I’ve written a book... and more!

Welcome to a new episode from Productivity Matters. It's been a hugely exciting few weeks and I wanted to share it all with you.

Excitement Level 10 - my first book has been published, via the Kindle Direct Publishing program.

I decided to try this, as my idea for a book came about quite quickly, and I didn't spend months and months writing it. It just flowed.

KDP is free to use, to set up paperback and Kindle editions of the book, and they take a relatively small cut of the sale. In fact, when I looked into it, there are a few ways to make money - so long as the book actually sells, of course.

1. The initial 70% royalty of the ebook
2. The initial 60% royalty of the paperback, after printing costs have been applied
3. A small percentage when anyone reads a page from a Kindle Unlimited download, or from Kindle Lending Library
4. I also get a smaller royalty when someone downloads
5. And, this one surprised me - if I sell the book via my Amazon Affiliate link then I benefit from an additional 4%

As I said, of course, the book needs to sell to gain any of this... so, what are your waiting for :)

Updated Website

I've also been re-building my website, which is due to be launched in the next few weeks.

I've been building it on Wix - which is given a hard time by some, but so far I've been quite happy with how it's gone.

It's very flexible in allowing all sorts of layouts. It's almost there, so watch this space for news of the launch date.

Mailing List

Finally, I've been working on building up my mailing list. Now; this isn't the easiest thing to do.

I've watched countless videos on YouTube about it, and everything leads to giving away freebies - or lead magnets.

Brilliant, I thought - I can do that. And I created a productivity guide to give away. I think it's quite a good guide. It has the basics for managing your to-do list, and other ways to remain productive, as well as short reviews on the apps and services that I use.

I sent emails directly to people I know and asked them if they'd like to know more about this, and those that replied positively, I added them directly to my email management system - more on that in a moment.

Those that said no, I marked as such and left them out.

I'm still working at it; and I've taken to heart the fact that it's not a quick thing to do... need to plod away for some time.

Chatbot

Also (I said I've been busy) I've also been playing with a chatbot creator - Chatfuel.

It's only playing at the moment, but you can now send a message to my Facebook page, and sign up for the productivity guide I mentioned earlier.

Here's the link to the chatbot: Give it a try - https://chatfuel.com/bot/prodmatters

ConvertKit

For my mailing list, I started with Mailchimp; but found the interface to be a little unintuitive; plus, I worked out the cost could become prohibitive in the future, due to the way they count subscribers. So I watched a couple of videos and set up an account with ConvertKit. It is much easier to use; and any questions that I've had have been answered relatively quickly, given the time difference.

ConvertKit allows you to see visual automation sequences, that have allowed me to not only capture subscribers and send them the free guide; but I also launched a mini course, via email, using the sequences - so, all emails are automated; you can see what's been delivered and, more importantly, those that haven't been opened. I set them up to send a week apart, so that I'm not considered spamming!

I actually integrated this with the Chatbot, using Zapier; so whenever someone signs up via the chatbot, they get added to the list in ConvertKit, and the automation in there takes over.

Keeping Busy

1. Keep Buffer full of posts for social media (Twitter and Instagram)
2. Launch the book
3. Update the website and get ready for full launch
4. Write more emails to be sent, via ConvertKit, to my mailing list
5. Create a chatbot, to drive more leads to my mailing list
6. Create new Zaps on Zapier, to manage new leads when they come in from chatbot
7. Write a script for todays show

Now; maybe I should only concentrate on one thing at a time. There's an awful lot of balls to keep in the air!

That's it for this episode.

I'm out of breath just thinking about everything I've been doing.

Links to everything I mentioned are in the show notes.

Thanks very much for listening, and until next time remember - Productivity Matters.

Equipment I use to make my podcasts:

Blue Yeti Microphone

Pop Filter

Professional Microphone Boom Arm

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase from these links then I may receive a commission.  This does not affect the price you will pay.  Thank you.

Stream Wars!!

Actually, I'm writing this from the view of two services

Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.  However, this is becoming a packed market, with at least two new services due to be launched in the UK very soon.

ITV and the BBC are launching Britbox later this year, at the same time that Disney will be launching their Disney+ service.

However, until then, arguably the two biggest video streaming services today are Netflix and Amazon Prime.

So; how do they stack up?  

Well; I subscribe to both; with the Amazon service part of my overall Prime subscription.  For Netflix, it's £9.99 per month (and that's about to increase a little bit too!)
If you purchase only the Amazon service, it's £7.99 per month (but you do get 30 days free).

Originals and Exclusives

They both boast their Originals and Exclusives.  What's the difference?

An Original series or movie was commissioned directly for the service, whilst and Exclusive is where they have negotiated to be the only streaming services to show the title.  It is highly possible to see and Original on other broadcast services - for example, The Bodyguard was made by ITV, but was shown on the BBC, and was then bought by Netflix.  It's a complicated business.

Both Amazon and Netflix heavily promote their own 'original' tv series and movies; and whilst Netflix seem to have the upper-hand with some of their content, Amazon are right on their tail with some great offerings.

It's also good to see that both of these services have stepped up, in recent times, and 'saved' network series' after they were announced they were being cancelled.

Shows like Brooklyn 99 and The Expanse are two examples where they were picked up by Netflix and Amazon respectively, all down to fan-pressure.

Netflix, of course, has huge titles, such as Stranger Things, Black Mirror and a number of Marvel titles too (but that is likely to change when Disney+ is launched).

Amazon has the brilliant Mrs Maisel, Sneaky Pete, Man In The High Castle and Good Omens and many more great shows.

So, which is best?

So, back to the question I asked at the beginning?  

Which is best?  

It's difficult to answer, as they both offer so much.  

I think Netflix might just 'win' based on the sheer volume of content available; but that will change when titles are removed in the coming months.

New services will be vying for your money; and if you're a Disney fan there is a whole load of new and exclusive content being made for that platform.  As I said at the start, it's a busy marketplace, which doesn't look like it's going to quieten down any time soon.

Stock up on the popcorn.

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