SPS 022Behind the Scenes of Multiple NYT Bestsellers with Daniel Decker

SPS 022Behind the Scenes of Multiple NYT Bestsellers with Daniel Decker SPS 022:Behind the Scenes of Multiple NYT Bestsellers with Daniel Decker 3 SharesMy guest today, is Daniel Decker. He is the CEO of Higher Level Group and an expert at platform development, book launching, and marketing for authors and speakers. He has worked with such notable authors as Jon Gordon, Michael Hyatt, Ryan Blair, Mark Sanborn, Crystal Paine, Allison Pataki, and Tony Robbins to name a few. If you haven’t heard of him, you have probably heard of one of the books he has helped launch. We talk about his first book marketing venture, and how he crushed it and moved on to creating even bigger launches and platforms. We also talk about the importance of having a team, and how self-publishers still need to get out there and hustle on their own. Daniel shares the importance of offering something of value when trying to find promotion opportunities. He also shares his past successes and lessons learned along the way. He talks about platform building for speakers and authors and more. You can find Daniel here:Daniel Decker Higher Level Group Da niel on Twitter @DanielDecker Daniel on LinkedIn Daniel on Instagram Show Notes [02:10] How Daniel got started on the book side of things. He had an ad agency. His friend, Jon Gordon, wrote a book and they crushed it on marketing. [06:25] Jon had a 4-week Today Show segment with ways to get your energy up. Taking it national worked. [07:12] How Daniel focuses on relationship capital and adding value. He presented already researched ideas to producers which would help the producer as well as themselves for promotion purposes. [12:52] If Daniel can help better the world and feed his family it is a win win. [13:33] Daniel gets enough business by referral that he doesnt really have to market his services. [14:31] On the first launch the combination of everything was the key, but being on The Today Show really helped. They also ran a Dr. Weil ad. [17:44] Being a giver and meeting Michael Hyatt through his blog. He offered to add value to Michaels platform and proved that his ideas were good. [19:03] The importance of leverage and having a special landing page instead of an AWeber form. [24:00] Daniel takes every client as an individual and what their goals are before creating and condensing the campaign. [25:38] How its harder for self-published authors to get on the New York Times list. Presales are important and distributing sales among retailers. [26:54] Having a 50/50 strategy between pre-sales and launch marketing. [27:39] Getting strategic with launches including using free books on the back-end. [28:59] How the NYT list is not only based on volume. They are subjective. [33:33] Methods for incentivizing offers and growing a mailing list. Using things an audience will perceive as value. [34:33] How people tend to devalue their offers and how it is surprising how well it does. [34:53] The importance of having a launch team. [36:06] How people want to help other people succeed and help spread the message. [36:40] Always offer something of value when you reach out. [38:22] Having a launch team with a thousand people. Usually, 60 to 70 percent participate. How creating a launch team is not shooting yourself in the foot. [40:02] Nurturing a launch team and asking for support and creating a net gain of book sales. [41:16] Not burning people out by communicating only things that need to be communicated. [42:18] Remembering that people are people and use your launch team strategically and be sure to engage with them. [45:50] Asking a launch team to read and critique the book. Asking for reviews and to buy a copy. Taking the team on the journey with you. [50:29] Partnering with charities and nonprofits as an incentive to get views etc. [53:01] Long tail promotion strategies include defining who you want to be and where you want to go. Do you want to monetize the book or promote your core product? [56:19] Having your book sales tracked by BookScan and metrics that publishers use to track sales. [01:01:19] Daniels plan for using a publisher for his first book and self-publishing for his second book. [01:05:08] Parting advice is to find a publishing plan and then act on it.

How To Write A Concert Review

How To Write A Concert Review Amazing Concert Review: How to Start? Reviews are probably the most casual types of written assignments because they combine both: reporting on an issue and providing your own opinion. Its main goal is to evaluate and provide information on the regular events: shopping at the mall and judging the quality of items, watching a movie or reading a new book. Every time we do something we judge people, atmosphere or plot even without noticing it. Luckily, reviews are so different in shapes and topics that they don’t have a common structure. There are many genres that students may choose: evaluating musicals, movies, books, TV shows, places and much more! However, the main goal remains the same: to give an evaluation of the chosen topic. It may seem quite a simple task to provide your own ideas and judgments on the topic. Although there are still many rules that you should follow, all of the claims must be supported with evidence. It is not simply an interpretation of the topic but also arguments-based research on the chosen issue.   You need to make the reader believe your point of view. Concert review is not the most common assignment students may get. You should describe not only musicians but also evaluate location, time, atmosphere and even response of the audience. In addition, you need to compare the chosen concert with other concerts to give readers a broader picture of the topic. If you have troubles writing a concert review or it is actually your first review of such kind, go on reading, and we will give you all the tips you should know for a great result! Understanding Background Knowledge of Your Audience To write a catchy and interesting review, you should not only provide a chronology of events but also analyze the musical genre, have a solid understanding of the theory and various musical styles. Another important element before getting started is to know your audience. For example, if you are writing for teenagers, you need to concentrate on describing the performers: their outlook, behavior, dialogues and so on. However, if you write the review for your teachers, it is better to write about the composition, plot, engaged interests, and expression to show how well you have mastered the genre. What Does Your Audience Want to Know? In most cases, readers are interested in getting the general picture of the concert and its impact on the writer. However, if you are writing for people, who have a deep understanding and interest of musical genres, pedagogy, and instruments, don’t forget to include those details to your review. If you are writing for an audience that is interested in technical aspects, write about the scene, location, light, sound, and other important details. However, there are things which all of the readers not depending on their interests are willing to know: whether the instruments were appropriate for the piece, how the audience reacted and so on. Your Writing Style Information you provide is not the only thing that matters. You should be equally attentive to the way you express your ideas in order to engage the reader. When writing a concert review, you should be both formal and informal. Try to avoid personal pronouns, like ‘I,’ ‘you’ and ‘your’: they always show that you are subjective on the topic and the readers may doubt whether your opinion should be trusted. In addition, if you want to make your review professional and catchy, you need to avoid clichà ©s and general terms, like ‘interesting.’ Try to find synonyms instead, for example, ‘appealing’ or ‘outstanding.’ How to Write a Remarkable Concert Review? If you want to get a high grade and to engage the reader, understanding music and listening to various concerts is a must. Your ability to put impression into words is one of the key features you need to master if you expect a great result. Writing a concert review consists of two stages: on the first one you need to attend the event or listen to the audio, and on the second you need to write everything down.   Below we have collected all of the stages and elements you need to include to your concert review. Stages of Pre-writing Carefully Read Guidelines Concert review is quite a vivid assignment, so greatly depends on circumstances and requirements. For example, if you are writing for a teacher, you need to follow a particular formatting style and to make sure to include all of the required elements. However, if you are writing a paper article, it is important to know the audience. Get the Tickets Beforehand To make sure that you get the best seats, from where the scene and performers will be clearly seen, it is better to buy the tickets well in advance. Make Notes During the Concert This is one of the most challenging but yet important stages because the quality of your review greatly depends on how well you will write down all of the important details. Remember, you need to pay attention not only to the concert itself but also to the time and location, clothes of musicians, lighting, general atmosphere and much more. You can also make notes on the dialogues on stage and among visitors. Write Down Performed Compositions It is important to provide readers with information on what compositions made up the concert. If you miss any of the pieces, it is better to contact concert managers and to get a list of the compositions that were played. Later in your text, you can tell which of them you liked more and why. Tell About the Musicians You need to write down your impressions from performers. Where they good or bad? However, back your opinion with reasons why you consider performers good, average or bad. Make notes whether performers shared powerful energy with the audience. Don’t forget to notice gestures, mimics and other important details on stage. Additionally, concentrate on the leading singers: were they confident? How well did they interact with the audience? Did they use all space on stage? Examine the Audience It is a well-known fact that part of the performance depends on how well the audience responds. Of course, you need to focus on musicians, but there is also a need to notice the mood of the audience. Not depending on the goal of your concert review, your readers will be interested in the concert atmosphere, so make notes on the audience, its quantity, age and response to the concert. Writing Stage The second stage starts right after you leave the concert and must contain the following elements: Introduction In the first part of your review, you need to provide all of the important details considering the concert - for example, its title and date, venue, names of musicians and ensembles. You can also give details on the location to provide readers with a broader picture. This is especially important for readers, who are not familiar with the area. You also need to mention whether the concert took place in the evening or at night. Description Main paragraphs of your review must contain a description of various compositions that were played during the concert. Here is when your notes come in hand. Devote a separate paragraph to every composition or aspect you want to highlight. The format of your description greatly depends on the musical genre, but you should still mention composition’s title, name of the composer and information on the audience’s reaction on the discussed piece. Evaluation Evaluation section is the heart of your review because it contains your personal opinion based on the information you have provided in the previous body paragraphs. Here you should tell readers about the general experience of the concert. Tell the audience whether it was worth seeing or not. What made it different from other similar events? Here you can also include information about musicians, interesting facts, history and so on. In this part, you must provide both positive and negative thoughts on the performance. Was there anything that the concert lacked? What things could improve the show? In the evaluation section, you should also tell about the audience’s response. What songs or musicians got more applauds? Don’t forget to evaluate the organization of the event. It is also important to tell about the quality of music and sound, as well as of musical instruments. You can also compare the live and the studio versions: were they very different? Which one was better? Conclusion The closing paragraph of your review must be a summary of your experience and impression of the concert. In this section, you can mention whether the concert met your expectations. Remember that conclusion is for summarizing and not for providing any new information and details. Closing Thoughts Writing a concert review is quite different from other writing assignments, and it may take lots of time and preparation. Your main goal is to experience different emotions and then to render them to your target audience. If you want to create a great review, it is important to have a deep understanding of music and to understand format peculiarities. Hopefully, the tips above will be of great help!