Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite
Filled with fun anecdotes, quirky photos, and off-the-wall business advice, the provocative sequel to "It's Not How Good You Are, It's How good You Want to Be" reveals the surprising power of bad decisions.
Stats for nerds
2recommend
2mentions
2people
2007–2008years
100% recommend
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- We had a rather successful Ask YC on this several days ago - see http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=341138
It did focus mostly on online PR, however, so perhaps others could provide deeper coverage on this question on areas I know of but have not tried (or no longer use). For example:
- trade shows
- schwag
- guerrilla marketing
- speaking at events (supposedly can work wonders if you do it right)
- publicity stunts (think Richard Branson)
- becoming a press contact who's quoted a lot
- producing an event for your industry / sector yourself (worked wonders for Carsonified!)
- presenting your product in a remarkable way (think of how Google presented Chrome with the comicbook approach - get inspired by Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud - http://www.scottmccloud.com/ - or see http://xplane.com/ for a more corporate look)
- paying for word of mouth (risky)
- on the street promotion (booths, etc)
- leveraging networks like LinkedIn
- sponsorships
- cross promotions
- affiliate marketing
- e-mail list marketing (not spam)
- lead development and phone calls (surprisingly effective in many areas, though I don't do it as it's not relevant to my sector)
- writing a book on your topic (works better if you're a consultant OR you're happy to be the "face" of your product)
- social objects (look at Hugh MacLeod's career as of the last 3 years)
- be interviewed
- do your own interviews of people in your industry for your company's blog (see FiveRuns' blog for this in action - it's been very successful)
In terms of books, some personal recommendations (as in, I've read them and they rock):
- Dirty Little Secrets of Buzz by David Seaman (this is like dynamite)
- Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite by Paul Arden
- Any of the "Guerrilla Marketing" books by Jay Conrad Levinson
- Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson.
- Hubbard's "A Message to Garcia" (written in 1899) is a must-read. It's available online here: http://www.birdsnest.com/garcia.htm
My AI professor made us read it for his class - no one else in the class seemed to like it, so you might not either.
My other two staples are
Paul Arden's books. ("It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be: The World's Best Selling Book", and "Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite")
They're short reads, with huge print. Very simple, and to the point. They don't really say anything new / earth shaking - but it's a nicely packaged dose of one part inspiration, one part ambition, and one part a kick in the pants to do stuff. Anytime I'm in a lull, I re-read them both. They're also handy to give to nay-saying family, "friends" and colleagues.
If I haven't gifted you with this personal tri-force, you're probably not my friend.
