Personality Not Included

Personality Not Included http://www.personalitynotincluded.com Personality Not Included is a new marketing book for entrepreneurs, marketers and all businesses about the importance of personality and a guide on how to use it. Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:05:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Personality Not Included Hits #1 On Amazon UK! http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/personality-not-included-hits-1-on-amazon-uk/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/personality-not-included-hits-1-on-amazon-uk/#comments Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:05:08 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=109 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Personality Not Included Hits #1 On Amazon UK!", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/personality-not-included-hits-1-on-amazon-uk/" });]]>

Personality Not Included (in the UK)

I just had a chance to attend and speak at a great event in London last week called the Future of Social Media sponsored by the Internet World group, a leading organizer of digital and online events in the UK. The event was a good discussion of topics such as how media is evolving and new lessons that marketers need to take into account when planning campaigns in this new social media era. I talked about two UK-specific examples from the book in describing the lessons of the book: Moo.com and Innocent Drinks. Both are brilliant examples of the power of authenticity and how businesses are using it to get ahead.

As a result of my time there (hopefully), I saw a great spike of sales on Amazon UK and even hit #1 in the Sales & Marketing category on the site. The book is currently on a 6-8 day backorder as I write this post, but hopefully will be in stock and shipping the same day again soon. The image above is one that I used to create a series of stickers with the crazy chicken alongside a UK flag in an egg (how poetic!). I’m hoping to make it back to London a few times next year for a variety of reasons and continue to build buzz across the pond, so to speak. In the meantime, if you happen to be based in the UK - please check out the book and a few early reviews on Amazon UK and if you have already had a chance to read it, please add your voice to those reviews!

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]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/personality-not-included-hits-1-on-amazon-uk/feed/ New Bonus Content: How to Launch A Successful Blog http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/new-bonus-content-how-to-launch-a-successful-blog/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/new-bonus-content-how-to-launch-a-successful-blog/#comments Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:30:02 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=108 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "New Bonus Content: How to Launch A Successful Blog", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/new-bonus-content-how-to-launch-a-successful-blog/" });]]> Just added to the www.personalitynotincluded.com/bloggingadvice page mentioned in the book is a downloadable PDF excerpted from my blog with tips on how to create a successful blog in the first 90 days. This step by step guide should offer you useful advice on the toughest questions when deciding to start a blog, such as what to write about, how to grow your audience, when to focus on design and lots more. Visit the blogging advice page right now to check out this new piece as well as lots of other content on how to bring your brand’s personality to life through a blog!

DOWNLOAD PDF >> How To Launch A Successful Blog In 90 Days

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]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/new-bonus-content-how-to-launch-a-successful-blog/feed/ Atlanta Event and Book Signing! http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/atlanta-event-and-book-signing/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/atlanta-event-and-book-signing/#comments Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:46:35 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=106 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Atlanta Event and Book Signing!", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/atlanta-event-and-book-signing/" });]]>

Tomorrow I will be in Atlanta doing the lunch keynote at the Executing Social Media conference. As part of that trip I am doing a book signing at the Borders bookstore in Buckhead. Following the signing, we’ll all be gathering at Fado’s Irish Pub in Buckhead (an old college drinking hole of mine and a bar mentioned in the book too!) If you are in Atlanta, hope you can make it to one of all of the events:

Executing Social Media Conference

Borders @ Buckhead Book Signing

Fado’s Irish Pub

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/atlanta-event-and-book-signing/feed/ Q: What is one brand desperately in need of personality? http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/q-what-is-one-brand-desperately-in-need-of-personality/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/q-what-is-one-brand-desperately-in-need-of-personality/#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:35:23 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=104 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Q: What is one brand desperately in need of personality?", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/q-what-is-one-brand-desperately-in-need-of-personality/" });]]> This is part of the PNI Q&A series where I share responses to common questions about the book. Got a question? Share it in a comment and I might answer it in an upcoming post!

The one that stands out for me simply because I travel a lot and live in a major hub is United Airlines. The amount of money they waste on “brand campaigns” is just staggering. Who in America hasn’t heard of United Airlines? No one. So why spend all this money to tell them who you are? They have so much potential to reinvent the way that they train their employees and that they use social media to allow people to have a more direct relationship with them. Sometimes I dream about getting them as a client because there are so many solutions that could make such a big impact on their brand. It’s uncommon to have a brand with that much untapped potential.

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/q-what-is-one-brand-desperately-in-need-of-personality/feed/ A Video Introduction To PNI http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-video-introduction-to-pni/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-video-introduction-to-pni/#comments Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:35:02 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=105 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "A Video Introduction To PNI", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-video-introduction-to-pni/" });]]> Several months ago, I had the chance to go into the studios at the CNet offices in San Francisco to record a session for something called a “Business Book Brief” that runs on cNet’s companion site for business called BNet. The video has been produced, professionally edited and is now online on the BNet site. Check out the video below for a brief introduction to Personality Not Included and let me know what you think.

Also, below that is a “making of” gallery of sorts from the video shoot where you can see behind the scenes of the filming and what it was really like. The team was professional, we did two takes with two different camera angles, and there was a green screen to allow all the imagery that they added to be placed.

PS - Yes, I know about the screwup in spelling Jared’s name and we’re trying to get that corrected. At least my name is right so the glass is definitely more than half full …

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-video-introduction-to-pni/feed/ Q: How long did it take to write Personality Not Included? http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/q-how-long-did-it-take-to-write-personality-not-included/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/q-how-long-did-it-take-to-write-personality-not-included/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:34:09 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=103 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Q: How long did it take to write Personality Not Included?", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/q-how-long-did-it-take-to-write-personality-not-included/" });]]> This is part of the PNI Q&A series where I share responses to common questions about the book. Got a question? Share it in a comment and I might answer it in an upcoming post!

The whole process of writing to publication for me was just under a year. I got my book deal in June of 2007 and published in May of 2008. It’s a pretty fast turnaround for a full length business book, but both myself and the publisher were keen to get the book out sooner rather than later so we worked hard to finish it and still have something we’d be proud of. One thing I was surprised at was that I thought I would be able to reuse more of my blog content for the book, and I really didn’t use much. Luckily the blogging kept my writing skills current and probably helped me to write much faster than I could otherwise have.

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/q-how-long-did-it-take-to-write-personality-not-included/feed/ PNI Sightings Gallery http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/pni-sightings-gallery/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/pni-sightings-gallery/#comments Sat, 20 Sep 2008 01:09:04 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=102 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "PNI Sightings Gallery", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/pni-sightings-gallery/" });]]> I recently launched a photo collection of all the places that I have managed to find Personality Not Included or promoted it. It’s a fun gallery of the book in lots of bookstores, at parties and a few other locations. Check it out and if you have any photos of the book in your local bookstore, please do share them with me so I can add them to the gallery! You can send them to me at pnibook@gmail.com or tag them on Flickr with “pnisighting.”

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]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/pni-sightings-gallery/feed/ 7 Ways To Publish A Book For Marketing http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/7-ways-to-publish-a-book-for-marketing/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/7-ways-to-publish-a-book-for-marketing/#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:01:31 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=101 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "7 Ways To Publish A Book For Marketing", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/7-ways-to-publish-a-book-for-marketing/" });]]>

I love books. Not just for the power of conveying an idea through a printed form, but also for the emotional significance of actually holding a book in your hands. More and more recently I have been books become a brilliant marketing tool for everyone, from political candidates to technology companies. Along the way, there are several ideas that I have collected for how using a book could be an effective part of a marketing strategy. Here are a few:

Explain a complex idea - Some businesses or product lines are based on something complex that is not easily understood. One example of using a book to explain a concept like this was a book Microsoft was handing out earlier this year at CES about their Windows Home Server product. It was called “Mommy, Why Is There a Server in the House?” and took a kids book approach to explaining why anyone would want a server in their home.
Commission an existing author or writer - This can be a great way to build on an existing author’s profile and audience by working with him or her to commission a new piece. Hilton Hotels used this strategy as part of their Olympic marketing effort when they commissioned an award-winning kids author named Todd Parr to create a new book for them around their marketing tagline “Be Hospitable.” Johnson & Johnson used a similar strategy back in 2002 with Understanding Children, a book they supported the creation of from Richard Saul Wurman (well known author and creator of the TED conference).
Partner with a “co-author” - There are two types of situations to use a co-author - the first is if you are actually a team and share similar ideas that you want to publish together. The second is to get someone who will do the actual writing while you help to provide direction and content. This second method is the one usually preferred by politician or famous person when they get a writer to help them create a “tell-all” biography of their lives.
Offer a book template - Though in a very different category, the Disease Control Priorities Project has an interesting way of distributing their content in a book form. You can go online, select various chapters from a group of publications and create your own book. The model of offering a template and letting people assemble their own books with your branding/message integrated is one that could work in many other industries.
Commemorate an experience - Art galleries use this technique often, creating limited edition books that commemorate their exhibits and the artwork contained in them. They work well because the art is so visual and many of these exhibits can be gatherings of work that will be dispersed after the exhibit and never again brought together - so the book seems very archival and worthwhile.
Organize a collaboration - There are some great examples of this technique - from Seth Godin’s The Big Moo collaborative book a few years ago, to the Age of Conversation parts 1 and 2 (Disclaimer - I am a contributing author to Part II) which gathered together lots of contributors and invited them to write on a related theme to bring all these pieces together into a book. The resulting publication is often something that has built in marketing support as all the contributors will promote it to their networks.
Sponsor a branded printing - This may be the simplest way to use a book for marketing as you are basically using a book that has already been published which aligns to your product or brand in some way and reprinting a branded edition. Pretty much any book ever published can be reprinted in a branded version, usually with a new custom foreword or different cover depending on the number of units purchased.

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]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/7-ways-to-publish-a-book-for-marketing/feed/ Interview with Mack Collier http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/interview-with-mack-collier/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/interview-with-mack-collier/#comments Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:59:22 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=100 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Interview with Mack Collier", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/interview-with-mack-collier/" });]]> It’s shaping up to be a busy Tuesday, so today’s post is a guest contribution of sorts from an interview I recently gave to my friend and fellow marketing blogger Mack Collier in advance of the highly anticipated MarketingProfs Digital Mixer that I’ll be speaking at in October. Enjoy!

Q: You’re a very popular speaker and have a constant list of conferences to which you’ve been invited to speak. But it seems there’s a new marketing/social media conference popping up every day,
and for potential attendees it can seem a bit overwhelming. What are a few things that attendees should look for from an event to ensure that they will get their money’s worth.

A: You’re right, there are a ton of events coming up, and it’s tough to choose which ones to spend time at. The most obvious way most people probably evaluate events is by the quality of the speakers who will be there. That’s a measure I use to decide where to speak as well. The quality of the programming is also important in terms of what the session topics are and how the event is organized in relation to what you are most interested in learning about.

The other thing I would pay attention to is the companies who will be exhibiting or sponsoring the event. They have had to do the work to determine if the conference is worth spending money to sponsor, so any
event that can bring in a good assortment of sponsors is obviously doing something right.

Q: Earlier this year, I met you and several other members
of Ogilvy PR at South by Southwest and Blogger Social. As a result of
connecting with you and your colleagues John, Kaitlyn and Virginia, I
now have a better opinion of Ogilvy, as a result. How important do you
think it is for companies to have their representatives attend events
such as these and connect with influencers and potential customers?

A: This is hugely important because it speaks to a topic that
you know I believe in—that brands need to have a personality and bring
their company to life through their employees and their brand
evangelists.

For us in our Digital Influence team, the fact that we’re at these
events is a big deal for our business not just in getting new clients
but also in getting really high-quality people interested in working
with us and joining our team.

Q: Besides opening the Digital Marketing Mixer conference,
you’ll also be speaking on the How Great Content Keeps People at the
Table panel. How can companies reach the point where they understand
how to position their social content so that it appeals to their
customers, instead of attempting to use this content as a way to
promote themselves? Is it simply trial and error?

A: Some of this is trial and error, but the nice thing is
that it is pretty easy to tell if you are creating compelling content
or not, for the simple reason that if it is useful then people will
find it and pass it along to others. The best content creates a
word-of-mouth effect where people share it with one another and that’s
easy to track online.

Q: You’ve been spending a lot of time in Beijing at the
Olympics and working with Lenovo, a client of Ogilvy PR, and I noticed
that you guys helped organize a Tweetup (meeting of users of the
microblogging site Twitter) while there. How prevalent do social media
such as Twitter and blogging seem to be at the Olympics—and from what
you have seen/heard, in China?

A: Social media is emerging in China as it is in many parts
of Asia. Going to an event like a blogger meet-up is the most
encouraging way to experience social media in a particular region
because you are meeting the people who are most active and engaged.

I wouldn’t say that I got the impression that social media is
experiencing a meteoric rise in China, but the people who are using it
and promoting it have a great sense of promise at what it could do in
the country… and like with other aspects of China, it is something we
should definitely watch.

Q: Social media is in a constant state of change. What is
your advice for companies that want to get up to speed on social sites
and tools. Where should they start?

A: The most common advice here is to start listening, but
usually when social media “pundits” offer that advice they only talk
about it in the personal sense. I got started blogging because I
started reading marketing blogs. And I read them because it was my
profession and I was interested in them, not because they necessarily
had something to do with a client project I was working on.

So my biggest advice would be to find blogs about something that you
are interested in, whether it’s rowing or table tennis… and start to
get familiar with social media and blogs through that. After that, you
can start to pay attention to social media as it relates to your job
and your business, but at least this will get you past the first
barrier of inertia and get you to invest the time to get familiar with
the tools.

Register to attend the MarketingProfs Digital Mixer (Use discount code ESPKA08 before Sept 19 to save $350) >>

Read the original interview on Marketing Profs >>

Check out Mack’s Viral Garden Blog >>

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]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/interview-with-mack-collier/feed/ A Law Firm With Personality? http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-law-firm-with-personality/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-law-firm-with-personality/#comments Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:32:45 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=99 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "A Law Firm With Personality?", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-law-firm-with-personality/" });]]>

Next58quinnemanuel1

In this month’s Fast Company, there is an interesting profile of a law firm from LA called Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges which is making waves in the legal industry for being less formal and actually having a personality. Unlike other firms, they focus only on business litigation, take some cases on contingency, and have an on-staff barista. The photos in the article show a business that looks a lot like a Silicon Valley startup environment where all the lawyers are wearing (gasp!) jeans. A part of their story is a decentralized structure and far fewer management layers … but I suspect an even greater element is the fact that they have a powerful recruiting story to tell.

What lawyer stuck in a stiff and formal environment wouldn’t dream of working at a firm like Quinn Emanuel? When you are the envy of your industry, recruiting the best people is far easier. If you can get the best people and let them do what they do best, you can have the best company. It’s not a difficult formula, and it all starts with personality for this law firm shaking up their industry and making millions along the way. And it just might inspire you to think differently about what you do everyday as well. After all, if a law firm can understand and use the power of personality, what’s holding you back?

* The photo above is used without permission from the Fast Company article online. If they sue me, maybe I’ll try to hire Quinn Emanuel to represent me …

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]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-law-firm-with-personality/feed/ Q: What Makes PNI Different From Other Books? http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/q-what-makes-pni-different-from-other-books/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/q-what-makes-pni-different-from-other-books/#comments Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:41:46 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=94 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Q: What Makes PNI Different From Other Books?", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/q-what-makes-pni-different-from-other-books/" });]]> This is part of the PNI Q&A series where I share responses to common questions about the book.

I would sum up the difference between my book and others in two words: entertaining and useful. As I wrote the book, I focused on living up to these two themes. I wanted to write a book that was actually fun to read (I know, it’s an odd way to describe a marketing book, but stay with me). To do that, I have more than a hundred stories in the book, from how a small restaurant in DC with just 8 seats creates one of the most unique dining experiences in the world to the story of LiveVault made the intensely technical subject of data storage approachable, fun and viral. The useful part comes from the structure of the book which has two main parts. The first part is the theory of personality in business and has six chapters with lots of stories that you could probably finish in a few hours on a quick plane flight. Along with all the stories are links to guides, tools, checklists and other resources in the second part of the book. That part is all about action and helping you to put the theory of the book to work for your business. This isn’t meant to be just a big “theory” book, it’s all about applying the lessons to your business.

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/q-what-makes-pni-different-from-other-books/feed/ Soundview Book Of The Month - August 2008! http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/soundview-book-of-the-month-august-2008/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/soundview-book-of-the-month-august-2008/#comments Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:54:56 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=97 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Soundview Book Of The Month - August 2008!", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/soundview-book-of-the-month-august-2008/" });]]>

I’m happy to announce that Personality Not Included was chosen as a book of the month by Soundview Executive Book Summaries. In case you aren’t familiar with them, they are a group that review thousands of business books a year and select two each month to summarize in both audio and downloadable PDF format for subscribers. It is a huge honor to be chosen and I’m thrilled to be among titles like Influencer, Meatball Sundae, and The New Age of Innovation. Check out their site to see how you can get a download and summary of the book - or if you already have a copy, be sure to read page 185 where I take my own shot at summarizing the whole first section of the book in just 60 words. The most profound ideas shouldn’t take long to explain. Hopefully I manage to live up to that truth.

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/soundview-book-of-the-month-august-2008/feed/ Finding PNI In Beijing, China http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/finding-pni-in-beijing-china/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/finding-pni-in-beijing-china/#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:41:21 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=96 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Finding PNI In Beijing, China", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/finding-pni-in-beijing-china/" });]]> When I was traveling in Beijing I had the thrill of finding the book in one of two big English language bookstores in the city. The Wangfujing Bookstore had three copies of PNI (pictured in the photos below). The other bookstore didn’t have it, because they were sold out! Also in the gallery below are some shots from a few media interviews I did with press in the Ogilvy Beijing office:

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/finding-pni-in-beijing-china/feed/ How I Measure Success For PNI http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/how-i-measure-success-for-pni/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/how-i-measure-success-for-pni/#comments Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:41:48 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=95 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "How I Measure Success For PNI", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/how-i-measure-success-for-pni/" });]]>

One of the frustrating things about writing a book is that the “metrics” you get back from the publishing industry are less than complete. As an internet marketer, I’m used to getting a certain level of detail with reporting and when you write and publish a book you need to quickly get used to the fact that you will never have those kinds of metrics. Still, over the past few months since my book came out, I’ve developed my own sense for reading between the lines to pay attention to metrics that really matter. Here are just a few that I’ve uncovered that I use to better understand how my marketing efforts for the book are doing:

Quality and quantity of speaking invitations - Since the book came out, the fastest return (almost overnight) was the types of speaking invitations I have been getting. Instead of leading panels, I have consistent offers to do keynotes, Instead of me proactively reaching out to groups for speaking invitations, they are now emailing me. I attribute this to two things - the first is the fact that I have a book, and the second is positive word of mouth from my previous speaking gigs. Lots of these invites are coming from people who have heard me speak at another event. So if you have spread the word or recommended me for a speaking gig - thanks!
More people buying on my Amazon page - It’s undeniable that Amazon.com gets the lions share of online book buying, and so just about every author I know pays attention to their sales rank on Amazon. One of the less often looked at metrics is the percentage of people who visit a book’s page who buy that book. I did a lot of marketing while my book was still on preorder status … so unlike many other books, I drove significant traffic to my book page from people who were not quite ready to buy. As a result, my percentage was about 32% when the book first came out. Now it is up to 83% and continually rising. That means more people are visiting the book page with the intent to buy, which is a good thing.
Direct email referrals to the book website - Looking at referring sites is a common metric for online marketers, but usually marketers will just look at the top 3 or 4 referrers. Going beyond, there are lots of indecipherable URLs that I get referring people to my site. What are they? Email referrals. I can’t follow them back to their source, but I know that most are the result of someone seeing the book site, putting the URL into an email, and sending it to someone else. I love those referrals because it tells me the book is spreading via word of mouth.
Increase in third party endorsements - For the month of August, PNI was selected as the best business book of the month by Soundview Book Summaries. If you have ever seen their ads in the SkyMall magazine on a flight, you know that they only select 2% of all the business books published every year to summarize and when they do they offer a downloadable PDF and short audio summary of the book. These endorsements are really powerful because they help the book to stand above others and be the one that people may choose to read with their increasingly limited time.
Tone and quantity of reader reviews - If you read any media property, it’s easy to think that book reviews are a dying component of the media. Many industry trades don’t do them anymore and recently the LA Times announced that they were dropping their book reviews section (a move brilliantly debated by 4 former editors of the Book Review in case you’re interested). Taking their place are blog reviews, podcasts, and online media properties where people are still sharing plenty of opinions about the books they read and buy. Getting a media mention is nice, but when someone takes the time to review PNI and share their opinions with others, that’s a pretty powerful thing.
The recognition factor - PNI has a very recognizable cover … there aren’t too many other marketing books that have something as striking as a chicken with a rainbow mohawk on the cover. This combined with the fact that I attend or speak at many events mean that I’m meeting lots of people and telling them about the book. As I do that, I have the chance to see their reaction to it and increasingly I’m seeing a certain recognition factor from the people I talk to about the book. Some have heard about it, some of read it, and others may have just walked past it. But its memorable and sticks out for people. As recognition moves higher, sales go with it.
Reader emails and correspondence - One of the things I have tried to do in the book and in all the events that I go to is demonstrate to people that I am open and easily reachable. If you want to send me an email with your thoughts or questions about the book, you can do it. Each week I get more and more of these types of communication and as I respond to them, I feel that I can live up to the premise of the book and have a personality myself. The most common
Real time microconversations - Twitter is by far the simplest tool for getting an idea about what people are saying on a real time basis, but it has also allowed me to connect with people who have read the book or who are considering buying it. I usually reach out to them personally if I can, and ask them to let me know what they think of the book when they do make it through it. Again, I’m trying to build a personal connection with the book. If everyone who has ever read PNI feels like they know the author - then I’ll feel I’m doing something right.
Volume of group orders - The biggest wisdom I have picked up from other authors to learn about how a book goes from good sales to becoming a bestseller is when people begin to consider ordering it in bulk for their entire team. Just about every business book that has hit the bestseller list has passed this milestone. As a result, it is one of the effects that I pay the most attention to (even though it’s last on this list, it’s certainly not least). Over the past few weeks, I have seen several more of these group orders getting placed and hoping to launch a few promotions in the Fall to help encourage even more of these. If you are considering one for your team, let me know and I’ll be happy to give you a preview of the idea …
UPDATED: New business requests impact on work for Ogilvy (my day job) - Thanks to a great suggestion from John Moore (see comments), I’m adding this as another metric that I have been using to judge success of the book, but unintentionally left off. As word of mouth spreads on the book, I know that many of my Ogilvy colleagues are giving it to clients and had a great situation last week of meeting a client in one of our offices who had read and enjoyed the book. As the book continues to reach current customers and other businesspeople, I am expecting and hoping that more will consider the 360 Digital Influence team that I am part of for their next social media or word of mouth related need. On that note, feel free to email me at rohit [dot] bhargava [at] ogilvypr [dot] com if you have a request like this and would like more information from our team on how we might be able to help.

As always, if you have an other ideas for metrics I should be paying attention to (apart from the obvious - like total sales or unique visitors), please share them!

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/how-i-measure-success-for-pni/feed/ BizBox Live Book Discussion Today At 3pm! http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/bizbox-live-book-discussion-today-at-3pm/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/bizbox-live-book-discussion-today-at-3pm/#comments Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:49:52 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=91 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "BizBox Live Book Discussion Today At 3pm!", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/bizbox-live-book-discussion-today-at-3pm/" });]]>

Imb_pni_bizbox

Today at 3pm I am taking part in a very interesting experiment of a live Q&A session as part of a new site that was recently launched as a partnership between Slate.com, McGraw-Hill and American Express. The feature, called "BizBox" is a one hour hosted online discussion about a book where anyone can log in from Slate and ask a question to the author. This is meant to be a real time stream of questions and discussion (I’ll be online live answering questions), moderated by the editorial team at Slate and funded by Amex Open and McGraw-Hill. The commitment to an author is minimal … just be online for an hour to answer questions directly (basically a late lunch hour if you’re on the east coast). As a secondary experiment, I’ll also be live twittering during the event to get even more discussion going (my ID is @rohitbhargava).

Here’s the link: http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/05/bizbooks_5.htm

I am excited about the upcoming discussion, but even more so in how this partnership is arranged and the marketing lesson it offers. McGraw-Hill (my publisher) has authors and content. Slate.com has the audience of small business owners, and Amex Open wants to reach this audience. Together they have put together this BizBox series to offer a way for Slate to a richer content experience beyond their own editorial, and made it worth the time investment from an author because they are doing heavy promotion, and also because the time requirement is minimal (ie - no travel). As a result, today’s hosted discussion will likely be a four-way win … for me, McGraw-Hill, Amex and Slate.com. Anytime you can put together a marketing campaign like that, it’s worth paying attention to.*

* And yes, I’d say so even if I wasn’t today’s guest!

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/bizbox-live-book-discussion-today-at-3pm/feed/ Small Businesses And Personality http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/small-businesses-and-personality/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/small-businesses-and-personality/#comments Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:47:34 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=90 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Small Businesses And Personality", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/small-businesses-and-personality/" });]]> One of the most surprising things about Personality Not Included for me has been just how popular the book has been when I introduce it or talk about it with small businesses. There are a few easy reasons I think why this probably is:

1. PNI is very case study heavy, so small businesses will likely find at least one example that relates to their business.
2. PNI is easy to read, particularly for people who may not consider themselves marketers, but need to promote their businesses nonetheless.
3. Small business owners connect with the idea of personality because often the vision, emotion or growth behind their companies has been the result of personal vision and personality on their parts.

As a result, I love doing events, seminars and podcasts devoted to small businesses. I have another one coming up tomorrow evening hosted by my good friend Shashi Bellamkonda and his company, Network Solutions. Frank Gruber from Somewhat Frank (and a super engaging guy) will be interviewing me and we’ll be leading a discussion with more than 100 small business owners about the importance of personality. Like our previous event we did at Busboys & Poets downtown, this event was sold out within a matter of days of it opening up and should be a great event. For those who can’t make it or missed signing up before it was sold out, check out Frank’s site for some audio and video from the event.

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/small-businesses-and-personality/feed/ A Great Review … http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-great-review/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-great-review/#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:38:56 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=89 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "A Great Review …", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-great-review/" });]]> I’ve received lots of reviews of Personality Not Included from bloggers, marketers, businesspeople and journalists. There is one, however, that I think offers a great complete picture of the book for those who haven’t read it and says just about everything in one review. Thanks to Julie from PeopleMaps for the great review!

An innovative book in so many ways - the structure; the layout; the design; the marketing — all uber innovative. But what really counts is the content - and Rohit just nails it.

Rohit Bhargava is right up there with the likes of Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki. Why? Because he tells it like it is. There’s no jargonistic BS in this book. Just plenty of (super cool) examples and global ones at that - Rohit shows a refreshing awareness that we don’t all live in the USA!

The whole of Part Two is devoted to what to do with the revelations laid out in Part One. Yes - read this book and Rohit will tell you what to do for your business (though, to be honest I already had a page full of notes about things to do/improvements to make/nuggets to share from each of the chapters in part one as they unfolded - that’s how enlightening it is).

This book isn’t just for marketers. It isn’t just for trendy start-ups. It is for any business - from solopreneurs through to blue chip. It is also relevant to anyone in any position in the work place - anyone who wants to make a difference that is.

If you love Seth Godin, or Guy Kawasaki then you’ll love Rohit Bhargava. If you’ve no idea who any of these people are, but are looking for a refreshing and up-to-the-minute business read, then you could do no better. You won’t be able to resist taking action during and after this one.

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-great-review/feed/ Listening to the Frogpond … http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/listening-to-the-frogpond/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/listening-to-the-frogpond/#comments Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:49:18 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=88 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Listening to the Frogpond …", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/listening-to-the-frogpond/" });]]> Welcome to all of you BzzAgents who are making it to this site as a result of Frogpond campaign that I recently launched this week. I’ve been reading furiously trying to keep up with the nearly 2500 reviews and comments that you have left about this site and the book and contrary to what you might think, I don’t have a team of people to help read all of them so I’ve been going through all of them myself! From what I have learned so far, there are basically three categories of comments:

Not interesting - for BzzAgents who are just not into business and don’t know anyone who runs a business or works in business … the book didn’t have much to offer.
Like the book, but the website was confusing - many people read and enjoyed the excerpt (though many people wished for more content from the book to consume). Others thought it could be interesting, but were confused or turned off by the website.
Loved it and bought it - this was my favourite category (obviously!) of people who loved what they read on this site or through the excerpts and said they would go ahead and buy the book.

I haven’t done a full analysis, but these categories seemed about equal in their spread (33% each). As I spent some time this weekend thinking about what to do to incorporate this feedback, I decided to focus on two things. The first was to correct some BzzAgents who thought the campaign was run by a big organization (it wasn’t … it’s just me). The second was to offer the second group from the list above more information to hopefully address their concerns and help them figure out if the book may actually be useful for them or someone else they know.

To that end, I redesigned the main section of the homepage to use a better description of what the book is all about. In addition, I’m releasing another book excerpt of material, available at www.personalitynotincluded.com/pnibonusexcerpt.pdf. This excerpt is the first several pages of Chapter 6 and should give even more of an idea of what the book is about. Happy reading and if you’re a BzzAgent and made it here, let me know if any of this helps!

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/listening-to-the-frogpond/feed/ PNI Reader’s Community Just Launched! http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/pni-readers-community-just-launched/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/pni-readers-community-just-launched/#comments Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:22:31 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=86 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "PNI Reader’s Community Just Launched!", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/pni-readers-community-just-launched/" });]]>

This weekend I put the finishing touches on the long awaited Reader’s Community for Personality Not Included and just put it live last night. The area has links to the official Facebook Reader’s Group, information for International readers, and a list of stores where you should be able to get a signed copy of PNI. Future features in the area will include the ability to buy PNI anonymously for someone, and even more extended international content. Check out the section at www.personalitynotincluded.com/readers-community and let me know what you think.

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/pni-readers-community-just-launched/feed/ A Review of PNI from the Beach http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-review-of-pni-from-the-beach/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-review-of-pni-from-the-beach/#comments Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:32:45 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=59 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "A Review of PNI from the Beach", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-review-of-pni-from-the-beach/" });]]> I first met Roxanne Darling at a great show for video bloggers called Vloggercon more than two years ago, and since then I’ve been following the rise in popularity of her video blog, BeachWalks with Rox. The show, shot daily from the beach at her home in Hawaii is the perfect reminder to stressed out east coast workers that they need to take a moment to slow down a bit and Rox is the perfect person to deliver that message in her natural and authentic style. So check out her review, and subscribe to her show to get some great ideas and thoughts delivered via video blog from a very unexpected place.

Beach Walk 648 - Personality Preferred

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/a-review-of-pni-from-the-beach/feed/ Join the Par-tay: A Live Discussion on Personality For Small Businesses http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/join-the-par-tay-a-live-discussion-on-personality-for-small-businesses/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/join-the-par-tay-a-live-discussion-on-personality-for-small-businesses/#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:31:59 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=57 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Join the Par-tay: A Live Discussion on Personality For Small Businesses", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/join-the-par-tay-a-live-discussion-on-personality-for-small-businesses/" });]]> Tomorrow evening at Busboys and Poets in downtown Washington DC, there is an event that I’m particularly excited about for two reasons. First, because it’s a very unique format and will be highly entertaining, and secondly because it’s one of my first appearances talking about the book that will be focused on small businesses. The event is a live edition of Jonny Goldstein’s highly popular Jonny’s Par-tay podcast. For those who haven’t heard Jonny, he’s got a style that is extremely engaging and unique - probably the reason why his podcast is one of the most popular in the DC area. For those of you with longer memories, you’ll also remember that Jonny won the prize for Best Interview as part of my Virtual Interview Contest - so he’s clearly got personality as well and our conversation should raise some great topics. Even if you can’t make it to the live session in DC (it’s currently sold out), you can tune into the show live tomorrow evening (June 4, 2008) online from 7pm EST to 7:40 EST.

During our session, we’ll chat about the necessity for personality, how it works and answer lots of questions from entrepreneurs and small business people about the power of personality. Attendees will also have the chance to get their own signed copies of the book. Also, a special thanks to Network Solutions for sponsoring the event. Shashi Bellamkonda (the “Social Media Swami” at Network Solutions) has been a great champion of the book and has taken on the role of “accidental spokesperson” at his company to help them connect with more small businesses in a really innovative way by participating in social media and hosting events like this one. Thanks to his strong marketing efforts, the session sold out within a couple of days of announcing it. Given the popularity of this event, we’re already thinking of doing another one in DC in the coming months and perhaps expanding the event format to a few other cities as well.

Link Love and Thanks to Sponsors:

Network Solutions
DC Media Makers
Busboys and Poets
Jess3

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/join-the-par-tay-a-live-discussion-on-personality-for-small-businesses/feed/ Leading a Panel on the Future of Social Media … http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/leading-a-panel-on-the-future-of-social-media/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/leading-a-panel-on-the-future-of-social-media/#comments Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:30:16 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=56 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Leading a Panel on the Future of Social Media …", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/leading-a-panel-on-the-future-of-social-media/" });]]> One of my favourite topics is looking forward and trying to predict what’s next. Tomorrow I’ll be leading a great panel devoted to exactly that topic in New York at the IAB Social Media & User Generated Content event. Here’s a description of the session and the other participants:

The Future Is Now - What’s Here, What’s Next and What’s In the Way?

Advertisers and marketers are continually on the hunt for creative opportunities to be “in” the social space. The landscape is constantly evolving but there are some pioneers of the platform who “got there first” and did it right. This panel teaches future-thinking advertisers how to be on the outer edge of the social space by encouraging new ways of thinking as well as sharing emerging techniques & technologies which address the paramount issues of privacy, monetization, scale and brand control.

Moderator: Rohit Bhargava, SVP, Digital Strategy & Marketing, Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence
Aaron Lilly, Senior Marketing Manager, Microsoft
Geoff Reiss, CEO, Associated Content
Ian Schafer, CEO, Deep Focus
Chad Stoller, Executive Director, Emerging Platforms, Organic

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/leading-a-panel-on-the-future-of-social-media/feed/ Facebook Marketing Update - 5/28 http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/facebook-marketing-update-528/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/facebook-marketing-update-528/#comments Thu, 29 May 2008 05:34:05 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=54 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Facebook Marketing Update - 5/28", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/facebook-marketing-update-528/" });]]> Below is the update I sent to the Facebook Official Reader’s Group for PNI. If you have not yet become a member, I suggest you join as that group is where you can get exclusive first access to bonus content, invitations to events, and participate in a conversation about the book:

Hi everyone,

It’s time for another update on Personality Not Included! I hope you have all had a chance to pick up the book, and if you haven’t, there a few good reasons in this update to buy it now. Starting on next Monday, I am launching a BIG promotion for the book which includes a featured discussion on Slate.com, a new campaign with BzzAgent, and front table placement at ALL Barnes & Noble locations across the US for two weeks.

Everyone who buys a copy in the next two weeks (or has already bought a copy) will get a sneak preview copy of a bonus PDF to be released next week (just send me your order number). I’ll send it to those who send me their order details first, then release it to the entire Facebook group 24 hours later, and then publicly launch it on my blog two days later. Here’s the detailed update:

- PNI continues to sell well and has excellent distribution and placement. It is now making it outside the US (people have seen it in Hong Kong and the UK). If you see the book in a store, I would LOVE if you could take a photo and either tag it “pnisighting” on Flickr, or send me the photo and I can do it. I’ll be creating a gallery on Flickr soon.
- If you have the book and liked it, please POST A REVIEW! I created a promotion with a great incentive for you to post a review on Amazon.com. Read more at www.personalitynotincluded.com/backcover
- The Reviews & Buzz section of the website has been completely redone, including new sections for podcasts and video interviews: www.personalitynotincluded.com/reviews
- I am speaking at the IAB event in NY on Social Media next week (6/2), a Networking Event for Entrepreneurs in the DC area on 6/4, and doing a featured keynote presentation at the Speaker’s Dinner the night before BlogPotomac in DC. In the next two months I will be in SF, NY, Detroit, and Chicago.
- I participated in my first international event, speaking at mesh in Toronto last week and met a lot of wonderful Canadians (I’m partial to Canadians since I married one!). The book has had excellent media in Canada, being featured in the National Post and several other publications and should be in most local stores by now.
- I just launched the bonus content promised on the last page of the book, so for those of you made it that far, go to the URL mentioned on that page and you can download your very own printable diploma and be an “M.P.”
- A really exciting piece of bonus content I have been talking about for a long time is finally near completion and will come out next week. I’ll be using the same list of folks who let me know they have purchased the book to release this to, so be sure to let me know when you do get the book.

That’s it. Once again, thanks so much for being a part of this group. As I have said before, my intention with these updates is to share the latest about the book and to have a conversation with all of you about everything happening around the book. I promise not to spam you or send updates any more frequently than once every two weeks … and to continually offer you first access to bonus content and exclusive events.

Look for another update in Mid-June and please email me at rohitaustralia@gmail.com if you have any thoughts or suggestions about the book!

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/facebook-marketing-update-528/feed/ Buzz Marketing For Technology Podcast Now Live! http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/buzz-marketing-for-technology-podcast-now-live/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/buzz-marketing-for-technology-podcast-now-live/#comments Tue, 27 May 2008 18:12:10 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=52 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Buzz Marketing For Technology Podcast Now Live!", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/buzz-marketing-for-technology-podcast-now-live/" });]]> Paul Dunay, a fellow marketing blogger and creator of the Buzz Marketing For Technology Podcast just published an interview we did together a few weeks ago. His show is one of the best for BtoB technology marketers looking for a great professional interview series - I highly recommend subscribing to get all of Paul’s updates.

Below is the transcript and notes from our show:

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/buzz-marketing-for-technology-podcast-now-live/feed/ Speaking At mesh08 In Toronto Today http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/speaking-at-mesh08-in-toronto-today/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/speaking-at-mesh08-in-toronto-today/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 11:41:24 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=49 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Speaking At mesh08 In Toronto Today", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/speaking-at-mesh08-in-toronto-today/" });]]> I’ll be speaking on a very interesting panel as part of mesh08 in Toronto today. The event is one of the largest interactive marketing events in Canada and has a wonderful gathering of smart folks, including many that I have not yet met (making this an event that stands out from many others here in the US that attract the same speakers and attendees to every conference). Here’s a description of our panel:

Building a Brand on the Web
As the reach and efficiency of traditional media for marketing purposes continues to decline, companies and marketers alike are questioning how they can build a brand identity without any of the usual tools. What strategies make sense for brands when they move online, and how should they be structured to take advantage of the medium? What are some of the pitfalls of trying to use social media to do so? Join a discussion about these and other issues with Rohit Bhargava, author of the new book “Personality Not Included”, Maggie Fox of The Social Media Group and Michael Garrity of CommunityLend, with Mark Evans, moderator.

Afterwards that evening, social media monitoring firm Radian6 is hosting a get together where I will be giving away several free copies of PNI at The Pogues Irish Pub in downtown Toronto. Here are the details in case you happen to be in Toronto and can join us.

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/speaking-at-mesh08-in-toronto-today/feed/ The Cheapest Place To Buy PNI … http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/the-cheapest-place-to-buy-pni/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/the-cheapest-place-to-buy-pni/#comments Wed, 21 May 2008 12:37:37 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=48 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "The Cheapest Place To Buy PNI …", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/the-cheapest-place-to-buy-pni/" });]]> I had the chance to make it out to the iconic Strand bookstore in NY last week and launched a search for PNI. I found two review copies in the Reviewer section of the store … a place where they sell the review copies that the store gets for 50% off of retail. So PNI was selling there at Strand for about $12 - definitely the cheapest I have seen it for sale so far. There were only two copies left when I was there a few days ago, so if you want to save a few bucks and live in NY you better get there fast!

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/the-cheapest-place-to-buy-pni/feed/ Andy Sernovitz On The Personality Project http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/andy-sernovitz-on-the-personality-project/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/andy-sernovitz-on-the-personality-project/#comments Wed, 21 May 2008 02:05:37 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=45 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Andy Sernovitz On The Personality Project", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/andy-sernovitz-on-the-personality-project/" });]]> The tenth entry on The Personality Project is now live, Andy’s post about why you need to focus on something that makes people talk about you. His book and point of view are worth considering. Check out the post here:

http://www.thepersonalityproject.com/andysernovitz/

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/andy-sernovitz-on-the-personality-project/feed/ Get Featured On The Back Cover Of PNI! http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/44/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/44/#comments Tue, 20 May 2008 01:56:33 +0000 admin http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=44 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Get Featured On The Back Cover Of PNI!", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/44/" });]]> Since I launched my new book PNI, I have been getting emails, Facebook messages, Twitter updates and live feedback at events about what people liked and didn’t like about the book. These comments are a wealth of insight, but no one aside from me is getting the benefit of seeing them. Amazon reviews are the most visible way right now of sharing this type of feedback, but most people will not bother to go to the effort to write a review on Amazon - unless they have the right incentive. That’s what this post is about.

If you have read Personality Not Included and have some thoughts about it, I’m asking you to post your review on Amazon.com (or on an international version of Amazon if you happen to be outside the US). To offer an incentive, I also agreed with my publisher that we will be taking one quote from an Amazon review and featuring it on the outside back cover of the next edition printing of Personality Not Included (McGraw-Hill makes the final call). That means anyone who picks up the book in a bookstore or searches it online will see your name and organization name or URL. So before I start, I want to clarify a few things.

First of all, I am NOT in any way asking you to lie or share opinions about PNI that you don’t personally feel. If you read the book and hated it, go ahead and post your review to that effect on Amazon or anywhere else. I probably won’t use it for the back cover (obviously), but I’m not trying to stop you from doing that. Instead, my goal is to reach the many people who have read the book, but have not posted a review on Amazon because there is no tangible reason or benefit. Hopefully, this idea gives you a reason … visibility. You don’t need to be a blogger or a CMO to participate. My goal is to take a piece of REAL feedback from one of you and feature it on the back cover of the second edition, and encourage some useful book reviews on Amazon.

If you have already posted a review, don’t worry - you’ll be included in this competition. If you haven’t, but had some thoughts after reading the book, please share them on Amazon. And if you think this idea is just a cheap stunt to get more Amazon reviews, post a comment here and let’s talk about it. As an author, asking for reviews is a minefield because you don’t want to manipulate people, but you do want them to review the book so more people hear about it. Successful or not, I’m considering this an experiment in doing that.

Admission: For the more astute, you probably noted an assumption in this post - which is that PNI will actually get a second edition printed. All expectations from the publisher are that we will do one … but it does depend on sales of the first edition, so I don’t want to mislead anyone to thinking its a done deal. The chances are pretty good, though.

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/44/feed/ Where In The World Is PNI? - A Winning Idea http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/where-in-the-world-is-pni-a-winning-idea/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/where-in-the-world-is-pni-a-winning-idea/#comments Wed, 09 Apr 2008 05:28:23 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/?p=39 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Where In The World Is PNI? - A Winning Idea", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/where-in-the-world-is-pni-a-winning-idea/" });]]> As part of the Blogger Social event this past weekend, I had the chance to host a really interesting and unique meetup for several bloggers who were willing to pull themselves out of bed for a 9:30 am brainstorm meeting all about ideas to promote PNI. The core challenge to all 15 people who showed up was to answer the question of how they would promote the book is they had 25 copies and $200. Below is the winning idea that the group voted for, which actually combined two great ideas from Matt and Anna into a single one. Many of the concepts focused on passing books around in a viral way, and this idea had an interesting structure and charity component to it. Since this was the winning idea, I’ll be working with both Matt and Anna (depending on how much time they are both willing to give) to make this idea happen:

THE WINNING IDEA (Matt Dickman and Anna Farmery):

Everyone wants to get their book into the hands of top influencers. The best book marketing involves lots of pass along too, where people tell others about the book and share their insights and feedback. The trick is getting the right people to read it and pass it on. The winning idea combines the necessity for getting the book into the hands of right people with an innovative way to get them to pass it along. Essentially, we would identify a list of top 10-25 marketers, bloggers, authors and executives. Each one would be given a copy of the book to read and share 6 “margin notes” - 1 per chapter (reflections to passages in the book). Once they have finished with it, they need to pass it along to another influencer in their network. That person would also share their margin notes (again, 1 per chapter).

Anyone would be able to track progress throughout the campaign and at the end, all the resulting books would be auctioned off for Charity (or given to charities to auction as part of an existing event). what do you think - does this work? Also, please share who you think might be a good candidate for this list.

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/where-in-the-world-is-pni-a-winning-idea/feed/ Is Your Brand Showing Its True Personality? - Press Release http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/is-your-brand-showing-its-true-personality-press-release/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/is-your-brand-showing-its-true-personality-press-release/#comments Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:41:23 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/is-your-brand-showing-its-true-personality-press-release/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Is Your Brand Showing Its True Personality? - Press Release", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/is-your-brand-showing-its-true-personality-press-release/" });]]> Though the majority of the launch for PNI so far has been non-traditional, there is a benefit to mixing it with the traditional as well. You don’t get much more traditional than a good old-fashioned press release and this morning we sent out a release on the newswire about the book release. You can read the Personality Not Included Press Release on the PR Newswire site - and see a chronicle list of links here throughout the next few days where I will link to all the sites that pickup the release. These are not interviews, just reposts of the release … but I’ll be running an experiment to see how much pickup this traditional tactic can generate. Of course, the media outreach goes far beyond this one release - but I’m watching what you might call the “passive pickup” of the release with interest:

Let’s keep cheering for a slow news day!

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/is-your-brand-showing-its-true-personality-press-release/feed/ Vote for the Best PNI Book Launch Interview! http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/vote-for-the-best-pni-book-launch-interview/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/vote-for-the-best-pni-book-launch-interview/#comments Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:16:59 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/vote-for-the-best-pni-book-launch-interview/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Vote for the Best PNI Book Launch Interview!", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/vote-for-the-best-pni-book-launch-interview/" });]]> Last week I launched an open call to bloggers to ask questions and do a “virtual interview” with me about the book. I had 55 bloggers take me up on the offer and I recently went through the list and highlighted what I thought were the top 12 interviews. You can see the list below, and vote for your favourite in the poll below. The top five vote getters (and the #1 write-in vote getter) will all get signed copies of the book, and the Blogger with the most votes will get a $100 gift certificate from Amazon.com. Enjoy the interviews and happy voting!

Voting will close this Friday at midnight.

The Vote:

]]> http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/vote-for-the-best-pni-book-launch-interview/feed/ Welcome to the Personality Matters Blog! http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/welcome-to-the-personality-matters-blog/ http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/welcome-to-the-personality-matters-blog/#comments Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:51:39 +0000 rohit http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/welcome-to-the-personality-matters-blog/ SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Welcome to the Personality Matters Blog!", url: "http://www.personalitynotincluded.com/post/welcome-to-the-personality-matters-blog/" });]]> As part of the launch of Personality Not Included, this blog will aim to share all kinds of content focused on the theme of marketing for the book … that personality matters. Over the next several months (and possibly beyond), you’ll find the following types of content:

First look at new bonus content created around the book
An inside preview at all the marketing for the book and latest news
A special section called BIWIM (Brands I Wish I Mentioned) which profiles great companies that didn’t make it into the book
Interview series with a range of authors, businesspeople and others
“Faceless Alerts” that highlight situations of corporate facelessness and suggest alternatives that could help them regain their personalities
And lots more!

To start, let me point you towards a series of interviews that I just completed with more than 50 bloggers who generously took up my offer to send their 5 questions relating to the book to me for answer that they could publish on their blogs. The compliation of these answers offers not only an interesting conversation about the nature and importance of personality in business … but also several clues about content in the book, stories behind the stories and exclusive content and insights that I have not shared before. It would certainly take some time to get through all the interviews … but you can go through and read one or all 55 on my other blog - the Influential Marketing blog. I’d love to hear what you think of them!

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