Hello there and welcome to The Turndog Review: the books I read, reviewed.

I aren’t a professional critic, instead all I offer is my honest opinion into everything I read. However, I do this with a difference, as I don’t only offer my personal views on the Writing, Plot, and Story, but also the Book Cover, Book Marketing, and Author Website.

We live in a modern world where being a writer is different to years gone by, and I feel the whole experience of the book matters. This covers everything from the initial find, the actual read, and everything that follows. Therefore I hope this review not only offers a great insight into the book and author, but also into my own mind and what makes me tick.

So without further ado let’s begin, and today I focus on Platform by Michael Hyatt

 

Published: 2012

Read: June 2012

Discovered: Via the Internet world and word of mouth awesomeness

 

Overview:

I’d heard of Michael Hyatt, but never took too much notice. I knew of him as the man at the helm of a Christian Publishers, so my interest wasn’t high. I kept hearing about his new book, though, and it sounded interesting.

All these people I loved were saying how amazing it was. The temptation was too good to ignore.

Oh how I’m glad I caved in. If you’re building a platform (not just as an author, but anyone looking to build a personal brand), this is the book for you. It covers every aspect you can imagine, and although it speaks of things I already know, it paints them in a new light.

I thought this book might be a good read, but I didn’t know if I’d learn much. I’m happy to say I learnt a lot. I came up with new ideas for my website, specific pages, and how to hone particular talents.

I think this will become a regular on many a bookshelf and be spoke in a similar vein as The War of Art (the next non-fiction book on my list). Good job, Michael. Very good job

 

The Good:

It just covers oh so much. All the things I’ve come across recently are discussed. It’s not looked at in a boring manner, though. It gets to the point and gives you what you need to know.

I also found it very useful in terms of the things Michael recommends. It introduced me to new products, companies and services. He speaks so passionately about the things he uses. I love this, and it made the read all the more enthralling

 

The Bad:

My one gripe was the section on Twitter. I feel he spent far too much time going over obvious aspects. I know people reading might not know how to use Twitter, but is this the book for a step-by-step guide?

I feel large chunks could have been cut, leaving the entire thing 15 pages shorter or filled with other valuable information.

 

Book Cover:

A great example of a book cover. First of all, the text (and I mean all of it) is simple, stands out, and draws your attention

Secondly, Michael has extended his Brand with the use of the speech bubble (he uses this for his logo).

Finally, the colours stand out. Red, Black & White; it doesn’t get much simpler than that, but boy is it effective.

Maybe not the greatest example for a fiction cover, but for a business book (which this is), it ticks everything. Hats off to his designer!

 

Book Marketing:

It’s unsurprising that a book covering the build of a platform (using a lot of new media to do it) is highly effective when it comes to in-book marketing. Michael is a very apt marketer when it comes to fitting his own services into the book.

It’s one giant advertisement, in a way, but it’s done in a subtle manner. He talks about himself, but not for a second do you feel ‘sold’ to.

It works, too. I now know most of his books and some are on my to-read list. Want to know how to write a non-fiction book that helps you sell your own products? Analyse the hell out of this!

I’d also like to say the marketing around the book was good, too. He did a great job Guest Posting, getting word out (it really was a word of mouth success story) and building up the launch.

The promotions and bundles on offer were spot on and got me very excited. I picked up several tips for my own future launches

 

Author Website & Engagement:

Again, it shouldn’t surprise you that this is good. Like I say, it’s a book built around the making of a platform. Anyone who does this needs to have a good website, and NEEDS to connect with fans. Michael is more than awesome at this.

I’m a big fan of his site. At first I wasn’t blown away, but it’s great to revisit again and again. It’s just so clean and classy. Again, I’ve been inspired to alter some of my own aspects, and in particular, his speaking page is something I want to mirror – aka steal all his ideas 🙂

Seriously, this is a great example of a website with lots of depth. Some man-hours have been put into this. As for his engagement, you don’t get all those subscribers by being an A-Hole.

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Overall I’m a big fan of this book. A lot of the things covered were aspects I didn’t have to read, but nevertheless took something from them. I guess it came down to really resonating with his voice.

I often make notes when reading Non-Fiction Books, this and the $100 Startup produced a lot of ideas. As such I’m delighted to give…

4 Turndogs out of 5

 

Thanks for reading this version of The Turndog Review. I review every book I read, not only for the writing, but the marketing, website, and general communication from the author.

Turndog Millionaire – @turndog_million