The Clean and Green Club

Reviewed by Shel Horowitz

As I complete six years of writing this column, I believe this is the first time I’ve reviewed an e-book instead of a physical book. Not only that, but an e-book with a absurdly low price of $9.95 US. I’ve seen a lot of those, and the vast majority I’d never recommend. They tend to be shallow, fluffy, and to exist only to upsell various other offers.

Tipping the Point is different. It has far more practical value than many e-books I’ve seen at five or even ten times the price.

Basically, it’s a quick-start guide to viral marketing, using integrity and ethics–and incorporating many examples (yes, including upsells). It starts with a theory section, but one made accessible and clear even to people who haven’t studied a lot of marketing–and one emphasizing the importance of building a real relationship. He covers force multipliers, the difference between viral ideas that spread via influencers and those that spread through the general public (a much larger group, of course, and therefore able to spread your idea or product much faster), and even looked at where Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point may have gotten some of its best ideas. He also covers some niceties as the ratio you need to become self-replicating and the ease with which you can get others to pass your stuff on.

Other goodies:
* 21-item glossary
* 11-point checklist for creating a message that people welcome and pass along
* More in-depth coverage of 14 different strategy success factors (not the same as those on the checklist)
* 12 problems that can sabotage your campaign
* 29 tactics to draw attention to your viral offering
* Plus a gazillion specific URLs for resources (more than I’m willing to hand-count!)
* A software bonus called The DOT (Do It Now), which claims to support you in achieving focus and concentration. It’s PC only and I’m on a Mac, so I can’t vouch for it.

Tom walks his talk, too. In the little over a year we’ve known each other online, I’ve noticed that he’s always doing little favors for me and others, without expectation of a direct return: a principle he espouses repeatedly in Tipping the Point (and one that I recommend in Principled Profit, as well). Oh yes, and he’s set up some nice charity stuff in this e-book, in keeping with the work he’s been doing at JointWinWin for a while now.

The book isn’t perfect. Yes, it does suffer from a few of the typical e-book flaws, like the occasional instance of poor proofreading and amateurish clipart illustrations. And while I prefer to think of his Britishisms (not just spelling, but idioms) as charming, not everyone may feel that way. (It’s honest, though–he is based in England.) But there’s an awful lot of good stuff here.

In fact, there’s so much good stuff that I took the very unusual step of becoming a dealer and putting it up for download on my own cart. And let me tell you, something has to be really good for me to do that. I still can’t believe he only wants $9.95 for this!

Please click here to get your own copy, and yes, I do benefit financially (a little, anyhow) from your purchase.

https://shelhorowitz.com/go/tippingthepoint/

Note: There are two volumes in Tipping the Point. Volume 1 is free and you can download it from this link. Volume 2 is available for $9.95 with the “add to cart” button on the page linked above.