2018 by numbers for Old Mate Media

Chris Stead
 | Updated May 5, 2021
BUY NOW

2018 by numbers for Old Mate Media

Chris Stead
 | Updated May 5, 2021

2018 was a big year for us here at Old Mate Media. We discovered pretty early on that it was going to be some juggle. Other than our (Chris and Kate) vital role bringing up three young children - there's a year's work right there - we were also doing a full rebuild of the family home. But around those monumental endeavors, we published books and helped authors. Plus we posted, tweeted, blogged and attended events.

We also created over 150 pieces of content for clients across the world. Including work for the University of New South Wales, IGN, NBN Co, Finder, Maxim Magazine, Fortnite, Krash and plenty more.

Phew! It was a lot, but we’re still here! Before we get on to kicking some big business goals in 2019, we wanted to take a look back at a small portion of the highlights of 2018. With so much focus on the new home and bringing in the funds to build it, I am very excited that we were still able to write, illustrate and design three of our own books in 2018. Not just print versions either, but Kindle and ePub editions. All up its 10 books. These included the fabulous Eat Well, Feel Great Cookbook, the fourth Willy Nilly adventure, Christmas Chimney Challenge and the brand new book Brian The Field Mouse. More info is coming on that one soon.

It was incredibly rewarding to work with so many different authors to help bring their books to life. Especially when we can make them bespoke for each of the available formats. We manage the whole publication process - from developmental edit, through images and design, all the way to the upload and keyword research. We like to coach our writers through the process, too, empowering them to be better prepared for their next book. The work, the books and the clients were diverse. Cookbooks, novels, kid's books, medical journals and more.

We aim to be honest about our journey here. This isn’t the number that we wanted for our titles in 2018, but sometimes you just can’t do it all. As mentioned, we have big plans for 2019 and selling a lot of books is just one of those. We’ve had small successes with different titles and we’ve learned a lot to pass onto our authors. Watch this space!

Over 140,000 People Connected with our Brand.

We love to help other authors and one of the ways that we can do so is by reviewing their books on our website. Whilst we weren’t able to do that in 2018, we loved being able help out indie authors with a mini-review and shout out on our ever growing social streams of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you’d like your book to be reviewed, just email us and we can get it organised.

Very quickly we realised that we had the capacity to really help indie authors on their publishing journey. And we really enjoy it, too. It’s amazingly rewarding to help make someone’s dreams come true. In the past year we’ve directly helped over 200 authors take positive steps in their journey to becoming a published author.

Growing a small business is all about continual learning and skills development. We completed training both in person and via webinars and online courses in 2018. Learning about areas like Twitter, Facebook Ads and Social Media design. We’ve attending local publishing events like the Indie Publishing Forums and listened to many podcast episodes (so many!) Personally I am really looking forward to completing the whole of Mark Dawson’s Ads for Authors, an investment that I know will help our book sales goals for 2019. And also those of our authors.

The end of the year is a good time to assess, evaluate and make plans. We’re pumped for the new year, the new opportunities, books and marketing plans that are already underway. The best way to keep in touch with us is with our author or reader newsletters, or by following us on one of our social streams (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter).

So now the question is – what steps are you taking in your publishing journey in 2019?

Let us know, we’d love to hear from you

Kate Stead

Chris Stead

Chris Stead is an award-winning author and editor with over 26-years of experience in the publishing industry. After publishing over 1000 magazines and launching a dozen commercial websites, fatherhood saw him turn his attention to the world of children's picture books and self-publishing. He now makes books for himself and countless indie authors around the globe.

Let us know your thoughts

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

1 2 3 5

Latest Stories

Have a question?

Contact Us!
  • Services

    Service One
    Service Two
    Service Three
    Service Four
    Service Five
    Service Six

  • Quick Links

    Freebies
    News
    Books
    Authors
    Contact Us

  • searchclosearrow-circle-o-downarrow-circle-rightbars linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram