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.

Do you think this approach is more effective than “traditional” marketing methods?

Authors can learn a lot from the personal branding and social media marketing advice of Chris Brogan who recently offered 100 Personal Branding Tactics Using Social Media. Of course, Chris is not speaking about books in particular, but that’s the beauty of his advice – it can be applied to many different situations where your personal brand and growing online network can make a difference.

I’ve written quite a bit on the subject here as well, but with a focus on book publishing. Check out the following and the Related Posts links for some of my thoughts on how book authors can promote their work with social media.

• Why Word of Mouth Matters
• Book Marketing for Authors: The Author Questionnaire
• Crowdhacking: 10 Simple Ways Authors Can Help to Increase Sales at Amazon.com
• Amazon.com as a Social Network
• Looks Like We Are About to Get Bum Rushed by the Age of Conversation
• The Making of A Bestseller: A Case Study in The Meme

(Image credit: emdot)

An early adopter of Twitter, I have struggled with communicating the value of tools like it for my organization – as have many others I am sure. Today I picked up on three great posts in this theme (via @jowyang on Twitter, no doubt.)

David Armano, VP of Experience Design with Critical Mass, says Twitter is a Conversation Ecosystem, and provides some great visuals that help to drive the point home.

Explaining Twitter is an act in futility unless the person you explain it to understands the intricacies of social networks (saying conversation ecosystem is a bit abstract to someone not participating in online conversations).

And that’s really the rub, isn’t it? Getting companies immersed in “classic” models to take the time to understand the new models and find value,potential, and connection.

Forrester Senior Analyst Jeremiah Owyang says the Fabric becomes stronger as the Threads connect.

If you’re in the tech industry, and in marketing, you should be paying attention to what’s happening on twitter.

Jeremiah also brings up the “what you had for lunch” argument that is often the first response to the value of tools like Twitter. (And by the way, Twitter is just one tool – my point stands for many others as well.) I simply reject this argument now, as there are some great tools to help reduce the noise and focus on conversations that are applicable.

Forrester’s Peter Kim has published a report on Twitter (registration required) that speaks to the current demographics of Twitter users, and their reactions to branding, advertising, as well as a short list of companies like Dell, JetBlue and Carnival Cruise Lines and how they are using the tool as part of their online strategy.

Six percent of online US adults use Twitter at least monthly or more frequently. Twitter users are, on average, 78% male and 31 years old, and they draw an annual income of $78,000. In comparison, members of the online US population are, on average, 49% male and 43 years old, and they draw an annual income of $68,000.

Is your company using tools like Twitter as part of its online strategy?

(Photo credit ecstaticist)

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.

If your blog is only relevant to a few close friends, and your website is only a big advertisement for your writing, why should strangers bother visiting either, let alone link to you? Your main goal, if you want people to discover you, is to entertain and inform them. Your Internet presence isn’t about what you have to sell. It’s what you have to offer, usually for free.

What are you offering? What on your website will make a surfer stay for longer than ten minutes? What on your blog will make it relevant in five years? Just being a published writer isn’t enough. Nobody cares that you’re published. Nobody cares that you have a book for sale.

Knorath makes the point that writing a book is only the first of many steps to success, and goes on to give some very practical advice on promoting yourself as a brand, and building the increasingly important absolutely critical Author Platform we publishers keep talking about.

Guess what? Your three sample chapters and two paragraph author bio aren’t enough to keep the average surfer interested for more than a few minutes, if they even find your site.

The article wraps with great advice on spreading your brand online and in real life.  This is a recommended read for current writers and aspiring authors.

Photo credit Xave Ignacio