From The Bookshelf

Online word of mouth cements your reputation and amplifies it, but what you do offline matters most. . . all the online stuff you invest precious resources into—your lovely website, your email campaigns, your impeccable blog–is just noise if you have bad WOM.

Daniel H. Pink, following up bestsellers “A Whole New Mind” and “Drive,” wants to clean up its bad reputation and recast sales not as a way to get the best of others, but to improve the world. Learn why Pink says that we’re all in sales now, plus his tips for making sales work for you no matter what your profession.

Do you want to get started using social media but aren’t sure how? Have you jumped in but feel a little like a boat drifting at sea, not sure when to post, what to post… or maybe even why? If you’re relatively new to using social for business or if you just want some practical, actionable tips, this book is a great place to start. With chapters covering everything from Facebook to Google+ and some SEO and video in between, you’ll be bookmarking and dog-earing all day long. Oh, and we’re running another giveaway! If you want to be entered to win a copy, just reply to this email and say “Me!” The drawing is open for one week and we’ll announce the winners in an email after the drawing. Read more to find out if this is the book for you!

In many ways it seems as if the mobile wave is already here. Smart phones have changed how we communicate, how we do business and mas been pivotal in world events in ways that couldn’t have been predicted. But the coming transformation will be even more profound. It will make your dollars, coins and keys unnecessary, turn your iPhone into an ATM, make credit card fraud nearly impossible, bring medicine and education to remote areas, and allow what Saylor calls “information energy,” the fuel driving people’s decision-making, to connect the world like never before. Find out more about how mobile has changed our society and how it can continue to do so in the future.

Ready for the giveaway? Two books. One week. Starting with this one! If your idea of networking is getting stuck in a room full of strangers, handing out business cards and nodding while some guy rambles on about his awesome insurance company, you’re in luck! That way of networking is DEAD, and thankfully so. Instead of trying to meet as many people as possible, focus only on making connections that matter. If you want to know more, this book has some great lessons and will get you rethinking your approach to networking immediately. Check out my review and if you want a chance to win a free copy, just reply and tell me so. You’ve got until next Wednesday!

I just wrapped up attending Social Media Examiner’s “Content Marketing Success” summit, and one of the best sessions was given by Joe Pulizzi of the Content Marketing institute. Joe has a way of being inspirational and practical at the same time, which is rare. In fact, inspiration is everywhere, but practical application always seems to be in short supply. That lack of, “Here’s how you do that,” is a constant source of frustration for me. So if you’re in the same boat, and if you think content marketing is the way to go but you’re still unable to dig up enough of the practical “how tos” to make you feel confident doing it, then this book is for you. Grab a highlighter – there’s work to be done! But Robert and Joe give some great step-by-step instructions for planning and executing content marketing whether you’re in a big company or a solopreneur. Here’s a wrapup of some of the things you’ll learn and what this book can do for you.

The truth is, LinkedIn is a little intimidating. It’s one of those must-have social profiles for a business person but it always seemed harder to manage than any of the other social spaces. So I admit to taking a bit of a head-in-sand approach to LinkedIn and even to reading this book. But I needn’t have worried. This book is 100% accessible and breaks LinkedIn down into completely manageable chunks that even the hesitators can use. If you commit to spending a single hour a day over the course of several weeks, you really can have a business-worthy LinkedIn profile. Here are some of the things you’ll learn and some good reasons to check this book out.

True confession: I have no idea how to use Amazon’s Kindle publishing platform. So when I was given the opportunity to review this book, I jumped at the chance. Let’s just say that not only do I now have a pretty good grasp on how Amazon’s program works but it sounds like something I’m ready to try with my own book. If you’ve never tried it, are wondering where to start and want to take your eBook for a spin, this book has you covered.

I didn’t need to read this fun book to know that we humans often behave in irrational, self-defeating and foolish ways. But Dr. Dan Ariely, professor of behavioral economics at MIT, shows that human irrationality is quite systematic and predictable–not at all random. And because smart marketers love predictability, I sum up here what Ariely has found.

A century ago, two heroic men led daring expeditions to the South Pole, a journey of 1,400 miles in subzero temperatures. It was autumn, 1911, before the advent of mass communication. Famed researcher Jim Collins recounts this (forgive me) chilling story to illustrate what separates the stellar from the average. In a nutshell, Great by Choice teaches us, as business owners, to prepare for uncertain times by being disciplined, cautious–even paranoid, and empirical in our approach.