How, did this happen?  In this particular case it is clearly the recommendation of Coding Horror’s Jeff Atwood.  His single post about the book sent it flying off Amazon.com’s virtual shelves, and started a conversation that included over 100 comments on Jeff’s blog and created a viral effect as several other blogs picked up on the story.

The lesson here for authors is not only do you need positive reviews of your books, but certain reviews can be  more effective than others.  You need a targeted approach to get your book not just in front of many people, but also the right people.

Think about who might have the biggest impact on your book.  The answer is not Oprah Winfrey – let’s keep it realistic.  Who is a trusted adviser, or connector within the community of your readership?  We use tools like the Author Questionnaire to help us answer these questions.  If your publisher is not using a similar tool, create your own and work with the marketing an PR departments on a targeted approach to get your work in front of the right people.

UPDATE: Looks like Charles Petzold is discussing this on his blog as well.

Who should lead the social media charge in your organization?

You probably already know who this person is within your organization. It may be the technie who brags that she’s been blogging since 1999, or the corporate communications person who loves to talk with customers on external bulletin boards. This person is probably also a bit a thorn in the side of management, constantly agitating for under-represented customers who are suffering some sort of injustice at the hands of management that just “doesn’t get it”.

How should companies turn these radicals into revolutionaries?

1. Define the “box” (policies, legal clearance, etc.) within which they are allowed to act;
2. Make it safe(r) for them to try things – and to fail; and
3. Get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable.If you don’t feel slightly queasy embarking on a social strategy, you’re probably not moving fast or far enough.

I understand the need for item 1, but also think this is where companies get “hung up” and prevent real a revolution from occurring.

What do you think of this approach?

(Photo credit estherase)

Age of Conversation is a self-published work that the authors describe as follows:

In what began as a half dare, the editors, Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan challenged bloggers around the world to contribute one page — 400 words — on the topic of “conversation”. The resulting book, The Age of Conversation, brings together over 100 of the world’s leading marketers, writers, thinkers and creative innovators in a ground-breaking and unusual publication.

All proceeds (less costs) will go to the Variety, the Children’s Charity.

It will be really interesting to watch Wilson’s marketing plan in action, which is a literal bum rush on Amazon.com on March 29 in an effort to push the book to the top of the bestseller list. Wilson’s call to action:

With the infinite amount of social sites and connections on the web, this is a huge undertaking. That is why I came up with this plan of action list with the highest priority items at the top. The idea is to generate as many touch points around the web as possible so that it will be hard not to spot the Age of Conversation activity.

1. Buy the Book & send others to buy the book. This is the number 1 call to action, because this is where we want to see the most impact. NOTE: Please buy 1 copy at a time because Amazon counts bulk orders once, and please use this affiliate link, which will help us in tracking sales. Remember, all the proceeds from the book sales and referrals will go to charity. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1847992994?ie=UTF8&tag= drewmclellan-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325& creativeASIN=1847992994
2. Blog About It - Make sure you have a prominent link to the Amazon listing so that readers can easily purchase the book. (Remember to use the affiliate link above. All of these earnings will go to charity as well.)
3. Twitter Commentary - Join Drew and I as we give a Bum Rush play-by-play on Twitter. (Follow us: @Freshpeel, @DrewMcLellan, @Servantofchaos) We also ask that everyone saying anything about the Bum Rush to use the code #AOC so that it can be picked up by Twemes.com
4. Trackback or Comment on the post that I will leave here on March 29th at 12am CST, so that everyone can follow the conversation and help promote exposure on social sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, etc.)
5. Digg the posts listed here & send emails and shouts to friends requesting Diggs.
6. Stumble the posts listed & tell friends to do the same.
7. Bookmark your posts on Del.icio.us
8. Add your post to other social media outlets ( Technorati, Ma.gnolia, Furl, BlinkList, Newsvine, Facebook, etc.)
9. Send an Old Fashioned email to your friends about the Bum Rush for AoC.
10. Keep talking – Get on ooVoo, iChat, Aim, or where ever you like to talk, and start talking.

(Hat tip Douglas Karr)

Well, at least Mike Moran thinks so. Take a look at this clever marketing tool Mike created to promote his new book
Do It Wrong Quickly: How the Web Changes the Old Marketing Rules.

The book looks really interesting. Its approach is one that many companies will struggle with – do things quickly, measure the results, fix it and try again quickly.

The quiz is a great viral way to promote the book, while providing a little taste of what readers will find inside. With more than 200,000 books published each year, standing out in the crowd is so important. Interesting experiments like Mike’s are a way to do just that.

However, companies must change the way they think about social sites like Facebook and how they can get their message to those members. Social networks are not just big websites, and most current strategies wont work on these sites. The key is to engage!

I can point to several reports that seem to show traditional advertising models don’t seem to be working on Facebook – at least not in its current form. Facebook is working on a more focused system for advertisers, and those results remain to be seen. Perhaps more focused efforts will have better results.

Now, I am not a marketing or advertising expert. But I suggest the way to reach Facebook users is to engage and participate with the community using the tools that Facebook provides. Get in there! Some thoughts:

• Find your customers
• Participate in Groups
• Create your own Group
• Don’t sell – participate in the conversation
• Add value to the conversation – don’t just shout your message
• Build an application

What are your thoughts on Facebook as a marketing platform?

Here are a few quick checks to get a feel for how much your company really understands what is happening in social media:

1. Is your company blogging? I don’t mean employee blogs about what their kids are doing (and yes, I have one of those too) but is someone really speaking openly and honestly to customers via a blog. Does your CEO blog?
2. Still pushing stodgy Press Releases or have you adopted a strategy for Social Media Releases?
3. Does your company think that their customers are not a part of the social media landscape – that its just a small percentage of people on the fringes of the Internet?
4. Does your company have a YouTube Channel?
5. Do you have a Social Media Newsroom?

If none of this sounds familiar, you owe it to yourself to read Brian’s excellent summary of the future of PR and Marketing.

Book Business Extra

No big surprises in their strategy, but clearly they understand blogging, social networking and the changing landscape. Of note is their effectiveness in hitting a targeted market well.

Also, in the face of such information-overload, many people are increasingly paying attention to things that specifically interest them, so it’s becoming more and more important to reach a book’s specific audience well. I think the best way that publishers can combat this challenge is simply by always staying on track with what’s the newest way to reach people. Not every way will work, but over time, you’ll find the ones that reach your niche most effectively.

The takeaway here is to try new things – trying to hit new markets the same old way doesn’t work anymore. (In fact, trying to hit existing markets the same old way doesn’t work like it used to.) Instead of using the broad approach to try and hit as large a group as possible, take more well-aimed, targeted approaches to try and get your message across.

Publishers who embrace targeted, grassroots marketing and PR efforts will be the ones who are successful in the future.