Customer Reviews

Guerrilla P.R.: Waging an Effective Publicity Campaign Without Growing Broke

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have had the good fortune of working with some of the top publicists in the country over the last 22 years, and wish that I could have read this book first. It would have made me much more effective in working with them, and also could have avoided a lot of their fees.

The advice is sound, based on my own experiences with a 37 city book tour in 1999. What it took me 37 cities to learn, you could glean from just reading this book. I envy you this opportunity.

Whatever your budget or appetite for public relations, the book will help you design and implement an effective program. It covers all of the basics, except for the Internet (which wasn't really a factor when this book was written). You will learn how to put out a press release, hold a press conference, do interviews, and create media events. Most of these things can be done relatively inexpensively, certainly at lower cost than with advertising.

I especially liked the high ethical standards that the book sets. It's easy to cut corners, but that is both wrong and eventually becomes ineffective.

May your 15 minutes of fame come soon as a result!

Seriously, public relations is a highly effective way to introduce potential customers to your products or services. It serves a good secondary purpose of helping you think through your message and who your audience is. This book does a good job of giving you questions to help you do both of these tasks. Follow this advice, and your business should be more successful within a year. Remember Mr. Levine's advice though, it's quality . . . not quantity . . . that counts.

I bought Levine's book to help me promote myself when I struck out on my own as a freelance copywriter. The book did more than help me promote myself--it gave me an outlook that reordered my relationship with my clients. And, oh yeah, helped me make stacks (small stacks, but stacks nonetheless) of money in the process.

Specifically, the book provides tips and formats that allow writers of average ability to present themselves as professionals. The book's conversational style and logical, progressive organization make it both an easy read and a quick reference tool. Also, the book gives advice and starting reference materials to help PR novices get off the ground on their contact databases.

Mostly, though, the book gave me an attitude--a concept of the way PR ought to be done. This has led to about 90% of my business being PR related. Thanks, Michael!

Thiis book is written as if Michael Levine was sitting across the table from you sharing gems of wisdom from his many years of entertainment P/R experience. He takes the beginner under his wing in a comfortable way--not technical. A primer that , although it doesn't cover every aspect of PR, gives color to that which it does. As the author puts it, he endeavors to show you how to "think like a publicist."

I have taken several courses on public relations in school. Most of what Michael Levine teaches is totally opposite of what several of my professors have taught me. In all fairness to Levine, perhaps the practices described in his book were sufficient way back when the book was written, but the world has changed quite a bit since then, and the pace of Public Relations has changed along with it. I understand he wrote a follow-up book called Guerrilla PR Wired which pertains to using the internet as a valuable PR tool, but I know that using his outdated techniques, even with the help of the internet, would still not be the least bit helpful. I certainly would not recommend this book to other students who are preparing for a career in the field of PR.

I think that Guerrilla PR is a great book for anybody that is looking to learn about the field of public relations. I am relatively new to the field, and I feel like I learned a great deal from reading this book. The author writes in a very comfortable style, as if he is having a conversation with you. There is a lot of warmth and humor in the writing. And my favorite thing about the book is how the author always made sure to give examples in order to further illustrate what he is talking about. If you are curious at all about the world of PR, this book is a great place to start.

even though his book was written (1993) before the internet was a way to communicate and advertise, this book shows that determination and follow through are very important in public relations.

One of the most practical short books on PR and publicity to come out in recent years. Mr. Levine shows that PR is an attitude more than expertise- good news for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Michael Levine tells it like it is in how to put together a PR and Publicity Campaign. He knows what he talks about - no theory here. Any business or person seeking to promote themselve through the power of the media - should grab this book - ASAP!

I have dozens of books and tapes on PR and Publicity and this is at the top - my main reference when I want to put together a PR campaign for my business. All I know is that it works - hands-down.

Great book that exemplifies our out-of-the-box marketing and p.r. mentality of this Los Angeles-based internet start-up. If you read this book and then think -- hey, I can do even *better* than these guys -- then send us your resume and tell us how and why.

I'm scared to fly so I took this book on a plane with me when I had to visit my grandparents in Winnipeg. It immediately transported me to the wonderful and magical world of public relations!!! I soon forgot I was on a plane, and suddenly I felt like Colin Farrell's character in Phone Booth--you know where that guy held him hostage on the phone to make him repent for his sleazy ways. I especially like how the guy called Farrell out for claiming to be this big shot PR guy with all these connections, but actually he had no real connections at all. I also visited the wonderful olden days of PR like in the movie Sweet Smell Of Success where Tony Curtis is the PR man. Whenever he walks into a room, people cannot hide their contempt for this scumbag. I like at the end how he ends up getting the stuffing kicked out of him.

I arrived in Winnipeg safely all thanks to Michael Levine and his book about what sleazy liars PR people are.