( 7 reviews )
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Posted: Mar 25 2008
Although this book had some nice ideas and cited a few good examples, I was expecting something a little more, well, off-the wall. There are plenty of marketing books around, and many of them carry similar ideas to this one (as another reviewer pointed out already). Many of these books also have a greater wealth of the kind of ideas I was hoping to find in this one (try 'Do Something Different' by Jurgen Wolff for a better source of marketing techniques small businesses can use). There is also a slant towards PR, which is actually quite helpful, but just be aware it forms a significant part of this book. All in, a pretty good book to have on your shelf but not a definitive guide and probably not the best example of books in its class. Perhaps I can best make my point by saying I finished this book in a couple of hours whilst waiting for a flight as I skipped over much of it (having seen it before). However, if you need help with some PR ideas and are looking for some inspiration and an easy read, then this book will help you.
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Posted: Oct 27 2007
As a long time marketing consultant, I found this book to be essentially a rehash of ideas that have long been explored/suggested by others. The first sections on personal and office appearance struck me as extremely dated given our current business climate and 'young' mindset. If you're new to marketing for a small business, I'd recommend Guerilla Marketing over this book by far. Part Four (Madcap Marketing) came as close to living up the the book's title and does include some good ideas and approaches, but not enough IMHO to save the book.
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( 5 of 5 found this review helpful ) Posted: Dec 18 2006
There are two self-promotion marketing books that I really think are great and that stand out from the rest of the crowd: 101 Ways to Promote Yourself (ISBN: 0380785080) and Self-Promotion for the Creative Person (ISBN: 0609806262). In my humble opinion, the instant book being reviewed comes in third to these books. I really liked it. It was fun to read, made me think, and I loved the story about the restaurant owner who took taxicab rides regularly to get the cab drivers to refer patrons to him. The book is broken into six parts: 1. Personal Packaging 2. People Who Need People 3. The Power of Prestige & Expertise 4. Madcap Marketing: The Power of Pizzazz 5. Pro Bono: Civic Marketing 6. Press Waltz: How to Attract the Media. The first part talks about being professional in all you do and to brand yourself and your business. The second part reminds us that nobody is an island unto himself or herself. We all need other people to help us thrive. That's so we can do things correctly, get the word out about our business, and to continue to move forward rather than stagnate. The third part explains the importance of becoming an expert, the go-to source, for whatever you do. The fourth part is about doing things a little different so your business will stand out. It's one thing to be an expert, and it's another to be THE expert. The fifth part reminds us that not all marketing is done solely to help ourselves. Sometimes we can help ourselves by helping others. And the last part discusses public relations and publicity. I really don't have much to say in the form of criticism of this book. I probably would have liked the book better if the title had been different. And I would have liked the six parts listed above to have been included in the Table of Contents. Instead I had to turn through the pages in the book to find the titles. But, all in all, this is a wonderful fun read for someone who has just finished reading my two favorites listed here above. 5 stars!
