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So how do you demonstrate what a book is about? How do you create word of mouth as an experiment for how to create word of mouth?
If you’re Dave Balter, creator of BuzzAgent, you write a book called The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II. But, what’s really buzzworthy about that?
First off, the book’s a fun, irreverent, well-written, explanation of the art of word of mouth packed with examples that will be new to most readers.
Then you make the purpose of the book seem to be some sort of self-actualized illustration of the words on the pages. In fact, the point of this book might not be that you read it as much as it is that you talk about it.
Read it you can and should though and free of charge - Download the complete Word of Mouth Manual
The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II is split into three enlightening, funny sections, all working together to prove that WOM is one of the most powerful marketing mediums on the planet.
And now the laboratory part
In addition to downloading and reading the book (check out the other 20 or so blogs playing along here) you can buy the book, but know this
- Only a few thousand are available for purchase
- Each comes with an original piece of Seth B. Minkin art
- It’s specially packaged, designed to be lightweight and simple to hold
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This entry was posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 at Jun 16, 08 | 12:01 am and is filed under Referral Marketing, word of mouth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
I’m a big fan of Dave Balter and BzzAgent. It’s a Brilliant idea, well executed. In fact Dave is our podcast guest this month on Personal Brilliance - Up Close and Practical. A new episode each week this month. Catch up by clicking here.
This sounds so interesting…and there are some pretty good marketing approaches just in this blog alone for this book! First, the “word of mouth” about the book is interesting enough to make me want to download it for free and read it; then the hook of a limited number of books to purchase with art by someone…this is pretty cool marketing. - Linda
This is “OLD SCHOOL” Viral Marketing!
I remember a time when I just had to trust what someone told me but now I get to do research on the net to figure out whether I believe my source or not!
TIMES HAVE CHANGED
@Brent, well, sure, but that’s going here too I do beleive - time will tell though DON’T YOU THINK
Word of Mouth marketing I think is the best kind! I am definitely going to do the free download and get some tips for my business! bzzagent has helped me “come out of my shell” in talking to people, I hope this book has even more tips and strategies I can use!
Nice review! I downloaded the manual and look forward to reading it. I’m a volunteer BzzAgent and have been struck by innovative word-of-mouth marketing techniques.
John,
thanks for the info on where to get this book. I’m already loving it and I’ve only flipped through the first few pages. Seems to be short and sweet - like WOM needs to be. Long stories are harder to pass on
cheers!
This is more of a general comment, but I just finished reading it, and anyone who is thinking “I don’t have time to read a book right now,” or “Ugh that doesn’t really sound that interesting or up my alley,” my advice would be to take the 10 seconds or so to dl the book, print it out (or read online if you want to save some trees) because it is really worth it. I was able to read it on the T to work over three mornings… not bad at all! It’s a quick read and it has lots of interesting tidbits of information… and Balter manages to sneak in some good insights into the world of word of mouth and where marketing seems to be headed for the forseeable future. I promise you it is a good read, it even made me nostalgic for the good ole days of Tickle Me Elmo and Cap’n Crunch (Oh cap’n, how could you do that to your family???).
bottom line: READ! (and enjoy, but I don’t need to tell you that, you will on your own).
P.S. I forgot to add that I’m a volunteer BzzAgent, which is how I got turned onto the book in the first place. It also renewed my desire to be an agent, and to understand from the company’s standpoint as to why transparency, and word of mouth in general is so important to today’s marketing world.
I have been a buzz agent for about a year now and as such I am probably biased. Indeed, being a buzz agent was how I was alerted to the book in the first place. I know that there are a fair few critics about the Buzz Agent scheme and this book really does well to refute some of the claims of the critic. It also adds an extra perspective. One of my concerns has been that people might try to play the system. Having read the book I now realise that it does not matter. Even if people decide to make up Buzz they find out more about the product in the process so that is at least one person who has learned something about it that otherwise would not. This surely must be classified as success.
Word of mouth is something entirely natural. I encounter it all the time: on the train, in the office canteen, in the supermarket. Surely it is a no brainer that people should tap into this resource, organising and guiding it to make it more effective. I am the sort of person who leaves the room when the adverts come on the TV, quickly skip over the ads in magazines or newspapers, etc. However, when I hear people talking about a product that is of interest to me, my ears prick up. The example of Crocs were used in the book. Word of Mouth marketing is exactly what convinced me that I ought to try them. I had seen them and thought that I would never wear anything so ugly. Then I kept hearing how comfortable they were and I decided to get a pair. I am converted. They are the only casual shoes I wear nowadays and have x amount of different styles and colours. Why did the Word of Mouth work for me? Because I knew that the people talking about them had nothing to gain or to lose by doing though. It was honest and based on personal experience. The Buzz Agent scheme is very upfront about that it is against the terms and conditions to try to “sell” the product. It asks people to honestly talk about it both positive and negative. I really do not understand where the criticism comes from and I do sincerely hope that the book manages to put a lot of it to rest. It is well thought out, uses plenty of examples and is above everything honest. I really enjoyed reading it and hope so will many others.
I am a volunteer BzzAgent. Most BzzAgent’s are completely transparent and we are proud of it! I loved the manual. I wouldn’t have purchased it but I loved every word. Anything that people talk about is considered word of mouth, whether it’s good, bad, or indifferent. The world would be a totally different place without Word of Mouth.