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Arianna Huffington: The Iraq War is McCain’s Viagra

May 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Here is an awesome Stephen Colbert interview with Huffington Report co-founder and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington.

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Authors+Books, Media, Politics, Video

Nominated as a Top Interviewer

April 1, 2008 | 4 Comments

Last week, Rohit Bhargava asked bloggers to “virtually interview” him about his new book, Personality Not Included. I asked what may be considered the two most important questions of the author: 1) how is your book different from the tidal wave of other “new marketing” books on the shelves now, and 2) what’s up with the wind-up chickens on your cover?

Out of 55 interviews, Rohit picked the top 12 for you to vote on and pick the best interview. My interview is one of the lucky 12 so I’d love your vote! Today through Friday, you can vote in two separate locations - so click over to this link and this one, and vote twice! The top five vote getters will get signed copies of the book, and the blogger with the most votes will get a $100 gift certificate from Amazon.com.

Since I already have a copy of the book, I’ll give my extra copy away to anyone who comments on this post (if more than one person comments on this post, I’ll pick a name out of a hat). Thank you for voting!

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Authors+Books, Blogging, Random, Social Media, Strategies+Tactics

Riches in Niches: The Benefits of Being a Nichepreneur™

March 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Guest article by Susan A. Friedmann

Do bigger markets offer better opportunities? Not necessarily — and that’s the theme of my recent book, “Riches in Niches: How to Make it Big in a Small Market.” I believe that the best position for a service professional to occupy is as the “Expert” in a niche market — a role I call the Nichepreneur™.

A Nichepreneur™ leverages their professional skills and entrepreneurial drive to become the Expert in their chosen field. Being the Expert is the most lucrative, enjoyable place to be — yet few professionals pursue this strategy effectively. Many don’t see the potential hidden in these secret markets. The savvy few that do can absolutely transform their careers.
Why does the Nichepreneur™ strategy work? There are four reasons:

Reason #1: Less Competition
The more defined your niche, the smaller a market segment you seek out, the less competition you encounter. The vast majority of business owners try to be all things to all people, concentrating on the marketplace as a whole.

By focusing on a small, select segment of the market, you bypass all of that competition. It is possible that some of your colleagues and peers will offer similar services, but the odds that someone will specialize in your area of Expertise drop dramatically as your Niche becomes more and more defined. It’s far easier to be the best — and occupy the advantageous Expert position — when fewer people are vying for the honor.

Reason #2: Increased Efficiency
Nichepreneurs™ focus their efforts and practice on one narrow area. This creates an advantage of efficiency. A professional no longer has to stay abreast of each and every development in their field on the off chance that they may someday need to be aware of the topic. Instead, they can delve more completely into their chosen field of study.

At the same time, becoming a Nichepreneur™ virtually eliminates the learning curve. Because all your efforts and energy are devoted to one particular area of practice, there’s no need to ‘come up to speed’ when someone comes to you with a difficult problem. You’ll already be well versed in the field — and if you don’t know the answer yourself, chances are you’ll be connected to someone who does.

Reason #3: More Money
Expert advice carries premium prices. The public, well trained by the media to value the expert, fully expects to pay top dollar for their services. This is a very lucrative position. Although the services and counsel you offer your clients may be very similar to those of your peers and colleagues, you’ll realize greater profit because of your expertise.

Reason #4: Increased visibility
A serious problem exists out there in the marketplace. Professionals from every discipline face the unending challenge of sameness - a sea of providers offering identical services. This creates confusion for the customer. They have no way to differentiate between this attorney and that one, nor select between counselors.

Positioning yourself as the Expert sets you apart from the crowd. You’re cutting yourself out of the herd and putting yourself in a position of prominence. It’s a very tangible way to say if you want the best, you want me!

Written by Susan A. Friedmann, CSP, TheNichePreneur™ Coach, Lake Placid, NY, internationally recognized expert working with service professionals to increase their niche marketing potential. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market” and “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies.” For a free copy of the special report “The NichePreneur™ Mindset, go to www.richesinniches.com

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Authors+Books

Personality Not Included

March 28, 2008 | 3 Comments

Rohit Bhargava is the genius behind this book marketing tactic = any blogger who sent Rohit five questions about his book would get five custom, not-cut-and-paste answers.

Here is my virtual Q&A with Rohit about his forthcoming book Personality Not Included:

1) Your new marketing book, Personality Not Included, goes on sale April 25 and I’m impressed that you have an Amazon description that doesn’t once use the word “conversation!” Still, I can’t help but ask how your book is different from some of the other successful “new marketing” books on the shelves, like David Meerman Scott’s New Rules of PR, Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis’ Now is Gone, Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae, Andy Sernovitz’s Word of Mouth Marketing, and Joseph Jaffe’s Join the Conversation?

I love this question! First because you’re positioning my book in great company, but second because it’s a question I anticipate getting quite a bit. The most important thing that I hope sets my book apart is the mixture of stories and action guides. I chose to use a very unique format for my book, which was to split it into two sections - the first being the theory of why personality matters, filled with lots of examples … and the second being all action guides. The first thing I did when I got my book deal was to go out and spend $1500 on Amazon to buy all the books that people might see in this category. I kept buying books and have all the ones you mention above on my shelf. My charge was not just to write a useful book (above all else), but to also be different from all the books out there. I believe I managed to do that - but the reader’s will have to decide for themselves.

2) If you had to pick (and you must), what is your least favorite chapter in Personality Not Included?

Chapter 1

3) Why (did you pick the chapter you did for No. 2)?

I chose the first chapter because in it I had to cover a few concepts that I myself found relatively basic. The reason for that, obviously, is because when you write a book you have to write it for people who may not be marketers themselves. As a result, if you happen to be in the field of marketing … some of the concepts in this first chapter may strike you as a bit obvious. Hopefully it will still be useful as a refresher, but some more advanced marketers may find it a bit too basic. Thankfully, the rest of the book should have plenty of new ideas to compensate!

4) Can you explain to me the significance of the weird little wind-up chickens on your cover?

Nope. Actually, they were just used as some imagery to get the book to stand out in the business section. Seriously, have you seen chickens on any other marketing books? You could read a bit more significance into this - ie, that wind up dolls are the ultimate in faceless toys, you just wind them up and they go … or you could just look at the fact that the final book has a chicken on the side so when the book is stacked on a shelf, you’ll see it. Either way, I think the cover works.

5) If personality is the secret weapon that brings authentic brands to life, what - in your opinion - are the best brand personality traits for companies to have?

Actually, I lay out a formula for describing personality that outlines three main traits, so I’ll go with those. They are being unique, authentic and talkable. In Chapter three, I put these together into what I call the UAT filter (I’m sure you can figure the acronym out) and talk about how they can be used to find and define your organization’s personality.

Marketing expert, social media guru, and mega-trendsetter Rohit Bhargava explains how faceless companies don’t work anymore. In a world where consumers have more access to information than ever, and more power to share their voice…a brand’s identity is no longer controlled through marketing and advertising. In this new era, what you say your brand stands for is no longer good enough. What you demonstrate to your customers matters most. This is the power of your personality. Personality Not Included is an essential guide for brands on putting back the missing ingredient in their marketing to build loyal customers, foster consumer (and employee) evangelists, and create a connection that goes beyond profit. The future of business requires new authenticity. Personality is the secret weapon that brings authentic brands to life.

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Authors+Books, Marketing

Age of Sharing Industry Secrets, Manifestos, Tactics, Tragedies and More

March 27, 2008 | 3 Comments

In 2007, more than 100 authors - from 10 countries and four continents - joined forces to write The Age of Conversation, a book about emerging media and marketing. I was one of those co-authors.

Social Computing Magazine called it an “e-blockbuster.” Business Week said “Little did we know that social media would soon begin to tie us together digitally in ways that we are only just now beginning to understand. That’s why a new book called The Age of Conversation may be important to comprehending what’s going on in our society, economy and even polity today.”

If you don’t own a copy of the original, please consider ordering one this Sunday, March 29 from this Amazon link. Dozens of bloggers around the net are promoting that purchase date in order to push the book up the Amazon charts. As a reminder, all book proceeds go to Variety, the children’s charity.

In 2008, the sequel will hit the shelves. This time, nearly 300 authors - experts of all walks - will collaborate on what will likely be the most massive authorship undertaking in history. We’re talking Guinness Book baby! I’m honored to be participating again.

The sequel’s theme is “Why don’t they get it?” and will include manifestos, secrets, transitions, tactics, ideas, tragedies, business concepts and life stories. Stay tuned for more updates. In the meantime, here are the 275 co-authors:

Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Authors+Books, Blogging, Educational, Links, Marketing, Media, Social Media

Accidental Branding

March 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Note: This article is an excerpt from the book Accidental Branding by David Vinjamuri. According to David, the whole book is about branding. The point of the excerpt is to show that it is also about telling the very personal stories of the entrepreneurs behind big brands - in this case Craig Newmark from craigslist.

I’m standing in front of the University of California–San Francisco Medical Center with Craig Newmark, the founder of the online classified site craigslist.org. Craig, who bears a passing resemblance to the actor Jason Alexander, is talking to his doctor about having his gallbladder removed. Although Newmark is having the surgery for the usual reason (gallstones), he has also been enrolled into a clinical trial. Craig apparently has a unique constitution that allows him to tolerate the vitamin niacin, and he’s been taking supplements. The study is to determine how niacin causes low levels of cholesterol to be expressed by the liver, and the medical team will take a biopsy from Craig when the doctor removes his gall bladder. Craig has come to UCSF on this sunny spring morning for his final presurgical visit. And brought me. I spend the better part of an hour watching stick figures run around a track from what might be the best view of any doctors’ waiting room in the country. Then Craig emerges and we leave the office. Almost immediately, we run into Craig’s doctor in the elevator. We walk outside, Craig introduces me, and the doctor takes the opportunity to explain his research work to us. The doctor tries to clarify the point of his research, and Craig seems to understand him, but he is speaking in technical language; like Charlie Brown in the Peanuts cartoons, all I hear is “Wah-wah-wah-wah-wah.” As our paths diverge, Craig thanks the doctor and puts his hand out to shake. The doctor fumbles with his clipboard, and I suddenly realize he has a handful of test tubes in his right hand that are preventing him from shaking Craig’s hand. The test tubes are full of blood. Craig’s blood. It’s not the way I expected the morning to go.

On the other hand, I am a world ahead of where I started out with Craig. Flash back two hours earlier: I arrive on his doorstep at 8:30 a.m. to be greeted with a gruff, “Who’s there?” When I identify myself, Craig does not seem to recognize me. After I hand him a copy of our e-mail correspondence, he tells me that we have canceled this meeting. I realize that he may be correct. A few days earlier he had informed me he would be in New York in two weeks’ time and asked if I would like to meet in Greenwich Village. I agreed, thinking that this would be in addition to our meeting at his house in San Francisco. Craig reasonably assumed that we would cancel our meeting at his place. So he isn’t quite dressed when I catch him at home. He asks me to wait across the street and says he’ll call my cell phone when he is ready. Twenty minutes later he does just that. Then he lets me know that he has an errand to run after getting coffee, but that I can accompany him. That errand is the doctor’s visit.

It’s an apt meeting with Craig Newmark, who has maintained a mysterious and reclusive air even as he makes regular public appearances. If you haven’t heard of craigslist.org, then chances are you’re either over 40 or not living in one of 450 cities in the United States or 52 other countries for which craigslist.org has classifieds. For the rest of us, craigslist.org has replaced the yellow pages, the newspaper classifieds, and Internet dating sites as the best place to find something—or someone. Virtually anything you can imagine is getting bought and sold on craigslist.org at a given moment. A random search of the New York site on a summer afternoon turns up posts hawking bikes, boats, cars, a 7.5-foot-tall fake Christmas tree ($30, in Williamsburg), a dry-chemical fire extinguisher (if the tree doesn’t work out as expected), a ferret cage, and mounted deer heads.

David Vinjamuri writes the ThirdWay Advertising Blog, teaches Marketing at NYU and runs a marketing training company called ThirdWay Brand Trainers whose clients include American Express and Starwood Hotels. He is a former brand manager at Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola. Excerpted with permission of the publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc. from Accidental Branding. Copyright (c) 2008 by David Vinjamuri. This book is available at all bookstores, online booksellers and from the Wiley web site at www.wiley.com, or call 1-800-225-5945.

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Advertising, Authors+Books, Marketing

New Todd And Feature for Authors and Their Books

March 23, 2008 | 1 Comment

UPDATE: Click here to access the new authors + books section.

Since launching this blog in July of 2006, dozens of authors and publishers have asked me to promote their books. While I am all about promoting a good book, I just don’t have the time to read that many books from cover to cover.

In an effort to support authors and give my readers a glimpse of new marketing and media books, I am launching an “authors + books” series. The series will feature guest-written posts by authors of new or recently-published marketing and media books. Starting today, authors wanting to participate in my promotional series can email me a short pitch.

The guest author submissions, preferably 300 to 700 words, can either be 1) an edited excerpt, so that it can stand alone, from the forthcoming or recently-published book, or 2) an original byline column not previously published anywhere else. When I say “not previously published,” I mean not verbatim. You can still use previously-published ideas, concepts and topics, but the content should be somewhat unique from any other previously-published version.

The only other requirement is that your book and post must relate to marketing, media or one of the other categories in the left sidebar of my blog. Not all author pitches will be accepted - they must fit appropriately with the theme and content of this blog.

If your pitch is approved, please submit your post with a short biographical byline (no more than three sentences) as well as front cover artwork and a head shot. Your guest posts will be archived in a new category on my blog called “authors+books.”

Lastly, I will ask that you send me a physical copy of your book, so that I can also read it when/if I have time and perhaps add some of my own commentary down the road (no guarantees). It will also become a part of my ever-growing library of marketing and media books that I keep at work for me and my colleagues to read and reference.

According to my server stats, my blog - toddand.com - currently gets 93,000 hits per month, of which almost half are unique visitors. My visitors include many of the world’s top marketing agencies, media companies, corporations and educational institutions.

Thanks for your interest in Todd And = Marketing + Media, and I look forward to your pitch.

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