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In Hollywood, studio executives would like to forget last summer. The “Summer of Hell” saw a more than $600 million decline in global revenue compared to the summer of 2016. Blockbusters featuring A-list stars like Tom Cruise and franchises like the Transformers and the Smurfs failed at North American box offices, although foreign sales helpedRead more

Earlier this month I travelled to Austin, Texas, to attend the Independent Book Publishers Association Publishing University conference. It’s great for up-and-coming indie publishers, not only because of the educational sessions and workshops, but also because it’s a chance to see what other indie publishers are doing. The event is capped by an ceremony forRead more

This post is part of a blog series called Media Myths based on my book Lean Media and some of the questions I get from people interested in the framework. To see the earlier posts, check out the myths archive. Myth #5: Lean Media is only for big brands or large media companies A successfulRead more

This post is part of a blog series called Media Myths based on my book Lean Media and some of the questions I get from people interested in the framework. To see the earlier posts, check out the myths archive. Myth #4: Lean Media has only been practiced in recent years Lean Media techniques haveRead more

I received two fantastic pieces of news this week: Lean Media is a finalist in both the IBPA Ben Franklin Awards and Foreword Reviews INDIES competition. The IBPA and Foreword Reviews award programs are established, respected competitions that highlight the some of the best fiction and nonfiction works by independent publishers every year. There areRead more

For many years, Amazon customers have been able to create profiles that are attached to the reviews they leave on Amazon.com. They are simple, containing a name (or anonymous handle), and other optional elements such as descriptions, locations, profile photos, and all of the items (electronics, books, tools, gadgets, etc.) the person has reviewed. UntilRead more

If you use Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) advertisements to sell media (such as books or video games) or other products (electronics, toys, clothing, office goods, etc.) you are no doubt familiar with the AMS dashboard. It presents many metrics, but one of the most interesting is ACoS, or Average Cost of Sales. Here’s an exampleRead more

Today’s media myth: Quantitative data is all you need to develop the next media hit   I see a lot of people making this assumption. All you need are stats and business KPIs to make great media. This is so wrong. Even the most hard-nosed traffic guru or “growth hacker” knows that the best wayRead more

This is a continuation of my blog series called Media Myths, based on my book Lean Media and some of the questions I get from people interested in the framework. You can see read the other posts here. Myth #2: Lean Media is the same as Lean Startup I hear this one a lot, particularlyRead more

Today, I am starting a new blog series called Media Myths based on my book Lean Media and some of the questions I get from people interested in the framework. The first myth: The sure-fire way to have a successful media launch is working in secret and then launching with a gigantic hype-filled release That’sRead more