Take a look at Seth Godin’s Book Roundup, a list of mostly business and marketing books, but even those that are not have some application to business and marketing. No doubt the list could be longer, but this is what Seth has been reading.

I’d like to mention another book that I think deserves your attention: Stories that Sell by Casey HIbbard tells you everything there is to know about using case studies for marketing.

Tags: Books, Marketing, Seth Godin

In the growing body of information about how to grow and manage online communities, Angela Connor’s 18 Rules of Community Engagement is among the best. The book is full of common sense and good advice from someone who has been there, done that, and continues to do it. Angela is a successful community manager, growing golo.com to more than 11,000 members in 18 months (currently more than 13,000 members). GOLO is a vibrant online community sponsored by Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill-area WRAL TV.

Some of the most thought-provoking information is in “The Basics” section that precede the “Rules.” The section is full of interesting information, like whether or not a community will form just because you make a platform available (nope), and why communities so often fail (most community managers focus on what the community can do for them instead of how to best support the interests of the community). Ms. Connor also writes about what community managers do, and what kinds of attributes they need to be effective in engaging and growing their community.

The rules themselves (e.g., don’t be pushy, stroke some egos, provide useful information and content) are mostly common sense. But common sense is often the first casualty of online communication, and these reminders of common sense dos and don’ts (and some things you might not consider without reading the book) can save you a lot of painful learning-the-hard-way. They’re all amplified with Angela Connor’s real-world community management experience and several links to websites that relate to some of her research or illustrate various points, which makes the book a very interesting read (allow a couple of hours for the nearly 90 pages).

Given the quality of the information, it’s bargain-priced at $19.95 for the book ($17.95 at Amazon) or $14.95 for the ebook. I reviewed the ebook, and the only complaint I have is that the publisher did not bother to reformat the book for easier onscreen reading. In order to make the text big enough to be easy to read onscreen, I had to constantly scroll the page. Finally, I printed it out and read it on paper. This, of course, undermines the value of the many links. But it’s a minor complaint about a really useful book, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to community managers and bloggers (who are community managers, though often of a smaller scale).

Find out more about the book at Growing Successful Online Communities.

Tags: Marketing, Online Community

I’m guessing Seth Godin, like the rest of us, is completely capable of not thinking clearly on occasion and saying dumb things. But you won’t find evidence of that in Tribes, a book in which he has clearly and compellingly laid out what it takes to be successful in marketing in 2009.

In this little more than pocket-size book, Godin explains the difference between a crowd and a tribe (crowds don’t have leaders or a means of communicating with one another), and notes "Most organizations spend their time marketing to the crowd. Smart organizations assemble the tribe."

Godin challenges people who are passionate about something to assume a leadership role. The tools, he points out, are there for anyone to use; there’s no longer an excuse to sit on the sidelines and complain about how you wish things were different. You can attract a crowd of like-minded people willing to work toward making things different.

Some of my favorite insights from the book:

• Leadership is too important to be left to the people in charge.
• Faith overcomes fear.
• Tribes are about faith—about belief in an idea and a community.
• Heretics are the new leaders.
• Leaders transform the shared interest of the tribe into a passionate goal and desire for change.

Click on the cover image of the book above and get it at Amazon. I think you’ll find it worth reading.

Tags: Seth Godin, Tribes