10 Ways Jay Baer’s New Book, Youtility, Will Change Your Life

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I rarely do book reviews. This is because there are a lot of books out there, way more than I have the time to read.

Add to that not all of them are good (in fact, some are downright abysmal), and I really don’t want to be the person who rains on a shiny new author’s parade.

So when I do write about a book, your foregone conclusion should be that I like it and I’m going to recommend you buy it. Keeping that in mind, here are 10 reasons I whole-heartedly recommend Jay Baer’s new book Youtility (disclosure: I received a free review copy of the book from Jay, but I also pre-ordered my own copy, so I have two! Yay!):

1. Jay Baer is the author. ‘Nuff said.

2. Jay doesn’t wax lyrical (or unlyrical) on every page. His writing, like his speaking style, is truthful, down to earth, and sprinkled with the wry, deadpan humor that makes Jay… well, Jay, and one of the hands-down best presenters and teachers it has been my privilege to see.

Take, for example, this paragraph:

“I wrote this book as a reaction to the landslide of punditry that prescribes ‘make your company amazing’ as a strategic approach. The reality is, your business probably isn’t amazing, and you probably won’t have the opportunity or time to make it so.”

And that’s just in the author’s note at the end of the book!

3. It doesn’t complicate what is essentially a simple premise. People help people who help them… including people who work at businesses.

4. What it does do is provide scads of examples of businesses that are doing this every day. They are simply and elegantly described, and they leave you with an, “I know how I could do that!” moment.

5. Or several.

6. Actually, many, many, many of them.

7. Jay walks his talk, and has a ton of resources you can take advantage of. Like his free ebook, 25 Secrets – How I Wrote and Marketed a New York Times Bestselling Book. Yes, it’s now an NYT bestseller!

8. In addition to the great content, there are killer section titles that make for great soundbites, which means you will remember them when it comes to your own work. For example: “Good ideas don’t have an expiration date” (Page 170). I mean, what a great line.

9. As Jay describes in his ebook, his entire process is a marketing goldmine. There are so many facets to what he did, and how he continues to market the book, it’s a bit mind-boggling. And it is terrific to aspire to.

10. In addition to being a terrific marketing case study, Youtility lives and breathes what I personally think is the future of public relations: community. You see it from start to finish, from the folks who helped Jay pull the book together, to its music video (!), to so much more.

It takes much more than being a “social media rock star” (which I would never call Jay, because I respect him too much, but I know others do) to pull this off. It takes someone who has earned the respect and admiration of his community, so much so that they go to bat for you.

And they do that because they Jay lives and breathes what Youtility is all about: help others, and they’ll help you… and your business.

Three things

So now I have three things to tell you:

• First, if you are looking for a really good book on marketing the way it should be done, go buy Youtility. You will thank me.
• Second, remember how I said I have two copies of Youtility? Well, I’m going to give one away. All you have to do is leave a comment that tells us of a time when you have experienced the power of Youtility; as in, how helping someone has come back to you in spades.

You can do this through August 2, after which we’ll pick a winner. Consider this my way of being a Youtilitarian.

Ready? Go!

• Third, please mark your calendars for Tuesday, August 6, when Jay will join the #measurePR Twitter chat (remember, we are operating on a monthly schedule now). Given his experience in helping so many businesses quantify the value of their marketing – including social media – efforts in a tangible way, this is sure to be good, so don’t miss it.

And now, back to you. When was a time you experienced the power of Youtility? Please share below and remember, you could win a copy of Jay’s terrific new book, which is sure to become a valued addition to your library!