late, passive, or purely descriptive data gets ignored and undermines trust.
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Your analysis must fuel smart decisions—whether it’s optimizing ad spend, pausing weak titles, or doubling down on high-ROI markets.
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Accuracy is non-negotiable—bad data leads to bad decisions, and nothing tanks credibility faster than a client catching your mistake first.
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Reports must reflect platform-specific realities—Amazon and KDP metrics behave differently; your insights must show you know that.
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When sales dip or rankings shift, clients expect you to flag it fast and explain why—silence during a downturn is a red flag.
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You should know what “normal” looks like in your client’s niche—otherwise you can’t spot what’s off or suggest what’s next.
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Above all, performance reports should lead somewhere—if your output doesn’t drive clear next steps, you’re not doing the job.
Role Overview
Clients hire a Sales and Performance Data Analyst to turn raw sales reports and marketing metrics into a clear view of what’s working, what’s failing, and what needs to change. In Amazon and Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), data isn’t optional — it’s the client’s only line of sight into customer behavior and product viability. Your job is to help the client see patterns they can act on: performance trends, ad ROI, ranking shifts, market gaps. You aren’t just measuring results — you’re tracking the health and direction of the business.
This is not a reporting-only role, and it’s not just “filling in spreadsheets.” Clients don’t need summaries — they need insight. High-level operators want analysts who can spot underperformance before it hurts and highlight opportunities before they pass. If your output is too slow, too vague, or purely descriptive, clients end up making blind decisions that cost time and money. But if your analysis is sharp and timely, it becomes the basis for better launches, smarter ad spend, and strategic pivots — especially in the ultra-competitive Amazon + KDP space.
Standards You Must Meet
What You’ll Be Doing
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Track and analyze sales, ad performance, and ranking data across Amazon and KDP to surface what’s growing, declining, or holding steady.
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Identify early-stage problems (e.g. ad burn, ranking drops, conversion dips) before they impact revenue and flag them to the client with context.
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Monitor KPIs daily or weekly depending on product lifecycle stage, and call out any data shifts that fall outside expected baselines.
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Compare campaign ROIs across titles, keywords, or audiences to guide spend allocation and where to scale or cut.
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Translate raw data into structured, digestible summaries that lead directly into recommendations and next steps.
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Spot and report market opportunities based on trends across competition, category movements, or seasonal demand patterns.
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Validate and double-check reported metrics for accuracy before client handoff—no assumptions, no skipped checks.
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Adjust your analysis based on platform-specific behavior (e.g. Kindle read-through vs. physical sales velocity) to keep insights strategy-relevant.
What You’ll Hand Over
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Weekly performance dashboard showing sales shifts, ad ROI, and ranking trends — with flagged variances and action notes.
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Campaign ROI summary by title, keyword group, and audience — clear visuals on what to cut, test, or scale next.
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Early warning reports when KPIs dip below baseline (e.g. CTR, read-through, ACOS) — with context and recommended fixes.
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Competitive benchmark snapshot identifying gaps, outperforming titles, or seasonal openings worth targeting.
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Clean, validated data exports or visual reports — double-checked and ready for client or stakeholder handoff.
Tools You’ll Need to Use
- Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Reports – Primary dashboard for tracking book sales, royalties, and page reads across marketplaces.
- Amazon Ads Console – Essential for analyzing ad performance, spend efficiency, and converting data into revenue decisions.
- Excel or Google Sheets – Critical for building dashboards, trend analysis, and translating raw data into actionable insights.
- Helium 10 (Analytics Suite) – Necessary for keyword tracking, market trends, and product performance within the Amazon ecosystem.
- Amazon Author Central – Used to monitor author-level performance metrics and sales trends across titles.
- Book Report (KDP add-on) – Helpful for visualizing sales and KU performance data faster than native KDP tools.
- Google Data Studio or Looker Studio – Ideal for building dynamic data visualizations and sharing performance reports with stakeholders.
Why Work Smarter
You don’t need to build full automations today, but if you can’t recognize what *should* be automated, you’re behind. Pulling reports, syncing metrics, updating sheets — if those are still done manually, it’s not efficiency, it’s waste. Clients expect every role to contribute to lean operations. This is no longer a bonus skill. It’s quietly becoming the baseline.
OES sets AI and automation awareness as a standard because that’s already what the market expects. If you’re serious about staying relevant, competency in modern workflow tools is not optional — it’s overdue.
Why Your Work Matters
Right now, the difference between a thriving KDP portfolio and a stagnant one often comes down to the analyst’s speed and sharpness. Dated exports, vague summaries, or passive trend tracking cost trust — and fast decisions made with half the picture lead to double the waste. Strong analysts fuel real-time pivots, leaner marketing, and smarter catalog management. That makes this role not just useful — but business-critical from day one.
What We Expect From You
You thrive where precision meets pressure. You’re the type who double-checks numbers for patterns others miss, understands units sold is not the same as revenue, and knows that a drop in CTR isn’t always a red flag—but it can’t be ignored. Judgment matters here: you will be entrusted with translating analytics into recommendations that impact compliance, pricing decisions, and campaign performance. When numbers shift, you don’t overreact—yet you never dismiss a variance without cause. This role is essential to how OES protects and propels client outcomes.
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$500 – $1,200
OES salary standards reflect real market benchmarks, tier and experience level, ensuring fair pay for VAs and realistic expectations for clients.
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