Promotion Books

When I wrote my books (2000 and 2002), the marketing strategies that Weber describes largely didn't exist. Meanwhile time has passed, and it turns out these strategies don't just sell books -- they're a GREAT way of meeting interesting people and finding ideas and info you'd never have found otherwise. Weber got me excited about reading blogs (I had always assumed they were just a bunch of boring, misspelled rants -- who knew??), and then he gave me clear, concise directions for setting up blogs and communicating with other bloggers. The acid test: I've always hated marketing, but if this is "marketing," BRING IT ON! Great job, Mr. Weber!

Doni Tamblyn is author of Laugh and Learn: 95 Ways to Use Humor for More Effective Teaching and Training and The Big Book of Humorous Training Games (Big Book of Business Games Series)

This books is a real gem!

Before I read this book, I barely knew a thing about blogging, let alone how to get started. The chapter on "Blogging for Authors" is a great, concise guide on how to do it. My chapter is marked, highlighted and flagged all over.

The author tells you how to set up a blog, get raw materials for posts, spin information into blog posts, set up links, get artwork, set up a system for your readers to subscribe by e-mail, and more. All for free! I followed all the steps and am happily up and running.

When I get to actually publishing and promoting my book, I'm sure the other chapters, especially the ones re: Amazon, will be equally marked up, highlighted, and dog-eared.

Thanks for this excellent resource!

Readable, practical, encouraging, and chockful of new ideas: "Plug Your Book" is amazing. Buy it.

In this age of the internet, mastering this world of marketing is complex. Steve Weber's book was a great help. In addition to the many important leads it alerted me to a valuable one I had not seen in other books. I had difficulty tracking it down and sent the author an email for help and received an immediate answer that solved my problem.
David Comings Author Did Man Create God?

Honestly, I feel like I could throw every other book that I bought about book promotion in the trash--Mr. Weber's advice is THAT good. He takes you through the specifics of online promotion from start to finish. He also makes everything easy to understand, which is crucial for a poet like me. This is a book that I will refer to again and again. If you have written a book, Steve Weber's book is a must have.

As a published author myself who has been left to do the vast majority of the legwork to promote my book, I speak with some authority as to the validity of the ideas outlined in the Frugal Book Promoter. The text is chock full of outstanding suggestions and recommendations for elements all along the book publishing/promotion timeline for both traditional and non-traditional publishing paths. I don't think there's a single page that doesn't offer something extremely useful, and oftentimes multiple nuggets of wisdom to get your book in the public eye. I've got several in mind to help expand my own efforts.

Here's my gripe, though. The formatting of the book is awful. It would have been so much more readable had the author or someone else taken the time to clean up the presentation. I can't help but conclude that the book was just a cut and paste job from a website or ebook. There are long, underlined URLs all over the place. The book employs a great deal of bullet lists, but the lists are crammed together. There are also all kinds of alternate formats used in a less than elegant fashion making for a very clunky looking work.

I give the content a 5, but the formatting a 1. That would average a 3 for a score, but since the material is so useful I'll weight that higher and give it a 4.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson shares rich and practical information about publicity that works, mainly because she has already tested it all herself. Having synthesized her prior work and life experience, she's only too willing to explain its' application to book marketing. Whether you're creating a brand, growing an email list, looking to network or building platform, this book is for you.

Carolyn is the good Mom we'd all like - she's engaging, generous, smart and truly wants you to achieve success, whatever that means to you. Her creative ideas are tucked throughout the book and her energy jumps off the page. No matter what promotional resources or partnering websites she's recommending, her enthusiasm is, indeed, contagious.

When I was sitting in the back row of my high school English class, my teacher old Mrs. Smith (not her real name) told me that a famous publisher would spend $1000000000000 making my book a bestseller. After graduation, I learned that she didn't know what she was talking about.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson does know what she's talking about. "The Frugal Book Promoter" has so many ideas, tips, resources and defining moments that reading it all in one sitting is simply too overpowering. Howard-Johnson begins with a list of stuff you better not do and marches like a conquering hero through 38 chapters of things you should do. At the end of the book, you not only have a heavy toolkit of techniques, you have a PR mindset from contact lists to writers conferences to contracts to book signings. Since your publisher probably won't make you a star, this frugal, do-able, practical approach will show you how to do it yourself.

Howard-Johnson does it again with The Frugal Book Promoter. Who doesn't love getting free publicity? As an editor, I see more and more first time authors write their book, go through the expense of self-publishing their book and then don't know how to sell their book. The Frugal Book Promoter helps guide young authors through the promoting process and gives great tips and advice to get that book sold! I highly recommend it to authors on a budget.
Karen L. Reddick, author of Grammar Done Right!

Carolyn Howard-Johnson's PR background shines through as she shares dozens and dozens tips for preparing media materials and working successfully with the media.

The Frugal Book Promoter also offers advice on the effective use of galleys and ARCs, tips for getting blurbs, information on using Amazon's promotional tools, ideas for book launch announcements and parties, tips for jump-starting sales of books that have been out for a while, and more.

This book is a great tool for both new and experienced authors. New authors will especially benefit from Howard-Johnson's refreshingly realistic look at the not-always-glamorous world of book signings and book fairs.

Dana Lynn Smith, publishing consultant, Texana Publishing

As I wrote in my latest novel,Standup Comedian: The Secret and Beyond "My father is in the baling wire generation, my son is in the digital generation, but I am in the duct tape generation. My point? The guide is written so that even I understand the suggestions and how to implement them. I am in the process of doing that right now as I write this review.

I read the book, and now I am going back through doing the easiest suggestions first and will progress to the more involved marketing efforts as I come to them. If only I had know this information when I published my first novel,Beyond the Shadow of Death: Book One of the Adam Eden Series.

Kenneth Ray Taylor author of Return to Zero: Book Two of the Adam Eden Series and other books.

This is a bit difficult to read, but enlightening on several points; it's not really clear in some areas. Recommended skimming the points that are less than top rated and spending more time with the higher rated items.

Well, I must admit that I wish I had found this book before I published my first ten books, but all is not lost since I am in the process of writing twenty (20) more in 2008.

This book and the information contained within are essential reading for any author who sells his or her books on Amazon. Simple easy to follow instructions on how to get the most out of Amazon in regards to making your books a financial and physical success on Amazon by utilizing all the tools that Amazon provides.

I have already started implementing some of the steps in this book and will hopefully be doing all of them by the end of this week.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough for absolutely everyone who is selling a book or books on Amazon. This is the best money I have spent in any format on selling more books on Amazon. Pick up this book immediately and start implementing the information provided in it even sooner.

Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

The book by Brent Sampson is very helpful and easy to follow. It is sort of like having a coach standing over your shoulder, giving you hints and pointing out little-known Amazon tricks. I dug right in and did some of the easy things he suggested to get more attention from Amazon.com for my own book, "For Widows Only!" I only wish I had had "Sell Your Book on amazon" earlier.

Amazon is where most people familiar with the Internet turn for information about a book and to order it. I have to hope Amazon doesn't get greedy and start limiting access to PODs and self-published books. I find that to be one of their primary assets, the one-stop shop for ALL books. I always know I can find it on amazon.com

I might not have thought to write a review of this book, without "Sell Your Book on amazon" suggesting such a thing. Simple to do, but quite effective. Recently I am beginning to get more reviews for "For Widows Only!" and I can see that this has affected sales. Readers beget readers. Amazon's review process is the old "Word of Mouth" system updated to the electronic age, and instead of influencing one person at a time, we might influence 10, 50 or 100! Who knows?

I suspect Sell Your Book... will be around through several updates. Easy to use and indispensable for authors who are trying to help their book sales.

[...]

I bought this book to help me market my first novel, a sexy, funny mystery. I have to say it's everything it's advertised to be. A great primer on how to create your profile and leverage the social networking and intelligent suggestion algorithms of Amazon to get out the word. I'm doing it just by writing this review (and notice the link at the end - sweeeet!).

This is a short read - not many pages, big type, wide margins. But that also means there's no filler. You can pick up this book, grab a highlighter and a bunch of page markers, and within an hour or two have a great fast plan to get your book noticed.

I'm glad I started my research with this book. Highly recommended.

Scott Sherman, First You Fall: A Kevin Connor Mystery

...that will help you make better desisions (or keep you from making all the wrong, costly ones :-).

Pricey but helpful book. A lot of the same information can also be found online by searching "how to create a yellow pages ad".

This covers all print media and strategies for developing your marketing (complete with examples of what a strong ad looks like vs the "not so good"). If you need or want more assistance Barry and company offer their service (paid of course, but their fee structure is comprehensive and reasonable) includes analysis of your ad, suggestions for improvement in addition to (re)designing your ad to reach your target audience.

The two most important bits of information we came away with are these:
1. Unless you are in the ad design field you should _seriously_ consider hiring someone who knows their trade WELL. We needed to make some minor changes to our YP ad from the previous year, and although we started the process "early" (at least what our rep led us to believe was early - 2 months out from their `deadline') we still have NOTHING from the phone companies "design team".

The following sage advice rings true "...yellow page graphic artists are required to output a lot of work in a short period of time. Even the best artist cannot do a great ad in 30 minutes. You honestly want an artist to spend the entire day working on your advertisement, and you want to pay them for it... Graphic artists study art. They do not extensively study business, or copywriting, or marketing, or business law. They do not know about your company, your customers, your capabilities, or how you make money. If you really want effective yellow page advertising, hire the best graphic artist and the best advertising professional you can find [and afford - my emphasis]. Do not leave it for a kid with a computer".

At this point we would be glad to have paid for a quality job done because it would have saved us time lost in having to constantly call our YP rep to find out when the "design team" would have our ad back to be proofed (and our rep's boss wasn't any more helpful either -- this from the "leading" directory in our area, tsk, tsk, tsk), not to mention frustration in having to go through all of that nonsense. We are a small independent music teaching studio and we would have been better served and saved money in the long run by hiring a professional than leaving the design process to some over-worked, under-qualified and probably under-paid novice from the phone companies "design team".

2. Publishers carefully monitor phonebook circulation and usage data. They know exactly how much their book is being used and by whom. If they are not volunteering that information, be extra careful. Alternatively, publishers should also be able to give you information about their competitors. Ask how their book compares to their competition's book. Be persistent and insist on getting this information from them - you're paying for it (by way of placing an ad in their phone book).

This is the reason we are still trying to work out our yp advertising with the "leading" phone co/publisher. They're the one most used in our area. If that was not the case we would have dropped them like a hot sweaty sock!

Barry's book covers so many salient points about YP advertising and the industry that you could read, and re-read it and still find ways to improve your YP ad. A very good investment for any business owner (and the online source above compliments it well - MOO).

Good luck and fortune in all your business endeavors everyone!

If you want to create professional looking Yellow Page ad designs that will dominate your Yellow Page advertising competition, you should read this book. While it was written in the eighties, the concepts are still very important today.

--A.Strange, Founder, Ad Revamp * Yellow Page ad design
Personal service. Proven methods. Toll-free advice. www.adrevamp.com

Just so no one misunderstands, since the publisher's description of "Getting the Most from Your Yellow Pages Advertising" has disappeared from this page, we (the author's office) posted both the media quotes below and the book description that follows. Neither of these is meant to be an impartial review but rather a description of what's in the book and what various media outlets have said about it.

These media quotes about "Getting the Most from Your Yellow Pages Advertising" are being posted by the author's assistant, Steve Wilson, to show what the media thinks of the book. And we've got far more of these than we could ever post. The book truly is "the bible on how to advertise in the Yellow Pages."

"The definitive word on the subject."
-Home Office Computing magazine


"Barry Maher is the nation's leading independent authority on Yellow Pages advertising"
-Simba Information, Inc.
(Publishers, Yellow Pages & Directory Report)


"Discover effective design, layout and copy writing techniques . . . Learn how to design an ad that will get YOUR business the call, even when surrounded by others ads selling the same product or service."
-The Small Business Administration's Success Symposium


"Businesses may be spending 25% of their gross [in the Yellow Pages] and be spread too thin, or they may be overspending at 1%. To make key decisions to best business advantage, an independent and authoritative perspective is crucial. Barry Maher, offers [just that]."
-Retailer News


"This is the best information there is and should answer your questions as well as save you lots of time and money."
-Terry Johnson, President, Dial One


"Maher takes the mystery out of Yellow Pages Advertising. He tells you how to make it work and what to do when it doesn't. A great new resource for small businessmen."
-Ray Schultz, Editor, Direct Marketing News


"The nation's foremost authority on Yellow Pages advertising."
-Dealer Communicator


"The inside scoop on how to make your Yellow Pages advertising dollars pay off . . . Find out what the sales rep won't tell you. Design an ad that really pulls."
-Business Opportunities Digest


"You'll learn how to design an effective ad, keep score on your ad and deal with the sales people when they goof."
-Rudolf Solomon, San Francisco Examiner


"Takes on the topic of Yellow Pages with zeal and humor-while offering practical help in getting the directories to work for you."
-Instant & Small Commercial Printer


"Invaluable insights."
-Restaurant Management Today


"[Maher] has helped thousand of businesses turn their Yellow Pages into gold . . . a complete, step by step program for developing Yellow Pages ads that get the call."
-SBC


"A comprehensive approach to planning and implementing a successful Yellow Pages advertising program."
-Dentist


"Guides [business] on how to get the best return from their Yellow Pages advertising . . . improve response, enhance profits."
-SNIPS


"Provides the stimulus to get your advertising in gear."
-The Competitive Advantage


"Last year, American businesses spent $8 billion dollars on Yellow Pages advertising. For many small businesses, it was their only form of advertising. Yet many small business owners are unsure about how to get the most out of their Yellow Pages advertising. To help them, Barry Maher . . . [offers] a practical guide to Yellow Pages advertising . . . [providing] insights and advice for small business owners."
-Los Angeles Times


"If you now make use of yellow page advertising in telephone directories, you will be especially interested in what [Maher] . . . has to say about choosing the right ad size, creating the ad that will generate the most response, and how to select the right categories to advertise [under]."
-In Business


"[Packed] with cost cutting tips . . . a super resource. [From the author of] the bible of Yellow Pages advertising"
-Save Your Business a Bundle: 202 Ways to Cut Costs and Boost Profits Now by Daniel Kehrer, Simon & Schuster


"An informative overview of the entire process, including evaluating and selecting the right Yellow Pages book, choosing the right ad size, determining how many ads to run, creating the ad likely to generate the most calls,, and dealing effectively with the phone company and sales reps. He also offers guidance on tracking ads."
-Professional Electronics


"Practical advice on the complete process, from deciding whether to advertise at all to turning callers into customers . . . The advice is detailed and . . . should help improve the reader's directory-buying decisions."
-Fitness Management


"Anyone who has dealt with the Yellow Pages people would welcome the [information]. Wise ad people have said placing a substantial schedule in several phone books is only slightly more complicated than dealing with the U.S. Army."
-Des Moines Register

"The best yellow pages investment I've ever made, making every cent I'm spending on phone directory advertising the most effective it can possibly be. Eliminating every bit of waste. I fully intend to recommend it to all my associates. And none of my competition."
-Dr. S.R. Pampalone, Chatsworth Dental Center


"Many useful tips . . . I am looking forward to getting more clients from yellow pages advertising and, at the same time, saving a great deal of money."
-Vincent A. Lloyd, Lloyd, Hoskins & Pierce


"Tremendous insight into Yellow Pages advertising."
-Dr. Gregory S. Keller, Cosmetic Surgery Center


"An invaluable resource on getting the most bang per buck in advertising . . . [Maher] clears the way through the jungle of options and clearly delineates what is as well as what isn't effective. I recommend it wholeheartedly."
-Michael Parker, President Parker Plumbing


"PIP Printing's retail centers rely on yellow pages advertising to reach business printing consumers every day, but without following a carefully planned strategy, our yellow pages messages could be easily overlooked. Maher offers . . . straightforward guidelines for insuring maximum effectiveness for yellow pages advertising."
-Susan Falk, PIP


"A complete guide to creating a results-oriented program for advertising in the Yellow Pages. It's got everything from how to write an effective ad to where, when, and even when not to advertise."
-B. Dalton Bookseller


"A very valuable resource as I communicate with members of the American Rental Association on ways they can use the yellow pages most effectively."
-Frederick Anderson, American Rental Association


"Cash in on Yellow Pages advertising with [Barry Maher]."
-Pharmacy Newswire, NARD Journal

I would have never thought a book titled GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR YELLOW PAGE ADVERTISING would make for compelling reading, but I was wrong. Author and former yellow page rep Barry Maher grabbed my interest on the first page and held it firmly to the end. I would consider this book essential for small business owners or anyone who is interesting in producing yellow page copy.

Though certainly geared toward business owners, writing professionals will also find a tremendous amount of applicable information. Maher gives a brief history and evolution of yellow pages, then moves through a logical progression of determining need and on through the process of the finished product. For writing professionals, read through this and then thumb through the yellow pages and see the enormity of a market just screaming for professional assistance. I believe this a market largely untapped by commercial writers.

An outstanding feature of this book, and one found far too seldom, is an abundance of margin space for making notes and good, thick paper that highlighting doesn't bleed through. Business owners will pay for the price of this book a hundred times over and copywriters will find a resource for a niche market rich with possibilities.

I think that this book can be very helpful to any writer that wants to sell his/her book. I am using several of the ideas that I recieved in the book to sell my book 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques and collectibles. it has increased my sales. Daryle

I've never read a more informative book. It not only points out what you should do to promote, it actually gives you the tools to do it. Both phone numbers and websites that will really help you. It is the first self help book that doesn't tell you what it is going to tell you, IT JUST TELLS YOU. How novel. It will take me weeks to implement all the information, but each step is clearly presented. If you write to sell you need this book as flowers need rain.

The position of a first-time self-published author is not an enviable one; you've already written your manuscript, invested money in typesetting, cover design and an initial print run, you've purchased an ISBN number and your book is in Ingram's database, so it can be ordered in stores. You wait a week, and then another, for book sales to start coming in. Finally, realization begins to set in - just because it is possible for someone to walk into a book store and order your book, it isn't very likely that it will happen, because nobody knows about it.

Marilyn and Tom Ross have written an excellent resource for self-published authors and small publishers who want to get their book sales going, and their techniques are considerate of the budgets that most self-published authors are constrained by.

If you successfully self-publish your book, there are three steps for you to follow:

1. Write a solid, clear and engaging book that people will enjoy reading. Refer to books about clear and effective writing.

2. Work your way through the publishing process. Refer to Dan Poynter's "Self-Publishing Manual".

3. Get the word out about your recently published work - this is exactly what the Marilyn and Tom Ross show you how to do in "Jump-Start Your Book Sales".

In short, if you are a self-published author, are considering self-publishing, are a small publisher, or even if you're a traditionally published author who wants to take a more active role in the promotion of your book (which most publishers will expect you to do anyway), you should read this book.

Danny Iny
Author of "Ordinary Miracles - Harness the power of writing and get your point across!" (ISBN 1-4116-7252-6)

through the self publishing process of my new book. More than a notion, self publishing is very rewarding but extremely time consuming, and SUPER hard work. I thought writing the book was hard. Ha! That was the easy part!!! Thank goodness I bought this book, as its given me many great ideas for marketing and promotion. It's wonderful to have written the best book in the world, but it doesn't mean anything if no one knows about it! Thanks Marilyn!!!!

Do you know when you should start marketing your book? Marilyn Ross does, and in "Jump Start Your Book Sales" she reveals the answer. (Hint: It's before you start writing it!)

Before, during, and after -- in fact. Regardless of where you are in the writing and publishing process, book marketing should be at the forefront of your thinking. Is your book even marketable? What is the market? What length of book are those people used to buying? Why would they buy yours instead of (or in addition to) all the other similar books on the market? What will differentiate yours? These are the kind of questions you should be asking yourself even before you put pen to paper, or fingers to keys, as the case may be.

These strategic concepts are the bread and butter of the pages comprising "Jump Start." Don't be surprised if you find meat in the middle that you can really sink your teeth into. This isn't another rehash of duplicative information available for free from countless websites. This is the real deal, written by the co-founder of the Small Publishers Association of North America. Highly recommended reading before you start writing, before you start publishing, and after you think you've marketed it all. - Brent Sampson, author of Self-Publishing Simplified

This book has been a great resource to me, giving me all the necessary insider information to successfully put together and publish my first book all on my own. Aaron is very detailed in his approach and shows you exactly how to e.g. word your title optimally and format your graphics for print on demand. His website also complements the book perfectly with updates and links to excerpts of the new version.

Very good book at describing, in detail, the ins and outs of how to sell books on Amazon effectively. Not many books are so specific about "how" to do things and it is what I liked most about this book. Tremendously beneficial to me in promoting my own book!.. Highly recommended!!

This is a fantastic book that does just what it promises. I used this book from start to finish to write and publish my own non-fiction book, and get it on Amazon. It was exactly what I needed and invaluable in my own book-writing endeavor, thanks Aaron!

You have read all the stories of how hard it is to get a big time New York publisher to publish your book, and author service firms like iUniverse and Xlibris seem to expensive..., so what do you do?

Well one alternative is Print On Demand (POD) by going direct to the source of most POD books, Lightning Source.

Shephard gives a high level primer with some very good tips and shortcuts on how to make the new publishing model work for you.

The goal of the book (and hopefully your publishing efforts) is to make money. Shepard never loses sight of this and points out that when dealing with the worlds largest online bookstore, there are some differences you should consider than traditional publishing methods.

Things like...

- Optimizing your cover for display on Amazon.
- How to deal effectively with PDF files.
- The practical economics of POD.

Already I have picked up a tip or two which more than justifies the cost of the book, and will speed up the process with my next book.

What you learn is it is really not that hard, you just need to learn what to do.

Shepard will take you by the hand and shorten your learning curve.

Cheers!

I read this book in one sitting on an airplane. It covers exactly the information I was looking for. The author uses the book itself as an example of many of the points he is making. It is clearly written and easy to understand. In a world where everyone is publishing, this book gives the insight needed to get your book on the market.
All along I have been thinking, I want to market my book on Amazon.com. I was delighted to see a book with the title that speaks exactly to my need.
You will find this book useful if:
- you are adventurous enough to become your own publisher
- you don't care about seeing your book in book stores
- you are willing to let go of beautiful cover art
- you need to be practical and keep expenses down

I look forward to putting his advice into practice.

Cannot imagine how I have made it this far in business without this book. Bob Burg's advise is priceless.

If you're looking to sharpen up your sales skills or expanding your contact base, this is a great resource and offers a ton of tips that can be easily implemented. It's more than just a networking book, although that's one of the main components, it's about getting to know people, forming relationships by genuinely caring about people. Everything in life is based on forming and building relationships and the people that have figured out how to get along with people, are usually more successful and just plain happier people. It doesn't matter what you sell or what company you represent, ultimately, you are the product. If you're wondering how to meet more people, get more leads, earn more business ... you'll learn these and more in this book.

This book has excellent and well developed ideas. Only criticism is the author gets a bit full of himself at times.

A recent editorial in Fast Company Magazine complained about the lack of meaningful and actionable content in many best-selling business and professional development books. The editorial talked about books that, quite simply, fail to deliver on their promise because they are all theory, no detail.

Luckily, some best-selling business books do sell a lot of copies, such as Bob Burg's Endless Referrals that has sold more than 150,000 copies.

And, deservedly so. Not only does Endless Referrals point out the numerous different options available for building referrals, but it describes specific, actionable steps that you can take to implementing a desired strategy.

By being willing to "dirty his hands" with specific details, Bob Burg provides the missing link between good intentions and taking action in a positive direction every day. A great book, extensively underlined when I finished reading it.

Good stuff Bob!!

Once youo start reading the common sense contained within becomes a little over whelming, why isn't this stuff taught in schools?

Cheers

Andrew Fenwick
Sunrider Business Owner
Newcastle Australia

This book is a great book to read, the best thing it includes are quotes of famous people, which are mainly funny. Personally I do not believe that this book provided me with any new ways or measures of thinking to get more ideas, it's more of a different theories of people on how to think!!!!

If you are interested in having a good read buy this book, but don't put your hopes up high......

HOW TO GET IDEAS is an easy-to-read book that is loaded with wonderful nuggets for anyone who depends on fresh ideas to build his business. As a 30-plus year advertising industry veteran, I must confess I was a little surprised about HOW MUCH I got out of the book. I found the "Five-Step Method for Producing Ideas" an effective process for encouraging idea generation. Suggestions like "rephrase a difficult problem", "look for analogies" and "let your unconscious work on the problem", help provide structure to the usually unstructured task of ideation. Underdog Advertising

I tend to be skeptical of titles suggesting easy answers to broad problems, but darned if this one doesn't really deliver! Foster's guidelines often fall into the category of "That's pretty obvious, why didn't I think of it?". And therein lies its real beauty: his suggestions are practical, accessible, workable, and often downright ingenious. And not at all limited to his field of advertising.
Furthermore, the book is a delightfully entertaining read. That man can write!

"Albert Einstein said his best ideas came to him while he was shaving," Jack Foster writes in "How to Get Ideas" (2nd ed.). When I read that line, what could I do? I put the book down for a moment and went to shave.

That's about the only time I stopped reading though, and you won't be able to put it down either. For boosting creativity, this book is a lifesaver.

Foster's advice is simple -- have fun, think like a child again, open your mind to new possibilities -- but not necessarily obvious. Most of us do the same old things and think in the same old ways. Foster aims to help us spot these unhelpful patterns, then break out with easy-to-follow tips and stimulating exercises.

And anecdotes. Foster draws on decades of experience as a top creative hand in major advertising agencies, where he encountered guys and gals driven by curiosity -- people who found out how much a ten-gallon hat will hold (three-quarters of a gallon) and how many times per day an African elephant will defecate (16). Illustrating how to solve a problem by stepping around it, Foster tells the story of the woman who solved the slow-elevator problem in her building -- by mounting mirrors in the lobby. (How did she do it? See P. 134.)

You'll discover how to overcome the fears that keep you from thinking creatively ... easy ways to gather information ... combining unrelated facts for new ideas ... the five steps for getting great new ideas ... and how to put them to work for YOU.

You'll finish reading "How to Get Ideas" in an hour or two. But you'll benefit from its advice for the rest of your life.

This is a really good book. It was entertaining to read while also educational. The first edition came out in 1996 I think, and this edition just came out earlier this month. The new edition has two new chapters, 5 and 8, which were added because readers thought the information they contain was missing from the first edition.

The book is split into two parts. The first part covers 10 ways you can "search for ideas." And it is by the far the longer of the two parts. The second part explains the five steps of how to get ideas:

1. Define the problem
2. Gather the information
3. Search for the idea
4. Forget about it
5. Put the idea into action

Theoretically, I suppose, the book could have been set up so the second part was actually the first. And the first part could have been relegated to the end. I say this because the first part is really just an expansion of the "third step" of the five steps.

I enjoyed the humor, the quotes, and the stories included in the author's discussion regarding 10 ways to search for ideas. And thus it made perfect sense to me why he put that material at the front of the book. I read the book to see if it would have some practical use to my SCORE clients who are wanta-be entrepreneurs and small business owners. I think there is a practical use, and I recommend that my clients and similarly situated people read this book. It will help them create their business plans and revamp those plans as time passes. 5 stars!

I have 47 books, at least as many audiobooks, and I read 23 newsletters and 12 bogs to learn about sales, marketing, and copywriting.

After my computer, this book is the most useful tool I own.

I refer to it daily, and it has saved me hours and hours of time and earned me gobs of money. It's dry, technical stuff but if you put it to use you'll get results. If you do any kind of marketing, selling, or persuading in your life, buy this book.

This book is a must read for learning fundamentals of ANY type of marketing. I am an online marketer and this book made ALL the difference to my sales. Best book on marketing as a foundation for all other marketing books. Seth Godins books are also fantastic for teaching you where to start and the "formula" for success no matter what you are selling. Another good read is Mark Joyners books!

This book is a classic. You need to have it in your library with sticky notes for easy access to frequently used parts of the book. This is not the only book you need on advertising, but it is one of the cornerstone books on advertising. The methods are tried and true (tested) and the content is usable, practical, and for the real world.

If you want a firm foundation in marketing and advertising, that you won't get in business school then this is the book for you.

You will get dozens and dozens of clear, tested, actionable ideas and steps to improve the profitability of your marketing and advertising efforts.

If you are not familiar with direct response methods, the book may be a little overwhelming at first, as it is a different perspective on advertising (that it should make profit) then you will typically experience.

The book is also a great value compared to the multiple hundred or thousand dollar seminars on Internet marketing that are often just regurgitating direct response methods.

Cheers!

THE how-to book for writing advertising that works, by one of the top advertising men of the last 100 years. This books is packed with tips, ideas and terrific ads you can use for inspiration. More than just a look at ads that have pulled the best, Caples includes simple, easy to understand tips and ideas you can use right away in your own advertising and copywriting.

From ways to start and write headlines, to how to organize and word your ad for maximum results, this book is considered the bible of proven advertising techniques. Buy it, and put it on your shelf right next to "Ogilvy on Advertising". I did.

I love Absolut ad's and have always wanted to get one. They are expensive new , so I got an used copy from an amazon seller. It came quickly and I flipped through the book for about 20 min when it arrived 2 days later. I love all the ads and they are all so clever. I might not get some of the modern art ones, but I love the city ones in particular. Anyway, I got this book for my new house and new coffee table book, I think it is one of the best hardcover coffee table book (marketing story book) ever.

Compulsory addition to the coffee table library. An excellent example of a clever, consistent, cutting edge branding campaign helping to position a generic product at the top of consumer mind. Absolut genius.

If you like the Absolut ads, this is a good book for you. It's what you'd expect - big pictures of the Absolut ads with explanations from the ad agency guys who made it happen. A fun coffeetable book.

Absolut is one of the best selling vodkas in the world and the advertsing for it is second to none. In this fabulous book were are told the inside story behind the marketing and selling of this tasty treat. The paper is first grade and the pictures are outstanding to say the least. Absolut original with a bottle looking like a Roman ruin is probably my favorite one but there are so many nice advertising ideas that have become stupendous posters. Absolute Enivironment is also a nice one. This is a good coffee table book and a nice gift for the person that likes vodka and to read.

This is a wonderful, informative, and beautiful book.
This book is about the Absolut Vodka advertising campaign. How it began, and what it is about. There are many beautiful, and breath taking images which makes you see the entire light of the campaign which looks so simple from the outside. Now, you get the inside looks and it isn't simple at all but an amazing experience.
WOW!!