Review of Marketing School (from IttyBiz/Naomi Dunford)

Last Wednesday, my writers’ group were chatting about marketing, and how authors nowadays have are expected to do most of the promotional work themselves. One woman said, “That’s my worst nightmare.” There were a few nods and murmurs of agreement.

But I found myself thinking, “Actually, I like marketing…”

That is not what I’d’ve been saying to myself three years ago. I’ve got an English degree, and could’ve headed for a job in advertising or marketing. But to me, marketing was something done by sharp guys in suits, using their creative powers for evil, persuading people to buy crap that they didn’t really want or need.

Then in summer 2008, I quit my day job to be a freelance writer. It was pretty much market or starve. A few months later, I was selling an e-course, pushing my blogs all over the place, and getting surprisingly keen on this marketing lark.

One person is responsible for that. She is Naomi Dunford, the small-biz expert behind the IttyBiz blog. So when Naomi announced the release of Marketing School – an ebook that I heard rumours of waaay back – I was pretty darn excited.

And then I heard I got a $20 discount just for already owning SEO School. I barely read Johnny B. Truant’s characteristically hilarious sales page in my rush to find the “Buy!” button.

(Tip: The button is called “Add to cart” and it’s kinda small and it’s right down the bottom.)

And then I figured, quite a few Aliventures readers are small-biz people. Some of you run small (and not-so-small) businesses, some of you sell physical stuff, some of you sell electronic stuff, some of you sell your services. And a lot of you are looking for ways to quit that day job so you can strike out on your own – or devote more time to your side business.

So here’s my take on Marketing School. And yes, all the links in this review are affiliate ones. In fact, I managed to accidentally buy Marketing School using my own affiliate link: that’s probably a terrible violation of the internet marketing code, and the ninjas may well already be on their way to get me…

Overview

Marketing School is an 82-page ebook from Naomi Dunford of IttyBiz fame. It’s a guide to marketing your small (like, one – two people) business, written in an easy-to-read, easy-to-put-into-practice way.

The price

Marketing School is $49, which I’d say is neither too hot nor too cold but just about right. I’d like to be a smidge lower, but it’s a fair price.

What’s included

There are three main sections:

• Marketing Concepts: What marketing means, why people buy, the difference between marketing and advertising, and so on. Since Naomi wrote this ebook, this is not dry theory. At all. It’s snappy, entertaining and focused.
• Marketing Strategies: Advertising, using newsletters, blogs, word of mouth, etc, etc. Straight-up, straight-forward advice on exactly what is worth your time and money and what isn’t.
• 100 Ways to Get People to buy YOUR Shit Instead of Someone Else’s Shit: I think this one’s obvious from the title.

Good stuff

There is an awful lot of good stuff to say about Marketing School and about Naomi:

Naomi Rocks!

Naomi really knows her stuff: I can tell you that because I’ve bought several of her products, I’m in her membership course, and I went to her very first live seminar.

Also, Naomi is a brilliant writer. She can make the driest of topics interesting. She made Search Engine Optimisation interesting in her last ebook – a pretty darn impressive feat.

Naomi is Psychic

(Also known as: Naomi must really know her target audience). Here’s why, in a single quote from Marketing School:

I could rant on this topic for hours and hours and hours but I will spare you that unfortunate method of spending your Sunday morning.

Guess what? I read those words on a Sunday morning. (Marketing before Church. It feels kinda wrong, still.)

Clear, Easy to Follow

Marketing School is well structured, with a table of contents and an explanation right at the start about why the book’s been put together the way it has (with more theory-based stuff in part one, then more practically-focused stuff in part two).

The design and layout is also really clear: it was an attractive book to read, and I whizzed through with the same sort of speed that I tackle a box of chocolates…

Exercises

Naomi includes exercises and she explains why you need to actually do them – not just read the book. As a member of Naomi’s SpeakEasy membership course, I’m used to getting homework from her. I can tell you it is totally worth doing.

I hurried through the whole of Marketing School so that I could write this review, but I’m going to go back through and take it a chunk at a time, doing the exercises along the way.

Bad stuff

In case it’s not become obvious by this point, I really loved Marketing School. I had all of two suggestions for improvement:

Structure of Part Three

The third section – a whole list of methods to make sure people are buying your products/services rather than your competitors’ – was great, but it’s quite an overwhelming list and didn’t seem to have an obvious order. I’d have liked to see it split into sections, either with each section focusing on a particular topic or area, or perhaps with a section for “five minute fixes”, one for “weekend projects” and so on.

The Definition of Marketing

On IttyBiz, Naomi famously defined marketing as:

Marketing is the shit you do that makes people buy your shit.

Yet in Marketing School, this has been subtly altered to:

Marketing is the stuff you do that makes people buy your stuff.

It just doesn’t have the same punchy Naomi-ness somehow. And at first I was worried that all swear words had been eradicated from Marketing School: rest assured that they haven’t…

Verdict

Marketing School is a fantastic resource for anyone who needs to market themselves, their small biz or their products. Naomi explains things in a straightforward, easily-grasped way, but she doesn’t shy away from explaining why various techniques work.

At $49, Marketing School is a small investment in your biz. And it’s one you really should make. Because, frankly, I can’t imagine anyone reading this ebook, trying out the exercises, and not making at least $49 in increased sales.

Go and grab your copy of Marketing School. Even if you have no intention of buying it, at least head on over and download the first 20 page for free. (Scroll down to the “Free chapter-in-a-box” box…) Like with all Naomi’s stuff, there’s a money-back guarantee.