Books Archives - Page 6 of 14 - McLellan Marketing Group

The Age of Conversation 3 cover

March 21, 2010

Gavin and I are feeling like proud parents about now….exhausted, a bit worn thin but very, very excited. We shipped the final, edited manuscript for Age of Conversation 3: It's Time to Get Busy off to the publishers (more details soon!) this week and we're almost home.

We wanted to share the cover design with everyone. Many, many thanks to Chris Wilson (Fresh Peel blog), who got this done right in the midst of his move and transition to his new job with Fleishman-Hillard in Dallas.

He picked up some of the earlier cover design elements (done by David Armano) and added some of his own twists as well.

Chris has always been an incredible supporter of the Age of Conversation series. He even launched the first Amazon bum rush for Age 1 — and he wasn't even an author of the first book. That's all about class and community.

Fortunately, Chris' thinking is well represented in 2 and 3…and now, so are his design skills.

Again — many thanks to Chris.

Want more Age of Conversation scoop? Watch for the official author list later today as well!

Are you hitting all the stepping stones?

March 10, 2010

I don't know who started the concept, but many authors attempt to sell their books by giving away their books. Charles Sheehan Miles did it. Wicked author Gregory Maguire did it. Cory Doctorow did it.

And of course, Seth Godin did it. (Click on their names to find out how you can get your copy!)

Crazy? I don't know. But smashLAB's Eric Karjaluoto is giving it a shot.

His new book, Speak Human, can be bought on Amazon for about $20 or you can download it for free (a chapter at a time) by visiting this site.

So how does giving it away encourage purchase? I don't think it's necessarily about getting someone to download the free one and then turn around (out of guilt or adoration) and buy the same book. It's more about:

Creating a fan base
Getting your ideas out to a wider audience
Creating buzz (through posts like this)
Encouraging word of mouth (free readers read it, love it, talk about it)
Securing clients, speaking gigs, etc.

The truth is, most business book authors aren't going to get rich off book sales. But they can get rich off of the consulting and speaking opportunities that their ideas/books can create for them.

The path to riches (a relative term) for most authors is not a linear one. You have to do many different things that are like stepping stones in a pond. You know where you want to go, but you have to hop from step to step to get there.

That's not just true for authors. I'm guessing it is true for your business as well. Are you sure you're hitting every stepping stone?

Maybe you can see where you want to go but can't figure out how to get there…do you need to add a few more stepping stones and just worry about the next step? Sometimes that's more effective than focusing on the vast chasm between where you are today and where you want to be.

Have you purposefully built your stepping stone path? Eric Karjaluoto seems to have his in place.

Extinction is right around the corner…

January 27, 2010

For getting lost, desktop computers and glaciers. At least according to The Future Trends book called Future Files by Richard Watson. (buy it by clicking here)

As part of the promotion of the book, the author released the chart below. It's an extinction timeline…predicting that newspaper delivery will be gone by 2012 and FM radio by 2027.

I promise you…you'll find this fascinating and its content will be your conversation starter for at least a week.

If you're having trouble reading the timeline, you can click on the chart to open a full-sized pop up window or download a full-sized PDF by clicking here.

After you've had a chance to really look it over…come back and let's talk about how this changes your view of what your business needs to be focusing on.

Could you become a category of one?

January 3, 2010

As many of you know, there are two books I wish I had written. Steve Farber's Radical Leap and Joe Calloway's Becoming a Category of One.

Joe's book originally came out in 2003 and when I read it…I was astonished at how brilliantly he laid out the rationale for branding. So when he put out a 2nd edition in 2009 I knew it was going to be worth the re-read. I was right. I highly recommend this book. (You can buy it by clicking here)

Recently, I had a chance to chat with Joe via e-mail and ask him a few questions about the new edition. Here's what he had to say:

What prompted the update — what of significance has changed that would require you to add to the already excellent book?

It's amazing how quickly information can become outdated. Just look at the classic by Jim Collins "Good To Great." One of the "great" companies in that book – Circuit City – went from good to broke! They're out of business.

In my book, I had referenced examples like a very successful internet campaign by BMW that, a few years later, probably no one would remember, so I took that example out. A lot of the updating was of that nature – taking out dated material and replacing it with fresh examples.

When the book originally came our, Zappos.com didn't even exist. Now they're a prime example of a Category of One company.

I also added two totally new chapters. "Tiebreakers" is an entire chapter devoted to ways great companies differentiate themselves from their competitors. "The Future Category of One" is a great new chapter that's made up of what twelve thought leaders in business think it will take to be a Category of One company in the future.

How do you think social media impacts how a company can/should become a category of one? What’s your favorite example of a company harnessing social media for this purpose?

I think that the business world is still figuring out how to harness social media. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds. To this point I think that some of the most effective social media marketing is being done by companies who have customer comment sites that let customers say what they think – uncensored and unfiltered.

To create a truly honest customer feedback site builds tremendous credibility in this marketplace. Lego is a pioneer in letting customers actually have a huge say in new products, etc. through their web site. That's not social media, per se, but it's using the idea of free communication to build customer interest and loyalty.

A micro version of tremendously successful use of social media is the mobile restaurant in Los Angeles (their names escapes me) that serves Mexican-Korean food (that's not a typo) from a truck that moves around LA. They put out their next location via social media, i.e. Twitter, and people show up in droves. Here's an important lesson, though – you have to have a great product or service to start with. All the brilliant social media marketing in the world won't make up for a second rate product.

In your opinion, why don’t more companies truly brand themselves/become a category of one?

Well, to brand yourself as a Category of One company, you have to be able to deliver on that promise. Most companies will say they're "better" than the competition – but they can't prove it. It's just lip service.

To me, the ultimate Category of One company is probably Apple. They not only invent new products – they invent new categories of products. Their Apple Stores have created a whole new way of doing business in retail.

The key question is this – what are you willing and/or able to do that your competition is not willing and/or able to do? Until you can answer that – you're no Category of One.

Most of your examples are retail in nature. How do your ideas apply to the B to B sector?

The reason I use so many retail examples is that everybody is a retail customer. Everyone can relate to retail because they experience it. What's interesting is that the exact same principles apply to B2B.

The top factors in B2B buying decisions are "be easy to do business with" "understand our needs" and "be trustworthy." NO different than retail. No matter what business you're in, if you can fulfill those three customer expectations better than your competitor – you win.

Finally — if a company leader reads your book and knows they need to do some work to become a category of one company — what advice would you give them, in terms of actually getting it done?

Don't make it complicated – it's not. Take action. Assign responsibility, accountability, put a deadline on making it happen then GO. The problem isn't not knowing what to do. Everyone knows what to do. The problem is in not DOING what we know will work. Of course there's more involved, primarily having to do with building a culture and a mindset of excellence. That takes time. But there's magic in taking action. Stop thinking about it and do it.

Oh. And feel free to bring me in to help!!

Drew's Note: The FCC would like you to know that I received Joe's new edition as a free review copy and that if you click on the links to Amazon, I'll make a few pennies as an affiliate.

Free chapter chock full of marketing “ah ha!”

November 3, 2009

I love many things about blogging and social media. But the #1 reason I love it is because it has afforded me the opportunity to meet some really wonderful, smart people.

And sometimes it feels as though we’ve known each other forever. That’s certainly true for me of Gavin Heaton, CK, Lori Magno, Luc Debaisieux and many others.

But there’s this agency guy named Jay Heyman who lives in New York City — and he and I connect in a whole different way. For some odd reason, we end up writing posts on the same subject or about the same subject on a regular basis!

Which of course means that I think he’s brilliant!

Anyway…the guy who lives inside my brain wrote a book called All You Need is a Good Idea (same name as his blog) Well, now he has written a bonus chapter which he would like the readers of his blog to have for FREE.

It’s nine pages of rapid fire ideas…no theory or set up. Just straight marketing talk. You can download it here.

Graphic courtesy of Shutterstock.com

What I’m reading (11/01/09)

November 1, 2009

Sorry I've been lax with this feature in October. It wasn't that I was not reading….but I've been on the road and at conferences just about all month and I just didn't have time to get this post built.

None the less, here's what I've been reading these past few weeks and my take on each.

Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz (buy it here)

If you think you've already read this book — you haven't. Andy did a revised version in early 2009 and added lots of new case studies, worksheets and even some new chapters. So don't be fooled.

With all the case studies and worksheets — if you read this book and don't walk away with a huge list of action items…shame on you. This book is built to be more of a workbook than a text book.

It's light on theory, heavy on real life examples and ideas you can implement quickly.

Bottom line: Very practical examples. Lots of idea generators. It's not rocket science…and yet most people stink at it. Read the book so you don't stink too.

The Three Laws of Performance by Steve Zaffron & Dave Logan (buy it here)

The premise of the book is that there are three laws that will always affect performance…just like the law of gravity will always have an effect on if you're heading up or down!

The three laws are:

How people perform correlates to how situations occur to them
How a situation occurs arises in languages
Future based language transforms how situations occur to people

The authors recognize that businesses and their leaders face radical shifts in the corporate climate and confront pressing organizational problems. They offer communication-based solutions called the "Three Laws of Performance" that they believe can transform companies and individual relationships. They explain how to energize and sustain your organization by using candid language, open discussion, confronting past wounds and voicing a positive future vision.

Bottom line: Superb case studies and learning. You can't skim this one…it's a bite and chew thoroughly type read.

War in the Boardroom by Al & Laura Ries (buy it here)

Al & Laura Ries are fixtures in the marketing book genre. Their newest book, War in the Boardroom is going to keep them on top of the heap.

This book looks at why left-brain management and right-brained marketing don't see eye to eye and what to do about it. As the book jacket says…management deals in reality, while marketing deals in perception. And so the battle begins.

Packed with dozens of lively, real-world examples clearly demonstrating the difference between management and marketing — and where both groups have taken their brands for better or worse. And you'll want to read their predictions about some of today's marquee brands such as Google and Amazon.

Bottom line: You'll love the examples, stories and tone of this book. I have to believe you will see both sides of the argument a little differently after reading the Ries' latest hit.

Age of Conversation III — call for authors

October 5, 2009

The authors of Age of Conversation I and II have been calling Gavin Heaton and me names for a week. I think the most frequent word they used was insane!

I prefer to think of us as fools for love. The first two books are a testament to all the buzzwords people so casually toss around when it comes to social media.

Community, Sharing, Conversation, Experimentation, Engagement, Collaboration.

Well if you want to see all that and more in action — join us. Become one of the 300 authors of Age of Conversation III.

We invited the past authors a week ago and 137 of the 300 slots are already full. So this isn’t something to ponder for days. If you want in…get in now.

Here’s the drill. All authors, by signing up, agree to sign away all right to their 400 word chapter (which won’t be self-promotional), to let us donate all proceeds to charity and to promote the book on their blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. presence.

Chapters will be due in early November. Each author will choose a “theme” for their chapter among the ten we’ve designed. They’ll serve as sections in the book. We’ll allow 30 authors per section, so the longer you wait, the less choice you’ll have.

If you’d like to join us, please visit this link to sign up and choose your theme. We’d love to have you!

UPDATE: In less than 14 hours, we had 306 authors sign up and have closed the call for authors. Thanks to everyone who has opted to come on board!

What I’m reading (10/3/09)

October 3, 2009

I've always loved to read…and thank God, I'm fast. So many books….so little free time. I thought I might try a new feature on the blog and every week or so, give you the skinny on the books that have caught my fancy. Most will be new ones (I am trying to whittle down the pile) but every once in awhile it will include a classic too.

Here's what I've been reading this week and my take on each.

The Brand Called You by Peter Montoya & Tim Vandehey (buy it here)

Personal branding is certainly all abuzz. I'm not going to spend much time reminding you that A) everyone has a personal brand, whether you want one or not and B) you should purposefully manage your brand, as opposed to having it thrust upon you.

This book breaks down the discussion into four sections:

The DNA of a personal brand – what is it, how does it work and what can it do?
The brand with three brains – Key strategies that make personal branding work
Anatomy of a personal brand – Tactical tools you can implement
Bringing your brand to life – Making it happen

This book is light on theory, heavy on real life examples and ideas you can implement quickly.

Bottom line: Some very intriguing ideas. It's not rocket science but even if you're an old pro, you'll close the book with some new ideas to try.

The New Language of Marketing 2.0 by Sandy Carter (buy it here)

Wow. Sandy Carter has gathered up over 50 case studies and examples that demonstrate how marketers can use web 2.0 tools to really connect with their customers. Most of the case studies include Lessons Learned call outs or tips culled from the study. Very helpful format.

If I have a complaint it would be that the mass majority of examples are from very large companies like IBM and Coke. If you're a mom and pop business, it may be tougher to apply some of these lessons.

Bottom line: Superb case studies and learning. You may have to work a little bit to apply to your world.

What I’m reading this week (9/26/09)

September 26, 2009

Here's what I've been reading this week and my take on each.

Maverick Marketing by Tom Hayes: (buy it here)

As you might guess by the title, the book's "theme" is a trailride into the wild west of new marketing. Hayes keeps the theme tall in the saddle throughout the entire book, which feels a bit forced in places. But, if you can tolerate the cute "little dogie" references….this is quite a good read.

Hayes basic point is this: You aren't going to win if you play the game the same way as everyone else. You've got to be a maverick. That might be in who you target as a key audience, how you reach that audience or your message. (or a combo!)

The best part of this book are all the examples. Hayes goes to the usual suspects like Virgin Airlines and Wal-Mart, but also brings in some fresh stories like Johnsonville Brats and Clif Bars.

Bottom line: I started to skim but the real life examples drew me in. Worth your time.

Brand Immortality by Hamish Pringle & Peter Field (buy it here)

This book is a scholarly study of branding, Drawing conclusions and culling data from 880+ case studies submitted to the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) dataBANK and detailing numerous case studies from winners of the IPA Effectiveness Awards, the authors have compellingly made the case as to why the eventual death of any given brand is not an inevitable fact of life. The authors point out the pitfalls and dangers in much current thinking in the field of marketing.

The type is small, the graphs are plentiful and the language is academic. I have no doubt this is a fascinating study, but I must admit, I had a hard time staying with it.

Bottom line: Good information that academics will love. It could have been packaged in a more digestible fashion.

Putting the Public back in Public Relations by Brian Solis & Deirdre Breakenridge (buy it here)

As you might guess by the title, this book is about bridging the gap between the old PR methods and the new. While much of the emphasis is on social media, the underlying message doesn't depend on the media. You could apply much of what the authors write about, whether you're reaching out via Twitter or the old fashioned telephone.

Lots of good stories and references that you can steal from throughout the book but what I think makes this book most different from other PR/Social media books is the 4th section on measurement. Some very helpful thinking.

Bottom line: Accessible, memorable and some stealable ideas. You'll dog ear some pages.

Are you a trust agent? Do you need to be?

September 13, 2009

Chris Brogan (one of social media's Godfathers) and Julien Smith, a trend analyst and expert on building communities have released a new book, Trust Agents.

The subtitle pretty much tells you what to expect….using the web to build influence, improve reputation and earn trust. And that's exactly what the book focuses on. Sort of.

The book defines 6 characteristics of trust agents:

Make your own game: Breaking with established ways and standing out from the crowd.
One of us: Being immersed in your community and truly belonging.
The Archimedes effect: Focusing your unique abilities to enhance your efforts — finding leverage.
Agent zero: Using your network/building relationships so that you have access.
Human artist: Strong relationship builder — recognizing that by genuinely helping others you can also help yourself.
Build an army: You can't do it alone. Align with others, collaborate and create an avalanche.

The book is a quick read — lots of good stories and examples. Both Chris and Julien make their money by being their own version of an online superstar. They use themselves as examples throughout the book and rightfully so — they've walked the talk.

Which begs (I think) the bigger question. Does everyone need to be a trust agent?

Do you need to be a web superstar to be a trust agent?

In short, I think the answer is yes. And no.

Yes, I think you do need to be a trust agent. And no, I don't think you need to do it online.

Go back and re-read the six bullet points. Not one of them is dependent on being online or remotely recognizable on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. All six core skills are simply about being the kind of human being that other people want to be around, want to do business with….in short, trust.

What social media and the web does is give you the tools to become and remain truly human…at a distance. And that's where this book is different. It's not about the tools. The tools are fluid…ever-changing and hopefully, ever-improving.

Instead, this book focuses a little on the why and a lot on the how of becoming a trust agent. If you want to do it online — you will dog ear many pages of this book. If you want to do it the old-fashioned way, there are still plenty of good lessons for you too.

Fair warning: If you're a social media neophyte, you'll devour the contents. If you're a digital native who lives and breathes social media, you'll find the book a good reminder of what you already know with some fresh stories and tips tossed in. But I'm pretty sure everybody — regardless of your social media sophistication, will find the book relevant and helpful.

You can buy the book by clicking here.

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