10 thoughts on “The Linked Photographers’ Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media”

1. Review by A. Moore for The Linked Photographers’ Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media
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   I can’t recommend this book enough. I don’t understand why there aren’t many more reviews on it. Everyone interested in marketing via the social media world needs to read this book. Regardless, of whether you are a photographer or not – this book is your go too resource. The authors obviously did a lot of research in preparing and writing this book. The book is well written, organized and covers everything you need to know. It’s easy to comprehend for the social media “beginner”. This guide has a wealth of references, websites and more resources. I appreciate all the interviews and real-life experiences of what worked and what did not work for some very successful individuals. I have read this book once and I am already putting into action the author’s recommendations and advice. It’s working for me. There was so much to learn in this book – I will be reading it a second time. I will most definitely keep it as my go-to reference for marketing and social media.

2. Review by Lens Artwork for The Linked Photographers’ Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media
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   It’s already been said in some of the other reviews here, but this book is an outstanding reference for all the major social sites. Rosh and Lindsay (two of the best in the field) show you step by step how to sign up for each site, as well as provide tips to get the most out of each site and (in some cases) how to tie them all together if you want to. While it is understandably geared towards photographers, anyone in any field that is even thinking about dipping their toes in the social media waters will be able to benefit from the information in this book. I considered myself pretty knowledgable on this subject already, but found many tips that I could implement myself as well as little known tricks that I wasn’t aware of before.

   There’s even an excellent section on SEO and tips for establishing your website in a manner that will make it attractive to search engines. Also if you’re thinking about adding a blog to your site, well that’s even covered in here as well – again with many tips to increase its search engine ranking.

3. Review by P. Mccoy for The Linked Photographers’ Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media
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   Online marketing and Social Media needs to be an integral part of all businesses today but the question that many businesses ask themselves is “How do I get started?” There are so many books written about Social Media and Internet Marketing that it is hard to decide which one to select. If you are just getting started in this Web 2.0 arena, I would suggest you pick up Lindsay Adler and Rosh Sillars’ book The Linked Photographers’ Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media.

   Don’t let the title “The Linked Photographer” deter you from picking up this book and using it as guide to begin your Online Marketing. You could substitute the title with “The Linked Web Designer”, “The Linked Entrepreneur”, or “The Linked Small Business Owner”. Adler and Sillars’ niche is photography so of course there are some pages that are more relevant for photographers but so much of the information is relevant for all businesses.
   
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   If you are just starting out with Social Media and you don’t want to buy a lot of books, this one covers how to get started with a blog and explanation of popular Social Media sites — Twitter, Facebook, 4Square, Flickr, LinkedIn, YouTube — enough to get you started!
   

4. Review by Conrad J. Obregon for The Linked Photographers’ Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media
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   Over four hundred million people have accounts on Facebook. Thousands, if not millions, of tweets are sent each day. Personal web sites are common. With all this traffic flying over the Internet, it’s easy to see why some photographers believe that there has to be a way to turn all these electronics signals into dollars by selling their images online. “The Linked Photographers’ Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media” attempts to tell photographers how to do this.

   After a brief introduction to social networking on the Internet, the authors discuss some fundamentals of social network marketing, including preparation of a plan, branding, creation of websites and blogs, search engine optimization and analytics, and the use of ads. The third part of the book describes most of the major social media sites and the authors’ suggestions on how to use them. The book concludes with descriptions of how the authors and other photographers have used social networking for marketing.

   My first impression of the book was that it seemed rather general and did not provide enough specifics on how to use particular social media sites. Then, when I went on line with the book in hand, I found that the authors had provided more information than I noticed at first. For example, while I was familiar with Google analytics, which allow you to examine the nature of the traffic to your website (presumably so that you can improve your marketing), I was unaware that Facebook also provided its own analytics until the book led me to them. On the other hand, you won’t learn how to design a good website in this book.

   Even though I recommend this book for those interested in online marketing, I do have some quibbles. For example in their discussion of web sites the authors ignore the capabilities of software like Photoshop and Lightroom to create web sites quickly. It is true that these websites follow templates that are not designed for marketing, but photographers willing to spend a little time learning to use software like Dreamweaver can quickly customize the web sites created to make marketing web sites.

   In the chapter on blogs the authors tell us that photographers’ blogs should be tailored to their audience, but then go on to describe blogs that discuss primarily photographic technique and activities. That makes sense for individuals trying to sell to photographers but not for those trying to market their photographs or services to the public.

   One area that is ignored is the question of how effective online marketing actually is for most photographers. It seems to me that the biggest problem photographers trying to sell their work encounter is one of too much supply and too little demand. I realize that these economic questions are beyond the scope of this work, but photographers should be warned that even if you follow all of the advice in this book, there will still be more marketing to do.

   For the photographer interested in marketing through social networking, this book will provide a good introduction. No one should expect that merely following the advice in this book will result in the sale of a single image.
   

5. Review by Rick Lewis for The Linked Photographers’ Guide to Online Marketing and Social Media
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   I found a recommendation for this book on John Harrington’s blog. I have admired John’s business acumen for years so I thought this would be a good purchase. I was right. The chapters are well laid out and easy to understand. This book is especially critical for any professional photographer over 40 that has struggled to understand this new, seemingly impersonal, digital networking / marketing age. The covers have been pulled back with this book.

6. Review by Douglas Karr for Twitter Marketing For Dummies
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   This book and Twitterville, by Shel Israel, are the only two books you need to buy if you wish to understand what Twitter is, why you should use it and how to get it done. Kyle Lacy has done an amazing job detailing the information needed for every business – both large and small – to deploy their marketing efforts by this new medium. Twitter sounds like a toy, but it’s an amazingly simple and powerful tool that businesses can use to listen and speak to their customers and prospects.

   Businesses who are leveraging Twitter are seeing incredible results – in reduced customer service expenses, reduced marketing expenditures, and increases in brand awareness. Buy this book now and get started!

7. Review by Karen Seketa for Twitter Marketing For Dummies
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   In Kyle Lacy’s easy going laid back style, he takes you on a journey through what can be harrowing halls of Twitter for the novice and instantly makes it basic, easy and understandable for those of us who are social media toddlers. The information in his book is not just for the newbies out there, however. His tips and tricks have value for those who are among the Twitter accomplished who might have missed out on some the important basics or efficiencies of the system. Kyle does a great job of pointing out some of the basic etiquette without getting preachy on you. It reads more like a casual conversation over a cup of coffee rather than an informational text.

8. Review by Beautiful1 for Twitter Marketing For Dummies
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   On page 103 of Twitter Marketing For Dummies I read what I wish everyone would remember about all social media, “Twitter is about engagement.” On page 102 I read perhaps the most important piece of marketing advice in the book, at least for me, “You want to get as many committed, rabid, evangelistic customers as you can.”

   Not only is this book a great resource for effectively marketing on Twitter, but a really great marketing refresher in general. Kyle reinforces the idea that social media is simply another venue and needs to fit into your primary business marketing plan.

   Twitter Marketing for Dummies has something for everyone. For the complete Twitter novice there are step by step instructions on getting started. Kyle explains quite a bit of Twitter etiquette and even some “inside” jokes.

   For the more advanced Twitter marketer he has already invested the time and energy to examine several tools to use with Twitter to make your time online more effective. There are many, many “do’s and don’ts” that I have already used to make really good choices about how to use social media in my business and personal life.

   Bottom line for me: Twitter is fun. Business is fun. This book will help you put them together appropriately so Twitter marketing can be fun and effective.

9. Review by Aaron Craig for Twitter Marketing For Dummies
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   Like most of the “Dummy” books out there, this book isn’t just for dummies! Overall, this book is very good. I am pretty proficient in Twitter and other social media platforms, so the basic information provided on Twitter is not anything new for me. If you are like me and already know Twitter, just skim through the first two chapters.

   After Chapter 2 is where the real meat is. The author, Kyle Lacey does a great job in writing about using Twitter in conjunction with traditional print media. He says not to buy into one way is better than another and to use both forms of media in attracting your customer. He goes on to discuss how to attract sales leads, using Twitter as a strategy in your marketing plan and measuring the success of that marketing plan.

   I would recommend this book even if you use Twitter on a daily basis. Kyle does a great job of explaining how to incorporate Twitter into your marketing strategy, which is what I found most useful about this book.

   If you have never used Twitter and are considering it, BUY THIS BOOK NOW!

10. Review by VictoriaHansen for Twitter Marketing For Dummies
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    I own the Kindle version of the book, and purchased it along with 6 other Social Media for Dummies books. I usually read 5-6 books at a time, flipping form one to other to maintain my interest. But once I started reading Kyle’s book, I couldn’t put it down.

    I only really have time to read on Saturday and Sunday mornings because I work 7 days a week on my business, but every Friday for the past 3 weeks I have longed for Saturday to roll around so I can read. I have never added so many highlights and bookmarks in any book I have read.

    I only read business and text books, I’m not a novel reader. This book has completely changed the way I view Twitter and after the first read, in one weekend I increased my followers by 150%.

    In my opinion, this is the only Twitter marketing book you need. Go Kyle, you rock.

    I’ve contacted Kyle and am about to do a podcast with him for my website […]If you want to find out more about the man behind the material and the book, come and listen. It will be up by the end of April 2010.

    Victoria Hansen

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