Blog

This morning I received an important announcement from Amazon Advantage, the program for publishers of physical media (books, DVDs, etc.) to ship physical stock to Amazon warehouses which can then be sold on Amazon’s websites and mobile apps. It’s how I supply paperback copies of Lean Media to sell on Amazon, as well as aRead more

Last year when I was promoting the book, I took part in some interesting discussions with radio, podcast, and video hosts across the country. One of them was Ivana Taylor of DIYMarketers, who had me talk about Lean Media and the marketing angle for both businesses and creators. Lots of discussions about how to handleRead more

When I launched the Lean Media book, one of the most important promotional tools was Amazon Marketing Services (AMS), a self-serve advertising platform available at ams.amazon.com. It allowed me to start promoting the book even before it was released, by sending potential customers to a preorder page. You can use AMS ads for books, gadgets,Read more

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. (See update at the bottom of this post) The IBPA and Foreword Reviews award programs are established, respected competitions that highlight the some of the best fiction and nonfictionRead 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