Podcast appearances and mentions of Brian D Meeks

Brian D. Meeks is a full-time author—writing mystery, thriller, YA, SF, and humor/satire. But... The reason I invited Brian to this podcast is his understanding of data analytics to bring conversion rate to publishing and... how to master Amazon descriptions. Learn more at SouthBeachDesk.com

Brian D. Meeks is a full-time author—writing mystery, thriller, YA, SF, and humor/satire.But... The reason I invited Brian to this podcast is his understanding of data analytics to bring conversion rate to publishing and... how to master Amazon descriptions. Brian D. Meeks is a full-time author—writing mystery, thriller, YA, SF, and humor/satire. But... The reason I invited Brian to this podcast is his understanding of data analytics to bring conversion rate to publishing and... how to master Amazon descriptions. Brian Meeks created three discount codes for my Mastering Amazon Description Course (Full Price = $199.00) 1) Code = 75Hook (First 100 save 75%) 2) Code = 60Hook (Next 500 save 60%) 3) Code = 50Hook (50% off for the rest) meeks-master-classes.teachable.com/p/maste…ptions1 Learn more at SouthBeachDesk.com

Brian D. Meeks is a full-time author—writing mystery, thriller, YA, SF, and humor/satire. But... The reason I invited Brian to this podcast is his understanding of data analytics to bring conversion rate to publishing and... how to master Amazon descriptions. Brian Meeks created three discount codes for my Mastering Amazon Description Course (Full Price = $199.00) 1) Code = 75Hook (First 100 save 75%) 2) Code = 60Hook (Next 500 save 60%) 3) Code = 50Hook (50% off for the rest) https://meeks-master-classes.teachable.com/p/mastering-book-descriptions1 Learn more at SouthBeachDesk.com

Brian D. Meeks writes under his name and the pen name Arthur Byrne. He's currently working on his 20th novel and has six non-fiction titles, including Mastering Amazon Descriptions: An Author's Guide. Additionally, he has a thriving author copywriting business. And he's obsessed with NFTs—and how they fit into the writing world. In this episode, we talked about how his NFT project has inspired him to love writing again, why he writes some of his books on Facebook and how we can all start selling our writing as NFTs on bitclout, among many other topics (he's what's known in the talking world as a "digressor"). WANT 7 DAYS OF FREE WRITING TIPS? GO TO WWW.YOURBOOKWRITINGTIPS.COM

This podcast's guest is Brian Meeks. Brian D. Meeks is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in Economics. He is the author of the Henry Wood Detective Series, the Secret Doors series, and has also written a book about the 1986-87 Iowa Hawkeyes Men's basketball team titled Two Decades and Counting: the Streak, the Wins, the Hawkeyes Thru the Eyes of Roy Marble." According to Amazon he has written 11 novels and 1 non fiction title but I have conflicting information that he has written 24 books. During this podcast I expect to get to the bottom of this as well as learning what is really like to live as an author.

I've shared a lot about my publishing experiences over the last year, and just in case I've made it sound like a walk in the park, today I'm sharing book launch disasters. Though I'm sharing things I've experienced, I think many of these are common, so hope that they will help you when you face book launch disasters of your own! This post contains affiliate links! At no extra cost to you, I may make a commission on purchases made after clicking links.    Book Launch Disaster: Amazon Glitches The biggest part of this post deals with Amazon. MOST of these have happened to me. USUALLY the answer is going to be: contact Amazon. And the result of that will be: SOMETIMES they might do something. (But as I say in the podcast episode, "Most of the time, they're too busy making money to care.") Here are some things that might go wrong on Amazon--or another publishing channel. Not publishing the book at the right time -  I did have a delay with one book of over three days when my book got flagged by Amazon (more on that in a sec). A big-time author this week tried to release the sequel to a series and people freaked out when it wasn't on time. The author was scurrying around Facebook groups sharing that Amazon hadn't published the book yet, but it should have been out. If this happens: contact Amazon. It may or may not help. Making you prove you wrote the book - I had a delay on my third Emma St. Clair billionaire book, The Billionaire Benefactor. Amazon says it may take up to 72 hours to publish, but usually it's hours. After a day, I contacted them. After three days, they emailed me asking me to prove that I had the rights to publish the book. I had to send an email from my domain name email address. It took a few days and messed up my launch timeline. I had swaps and ads set up, so had to email people and the companies I'd paid to try and switch dates. If this happens: Contact Amazon. Contact any people you have newsletter swaps with, any companies you've paid for promos, and let your fans know if you've said the book will be out on a certain date. Publishing the wrong version of your book - Amazon recently switched up preorders and how they are set up. This resulted in a TON of books being published with the draft version, not the final. Typos everywhere! Angry reviews! It was a mess. If this happens: Contact amazon. You can ask them to replace the file, but often they'll want documentation. It's a really stinky situation for them and for you. Double-check the files before you send because things have changed. Not changing the price - With my Billionaire Surprise Box Set, Amazon didn't change the price in the US until three days AFTER I changed it. For whatever reason, it dropped in Canada and outside the US, but my main promos I had scheduled were IN the US. So I lost money on the promos where they cancelled my book since it wasn't marked down as it was supposed to. One promo site rescheduled (thanks, Book Cave!). The others? I just lost money. Argh. If this happens: Contact Amazon. Usually you'll just have to wait it out. If you need to, contact any people you're swapping newsletters with or any paid promos. Disconnecting your series page - Masquerade Ball. When you have a series, Amazon will make a series page for them and show the others in the series at the bottom of the description. I had this set up and when I published the fifth book, they removed it. (Also had trouble getting them to add book #3 to the page when it published.) I don't know why they did this, but I simply had to call or email and get them to fix it. If this happens: Contact Amazon. They gave me a hard time once, but normally, they are fine and restore it quickly. Taking away your reviews - this is just something that happens. Usually there's nothing you can do other than get organic reviews from people. Make sure your reviews are legit, but otherwise, email Amazon if they ALL go. If it's a few, probably nothing you can do. If this happens: Unless it's ALL your reviews, there's nothing you can do. If ALL your reviews disappear, it's probably a glitch and will restore itself. Make sure you're not reviewing your own books, asking family to do this, and that your ARC readers aren't using phrases like "in exchange for" that make it sound like they got a free book in EXCHANGE for review. Those are no-nos. Removing your book - There was a glitch this weekend where al ton of books were removed from Amazon. It was just a glitch, but that doesn't help you feel better when you lose ranking because of your book being GONE. A few friends had this happen and it tanked their climb in the ranks. If this happens: It's probably a glitch. If Amazon contacts you and it's related to the content in your book, you can do your best to comply. I've seen that, but RARELY. BOOK LAUNCH DISASTERS: NOT SELLING ENOUGH Sometimes you launch and it just feels like your book isn't selling the way it SHOULD. Don't mistake that for the way you WANT. Chances are, you'll always WANT it to sell more. But if you check the ranking of your book compared to other similar books in the genre you're aiming for and things like that, you'll get a more realistic idea. (I also use the tool KDSPY to check on fun details within categories. You can check that out HERE.) If your book is not selling like it SHOULD, here are some things that might be going on. (Again, make sure your expectations are realistic. Mine sometimes aren't.) Your cover doesn't fit the genre - With my book, The Billionaire Love Match, I had a handsome, grumpy guy, perfect for billionaires, I thought. I didn't realize (duh) that EVERY billionaire is in a suit. (Almost.) My cover was okay, but he didn't look rich and it was dark. I've now gone through a few transformations. It mattered! Whether or not you think covers matter, they DO. Make sure yours is genre specific. Don't get emotionally attached or go with what you love. It matters more if your READERS will love it. Your blurb doesn't hook the readers - I have been testing Facebook ads with The Billionaire's Secret Heir and found that my ads were getting people to the page, but it wasn't selling like it should. The cover is fine and genre-appropriate and I asked around to get feedback. It all centered around my blurb. I wrote four revisions, bought a book, and wrote another one. I think it's much better and the ads converted better. You need to hook those readers who get to your page! Study other blurbs in your genre as they vary from genre to genre. Then study copywriting. I did and it helped! Related book: Mastering Amazon Descriptions by Brian D. Meeks Your ads aren't working - If this is the case, first check your cover and blurb. If that's not the issue, you may have a targeting issue with your audience or you may not understand how to run ads. This is a BIG reason I recommend email promo sites to start with, not Facebook, Bookbub, or Amazon ads. They have a learning curve. Sometimes your book just doesn't sell the way you want OR the way it should. Sometimes it's because of #1 or #2, but sometimes it's not something you can pinpoint. Until you grow your own fan base of people hungry for your book, which takes TIME, this can be slow going. Try to identify any problems and then just do your best. If this happens: Ask for help in a critique group. Check the other similar books in your genre and authors at your level (as in, don't compare your first book to an author with fifty). Be ready to respond to that feedback in a non-emotional way. :)   BOOK LAUNCH DISASTERS: YOUR EXPECTATIONS I saved this one for last because I think it's the hardest. It's not external; it's your mind. I am HARD on myself. I set big goals and I want to accomplish them. I shouldn't be disappointed in what happened this past year. I've reached my goals and then some. But I'm never NOT thinking about the next step. I always want to write better, sell better, and make more money. That's the goal-- not to get stagnant, but to get better. that means, though, that I can be super hard on myself. I also suffer from book envy. I see other authors doing what I'm doing, writing what I'm writing, and it's SO hard not to think, "Why isn't that me?" That is so unhelpful. Unless you are studying what they are doing to see how it might benefit you, that comparison is only going to leave you sad. Sometimes people want to read bland, vanilla, boring books. I've seen some selling really well in my genre. Sometimes you don't know why someone else's book with a bad cover is outselling yours with a to-genre cover. You can't compare. It's not healthy.   Any book launch disasters? Share in the comments or in the Facebook community!

In this episode, Mark interviews Brian Meeks, author of Mastering Amazon Ads and Mastering Amazon Descriptions. The interview was recorded during a Facebook Live video on the Stark Publishing Facebook page. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from the episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In the personal update area, Mark talks about a recent 40% off Box Set promotion that he and author Sean Costello had with Kobo, how they added their own push for the promo, and how it helped them sell more copies not just on Kobo, but also on Kindle, Apple and Nook. Mark talks about the detailed analysis of the promo which he published for Patreon supporters of the podcast and thanks them for their ongoing support. In their chat, Mark and Brian talk about: How Brian once put off launching a fiction title for 60 days because he wanted to avoid the task of writing the product description How a description done correctly will convert at about 1 in 10 (1:10) - ie, ten views of an ad will result in a click through to the product by a potential customer The most common problems that authors face when trying to write their book product description The idea of using previous or existing reviews of a book to find hints and clues to what made the book special to readers Ways authors can practice writing or creating compelling product descriptions The ultimate goal of a product description, which is to get a potential reader to READ your book Creating a log line that can be used as an "elevator pitch" How formatting of a description can be as important as the words used in that description How the main goal of the FIRST line (or opening hook) of a product description is to get the reader to read the SECOND line The concept of the call to action to request the reader to "buy" or "get" the book today Brian's story of the "miracle product description" How customers don't care so much the difference between $2.99 or $4.99 and that their TIME in reading the book is something they consider more valuable, more precious The concept of variance, and how it can take 1000 clicks before you have enough data to accurately measure the results of a data set Amazon Ads for authors who are published exclusively to Kindle (KDP Select and part of Kindle Unlimited) VS authors who publish their books "wide" to all retail platforms Why an author shouldn't spend more than 90 seconds writing up their advertising copy What is a good place to start or to learn how Amazon Advertising works for you The critical importance of patience and setting expectations and how much investment of time and energy it takes to perfect the process How "Bid Plus" is a terrible idea for authors to use in Amazon Advertising How Brian gives about 7 to 10 days for an ad to see if they are "getting turned on" and, if it isn't, he kills it The differences of playing within the Amazon Advertising world today compared to how it used to be   In his post-interview reflections, Mark talks about three things from the chat that stuck with him. The idea of NOT using the "Bid Plus" option when creating Amazon Advertising Ads The concept of having a first line / log line of 4 to 6 words to grab the attention of a potential reader in your book description The methodology of incorporating elements from reader reviews of your book when revising your book's blurb   Links of Interest Brian Meeks Website Mastering Amazon Ads Facebook Group Mastering Amazon Descriptions Facebook Group Brian's Amazon Page The Facebook Live video for the interview segment of this podcast Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections Stark Reflections Survey   Brian D. Meeks is an author who writes under his name and the pen name Arthur Byrne.   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

This week data guru Brian D. Meeks joins the show to talk about the art of analyzing data, and more specifically the secrets to running Amazon Ads! To learn more about Brian make sure you check out his site: http://extremelyaverage.com/

Brian D. Meeks is a full-time author who resides in Iowa when he’s not traveling. He writes across mystery, thriller, YA, science fiction, and humor/satire fiction genres. He has a degree in Economics from Iowa State University only because they didn’t offer Snarkology, his preferred major. Seven years as a data analyst in the auto insurance industry gave him the skills that have been key to his success in marketing his books and finding an audience. He really likes it when people send him pictures of their cats or guinea pigs.  CONNECT ONLINE: Website(s): extremelyaverage.com Twitter handle(s): @extremelyavg  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/407283052948198/  Amazon Author page (if applicable): https://www.amazon.com/Brian-D.-Meeks/e/B0073XZH78  ___ GOT A QUESTION FOR KEVIN AND HIS GUESTS? CALL 281-809-WORD (9673)

Brian D. Meeks came to the writing game later in life. After losing a job and moving back to his father's hometown in 2010; he gave writing a shot. After starting a popular blog, jumping into writing mystery novels... team Meeks has grown to a loyal following. In this episode Brian shares a new book project about how to use Amazon Ads. Writers pride themselves on being artists and not marketers. Find encouragement that marketing doesn't need to be scary and overwhelming. Brian is going to inspire, encourage, and help us get our words into the world. Find Brian at: extremelyaverage.com

Author and data analyst Brian D. Meeks joins the podcast this week to discuss the new book he co-authored with Honoree Corder, The Prosperous Writer's Guide to Making More Money, and to examine the ways in which data analytics can help you make more money as an author. The post TAB106: Tracking Data to Maximize Your Income with Brian D. Meeks appeared first on .