I’m giving one lucky ProBlogger reader a Christmas present this year – read on to find out how you can get in the running for it…
I was just taking a look through my essential books for bloggers post in which I list 70 books that I and a few blogging friends recommend and decided to do refine it down to the 10 books that I think had the biggest impact on my thinking (on a blogging perspective) in 2006.
Ironically none of them are about blogging specifically and some of the books are actually quite old, but I picked them up this year to reread them and am glad I did.
Here they are in no particular order:
- The Story Factor – a book that I’m currently reading about being influential and persuasive through the practice of story telling. Really enjoying this one.
- Ogilvy on Advertising – written by renowned copy writer David Ogilvy this book has a lot of great copywriting principles that translate well into blogging.
- Advertising Secrets of the Written Word – another copywriter sharing good common sense strategies for copy writing.
- The E-Myth Revisited – a business book that helps small business earners move from building themselves a job to building themselves a true business.
- Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands – I always rave about this book that looks about a paradigm shift in advertising and the rise of emotion, sensuality and more in branding/marketing.
- Unleashing the Idea Virus – the first book that I read by Seth Godin that back in it’s day rocked my world
- Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell’s classic book on ‘How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference’
- Join Me – I don’t think you can get this new any more but a great story of a guy who started accidentally started a movement and what he learned along the way. This is written almost as a novel in a humorous and easy to read style.
- Don’t Make Me Think – Common Sense Web Usability
- 1000 Most Important Words – a guide to unlocking our “passive” vocabularies and developing a keener appreciation of the richness of language
As an end of year Christmas gift to one lucky ProBlogger reader I’m going to randomly pick one commenter (on any ProBlogger post) to receive all ten books.
To be eligible you simply need to leave at least one comment on ProBlogger between now and 25 December.
Consider each comment to be an entry with no limit to how many times you can enter. Of course comments need to be genuine (ie related to the post, not spammy) to be considered (beware, too many comments too quickly and you’ll trigger my spam detecters).
Are we to assume the more comments we leave, the more chances we have to win, then?
Building your brand, one contest at a time…
Fantastic gift Darren !!!
I have seen you mention LOVEMARKS many times before and that’s one I have on my TO READ list now :)
Take Care !
Very cool Darren now I posted my second comment today, but it won’t be the last till 25th December, for sure.
Thanx a lot.
Great list. It’s always helpful to get book recommendations. The only one’s I’ve read here are The Tipping Point and Don’t Make Me Think, both essential reads.
That’s a pretty cool idea/gesture Darren. This site has definitely helped me out in a couple of areas and I’m sure it has helped out many more as well.
I actually tried starting up my own “group writing” type project on my blog. It’s no where near as successful as yours but then again I don’t have prizes or anything of that sort.
Anyway, thanks for the assistance in your many posts along the way.
What a great idea! I’ve already got a couple of these on my Amazon list due to your recommendations but haven’t gotten to them yet… Thanks so much!
Tipping Point has to be the best one out of those books. Quite revealing stuff in there.
Awesome, I can always use more books. Especially since I have not read any of those.
Thanks for the wonderful Christmas present Darren. Oops! I dreamt that I got it.
Don’t make me think is an awesome book.
If you don’t win this book – buy this book!
I’d surely want to win those books! Free shipping, right?
This is certainly a way to get people to respond to your posts!
Merry Christmas Darren :)) Good exercise for lazy commenters (like me) ! Anyway, very good choice of books I find it.
definitely Joe..!!
but it`s also a great idea!
anyway this is not strange! you are talking about darren!
Is this spoused to be an object lesson on how to get people to comment? cause if it is, I think it is working.
Chase
How nice of you Darren, not only providing us with great material, and now rewarding the readers, maybe that should be a tip! lol.
Hope you’re well,
Charlie –
—
theapblog.blogspot.com
Smart idea, Darren. :)
From my contact form submission (I hope you got it), I bet these could come in handy.
Now the wife will have it easy this Christmas:
She can actually get me something I will really like and use!
-Rob
Hey Tipping Point interests me. I have heard its good but haven’t really gotten hold of it yet. :)
I think your comments form (or server?) is getting overloaded from this! wow.
That desperate for comments, eh? Looks like Jakob Nielsen was right:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/participation_inequality.html
Everybody wants more comments! I think that’s a great idea to entice us lurkers out into the open. It worked on me. ;)
Great list Darren, interesting that none are directly related to blogging, but all relate to the skills of a blogger.
Great contest and a great way to get readers involved with your website. Might have to consider running something similar to this on my blogs to get further reader involvement.
Darren , Great Idea on enticing your readers to introduce themselves.
Great idea for getting people to comment on your site – mind if I borrow it for mine?
Emyth is a great book for anyone just starting a company.
I’d also recommend “Love is the Killer App” – it’s by Tim Sanders and is a great guide to how you can build your business and brand by helping others.
_Ogilvy on Advertising_ has been in my library for years, left over from a long-ago “media literacy” course called “Argument and Persuasion,” but I haven’t picked it up (except to dust the shelves) until your post reminded me of it this morning…
Funny, but you’re absolutely right – Ogilvy does have some important lessons for bloggers. Not just in terms of advertising, but in the insights into how people think and respond to what they experience in terms of messaging. Wish I’d re-read it when I first started blogging! Ah, better late than never – and one can take comfort in the thought that David Oglivy probably never anticipated that some day he’d be on the ProBlogger’s list of “10 Great Blogging Books”!
I’m not familiar with _The Story Factor_ but do think, based on your comment on it, that it will be next for my bedtime reading list… because it’s all about story-telling, isn’t it? Telling stories is what human beings do with each other, bottom line, online or in the “real” world…
Nice one Darren… I hope I will get the books. ;-)
I’m feeling lucky! And need more books :)
These wouldn’t happen to come in _e-book_ versions, would they? That would be too ironically apt, I suppose.
I wish I had the liquidity to offer prizes to my commenters… I have readers, but so few commenters! It’s a very sad state of affairs. Oh well, c’est la vie.
Thanks for another informative post Darren. “Don’t Make Me Think” is an excellent book, one that I turn to time and again when designing web sites.
Wow, those would be such a great resource for a personal blogger who just made the jump to b5media…. :)
darren
probably better for 10 readers to get at least one book each !
thats my entry for you :)
Darren –
I think this is such a fun idea. I have something I’ve been wanting to give away on my site for a while but unsure of how to do it. I fully plan on using your idea. Thanks, and happy holidays.
Darren,
I am a blogging local church pastor whose been following your posts for some time. Blogging not only provides me with an outlet for writing and an opportunity to connect with friends and family, it is also an intriguing device for providing benefit to our (depressed) area in PA. I’m taking the month of December (and possibly January) off in order to re-consider my future in blogging. Perhaps your suggested starter library would help me make a decision and make whatever I do afterward better. So, a first comment from a faithful RSS reader and an appeal. Whatever you decide to do with the books, God bless, for your service and excellence in blogging.
Just a reminder that you can get a lot of these at the local library. For the 19345346 commenters who won’t win. :)
The E-Myth Revisited is amazing. Definitely one of the best books I’ve read in the last year, period.
I dig this tactic- contests on your blog. Speaking of digging, has anyone dugg this yet?
Wow that book is mine, I am so getting tired of getting nothing but a lump of coal every Christmas.
Thank You
What a cool idea! It amazes me from day to day the things you come up with, you have been a great help to me this year and I am looking forward to much more. Ogilvy on Advertising, man that brings back memories! I read that book when it first came out years ago. Still a lot of good things to learn from it.
Happy Holidays to you Darren and your family!
God Bless…
Hey Darren, nice post! Its crazy how comments on this post are way more than on others ones, probably because of the free books huh? lol..Anyways, I really like you advice and the way you write, I have told you that in different posts. The interesting thing here is that as a blogger you would think blogging books are the ones that will help you improve which I am sure some do, but look at your list, they are from different divisions of study and points of view, that is very interesting. Hopefully I can even at least get a copy of one of those.
Ed
Sheer brilliance Darren – I may just have to borrow this idea for my own end of year traffic, comment and participation boost.
Did I mention sheer brilliance?! :)
Darren – I’m looking forward to checking out the books you recommend. I’m familiar with a couple of them, but can always use new ideas. By the way, thanks for continually providing those “new ideas” and nudging your readers along to explore more options.
tish
Wow, that’s an impressive gift. I’m sure the books will be a great thing to add under someone’s tree as well. May I ask, did these books get you to where you are today? If so, which one? I’m sure there are many of us out here in blogger land that would love to get that or those books that helped you, even if we don’t win.
Happy Holidays!
Thanks a lot. You have done a lot for me in the last few months, good tips, and getting me to make my own blog. Free books would be good too.
i’ve read a few of these, but the Emyth is a book i absolutely detested. don’t get me wrong, i’ll still take it if you send it to me. :) there are some i’ve been meaning to for a while.
Whoa, sweet! Thanks Darren. Maybe I’ll have something to read while I’m in Panama City if I win.
Hope I win, I haven’t read any of these books, but would love to have them. I’ve been following the site since I’ve had bloglines….good stuff here.
Thanks for the great list! I’m adding them to my Amazon wish list. I especially want to check out the story and copywriting books. I have a degree in Advertising but it was more about audience research than about being creative. I feel like I missed out. But hey – I’ve learned more in the real world than I ever learned in college anyway. :)
The Tipping Point is the only one of those I’ve read, I’m afraid I read too little nonfiction, but it was amazing. Changes the way you think and look at blogging. I’d borrowed a copy from someone and wished that I had my own, as there were plenty of notes I wanted to make in the margins.