Dave Balter has written a new book, "The Word of Mouth Manual, Volume II." You can get it for 45 bucks at Amazon.
Or, you could download it for free here. It’s sized for easy screen reading, and that’s kinda cool.
Good stuff. Get it here.
Bonus: It’s got a monkey on the cover. Everybody loves monkeys.
Related: If you like The Word of Mouth Manual," also check out the classic Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz.
Things I wonder about: Whenever there’s something "free" announced, am I the only one whose mind immediately tracks to this Jack Handy "Deep Thoughts" quote?
Brilliant! posting on 20 blogs simultaneously and a “free” download. I haven’t quite figured out why someone would want to shell out 45 bucks ( 9 gallons of gas) for the print copy you can use as a rain hat?
WOM marketing has been the fuel for consumer purchasing for years. I feel the psychology behind human behavior is fasinating. Much like juicy gossip, we all like to hear what others like, don’t like, and must keep up with the fads. Kudos Dave!
Having read the “Word of Mouth Manual Volume 2” I thought since I am a Buzz agent it would serve me well to read it… and I am right! Well worth taking the time to download it!
Oh and having it available for free download … well an added bonus!
2 thumbs up Dave on a super read!
Dave has gone one Bzz step further by offering a free download of his book. Samples are popular with people who are not sure they want to buy something. As a Bzz Agent, I can offer free samples for people to try. I do not have to convince them of anything. They either like it or they don’t. Free samples show people that a company is confident in their product and it’s value, not just that they want them to try it. If it works for them, they have a new customer. If it does not work for them, other people can learn about why, then decide what they want to do after sampling it for themselves. I am not an evangelist I am a connoisseur of BZZ.
I am a volunteer BzzAgent. Most BzzAgent’s are completely transparent and we are proud of it! I loved the manual. I wouldn’t have purchased it but I loved every word. Anything that people talk about is considered word of mouth, whether it’s good, bad, or indifferent. The world would be a totally different place without Word of Mouth.
As a Buzz Agent, I use WOM to share new products with people who haven’t heard of or tried them yet. Often, I am able to share free samples, or provide coupons for a discount. These coupons and samples allow people to try a product they might normally hesitate about spending money on. No one wants to risk their money (especially in today’s economy) and waste in on a useless/poorly designed/etc. product. Once consumers try out a new product (for free or at a discount), if they like it, they will continue to use it. As a Buzz Agent, I take it a step further and share how I feel about a product with other people – whether I like it or not, and why. I then provide my feedback, and the feedback of the people I Buzz, to the company, and then they can modify (or not) their product as needed.
As a Bzzz Agent there is always interest in persuing the”next big thing” and WOM is the ONLY THING when it comes to marketing!! No bigger impact is made on another human than having a real person educate, inform and promote in a one-on-one environment. Kudos for the FREE download…just another example of innovative promotion.