Book Review: Instagram Power

Katie December 9, 2013 0 Comments

I don’t use an instagram for my blog – though I have been considering it.  That’s why I was interested in reading Instagram Power and trying to find out more about how it could be used when it comes to your “brand” and not just me sharing funny pictures that were drawn on my lunch.  I use Instagram to “research” (aka search hashtags) for my fan sites, so I can see how this can be a great tool for a business but I’m still not sure it’s for me as a blogger.   Actually, I can think of plenty of things I could post but I schedule blog posts WAY in advance (and Instagram is a more “in the moment” type app) and I’m not sure how to successfully have a personal and business account on Instagram.  I would take an effort to switch back and forth and I’m lazy!

After reading the book, I don’t think Instagram is for MY brand just yet – but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be a powerful marketing tool for YOURS.  There is even a way to figure out (the 5-10-20 rule) in the book if Instagram would be beneficial to you.

If you are trying to sell something and thinking about using Instagram as a catalyst then I definitely recommend you check out this book because I think it will sway you to use instagram – but in addition it will also give you some great tips on how to go about presenting your product to get a response out of your readers as well as people who may just stumble upon your hashtag.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

INSTAGRAM POWER

How to Build Your Brand and Reach More Customers Through the Power of Pictures

By Jason Miles, Author of Pinterest Power

A picture says 1000 words! Proven strategies marketers and entrepreneurs can use to leverage

today’s hottest platform for reaching more customers and making more sales

Take a picture, pick a filter, post. The photo and video-sharing app Instagram is the most important marketing tool of the year: Less than two years after its launch, its daily users surpassed those of Twitter, and the site recently exceeded to 100 million registered users mark soon after; Facebook bought the company last year for $1 billion has millions of followers, billions of images – and thousands of businesses using the app to connect with customers, tell stories, build a brand, and create a lasting impression.

Think you can’t market with pictures? INSTAGRAM POWERtakes readers from basic to advanced marketing methods—from getting set up with an account to promoting a brand to integrating the photo-sharing app into an existing marketing strategy. It provides easy-to-implement action steps, business oriented strategies, and simple tips to guide entrepreneurs and marketers through a series of achievable activities to grow a business using the popular app.

Author Jason Miles understands the power of visually-driven marketing – not only is he the author ofPinterest Power but he and his team have first-hand expertise in Instagram marketing. In the book they outline best practices, drawing on their own examples, and case studies from successful marketers and business owners.

Miles also shows how to use in conjunction with other popular social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr

Jason Miles (Lake Tapps, WA) is a cofounder and marketer at Liberty Jane Clothing. With more than 200,000 digital pattern guidebooks downloaded from its ecommerce site, Liberty Jane has total revenue in the six figures and is on its way to being a million dollar business. Miles is also the Vice President for Advancement (Marketing, Development, and Human Resources) at Northwest University, where he’s responsible for enrollment marketing, as well as branding, alumni relations, and fund-raising.

Book Review: Klout Matters

Katie December 8, 2013 0 Comments

Klout is not something that I claim to know all that much about, I just signed up for it because it was supposed to be beneficial for my blog and various people I’ve done reviews for have wanted to know my “score”.  Basically Klout gives you a score based on how much of a reaction your various social media posts generates.  The more reactions you get from individual people, the better you score.

I found this book to explain things a lot better than anywhere else I was looking and explain how things are calculated and how to gear posts to better your score.  There is a chapter devoted to how people try and scam the system with like farms and buying twitter followers and the damage that can be caused to your reputation in the long-term by doing this.  It is better to truly gain followers legitimately, even if it may take a while to build up that sort of following.

The chapter that most perked my attention was “What You Can Do When You Don’t Have Time For Social Media”, I don’t have access to Facebook or Twitter from work – unless I want to use my phone – which never is a good idea. I am always looking for ways to figure out how to better use my time when it comes to my blog and promoting.

Overall lots of great tips and I feel like I have a much better grasp on what Klout is and what the score means!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

“This should be read by anyone who wants to learn more about the symbiotic relationship between Klout, influence and social media.” Joe Fernandez, cofounder and CEO of Klout.

Influence is more important than ever in today’s connected world as brands, companies, and individuals vie to become the next big phenomenon.  Enter Klout, a measurement system that determines s a score from 1-100 to determine how influential you are online and offline by using over 12 billion pieces of data to calculate all Klout Scores.

Klout scores are mostly determined by the amount of engagement you have with your audience, i.e., how many comments on your Facebook or blog post, how many retweets you receive, and your recommendations on LinkedIn.

In their new book, KLOUT MATTERS social media gurus Gina Carr and Terry Brock make a clear case why a Klout Score should matter to you, and offer tools and techniques for effectively raising your Klout Score to evolve into a top influencer yourself.   From why social media is the new arbiter of influence, to tips for managing your social media presence, Carr and Brock demystify Klout and show how it is a necessity to thought leaders and businesses who want to grow their communities.

GINA CARR is an entrepreneur, speaker, and marketing consultant who works with thought leaders to leverage social media marketing for greater influence, profits, and success. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School. Gina’s Klout Score is 78.

TERRY BROCK is an internationally recognized business coach in the areas of marketing and technology. He is a member of the Professional Speaker Hall of Fame. Terry’s Klout Score is 76.

For more information, please visit: http://www.mhprofessional.com or http://kloutmatters.com/.

Book Review: Down on Love

Katie December 7, 2013 0 Comments

Down on Love tells about Georgiana (George) Down, who starts a blog called Down On Love (get it?) after ending a horrible relationship with a guy named Thom who made her essentially give up everything in order to be with him.  Once she gets free from him she finds a roommate and starts the blog where she dishes about her messed up relationship and gives advice to others – if “dump him” being told to everyone who contacts you counts as giving advice.

Meanwhile, her sister Sera wants George to come back home and take care of her baby while her wife recovers from a back injury.  George knows she won’t stop pestering her but doesn’t want to go.  That is, until she finds out her roomie is moving out on her just before their lease runs up.  Rather than try and find a new roommate and fast – she heads back to New York where she grew up. Where everyone knows everyone. And more importantly, everyone is in everyone’s business.

Everything is going ok until she bumps into Casey – the older guy she had a crush on in highschool.  Things get complicated as Casey’s high school sweetheart (not George) is recently divorced and the town kind of things they should get back together.  Everyone is constantly texting each other with what they see – or what they think they see and it is making George crazy.  She wants to be with Casey but not if he wants to be with Celia and not while the whole town is watching with “Team George” and “Team Celia” T-Shirts on…

She ends up going back to Boston to pick up an award her blog won and is staying with her ex, Thom.  He wants  to get back together but she realizes just how horrible he truly was and that even though he may think he changed, he had not changed a bit.

When someone writes in to her blog that could be Casey, she decides to go back home once and for all and try to get her man…

I liked this book, it was fun and the characters were quirky and the fact that it revolved around a blog didn’t hurt either.  As a romance novel it was a little boring though!  But a fun, cute book just the same.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review,  I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

When it comes to love, she’s a professional skeptic. Is it too late for a career change?

If there’s one thing Georgiana Down is an expert in, it’s bad relationships. That’s what inspired her blog, Down on Love, where she gives snarky advice–usually along the lines of “dump him.” In fact, George is abstaining from men all together. At least that’s the plan–until she makes a trip back to her tiny hometown in the Catskills, where meddling is an art form…

George loves helping out with her new baby niece, but she’s counting the days until she returns to Boston. Then she runs into Casey Bowen, her high school crush. The boy she once loved is now a handsome grown man–and suddenly George needs a little advice of her own. She’s in the right place, because when she drunk posts on her blog, everyone in Marsden has something to say about George and Casey. It’s like high school all over again–but maybe this time she’ll get things right…

Book Review: Take Me Out

Katie December 6, 2013 0 Comments

 Take Me Out is a book made up of 4 stories all related to romance and baseball. Of course, right up my ally.

The first story – Trade Off – is about a catcher named Ben who is thinking of retiring. After being traded to Orlando he is told that everything happens for a reason. He was bummed about it, until he ended up meeting up with his high school sweetheart in an elevator in Orlando.  They had broke up so they each could pursue their dreams but both are still into each other. Can they make it work this time?

The second story is Slugger Gone South which is about Bailey and her ex-fiance Yankees player Marc “Polo” McNeal.  They meet again at a charity event where Bailey is working as a nurse.  They had been engaged but when a story came up that Polo may be the father of another woman’s baby she doesn’t want to hear what he has to say and mails the ring back. Years later both confess they haven’t stopped thinking about each other and Polo convinces Bailey he was always faithful to her and they had the paternity test knowing he wouldn’t be the father so he wouldn’t have to pay off the woman to stay quiet. Can they make it work this time?

The third is Safe at Home (Im not sure why they are in a different order in the write up, but this was definitely the 3rd one!) is about Amanda Warner – she is the child of a ball player and tries to get Josh “HotStuff” Arrevalos’ attention.  Her father used to run the family shop but after a stroke he can no longer and business is slipping.  She wants to try and get Josh to come in to try and boost their sales. Josh wants to date her to get publicity instead but Mandy doesn’t want to date a ball player.  He tries to prove himself to her all while trying to get her sister (who had run off with a ballplayer) to come home after 8 years of being away. Will she end up dating him and break her own rule?

The final story is That Ol’ Team Spirit which is about a granddaughter and grandmother who work in the concession stand at a ballpark.  When each shift there is sugar and all sorts of stuff thrown on the floor they are determined to get to the bottom of it. Grandmother Peg things that it is a ghost and they have a seance along with one of the sports reporters, Rob (who coincidentally used to date granddaughter Trish) and it is Lefty, one of the ballplayers who supposedly committed suicide 50 years previously and had been involved with Peg. They try to figure out what it is Lefty is trying to tell him and get him to leave and cross over, meanwhile, Peg is trying to get Trish and Rob back together…

These were 4 nice short stories, the whole book is just over 100 pages so it was a nice easy read for an evening and combining 2 of my favorite things – baseball and romance books. Definitely recommended for the baseball fan who also enjoys romance novels.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd… Four rising star authors celebrate the love of the game with these sweet and seductive baseball romances.

Trade Off by Elley Arden: Traded and jaded, catcher Ben Border is considering stepping out from behind the plate. Then he runs into former flame Scarlett Dare. Turns out the sexy marketing executive still sends him into a fever pitch. But is she willing to trade Fortune 500 success for a happily ever after?

Slugger Gone South by Alicia Hunter Pace: When New York Yankee Marc MacNeal comes to Merritt, Alabama, for a charity golf tournament, he’s shocked to be reunited with his ex-fiancee Bailey Watkins. It could be the perfect chance to get some long-awaited closure—or the start of a whole new ball game…

That Ol’ Team Spirit by Bea Moon: Someone’s haunting the Sharks’ stadium and creating some major league mischief. So psychic Peg Noonan and her granddaughter Trish are determined to discover who’s menacing their concessions stand. With the help of Trish’s high school love, sportswriter Rob Hanks, they just might have a ghost of a (second) chance.

Safe at Home by Leslie P. García: Amanda Warner hates baseball, but knows it’ll take a swing for the fences to save her dad’s hardware store. Hoping his star power will bring the crowds in, she sets her sights on Scorpions’ All-Star Josh “Hotstuff” Arrevalos. But is her heart ready to play ball again?

Book Review: The Kid

Katie December 5, 2013 0 Comments

Anything you ever wanted or needed to know about Ted Williams is in Ben Bradlee Jr’s book, The Kid.  The book is long (though some is just indexes of where information came from – which always makes book appear much longer than they really are!) but it is incredibly thorough and detailed about The Immortal Life of Ted Williams.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

At long last, the epic biography Ted Williams deserves–and that his fans have been waiting for. 

Williams was the best hitter in baseball history. His batting average of .406 in 1941 has not been topped since, and no player who has hit more than 500 home runs has a higher career batting average. Those totals would have been even higher if Williams had not left baseball for nearly five years in the prime of his career to serve as a Marine pilot in WWII and Korea. He hit home runs farther than any player before him–and traveled a long way himself, as Ben Bradlee, Jr.’s grand biography reveals. Born in 1918 in San Diego, Ted would spend most of his life disguising his Mexican heritage. During his 22 years with the Boston Red Sox, Williams electrified crowds across America–and shocked them, too: His notorious clashes with the press and fans threatened his reputation. Yet while he was a God in the batter’s box, he was profoundly human once he stepped away from the plate. His ferocity came to define his troubled domestic life. While baseball might have been straightforward for Ted Williams, life was not.

THE KID is biography of the highest literary order, a thrilling and honest account of a legend in all his glory and human complexity. In his final at-bat, Williams hit a home run. Bradlee’s marvelous book clears the fences, too

Book Review: Ding Dong! Gorilla!

Katie December 4, 2013 0 Comments

Ding Dong! Gorilla! is a children’s book about a little boy who is waiting for pizza when a GORILLA shows up at his door.  While his mom is upstairs getting ready for dinner, the doorbell rings and thinking it is the pizza guy the boy opens the door but it is actually a gorilla who then messes up the entire house.  And while all this is going on – the pizza boy comes but then there is no pizza left for the family!  A really cute book with some cute illustrations as well about a gorilla stopping by for a visit.  Great for a child learning to read or who needs a fun bedtime story!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

A little boy has a lot of explaining to do when a gorilla comes over and makes a mess of the house…and that’s not even the BAD news!

While his mother gets ready upstairs, a boy is waiting for delivery of a great big pizza with extra cheese. When the doorbell rings, it isn’t the pizza guy it’s a gorilla! Without even being invited in, the gorilla heads straight for mischief. He dumps out the boy’s toy box, colors on the walls, kicks soccer balls in the house, and makes a giant mess in the kitchen. And that’s not even the bad news! While all this mayhem is going on, the real pizza boy comes, and the gorilla doesn’t leave any for the family!

Book Review: Lion vs Rabbit

Katie December 3, 2013 0 Comments

Lion is a big bully to all the other animals and the animals are fed up! They post an ad looking for help and no one can defeat the lion.  Until Rabbit arrives.  They compete in a series of events, all of which rabbit wins and Lion has an excuse as to why he lost.  When rabbit finally wins the last event that the lion got to choose, Lion agrees to stop being a bully.  There’s a little bit of a funny ending to the story which I won’t give away, but if you read it I think you’ll enjoy it!

A great children’s book about not being a bully!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Lion bullies all the other animals until finally they can’t take it anymore. They post an ad, asking for help. One animal after another tries and fails to defeat Lion. Can no one stop him? Finally, a rabbit arrives. No one thinks that such a small animal will be brave enough or strong enough to defeat Lion. But perhaps this rabbit is smart enough?