Calling all blogger evangelists: Use New Marketing to Prove New Marketing
It's coming up on about 6 months since my book, "Life after the 30-second spot" hit the stands. I've been happy with sales, but it's now time to up the ante...read on.
My book has been called the New Testament (whereas Cluetrain is the Old Testament) and the New Media Bible. SVP's of Marketing have called me to tell me they've re-read the book. People have told me that the book has changed their outlook on marketing and how they go about their jobs...read on.
The traditional media has surprisingly enough (or perhaps not) not reviewed my book - not Ad Age, not even Adweek (and the book is an Adweek book), not the Wall Street Journal, not the New York Times, not Forbes, not Fast Company, not Business Week...you get the drift...read on.
On the other hand, I've been so blown away by reviews from Dave Morgan, Tom Biro, Chris Thilk, the folks over at Amazon.com (and I'm sure there are others), that I wanted to take this to the next level...I want to be able to walk my talk and what better way than to demonstrate the power of new marketing - the power of us - the power of community - than to use this as a primary means of spreading the word and awareness about my book.
So here's my idea...make "Life after the 30-second spot" a Bestseller. Here's how:
- I will issue a free copy of Life after the 30-second spot to any business/marketing/advertising-related blogger that agrees to review the book.
- They will post their review of the book - good, bad or ugly - and e-mail me to let me know that it's up. I don't care what they say as long as its genuine and from the heart. This is about passion. Period.
- I will collect the reviews and update the progress periodically.
- I will also add any reviews from anyone else who has read the book to the list. This is not just for bloggers to review. All reviews are just as valuable to me.
- If you want to purchase the book you can do so on Amazon.com or any bookstore.
I will pledge the following:
- I will accommodate as many bloggers as I can...bear with me if I take a while to respond
- I will do my best to keep this up based on expenses regarding ordering books (yes I have to pay fairly close to what you do) and shipping costs
- I will make this an open source project. I will share as many statistics as possible as a direct result of this exercise. I want this to be a case study and success story that we can all benefit from.
That's pretty much it.
The goal here is not to make money...it's designed to show:
- That there's a new way to work
- That there's a new way to promote books (who needs the media, when we have each other; this is citizen journalism as it could and should be)
- That new marketing works
- That the blogosphere is profoundly good, powerful, effective and constructive
- That change is good...and if embraced, can transform businesses, brands and create tipping points. Yes, create. Not stumble upon...but create.
I want to be clear about a few things to any readers:
- If you think I'm being "self-promotional", but haven't read the book yet, I urge you to do so and then, if you still don't understand and share my passion and belief in the message and my quest to get this book out to those who could benefit from it...e-mail me and I'll gladly address your concern and slip quietly into the night. (translation: shut up or shut me up)
- The reason I'm saying "make it a bestseller" is to a degree tongue-in-cheek. The point here is to be able to get his book in the hands of those who should be reading it: The skeptical CMO...the risk averse VP of Marketing...the reticent Media Director...the contrarian CFO. Do I benefit from book sales? Not so much from royalties, but certainly from getting read.
- If this upsets you in any way, perhaps this challenge is not for you...if you have a problem with helping promote someone else's book, think about all those consumers who do likewise. I'm calling on evangelists - people who feel the passion, believe in the message and share the common goal: to educate marketers, agency and media professionals on the change that is all around us
- Finally, should you purchase a book and don't absolutely love it...e-mail me and I'll gladly refund you my royalty portion. No questions asked.
So now it's up to you...Jeff, Adam, Jason, Nick, Steve, Steve, etc. let's see you get behind this and make some magic. Remember I'm not asking you to do anything you wouldn't feel comfortable doing. I don't care if you think the books sucks. I'm just asking you - if you feel your readers would benefit and/or if you buy into the idea - to support it.
There is A Wonderful Life after the 30-second spot.
