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Big promises from Genius Media Inc dot com

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37K views 176 replies 52 participants last post by  VictoriaStrauss  
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#1 ·
Had an author friend get this email cold today from Genius Media Inc, and he passed it to me.

I did a little digging but can't find much about them. Their website looks reasonably pro and complete. The owner looks to be one Widsoe T. "Wid" Bastian, and his picture matches an author Wid Bastian with a page on Amazon, and his name comes up associated with addresses in LA and Logan, Utah. That author page claims he's got a "feature film" called "Themi" that is supposed to be released in 2017, but there's nothing on the web about it. His own books aren't selling, but that's not always proof of anything, since some people can't write to market, but they can market a good product that they may not be able to produce.

The books his website claims as success stories (in the indeterminate past) do not look to be selling more than a book every few days (rankings in the six figures), so his results don't seem to last--also not proof of anything, because I'm sure he'll promote whatever someone nominates and pays for, but it's up to the author to create a sustainable selling product over time, I think.

Here's the email:

***


From: Widtsoe T. Bastian
To: XXXX
Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2017 8:59 AM
Subject: Genius Media eBook Promotions

Dear XXXX

My name is Wid Bastian and I own Genius Media, an eBook promotion company. I’m reaching out to you today because you are a well branded Indie author. Your Sci-Fi Fantasy books are fantastic! I wish that I had time to read all of them. I have peeked at a couple, read reviews of your work and scanned ​your author bio.

Genius Media promotes eBooks using the Amazon KU program. We are probably not the answer to all of your marketing needs, but we can be a big part of the solution. For you, my estimate on an eBook promo is 10,000 plus downloads and 700 plus sales, positive ROI right out of the gate and huge page read income. We are affordable and we can promote a new book for you every 60 days.

Our eBook promotion system has a consistent, verifiable track record of getting thousands of downloads and selling hundreds of eBooks per promotion. Some recent promotion results (Jan/Feb 2017):

Sharon Hamilton - Seal's Promise - 11,000 plus downloads, 1000 plus sales over 7 days
S.B. Alexander - Dare To Kiss - 11,000 plus downloads, 500 plus sales over seven days
Ed Dasso - Death Management - 11,000 plus downloads, 700 sales over seven days

I invite you to watch two of our eBook promotions live. Track the progress of these books – note where they rank before and after the promotion (both free and paid). There is no better method of proving ourselves to new authors than to invite them to watch us take a book to the top of the Amazon sales charts in real time.

For each of these books we predict that they will reach the top 100 on all of Amazon free on their promo day and they will reach the top 1000 on all of Amazon paid shortly after their free promotion. Just click on the book’s title to be taken directly to the book’s Amazon page.

Barry Finlay - The Vanishing Wife - March 29th
Greg Spry - Beyond The Horizon - March 30th

Here is our website – geniusmediainc dot com.

If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out. We do not mass market or email thousands of authors looking for needles in a haystack. We cherry pick the best books we can find to promote and we are definitely interested in speaking with you.

All the best,

Wid Bastian

***

Anyone ever used him?

I don't see any price on his promotion services, and that's the real determinant of ROI, isn't it? He might be able to spike some sales for a while, but at what price, and using what methods?
 
#3 ·
I suspect "Themi" is this:
http://www.geniusmediainc.com/about1-c23i8

A feature film and/or a documentary based on Fr. Themi's life and his work in Sierra Leone remains on the agenda once a biography of Fr. Themi is published. We anticipate moving forward with the movie in 2017.

-- and on Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2854669.Wid_Bastian) the film was described as "scheduled for release in 2016"
 
#5 ·
Haven't used him, and won't.

What I'll say is that I followed the trail of the 3 books named as references and recently promoted books. I used Tracker, Google search and Yahoo search against my archive of emails from a few of the usual promoters. 

None of them had BookBub ads.

Here's what the information I came up with tells me:

SEAL'S PROMISE
Advertised Jan 23 on ENT, Book Gorilla and Freebooksy
(NOT on BookSends or Robin Reads)
Best rank for Jan is #335

My comments: For a Seal book, that rank for those 3 sites on the same day seems awfully low (low as in the bad direction). Still, without more major players, gettting to 10K DLs organically for any book will be a tough, tough haul.

Assuming Tracker's data is correct*, it takes about 600 downloads to hit #335. Even if it held at that rank over 7 days, that's 4200 downloads. Even assuming double that for all venues/all regions, that's about 8400 downloads. And most books not promo'd daily tend to lose rank each day. But Tracker only goes back 30 days with daily info, so all I have is a best rank for the month to go by.
______

DEATH MANAGEMENT
Advertised Jan 26 on ENT, Book Gorilla and Freebooksy
(Not on BookSends or Robin Reads)
Best rank for Jan is #2

My comments: Just the opposite from the Seal book. That rank without more major players *appears* to be better-than-organic. I did a heavy promo stack (no BookBub) for a medical thriller a few days ago, which returned 7500 DLs, with ranks of #44, #46, #75 and #94.

But #2 without a BookBub, without Robin Reads and without BookSends? Color me skeptical.
______

DARE TO KISS
Advertised Feb 28 on BookSends and Book Gorilla
(Not on ENT, Freebooksy or Robin Reads)

Of potential interest, it seems to have gone permafree on the very day its promo began.

Since Tracker goes back 30 days, it does provide us with the following daily best ranks for the book beginning when it went permafree on Feb 28.
#397
#532
#1303
#1740
#1448
#1508 and up from there
(It was as high as #8504 FREE a couple of days ago; currently at #7269)

My comments: Let's call it 500 downloads on a high-volume day to hit #400. Then it's falling through rank to plateau a bit at #1740 on Day 4. That's maybe 90 downloads. So at best 1000 downloads for the first 4 days on .com. Double that across all venues/regions and I'm not seeing more than 2000 downloads.
________

* Now, I didn't follow these books personally in real-time, and I only added these books to Tracker today. While the results for Dare to Kiss are pretty explicit, it *could* be Tracker hasn't had time to populate history for them properly.

So, I've added the two books now today that we're invited to follow at the end of the month. Rank history for those from today and going forward should be pretty darn accurate by the hour and by the day.

The hourly ranks, especially, could be quite insightful.
 
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#6 ·
Um, if they're promoting books through KU, where are the page reads? Downloads are a variable number, we don't actually know how many were gotten (and yes, I know we can estimate through ranking). Unless he's talking about free downloads, which basically mean nothing once the price returns. From what I remember, it's pretty hard to get a large number of free downloads without using pretty much every available promotion list.

Anyway, I never trust people who email me out of the blue. Unless your friend contacted them first (and that doesn't seem likely, with all that "hey, I looked at your general category/genre book, and it looks like you could be going somewhere if you pay me money!".

I'm no marketing expert, but this smells fishy to me.
 
#7 ·
I'd be wary, too. It sounds like a click farm. Especially how the free download numbers are 11,000 for all three books.

If an author uses a click farm, Amazon considers them liable and can shut down their accounts. Even if the author wasn't aware it was a farm. Be careful who you promote with.
 
#8 ·
I received the same email yesterday. Thought I might find something about it here and... well, here's a thread.

My email read almost verbatim to the one posted above, except he personalized the first para a bit:

"My name is Wid Bastian and I own Genius Media, an eBook promotion company. I'm reaching out to you today because you are a well branded Indie author. Your Military Sci-Fi books are fantastic! I wish that I had time to read all of them. I have peeked at a couple, read reviews of your work and scanned your author bio. By the by... I live in Cache Valley, Utah. We are practically neighbors.'

I will likely reach out to Wid and see what he has to say. Nothing to lose by finding out more info. If it seems legit, and I can recoup my investment, it might be worth a gamble. I'll try to post back here when I've learned more.
 
#13 ·
You should always be wary of anyone who emails you. If they were any good, authors would be chasing them. You should also be wary of anyone who insists on your being in KU, as too may authors have found themselves banned for having a sudden huge jump in page reads. My advice: Head for the hills!
 
#14 ·
Here's what I was able to find out.  First, my email to Wid:

---------------------------------------
Hi Wid,

I'd be interested in finding out more about your services.  Specifically, I'm looking for pricing, and for more data about how your services work.

I've been in this business for a few years now, so have seen both good and bad from marketers.  You offer predictions for how well the upcoming titles will do.  How do you plan to reach those goals?

Thanks,
Steve
---------------------------------------

His response:

Hi Steven;

I don't know what it's like 200 miles up 1-84 today, but we are getting drenched in Cache Valley. The rain will not stop.

We use book marketing platforms (Book Gorilla, Kindle Nations Daily, OHFB, Freebooksy, etc.), blogs, other social media (including our own), Facebook ads and other techniques. This is effective because of the SEO work we do on the Amazon book page, our expanded genre selection, etc. It all comes together in a powerful promo stew. We drive readers by the tens of thousands to a book on a specific promotion day. We use a KU Free Day to gain traction and then switch to paid sales later in the promo day.

The numbers: $2000 for the first promotion of your book - this includes all of the setup - keywords, SEO your description and extended title, extensive genre research, proprietary email collection set up (you already do this, but maybe not in the most efficient way, we can discuss), everything - PLUS one full promo - all of the platforms, blogs and social media sites that will feature the book on its promo day. $1000 to promote the same book (2,3 4 or however many more times we re-promote). You keep ALL of the earnings - sales/page reads, etc. The better branded an author the better the result (generally).

Are all of your books on KU? If so, we can really boost your page read income (by the 100,000s). How many new titles are you publishing this year and next? We are fantastic at building a brand for authors on the way up - what we do results in a lot of new fan email collections and vastly improved Amazon author ranks.

Let's touch base again after you've watched the promos this week. Vanishing Wife is a re-promo. The first promo in 2016 resulted in over 1000 eBook sales. Greg Spry's book is a first promotion and it is Sci-Fi.

Best,

Wid Bastian
Genius Media

-----------------------------------------------

So, there you have it.  You know as much as I do on the pricing and process.  Based on my experience and knowledge, I will pass. 
 
G
#16 ·
Your Sci-Fi Fantasy books are fantastic! I wish that I had time to read all of them. I have peeked at a couple, read reviews of your work and scanned your author bio.
Click to expand...
This statement alone has "swarmy used car salesman" written all over it. "Your books are great...even though I haven't actually read them, but I scanned your reviews and scrapped your contact data off your Amazon author page."

The numbers: $2000 for the first promotion of your book - this includes all of the setup - keywords, SEO your description and extended title, extensive genre research, proprietary email collection set up (you already do this, but maybe not in the most efficient way, we can discuss), everything - PLUS one full promo - all of the platforms, blogs and social media sites that will feature the book on its promo day. $1000 to promote the same book (2,3 4 or however many more times we re-promote). You keep ALL of the earnings - sales/page reads, etc. The better branded an author the better the result (generally).
Click to expand...
So...pay me $2,000 to do what you can do for yourself...much, much cheaper. Got it. :p
 
#17 ·
Bards and Sages (Julie) said:
This statement alone has "swarmy used car salesman" written all over it. "Your books are great...even though I haven't actually read them, but I scanned your reviews and scrapped your contact data off your Amazon author page."

So...pay me $2,000 to do what you can do for yourself...much, much cheaper. Got it. :p
Click to expand...
Those were my thoughts as well. :)
 
W
#19 ·
Hello out there to authors on the Kboards. I was alerted to this discussion by authors who use Genius Media to promote their eBooks and I feel that I need to comment to set the record straight.

We promote eBooks on the Amazon platform. While no company has a perfect track record, our results are consistent. We regularly achieve the results quoted in my emails posted on this forum.
I'm going to invite a few of our authors to comment as well. Why? None of the authors who have commented here have ever used our services.

I completely understand skepticism. I completely understand the need to get accurate information. If you would like to watch any of our promotions LIVE, please let me know - whether you are interested in our services or not. You cannot fake live results! At least judge us fairly, that's not too much to ask.

Our business model is very simple - we want to help authors sell more books. If anyone thinks our service is overpriced then that's their call. We have many happy clients who do not think our service is overpriced, they like what we do for them.

Reach out to me with any questions. I'm happy to share bona fide results, happy to share our promotions live ( in advance) so that anyone can watch and judge.

All the best,

Wid Bastian
Genius Media
 
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#20 ·
Wid Bastian said:
Hello out there to authors on the Kboards. I was alerted to this discussion by authors who use Genius Media to promote their eBooks and I feel that I need to comment to set the record straight.
Click to expand...
Welcome to Kboards. I do hope you did your research regarding this particular forum. :eek: :p This forum is home to some of the most tenacious and successful indies in the business. And they WILL question every statistic, statement, and promise you make. And in some cases, may back up their assertions with graphs and flowcharts based on years of data they have accumulated.

You have been warned. ;D
 
#21 ·
So why do you charge $2k for these services? You've priced yourself so far away from the average indie UNLESS you can guarantee the author will make back the $2k and more. If they don't, do you do a partial refund?

Wid Bastian said:
Hello out there to authors on the Kboards. I was alerted to this discussion by authors who use Genius Media to promote their eBooks and I feel that I need to comment to set the record straight.

We promote eBooks on the Amazon platform. While no company has a perfect track record, our results are consistent. We regularly achieve the results quoted in my emails posted on this forum.
I'm going to invite a few of our authors to comment as well. Why? None of the authors who have commented here have ever used our services.

I completely understand skepticism. I completely understand the need to get accurate information. If you would like to watch any of our promotions LIVE, please let me know - whether you are interested in our services or not. You cannot fake live results! At least judge us fairly, that's not too much to ask.

Our business model is very simple - we want to help authors sell more books. If anyone thinks our service is overpriced then that's their call. We have many happy clients who do not think our service is overpriced, they like what we do for them.

Reach out to me with any questions. I'm happy to share bona fide results, happy to share our promotions live ( in advance) so that anyone can watch and judge.

All the best,

Wid Bastian
Genius Media
Click to expand...
 
U
#22 ·
I'm going to invite a few of our authors to comment as well.
Click to expand...
No need. Especially if they aren't already forum members. You can answer any questions others have. As Julie says, we vet service providers thoroughly here. Be prepared.

Personally, if I had $2K to spend, I could buy a lot of Bookbubs and other services on my own and have money left over. I certainly wouldn't risk getting a massive number of KU reads showing up on my account, making Amazon suspicious. People have had accounts terminated for that.
 
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#23 ·
Wid Bastian said:
I completely understand skepticism. I completely understand the need to get accurate information. [...] Our business model is very simple - we want to help authors sell more books. If anyone thinks our service is overpriced then that's their call. We have many happy clients who do not think our service is overpriced, they like what we do for them.
Click to expand...
It's not a question of whether you can produce the results you claim. It's not a question of whether your services are overpriced.

The ONLY question that matters is HOW you get results. If you do it through bona fide double opt-in mailing lists, FB ads and the like, and nothing else - no problem. If you do it through convoluted incentivisation schemes with people who are never going to read the books - not so good. If you do it through click farms - very dangerous, because anyone adverising with you may possibly have their account shut down by Amazon. That's a potentially career-ending situation, so people are understandably twitchy.

You can appreciate that when you turn up out of the blue, an unknown, touting a service with impressive-sounding numbers, the more experienced Kboarders are going to approach you with extreme caution. But at least you're here answering questions, so brownie points for that.
 
#24 ·
They still have many more questions to answer. We'll see if they do.

PaulineMRoss said:
It's not a question of whether you can produce the results you claim. It's not a question of whether your services are overpriced.

The ONLY question that matters is HOW you get results. If you do it through bona fide double opt-in mailing lists, FB ads and the like, and nothing else - no problem. If you do it through convoluted incentivisation schemes with people who are never going to read the books - not so good. If you do it through click farms - very dangerous, because anyone adverising with you may possibly have their account shut down by Amazon. That's a potentially career-ending situation, so people are understandably twitchy.

You can appreciate that when you turn up out of the blue, an unknown, touting a service with impressive-sounding numbers, the more experienced Kboarders are going to approach you with extreme caution. But at least you're here answering questions, so brownie points for that.
Click to expand...
 
W
#25 ·
We use a KU Free Day to gain traction and then switch to paid sales later in the promo day.
Click to expand...
Isn't this a BIG no-no with all of the promo sites? If you switch to paid at any point during the day they feature your book, it'll anger their subscribers which will get the author and/or your service black-listed by the advertisers.
 
#26 ·
My rule is any promo site that needs authors badly enough to cold email them isn't doing well enough to help me. I delete emails like this.  The best promo sites are difficult to get booked for a reason.  If you have great results, you don't need to go begging.

Basically... I'd run from anywhere that says they get guaranteed results or have opaque business practices.
 
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