Be the Center of Connection: The 800CEORead Author Pow-Wow
If connecting is solely a "woman’s" thing, than last week’s 800CEOREAD "Author Pow-Wow" was pretty girly. The thing is, when you get a small number of women and men in a room (approximately 20 authors, plus another 10 - 15 8CR staff and guest speakers), self-protective walls fall and the truth emerges - warts, fears and all, which made the pow-wow participants:
- much more likely to send any bulk book sales (like for conferences, book signings etc) through 8CR,
- much more likely to continue to swap insider tidbits and insights with this now close-knit group of friends and the 8CR "family"; and,
- much more likely to want to help 8CR improve and expand on their services for authors and book buyers.
There had been no precedent. By just going out on a limb and trying this event, 8CR forged incredible future loyalty and long term relationships with the authors who produce the crucial content of their business. And, the bonus is that corporate customers/book buyers will likely gain from 8CR’s closer connection with business book writers, as well. Buyers will get earlier and more frequent inside information about new books (and probably a lot more), and they’ll begin to feel like they know the people who write the books they buy.
What can other industries learn from what 8CR accomplished last week? Perhaps it is the idea of thinking more creatively and qualitatively about research, customer/company community building, and so on.
- Sometimes the more intimate gatherings have greater branding and buzz building effect than the usual, higher profile events or research methods. 20 extremely enthused evangelists might easily influence more people than, say, an online ad campaign.
- There are likely ways you can better connect your customers to one another around your brand. Forget about being the center of attention and you may be surprised by the power in becoming the center of connection.
Shared experiences and swapped stories are often the most effective initial connectors for a more emotional/empathic thinker (and this tends to be a more female trait). When you allow for that sort of less brand-ego, more customer-focused community building with all your customers, it may feel scary at first - but then, done well, the effort may exceed even your wildest expectations.
P.S. Thanks to the 800CEOREAD gang for the incredible experience (they blogged about it too, of course!).
P.P.S. The photo is of Kevin Carroll, author of The Rules of the Red Rubber Ball and I, making a connection.
December 5th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
L
As an author of business books and a woman I enjoyed both the tone and the content of this helpful post. Kudis!
- another fan, Kare, SavvyHer
December 7th, 2006 at 11:36 am
Author Pow-Wow 2006. Emphasis on the WOW.
They say the American Indian name for Milwaukee means “the good land” or “gathering place by the water.” But last week it was the Windy City that was the good land, the gathering place for a group of business book…
December 10th, 2006 at 3:28 am
Andrea - this sounded like a terrific event.
Not only do such events and collaborations mean that participants can become even stronger brand ambassadors and advocates for the company - in this case 800CEORead; 800 CEORead in turn get the opportunity to access wonderful insights from their authors (who are also not only clients but consumers of their products too).
It certainly looked like an event to aspire to be an invited attendee too which also builds the credibility of their brand - boy would I have loved to have been involved in the discussion based on the agenda 800CEORead facilitated as mentioned on their site.
Congratulations on the publishing of your ebook with 800CEORead - and I look forward to hearing when your next book is launched.
Best wishes
Krishna
http://www.krishnade.com