Inspired Coaching from a Seasoned Pro

I had the pleasure of reviewing this book before it came out. I was pleasantly surprised! You see the Complete Idiot in the title and you think it'll be boring. Nope - not here.

Dave has put together a detailed instruction manual for getting more out of your online business. Much of what he describes refers to Google, but that's not the point really. The excellent part here is that Dave has a unique voice. Because he's a seasoned entrepreneur and connected member of online communities, there is a highly credible "don't make the mistakes others have made" feel to this guide. Dave is a true *online citizen* in that he is an avid communicator. He's up to speed on a lot of different areas because he knows how to tap into community resources. Thus, he leads by example; a businessperson from the Usenet-junkie era who is reminding people of what the Internet's promise is really all about.

An abiding concern for *communications* and content is what is so often missing from online entrepreneur's grand visions. Dave keeps coming back to this theme.

I've read a number of e-books and such that purport to be comprehensive everything-you-need-to-know guides to online marketing. They are usually nothing of the sort, and guilty of a lack of critical analysis. And most are quite outdated now.

This book is one of a very few current guides to online marketing, intended to get businesspeople up to speed on how online business works and what kind of mindset and skill sets will propel them forward. As far as I know, it's the most comprehensive one available at this level, which is not really for COMPLETE idiots but is for solid businesspeople who don't have this background. I'd be willing to bet, though, that the bulk of the current crop of online business folks have already studied some of this subject matter, so they'll only be interested in the more advanced sections of the book. I walk into a prospective client's office and he hands me printouts of data and theories about it... sure I can help him, but I don't need to start at Square One.

At some point then, publishers are going to have to come to grips with the fact that info is out there and this means that fewer and fewer readers will come to the table as Idiots.

As this guide was so comprehensive, it's a bit of a shame this was shoehorned into the "with Google" format. To me, it was a great survey of a range of nitty gritty's of online marketing, and a great reminder of all the headaches I personally went through on the guerrilla's path. Really a pleasure to read.

As reviewed at Amazon.com.