The Worthy Winner of the Global EBook Award 2011 Business Non-Fiction Category
This is a basic marketing book for small businesses that extends classic theory into new media. It starts with a rapid assessment of who is the target customer, what they really want and how to add value to every transaction. The book then examines how to find your target customers and reach them with a compelling offer.
The book is written from a depth of personal experience gained the hard way; the author gave up her `day job' to build her own business. It includes some of the strategies that she has used to build `buzz' for many businesses, describes the biggest
marketing mistake that most businesses make, and how to avoid it. It also explains how the author got 9,000 visitors to her website in just one day; and exactly where to go and which marketing strategies she has used to find new customers.
Best of all; the book is full of short practical sections, with space for the reader to make their own annotations, and is written for a business owner with little spare cash. Each chapter ends with a usefull list of website where readers can get additional information on the topics covered or can start to do some of their `buzz-building' online. There are a few awkward pieces such as the exhortation to fold down a corner of the page when I was reading the book (which is also available as a paperback) in pdf format. Reading the pdf on my Kindle solved that one for me but it illustrates some of the dangers of rushing in to the new media without a thorough review.
The real heart of the book is the social marketing using interactive technologies. It starts, traditionally enough with a discussion of the different generations and their likely preferences when interfacing with the web.
The book assumes no familiarity with new media and explains that social media comes in many different forms including social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook or MySpace; online forums such as Meetup; micro-blogging platforms such as Twitter or Google Buzz; social newsrooms such as Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon or Yahoo! Buzz; and photo sharing sites such as Flickr or Picasa; as well as online video sharing sites, including YouTube and Vimeo; blogs, dynamic websites, optimized press releases and case studies, e-books, online magazines, white papers, Internet radio shows, Internet television shows and podcasts. It provides a simple introduction to the main sites and some clear `dos and don'ts' to guide the reader in getting started.
The book also covers myriad ideas for using traditional approaches better. Networking, industry association membership, public speaking, sponsorships, etc. are all included; they are dealt with in a practical and no-fuss manner that invites attention and action. This is a book that will keep you seriously busy, give you many good new experiences and help you to build a platform for your business.
Although the book is written for small businesses it will also suit the sales, business-development, marketing and PR specialists in larger corporates. As a board member I found it refreshing and definitely a book that I wanted to pass on to staff. As a reviewer I found it well worth reading, practical and action oriented. As a friend, I highly recommend it. As a judge, I agreed with my co-judges that it deserved to be nominated, among the finalists and awarded the global ebook award for business non-fiction.
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Julie Garland McLellan is a Judge in the Business Category of the Global EBook Awards and is a Professional Company Director and Board Advisor. She is the author of Presenting to Boards
Presenting to Boards: Practical Skills for Corporate Presentations (Volume 1) and Dilemmas, Dilemmas
Dilemmas, Dilemmas: Practical Case Studies for Company Directors
