Marketing Profs

Ever read a book and wanted to discuss or debate it with fellow marketers? Now you can. Or ask the author a question? Now you can do that, too.

Offering a free-flow of ideas—and some free books—our Book Club keeps you ahead of the marketing curve and provides an arena to virtually meet some of the best minds in marketing... all from the comfort of your own home, or office.

It's all marketing all the time and features a wide range of topics with a lineup boasting such luminaries as Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba (see Q&A, below), Al & Laura Ries, and Paul Gillin. New releases, books that never got their due, and pre-releases, too, will be included.

Why are we organizing a book club? To give you a chance to discuss marketing principles with authors as well as share best practices across the marketing community. In fact, you'll likely find that you'll learn just as much from other marketers as you will from reading the books.

Here's how it works:

1. Kickoff: Every two months a new book will be announced through an author Q&A distributed through the MarketingProfs newsletter and Daily Fix blog. The first 30 people to sign up for each segment receive a free, author-signed book—but an unlimited number of people can take part.
   
   
2. Read: Members are given approximately 5-6 weeks to read each book (and to allow time for book mailings).
   
   
3. Group review: Through an online review area, we'll discuss the book's themes, ask questions of the author—and each other—as well as rank the book. Group review will be announced through our newsletter and blog, and via email.

For our inaugural Book Club segment, we'll be reading Citizen Marketers the just-released, highly anticipated book by famed customer-evangelist team Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba.

McConnell and Huba run one of the industry's most popular blogs and have been praised by BusinessWeek, the New York Times, and Forbes. Citizen Marketers is a tremendous source of knowledge both for those new to and for those already working in social media.

Here are the highlights of my Q&A with the book's authors:

What is the premise of Citizen Marketers?

The book documents the cultural shift under way when everyday people can be broadcasters and publishers and build a worldwide audience. As citizens of the world create content using social media (blogs, podcasts, online communities, etc.) about products, services, and companies they love (or hate), they are causing massive disruptions for traditional media and the companies that advertise with them.