Are the new rules for you?

I've just finished a whirlwind book promotion blitz that centered around the "birthday" of my book on June 4. Thanks to everyone who has blogged about The New Rules of Marketing & PR (more than 100 of you!). And many thanks to everyone who has purchased the book (more than 2,000 of you so far!).

I'm thrilled that the book reached number 66 overall on Amazon. It has been the top PR book on Amazon and in the top 5 marketing books since publication. Thank you for your support!

I've delivered three major speeches this past week in three different cities. Damn, I'm beat! Book Expo America in New York, National Investor Relations Institute in Orlando (my gig was sponsored by NASDAQ), and the Vocus / PRWeb user conference in Washington DC.

Here are select reviews of the speeches:
> Book Expo America via American Booksellers Association

> Vocus / PRWeb via Matt

> No bloggers at NIRI? Hmm… I guess that says something about Investor Relations people…

When I give speeches like these ones on the new rules of marketing and PR, many people are excited to get out there and make it happen. They want to start a blog right away or generate some news releases or begin buyer persona research in preparation for writing a marketing and PR plan that will guide them to create a content-rich Web site.

And inevitably I get detractors. These are the people with folded arms who stare at me with hostility or just look at the floor for a half hour. They want things to remain safe and comfortable. You know what? That's fine. It's OK to continue to invest in expensive advertising and try to convince the media to write about you. Go for it.

But in the audience there is always a third group of people who tend to feel a bit overwhelmed. There is just too much information, they say, or too many new and unfamiliar ideas. Some people think this stuff just too complex and time-consuming to tackle, especially given an already hectic schedule. Hey, we all have stuff on our plates, and for most of us, implementing the ideas I talk about will represent an addition to our workload.

But here's one of the greatest things about the new rules of marketing and PR: you can implement these ideas in bits and pieces!

In fact, I don’t expect anybody to implement all the ideas. Heck, I don’t do that many of them myself (OK, I admitted it—don’t tell). Yes, I have a blog, and it is very important to me. But I don't have my own podcast, and I don't have a MySpace or Facebook page. But that's OK. I just do what I can and what works for me. And so should you.

Unlike a linear, offline marketing campaign where you must take a methodical, step-by-step approach leading up to a big "release day," the Web is…well, it's a Web. You can add to the Web at any time because it is iterative, not linear.

Think about the last print advertisement you or others in your organization did. Everything had to be perfect, requiring thorough proofreading, tons of approvals from your colleagues (or your spouse), lengthy consultation with a bunch of third parties such as advertising agencies and a printers, and—above all—lots of money. Your neck was on the line if there was a screw-up, so you obsessed over the details. Contrast that with a Web content initiative that you can implement quickly, get people to check out live, and make changes to on the fly. It really is much less stressful to create an online program.

Heck, if you create a Web page that doesn't work for you, you can just delete it. You can't do that with a print ad or direct-mail campaign. So I would urge you to think about how you might selectively experiment with the new rules rather than fret about coordinating them all and trying to get everything right on the first go.

Experiment and see what works.

I experiment a lot. For example, I've had some great successes with viral marketing. But I've also had a bunch of dismal flops. That's OK, people don’t remember the flops and it didn't cost any money (just some time).

Comments

[JMS]

David:

I don't think the problem with the folks who are open to the new ideas is necessasrily doing the work, it's the learning curve. Plenty of sites out there make it super-easy to pull in content (thenewsroom.com)...and cool stuff, at that. It's just the learning curve is really overwhelming for some...

Just my 2 cents...

[Dianna Huff]

David,

"Experiment" is the key word. I have finally realized that. Back when the Web was new, none of us had any idea how it worked. So we experimented. We built pages based on paper brochures -- which were fine 10 years ago, but now they're really dull and lifeless.

Now we know what works and what doesn't. Ditto for all the new things like podcasts. I say, have fun with it all.

[Melissa Borghorst]

Hi David,

I attended your speech at the Book Expo America, which was excellent! I’ve attended many classes and speeches in the past on various different topics, but yours was by far the best! Your presentation was great and the examples you used were very helpful.

I actually fell into all three categories. I’m working on a personal book project right now, so I was very excited to start implementing your “New Rules of Marketing & PR”. I’m actually following your suggestions by commenting for the first time on a blog! I’m also in the marketing and advertising industry, so your ideas were a bit scary for me, but also a bit of a wake up call. The world changes and we need to change with it, otherwise we’ll be left behind. Not only was I excited and scared, but also I was also a bit overwhelmed. Where do I start? How am I going to get going? When am I going to find time to do it all? But you’re right, we can implement these in bits and pieces.

Thank you very much for your wonderful speech, your excellent book (which I’m reading right now), and your inspiration. I’m planning to start my own blog within the next month and your name and book will be the first I mention J

Melissa Borghorst

[David Meerman Scott]

Hi Melissa,

I;m thrilled that you are putting the new rules to work for you. Well done. Since you already have a copy of my book, I suggest you turn to the last chapter and read it now. I talk about how to get going.

Cheers, David

[John Beckley]

Hi David

I'm half way through your book and I'm totally inspired!
We (a small Design and Marketing company)are pushing blogs and the quality of content on to all of our clients as a result. I have just finished Aaron Wall's SEOBOOK and together with your ideas I think it's a winning combination between good SEO and using some New Rules.

[Horace Bryan]

Dear Dr. Scott I bought your Audiobook and am quite interestead in your line of reasoning. I read blogs as a result of a reference you gave about the "Defren Template" Some blogger called Mike said something about a mistake that started a whole big thread and my comment was: I which I could find way to get your ruling on the debate... I left the page to find your e-mail and I lost the page. If I find it I will get back to you...