There are a ton of books about marketing, but many are written by people who don’t actually know HOW to DO what they are writing about and others are outdated before they’re even published.
One sure way to cut through the fluff and get to the substance:
ONLY take advice from those who
actually know how to accomplish
what they are writing about
and NOT the legions of writers who talk the talk
but can’t walk the walk.As George Bernard Shaw wrote in 1903:
“He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.”
There ARE some who can do both and THOSE are the writers – or actually curators as most great books are compilations of wisdom across time – worth reading.
I am kicking off a series of posts of my favorite best marketing books because ALL small businesses and bloggers need to know as much about how to increase sales as possible – especially in this economy.
Don’t tune out because I dropped the “M” word!
Marketing is NOT Evil
It is necessary to assist us in finding products and services we need.
A comprehensive compilation of traditional marketing is a good place to start – and if the person writing that compilation has both a background in traditional sales over decades PLUS stays current with social media marketing THAT is the book to buy.
Contrary to what many think, books ending up on the New York Times Best Seller lists and things going viral online almost NEVER happens spontaneously.
I don’t care how wonderful your content is –
it will NOT go viral on its own!
Books become best sellers and content of all kinds goes viral because of hard work combined with calling on influencers you already have relationships with who are willing to support your work.
WHY YOU SHOULD BUY HARVEY MACKAY’s BOOKS
You should buy Harvey’s books because he knows how to make that happen and he writes clearly enough that you can implement what he recommends for yourself.
It is no accident that Harvey MacKay’s books consistently
end up on the New York Times Best Seller list.
He KNOWS how to make that happen and how to get others to work with him – at that is what YOU need to know, too.
BOOKS MAKE GREAT GIFTS For Bloggers and Business Owners
Bloggers are writers and writers love to read. Even those of us who practically live online still read a lot of books.
Great marketing books are reference books
that are best kept close to your desk.
Small business owners may or may not be voracious readers, but they need to read books that are important to their success. If you know a blogger or business owner, consider books and other necessities as practical holiday gifts – or gifts any time.
Why READ Harvey MacKay’s latest sales book?
The primary reason is because you want to know How to Increase Your Sales. Joe Soto of the Social Media Marketing Services company One Social Media said about this book:
“I can NOT recommend a book more highly this year
in 2011 on business, on succeeding in sales,
on succeeding in business entrepreneurship”
I’ll let Joe Soto explain in just 2:17 minutes why this is a book worth reading and giving as a gift: Joe Soto’s YouTube video review of The MacKay MBA of Selling:
There are plenty of reviews of MacKay’s new book – just do a search for MacKay MBA book review. <<< Try that link to see how you like DuckDuckGo.
When you buy and recommend books this year I ask you to consider supporting small book sellers instead of automatically buying or acting as an affiliate for Amazon.
This is especially important in light of the extremely bad publicity Amazon is getting REPEATEDLY regarding their putting profits before lives.
Amazon endangers employee’s lives:
- Ambulances wait outside Amazon warehouse | Business – The News Tribune (Sep 25, 2011 … ALLENTOWN, Pa.)
- Inside Amazon‘s Very Hot Warehouse – NYTimes.com (Sep 19, 2011)
- Amazon has Ambulances Wait Outside Warehouse on Hot Days (Sep 20, 2011)
- Amazon Forced Employees To Work Brutal Hours In 100 Degree Warehouse Or Face Termination (Think Progress)
- Amazon workers’ nightmare shows what happens when jobs are scarce (LA Observed)
- When employees are disposable, high unemployment benefits the employers (UndertheMountainBunker)
Apparently learning nothing from the bad publicity over employees suffering from heat stroke, last month that same Amazon warehouse left their workers standing outside in sub-freezing temperatures because apparently identifying who pulled the fire alarm was more important than letting them die from exposure:
On Dec. 3, Cetronia Ambulance Corps transported six Amazon warehouse workers to the hospital to be treated for cold exposure following a fire alarm evacuation, said Larry Wiersch, CEO of the nonprofit ambulance service.
About 30 other people got into ambulances to warm up, he said.
“It was cold — 26 degrees — and it was windy,” Wiersch said.
“There were pregnant women, men and women in T-shirts and shorts, some with sleeveless shirts and shorts,” one complaint states.
“People were passing out and feeling ill left and right. … I am absolutely disgusted with this company’s practices and I do believe OSHA should visit this building and give them some sort of coaching on how to better handle the situation before there are more people suffering from hypothermia.”
These incidents make it painfully obvious that Amazon does not consider their employee’s lives when making business decisions. It is up to us to hold companies like this accountable for their actions.
You don’t have ambulances stand by – you FIX THE PROBLEM!
If we look the other way and continue to buy from Amazon and promote them as affiliates we are equally complicit and guilty of enabling them to intentionally endanger lives by negligent homicide or even criminal negligence.
The best way to get the attention of those who worship money
is this: Amazon Suffers Big Drop in IncomeKeep giving them your money and you are guilty, too!
I encourage all people of conscience to switch to other affiliate programs and buy from other book sellers. There are many and I am personally supporting Bigger Books because they are on ShareASale and have every book I’ve searched for so far.
If you don’t care about the Amazon employees, at least care about you, your friends and your family because what we allow to happen to anyone CAN and DOES happen to us eventually. As Joan Baez sings, “There but for fortune, go YOU or I…”
Disclosure: I received a pre-publication review copy of Harvey MacKays’ book The MBA of Selling in the Real World. I receive many review books and sometimes specifically ask for them. I did not receive any payment beyond the free book – and if you know me you already know I write my truth regardless. The one link to Bigger Books IS an affiliate link provided in case anyone wishes to support my efforts. No other links in this post are affiliate links and I am not compensated in any other way for the contents of this post.
