Question

Topic: E-Marketing

Viral Marketing And A

Posted by steven.alker on 10/18/2007 at 3:20 PM ET 2000 Points
There’s a bit of a story behind this, but in summary, I am seeking your help in trying to identify and then to implement ways in which I can assist the promotion of a book which is aimed at people with a drink problem, their friends and their families. Apart from being a useful work in its own right, a fair percentage of the royalties will be going to an alcohol abuse charity. Here’s how my involvement came about.

Last year, out of the blue, I received an email from an old university friend called Edmund Tirbutt. I hadn’t heard from him in about 28 years. In it he said that he hoped that I didn’t think too badly of him, that he was a prick at University and that he had a terrible drink problem. However, he’d been abstinent for 20 years and was celebrating by trying to raise £7,500 to sponsor a place in rehab for someone else with the same problem. However, he’d fully understand if I wanted nothing to do with him----

Hate him? He acted the part of TS Eliot in my production of The Wasteland. Prick? Well, he was an arrogant, conceited, almost Edwardian figure, but quite brilliant and we all had our flaws. Drunkard? He covered that one up quite well! Of course I’d help and I sponsored him towards his goal.

A month ago, I got an email to say that he’d raised £10,800, enough to sponsor a place and a half, so I phoned him – it was the first time we’d spoken in 29 years and it was wonderful. Edmund is now a successful and respected financial journalist and PR (Try his name in Google) and the winner of umpteen awards, so not content with this achievement, he’s written a book called “Beat the Booze” – a guide for sufferers and their nearest and dearest. It’s gone to press and he’s launching it on 28th of January, 2008. (www.beatthebooze.com) I was so impressed that I wanted to help him – that’s why I’m turning to you guys.

I offered to circulate my own contact list of around 2500 to alert them about this book. Furth to that I said that once I’d read it, if I liked it, I’d recommend it as something worth reading – otherwise I’d publicise it as something worth supporting. I’ve never mailed my email list with anything personal before and I do not intend to make a habit of it! Suddenly, I’m on the publisher’s list of reviewers with the privilege of receiving a pre-launch embargoed copy.

What I need to do is to explore the ways I can help to pre-market and to market this book. Activities which can be carried out which are in addition to and complementary to those of the publisher. That’s when I started thinking about viral marketing, but when it comes to understanding the tool – the tactics, the etiquette, and the rules of the business – I am out of my areas of competence.

My email list is (As you would expect from a CRM expert and specialist) total rubbish in its organisation, but it does differentiate between personal and business contacts. Furthermore, it can be sectored into clients, prospects, suppliers and pals who just happen to be business contacts.

What I wanted to do was to circulate a review on the book in early January asking people to have a look at the content and to consider buying it.

Should I also warm these people up, so that I get more of their attention when I can write with a review?

Can I ask them to circulate the details or my email letter to their own contact lists, so that the publicity snowballs? I mean, if only 100 people email it to 100 friends and business contacts, that’s 10,000 new contacts.

What is right and proper and what is chancing it, to the detriment of the good name of the book and its author?

I feel quite strongly about the issues raised here as I’m sure that many of you will. Marketing, Advertising and Sales is one of the most drink sodden industries around, so we all probably know of someone, or several people who are fighting a battle with the booze. Am I being immoral in drawing people’s attention to that fact – to my mind, I need to convince myself that I am not seen to be blackmailing people or their consciences with my publicity.

That’s about it. I’d be happy to provide further details if you need them in order to comment, but in the meanwhile, its over to you. I’m offering a lot of points for this one as I think that it is one of the most worthwhile causes which I have come across for some time.

Best wishes and thanks in advance for your help.

Steve Alker
SalesVision and Unimax Solutions




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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 10/18/2007 at 3:56 PM Accepted
    Seth Godin just wrote an article on Viral Marketing (https://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/10/is-viral-market.html)
    The key take-away is you need a story that's worth passing along. You've clearly got that.

    Viral can be an email viral campaign (on BeatTheBooze.com there's a tell-a-friend button). It can be a podcast (an interview by the author) or even a video (by the author). I'd suggest all three, since you have the elements to make it viral: a story, a need, and a charity that benefits.

    As a journalist, Edmund no doubt has a number of people he could tap to interview him. Record the interviews and post them in the "usual" directories, making sure there are links back to his site. Also post these interviews & articles on the site as well.

    Next, create an associated blog for the site. You're trying to build community, creating an emotional connection to those with stories.

    Don't forget getting Edmund to do teleseminars - a phone-in chance for people to listen to him live, ask questions. Again, record the seminar.

    Once the pieces are in place, connect the dots. Announce the book to various online groups (including MADD, SAD, etc.) and blogs, with links back to the site. Once there, they'll find the wealth of information, and people will refer people, who'll....

    As for your email list - I'd recommend passing along the story as you presented it to your list. You'll be sharing something personal about yourself, which is always more interesting reading than dry knowledge. The story culminates in a "check it out" link to the site.

    A worthy cause, indeed. Best of luck. Let me know how I can help support your plan.
  • Posted on 10/18/2007 at 4:04 PM Accepted
    Hi stevea,

    Alcoholism is a problem. So I can only encourage activities and support of Edmund.

    But: have you seen his book, a premature manuscript or similar? The outline on the website, well, it's an outline. How does it compare to similar available books or activities? With publishing in January most of it should be available for the publisher now, at least.

    If I were in your shoes and can prove for myself it's sound I'd give Edmund the support I can give. And may be, it's less important to address billions of people (to raise money), and perhaps more important to address the right ones (who are edicted or who made a fortune after they overcame drinking [those may even be able to evaluate Edmunds book more clearly]).

    Hope this helps.

    Michael
  • Posted on 10/18/2007 at 4:27 PM Accepted
    Contact Jonathan @ Sober.com. It's a community site intended to help people with all sorts of addiction problems find help and ultimately talk to others about their problems. Perhaps he would be willing to help push the book with in the community.

    Hope this helps....
  • Posted by mgoodman on 10/18/2007 at 6:16 PM Accepted
    Book publicity is an art-form of its own. There are people who earn their livelihoods helping to publicize books and authors.

    It's not easy either. It helps that there's a cause and that the author is well-known, of course, but it's still a tough sell. There's no repeat purchase, there's not much incentive if you don't see an immediate application to your own life/needs. And the closest you get to a "free trial" is usually looking at the cover -- back and front.

    Every book has a website, but most readers/buyers don't ever check the site out until AFTER they've read the book, if they think it's so remarkable they want to know more.

    As for viral marketing and creating buzz, there's a company here in the States called BzzAgent, and they have considerable experience generating buzz for books and authors. You might want to contact the president -- Dave Balter -- and see if he has any words of wisdom for you. I don't know whether they've found that viral marketing is effective with books or not, or if there are some specific conditions that have to present for it to be effective.

    Finally, whatever you do must be timely, because books generally "go stale" after a few months. Bookstores are under pressure to stock the newest books (that are being promoted heavily by the publishers), so books that are more than 90 days old are typically removed from the shelves.

    And one more thing: Tell Edmund not to count on the publisher to market the book. Publishers are notoriously bad at marketing, as we define it. They have the mechanisms to get a book into the distribution system, but that's about it. You have to be Stephen King or Tom Clancey to get much more than a bump-and-run effort.

    Book marketing is typically the responsibility of the author. It helps if the author is a good interview, with a good story to tell, of course. The author's friend, however, isn't a great draw for selling books.
  • Posted on 10/19/2007 at 12:20 AM Member
    Probably you need to check on what exactly ticks:

    While doing what you may propose to do see if you can cator to various groups of people like the family: tell them how this book can help them etc

  • Posted by steven.alker on 10/23/2007 at 5:55 PM Author
    Hi Everyone – this is just a quick note to thank everyone for their contributions, to which I will reply in detail.

    As usual, the curse of asking a MarketingProfs question which is truly important (not urgent – important to me) strikes in the form of a blizzard of client queries, projects and a fairly decent deal nearly vanishing down the toilet – so Mea culpa – I’ve been preoccupied and not responded in a timely fashion.

    I’ll answer in detail tomorrow and in the meanwhile, I’ll repeat my thanks for the valuable advice offered so far.

    Sincerely

    Steve Alker
  • Posted by steven.alker on 10/23/2007 at 11:04 PM Author
    Markadler

    I’ll avoid my customary “Dear”

    What the hell has this advertising got to do with my question? You’ve been posting the same SPAM like interjections all over this site.

    Carrie – can we neutralise this twerp?

    Leave his posting up though – I’d love to see what Randall says – if you can print it!

    Steve
  • Posted by steven.alker on 10/24/2007 at 1:27 PM Author
    Steve – for the benefit of the other readers, I’ve opened a parallel post on the abuse of the site: https://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstID=20668

    Why don’t you copy and paste this one in that one for the sake of people who aren’t interested in this one.

    If you can follow that, this or the other lot, then you are a better man than me!

    Steve Alker
    Unimax Solutions
  • Posted by BlueSage on 10/24/2007 at 1:47 PM Accepted
    Hi Stevea,

    I went to the site. It told me little about the book, however the part of no stats in there was appealing.

    The part that struck me the most, was I pay in dollars,
    not lbs. There needs to be a currency converter on
    the site and a place here in the States where the book
    can be purchased.

    And are any of the organizations listed in the book for 'where to go for help' that are in countries other than the place of origin? If this is to be a world-wide book, I think there needs to be that.

    Janine
  • Posted by steven.alker on 11/9/2007 at 5:24 AM Author
    Dear Gerard

    Thanks for the points and for your comments.

    You weren’t to know this, but this is the first time I’ve ever come up with an idea for a product name. Tag-Lines and Naming are not my skills at all; you see they don’t have any equations in them!!!

    Good luck with the re-branding and do stay in contact. There are a lot of areas in selling complex software where I would value the opportunity to have the odd private discussion.

    If I can be of assistance with anything, please do not hesitate to contact me. My email is in my Bio.

    Sincerely


    Steve Alker
    SalesVision



  • Posted by steven.alker on 11/9/2007 at 5:26 AM Author
    Dear Friends and Colleagues

    I would like to thank everyone for the valuable insights you’ve given me.

    Normally I go through each response and offer some comment, but had some problems with my eyesight to contend with and it’s taken up rather a lot of my time with doctors and ophthalmologists appointments.

    Once I’ve got this pesky thing sorted, I’ll reply to everyone in my usual manner but in the meanwhile a huge dose of thanks. You have all helped to get a really worthwhile project further off the ground and yes – the book is UK based, but Edmund is looking at a US version next year. He already has a publisher and is delighted with the feedback.

    His publisher is grudgingly grateful – I’m afraid that you guys make them look less than professional when it comes to modern marketing!

    Yours Sincerely


    Steve Alker

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