Books

What comes after success?

April 11, 2008

Michael Port, author of Book Yourself Solid, contacted me a few months ago and offered me an advanced copy of his new book, Beyond Booked Solid to read and review.  (Okay, technically it was his engaging and helpful boss Katherine who initially contacted me but eventually Michael jumped into the conversation as well!)

Normally, if I get an advanced copy — I try to review the book in advance.  I figure that’s why the author asked.  But after reading BBS for the first time, I decided to hold off until this week.

You see, BBS is not a "read it and set it aside" kind of book.  It is a read it, then read it again with a notebook at your side and get to work sort of book.  And I didn’t want to frustrate you by writing about the book before you could get it for yourself.

Well, our mutual wait is over, because as of earlier this week, the book is available. 

In some ways, BBS is really more of an action book than a reading book.  There’s plenty of good information, stories and case studies but the meat of the book is that Michael, chapter by chapter, helps you develop a vision for your business and then putting some meat on that bone in terms of how you are going to create the vision.

On the Beyond Booked Solid site, you can download a free workbook that lets you think along side Michael as he explores the many business models that would allow you to expand your business (from franchising to the better mousetrap) without killing yourself.  In light of the recent New York Times article about bloggers working themselves literally to death, the book’s timing is perfect.

Seth Godin reminded us that small is the new big.  Michael’s point runs parallel with that.  You don’t have to grow a bigger business to be more successful.  It’s certainly an option but it’s not the only option.  His message — doing it the way everyone else has done it isn’t necessarily the way you should do it.

From the author himself:

"Set aside any preconceived notions of what it means to build a bigger, better business—the way you’ve seen it done, or think it should be done, may not actually be the best path for you. Inside is an opportunity to create a new and inspired way of working.  You will find creative and profit-producing advice for eliminating the feeling of being overwhelmed, frustrated and isolated."

Want to make some changes?  Frustrated that you can’t get to the next level?  Tired of working 7 days a week?  Buy the book, download the workbook and begin to explore what’s possible.

You have nothing to lose.  Except for that weight on your shoulders.

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Help us take Age of Conversation to the top of Amazon’s charts

March 28, 2008

…and raise money for the children of Variety.

Here’s what we need you to do:

Today, Friday the 28th:

1. Go to Fresh Peel and Digg the post about the Bum Rush we’re doing tomorrow.  We are trying to get pushed up the list as high as we can.  It will take you less than 5 minutes.

2. Write a post about the Bum Rush, the children of Variety and the great book.  Include this specific link to the Amazon listing please.  (http://tinyurl.com/2drj2x)

Tomorrow, Saturday the 29th:

3. Go to Amazon via this link (we make extra money if you use this link) and buy a copy of Age of Conversation.  If you are going to buy more than one copy (which you really should…great gift for clients or employees!) please buy them one at a time, or your purchase does not count!

4. Join Gavin, Chris and I as we give a Bum Rush play-by-play on Twitter. (Follow us: @Freshpeel, @DrewMcLellan, @servantofchaos) We also ask that everyone saying anything about the Bum Rush to use the code #AOC so that it can be picked up by Twemes.com

We need your help to make this work.  Basically, buy everyone buying a copy on March 29th, we will push Age of Conversation up Amazon’s charts, which will get other people’s attention and hopefully encourage them to buy.  Wouldn’t it be cool if Age was the #1 selling book on Amazon that day?

Please help us make this day a huge success for Age and for the kids of Variety.

Update:  After an entire day of effort on many, many people’s parts — we took Age of Conversation to #36 on Amazon’s Best Selling Business books and #262 on their overall Best Sellers list.  That’s amazing!!

Special thanks to Chris Wilson of Fresh Peel.  It was his brainchild and he did the lion’s share of the work.  Thanks to everyone and anyone who tweeted, blogged or talked about the Bum Rush.  Special thanks to everyone who bought a copy of the book.

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Meet the Age of Conversation ’08 authors!

March 23, 2008

In mid-January, Gavin Heaton and I announced we were ready to take on the sequel to the incredibly successful Age of Conversation.

We put out an author call and in a new twist, asked everyone (authors and readers) to vote on the theme of this year’s book.

The votes are tallied and we’re off to the races!  The winning theme was “Why don’t they get it?”  To add dimension to the book, we’ve added a new layer — topics.  So each author was asked to select one of eight topics that falls under the “why don’t people get it?” theme.  We’ll share those with everyone down the road.  In the meantime, while we’re getting everyone set on their specific writing assignment…

We thought it was time to introduce you to the 275 (yes…275!) authors of Age of Conversation: Why Don’t People Get It?

Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird< /a>, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

Behold….the authors of Age of Conversation: Why Don’t People Get It?

We’ll keep you up-to-date on the book’s progress as we move from defining the theme to the actual writing/editing of the book’s contents.  In the meantime…join me in cheering for and thanking these fantastic authors, marketing professionals and business bloggers as they take on this collaborative challenge.

Both Gavin and I are thrilled at both the high percentage of returning authors and the terrific additions to the ’08 edition.  Many, many thanks to you all for sharing your insights and talents!

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Nothing matters more than selling

March 9, 2008

Or so says Michael Masterson.  In his new book, Ready, Fire, Aim: From Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat" he says:

"Nothing matters more than selling. Many first-time entrepreneurs have the impression that they are doing things in a logical order when they look for the perfect office space, have logos designed, and order a lot of inventory. The reality is they are wasting valuable resources on secondary and tertiary endeavors. If no one is going to buy what you want to sell, you’ve just wasted a bunch of money on a business that will never be."

Masterson’s book identifies four stages of a business (infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood) and points out the unique characteristics of each – with its own unique problems, challenges and opportunities. He asserts that with the information in Ready, Fire, Aim, any investor, business owner, or employee can recognize these stages and see how to move their business to the next level.

The book includes the three-step process that entrepreneurs should (but often don’t) follow in order to build a successful business.
Step one: Get the product ready enough to sell, but don’t worry about perfecting it.   (Ready)
Step two: Sell it.  (Fire)
Step three: If it sells, make it better. (Aim)

Masterson also takes on some of the biggest myths about starting and growing businesses, providing in-depth insights and expert advice based on his real-life experience growing dozens of multi-million dollar businesses over the past two decades.

The author introduction makes a bold promise:

"If you don’t have your own business but are thinking of starting one, this book is for you. If you have a new business but can’t get it to grow, you’ll know how after you read this. If your business is already pretty large but has hit a plateau, don’t worry. There are answers here for you. If your business is great but you are working too much, you can breathe easy. You are reading the right book. The answers are here."

While it may not be quite that cut and dried…I found the book to be very thought-provoking and practical.  As you know, I don’t enjoy business books that don’t help me actually apply what I am reading and learning.  I found myself asking some tough questions about my own business as I was reading.  I spotted some definite areas that could use some tweaking and will start to do a few things differently as a result.

My own valuation of a book is….did I learn something I can apply that will improve my business in a tangible and significant way?  If so, the book was well worth the 2 hours I invested.

This book was well worth the two hours.  I think you’ll agree.

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What will you be doing 3 weeks from today? I know!

March 8, 2008

You are going to be buying a copy of Age of Conversation from Amazon.com to support the Social Media Bum Rush!

We have finally overcome the litany of issues plaguing the retail distribution of The Age of Conversation –and are now planning an Age of Conversation Bum Rush. That’s right, we want to bring this ground-breaking work to a wider audience and have now made it available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other quality retail book selling sites.

But wait! Don’t rush out just yet to purchase your copy. Hold off until March 29. Here’s why … Chris Wilson has set out a plan of action designed to push the Age of Conversation up the best seller charts. Here’s how it works …

Plan of Action for March 29, 2008 …

Here’s the plan of attack, thanks to Chris.  We need everyone’s help to make this a success.  Remember, not only do you get a copy of a great book, but the children of Variety’s LifeLine literally get the gift of life.

The idea is to generate as many touch points around the web as possible so that it will be hard not to spot the Age of Conversation activity.

1. Buy the Book & send others to buy the book. This is the number 1 call to action, because this is where we want to see the most impact. NOTE: Please buy 1 copy at a time because Amazon counts bulk orders once, and please use this affiliate link, which will help us in tracking sales. Remember, all the proceeds from the book sales and referrals will go to charity.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1847992994?ie=UTF8&tag= drewmclellan-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325& creativeASIN=1847992994
2. Blog About It – Make sure you have a prominent link to the Amazon listing so that readers can easily purchase the book. (Remember to use the affiliate link above. All of these earnings will go to charity as well.)
3. Twitter Commentary – Join Gavin, Chris and I as we give a Bum Rush play-by-play on Twitter. (Follow us: @Freshpeel, @DrewMcLellan, @servantofchaos) We also ask that everyone saying anything about the Bum Rush to use the code #AOC so that it can be picked up by Twemes.com
4. Trackback or Comment on the post that Chris leaves on March 29, at 12am CST, so that everyone can follow the conversation and help promote exposure on social sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, etc.)
5. Digg the posts listed on Chris’ site and send emails and shouts to friends requesting Diggs.
6. Stumble the posts listed & tell friends to do the same.
7. Bookmark your posts on Del.icio.us
8. Add your post to other social media outlets ( Technorati, Ma.gnolia, Furl, BlinkList, Newsvine, Facebook, etc.)
9. Send an Old Fashioned email to your friends about the Bum Rush for AoC.
10. Keep talking – Get on ooVoo, iChat, Aim, or where ever you like to talk, and start talking.

What you can do right now …

1. Spread the word – Surely you are connected to people outside of your marketing cronies. Start talking … hence the word “conversation” in the title of the book.
2. Add the Join the Rush Badge to your Blog or Web page. (Just copy and paste the HTML code below.)
   <a href="http://freshpeel.com/2008/03/AOC_BumRush_March/"><img src="http://www.freshpeel.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/AOC_banner.jpg" alt="Join the Age of Conversation Bum Rush on March 29th" /></a>
3. Blog about It – Make sure everyone gets the word that the Bum Rush is on…and we need their help.
4. Create a podcast or video and upload to Youtube or other streaming video site (Maybe David Brazeal or Anna Farmery can do a special edition?).
5. Add your Reviews and tags on Amazon – Right now the Amazon page looks a little naked. Help fill it up!
6. Join the Facebook Group – This is a great way to connect with all of the AOC writers and fans. You can join the group here.
7. Become an AOC Fan on Facebook – Show your love for AOC. Yet another awesome way to connect with AOC writers and fans. Join AOC fan page here.
8. Add AOC to Wikipedia – Any experts on Wikipedia guidlines? Made to Stick is a good example of what can be included.

We need your help to make this work.  Basically, buy everyone buying a copy on March 29th, we will push Age of Conversation up Amazon’s charts, which will get other people’s attention and hopefully encourage them to buy.  Wouldn’t it be cool if Age was the #1 selling book on Amazon that day?

Please help us make this day a huge success for Age and for the kids of Variety.

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Bounce!

February 29, 2008

We’ve all heard it….you learn more from failures than success.  Failure builds character.  Blah, blah.

So I was interested to see what Barry Moltz had to say on the subject in his new book, Bounce!  Barry surprised me by getting right to the heart, saying "sometimes failure just stinks."  Amen, brother.

His point is that both success and failures are a natural part of a business cycle. The trick is having processes in place to weather the failure…so you can bounce!  In the book, Moltz describes the ten business building bands for true business confidence.

Here are a few of my favorites from among the 10:

• Humility — using humility to right size our egos.
• In failure, give up the shame — we actually make our failures worse by being shamed by them and letting that shame dictate how we react and recover.
• Create a measurement system of your own — it’s not about the money.  What should it be about for you?
• Value action — get off your duff and do something.

There’s no business book hype in Bounce!  He dishes out the straight scoop with some great stories, easy to understand principles and thought-provoking questions.

This book is honest, sometimes brutally so, debunks the "just pick yourself up and learn from your mistakes" cheerleading and offers some real tools for surviving and bouncing back from the inevitable bumps in the road.  A very pragmatic, practical read.

I’ve got a free copy of Bounce! for one lucky reader.  If you’re interested…shoot me an e-mail with Bounce! in the subject line and I’ll do a blind drawing. (Which actually wouldn’t be much worse than if I drew with my eyes open!).

Whether you win the free one or have to click on the link above to buy a copy — this is a refreshingly honest and insightful book.  Well worth the read.

Update: People are asking for a deadline, so I will take entries for the drawing through Sunday, March 2nd and award the book on Monday, March 3rd.

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What’s your Facebook strategy?

February 15, 2008

I’ve had Jason Alba and Jesse Stay’s new e-book I’m on Facebook – Now What?? for a few weeks.  I’d planned on reviewing it sooner, but I found it to be incredibly slow reading. 

Why?

Because every few pages, something they wrote had me going back to my Facebook account and adding, subtracting or adjusting something. 

Jason and Jesse have created a very clear, concise guide to the many ways you can enhance your professional life with Facebook.  There are plenty of screen shots and examples to illustrate their points.  One of my favorite features is that each chapter ends with a little "To Do" list that helps readers apply what they just learned.

As you would imagine, the book is structured to take a novice from start to finish.  So if you’re already a seasoned Facebook user, you can skip the first chapter or two.  The meatiest part of the book are the center chapters but they are nicely bookended with the intro to Facebook on the front and the etiquette and glossary on the back.

Here’s how the book is laid out:

Introduction
Chapter 1: Getting Started
Chapter 2: Getting Involved
Chapter 3: Commonly Asked Questions
Chapter 4: Facebook Applications
Chapter 5: Privacy
Chapter 6: Your Facebook Strategy
Chapter 7: Facebook for Business(es)
Chapter 8: Facebook No-No’s
Chapter 9: Additional Resources
Conclusion
Appendix A: Non-storable Data

If you’re looking for a lot of background on Facebook or big picture statistics — this isn’t the book for you.  But if you want to dig into this social media tool and really make it work for you and your business — it’s well worth the read. 

You can buy it straight from their publishers.  They also (of course) have a blog on the topic.

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Stopwatch Marketing should be on your nightstand

February 6, 2008

Isn’t that where we all keep the book we’re going to read next?

I think Stopwatch Marketing is the book you should read next.

Here’s my formula for the ideal business book.

• Tell me something I either don’t know or twist something I do know, so I get it in a new way
• Tell me stories with lots of detail (case studies) to make your theories come alive
• Make sure those stories cover a range of industries so I can see myself/our clients in some of them
• Teach me how to apply your theory/ideas so I can really use them

Stopwatch Marketing nails every one of my criteria and then some. 

The gist of the book is that customers all operate on their own internal stopwatch.  But each person’s stopwatch is moving at a different speed. They may all be shopping for the same product (let’s say a bottle of wine) but how they shop for that wine is based on their own motivations/situation. 

Someone grabbing a bottle of wine before a party is a very different shopper from the person who is trying to pick out the perfect bottle for a first date.

The trick is, of course, how do you recognize and capitalize on these different kinds of shoppers?

John Rosen and AnnaMaria Turano make their readers a promise on page 6 of their book.  They say:

"The promise of the book you hold in your hand is that it will show how to analyze, evaluate, and exploit the time that represents every shopper’s most important resource…to understand how to measure the length of time your customer will spend searching for your product or service…and how to make absolutely certain that your product or service is close to the front of your customer’s queue: that lineup of shopping options that gets longer for consumers every year."

The authors identify four different types of shopping personas:

• Impatient (pressed for time)
• Reluctant (only purchase when they have to)
• Painstaking (researches as long as necessary to select the best)
• Recreational (slow and leisurely)

This chart illustrates the four shopping styles and the types of products that often fall into each category.  Part of the message is that a person is not always the same kind of shopper. 

I might happily spend an hour in Barnes & Noble, browsing and enjoying the atmosphere (recreational shopper) but when I’m in Target….I want to get in and out as quickly as I can. (impatient shopper) unless of course, I am shopping for a new digital camera (painstaking).

The book goes on to illustrate how both product and service driven companies have used the insights of the shopping styles to better understand their consumers and how to target them with the right message, at the right time.

But….what most business books lack is that next step.  Teach us how to actually use this stuff.  Not Stopwatch Marketing.  The entire second half of the book is devoted to doing just that.  There are sample focus group questions, needs gap examples, customer survey samples, web analytics information, budget building suggestions and much more.

There’s lots of meat on this bone whether you’re an experienced marketer, a consultant or a business owner.  Get it on your nightstand soon.

Buy the book
Check out the authors’ blog

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Calling all authors — time to exceed Age of Conversation!

January 15, 2008

Yup, you heard it here.  We want to make our second book even bigger and better than Age of Conversation.  No small task.  But we’re confident that together, we can do it!

A year ago, we hadn’t even conceived The Age of Conversation.  (Read about its creation) So Gavin and I are feeling pretty good about this early jump.  Here’s the skinny.

If you want to be an author for The Age of Conversation’s kissing cousin (our 2008 version), e-mail me and say you’re in.

We’ll get into a lot more detail in a week or so — but for now, here are some basic rules for authorship:

• You will sign over all rights to your chapter
• You understand that all proceeds of the book will be donated to Variety, the Children’s Charity
• You will promote the book, throughout the process, on your blog if you have one
• You’ll embrace the cooperative, collaborative spirit that defined Age of Conversation
• You’ll honor deadlines so Drew does not have to be a nag
• You’ll honor word counts so Gavin doesn’t have to be a nag

But what’s the topic, you ask?  Ahhh, here’s a new twist for 2008.  In the true spirit of collaboration, we’re going to decide together.

Your choices are:

• Marketing Manifesto
• Why Don’t People Get It?
• My Marketing Tragedy (and what I learned)

You’ll note that we were purposefully vague to leave the authors plenty of room for interpretation and the readers plenty of variety.

To vote….the one and only way is via our SurveyMonkey survey:  Click Here to take survey

You DO NOT need to be an author or potential author to vote.  We want everyone’s take on this year’s topic.

We’ll close down the survey at the end of the day January 31st, February 3rd, so help us get out the vote.

Please help us make this an incredible experience and book of value.  Point to this post.  Talk it up.  Join us.  I think the Age authors will tell you — it was well worth their time and talents.

UPDATE:  Thanks to everyone who voted and who has stepped up to be an author.  We have now closed the survey and have a full roster of authors.  We’ll be announcing both within a week!

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The sounds of collaboration

January 12, 2008

Anna Farmery does some of the best podcasting out there.  She really lives her blog’s title — The Engaging Brand.  Somehow she can make just about anyone sound smart and interesting. 

So with that promise, download (or just listen) her podcast with Gavin Heaton and myself as we discuss collaboration, the Age of Conversation and much more.

Which one am I?  Well, there’s the warm British accent and then there is the dashing Aussie accent.  I’m the other one!

Well worth the listen.  Enjoy and please let Anna know that you did.

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