Got my authors copies last night! The rest are en route to booksellers as we speak. Looks like Amazon will be delivering between 8/26 and 8/30. Get ready to get Googley!

As with FAQ #1, I’ll just copy and paste from the proposal I sent to McGraw-Hill as they were keen to know the answer before green-lighting the project…

Anyone with a stake in marketing, from small business owners to CEO’s of Fortune 500 corporations, will want to buy this book. That said, the sweet spot will be marketing professionals responsible for advertising, PR, promotions, product development, etc. These folks are either “client-side” working at in-house marketing departments or “agency-side” at marketing communications firms. A subset of this group that will be particularly interested in buying this book is search engine marketing professionals looking to apply their skills to the broader marketing mix.

Note: this post is part of a series. For more, see the full list of FAQs.

It wasn’t too hard coming up with the topic. As discussed in FAQ #3, it just sort of came to me.

And it wasn’t too hard getting my thoughts on paper. When I sat down to write, the copy flowed pretty freely.

Far and away, the hardest part about writing this book was doing the research and coordinating interviews with key industry professionals.

I knew that no-one would want to read 300+ pages of what Aaron Goldman thinks about Google and marketing. Rather, to make this book truly compelling, I’d need to offer up a comprehensive point-of-view shared by the most thoughtful and influential folks in the marketing world.

As you can image, the most thoughtful and influential folks in the marketing world are also the busiest folks in just about all the world. Trying to coordinate interviews around their schedules proved to be a most tedious and arduous task.

In some cases, I wasn’t able to get the information I needed until weeks or months after I had written the chapter into which the material would be inserted. This made things difficult for me. I’m definitely a linear writer. I do best when I start at the beginning and proceed to the end.

Having to juggle an un-chronological (and sometimes illogical) research process definitely threw me for a loop. Ultimately, though, I was able to nail down a good 75%+ of the peoples whose input I sought and the manuscript came out all the better for having done it.

Note: this post is part of a series. For more, see the full list of FAQs.

In calendar time, 3 months and 1 week.

In total writing time, probably 4 weeks.

I started writing the book (granted I had an outline to work off given my MediaPost columns — more on that in FAQ #2) the week between Christmas and New Years 2009. I spent about 5 full days (8am-6pm) writing that week.

Then, for the next 2 months, I took off every Friday and a random day here and there to write. I also took off one full week in February. By “took off,” I mean turning on the out-of-office auto-responder and catching up on phone or email in the evenings.

Finally, in March, I took about 3 days out of a 7-day family vacation in Mexico to write.

My manuscript deadline was March 31st and I missed it by 8 minutes after a long day of reviewing everything and making a few last tweaks. Thankfully, McGraw-Hill didn’t give me a hard time about being “late.”

After April 1st, I had a bit of a break while the book went through the editing process. I received the first batch of copyedited manuscript on May 11th and had until May 28th to provide my feedback.

Then, I received the proofed pages on June 16th and turned around my comments by June 28th.

My final deliverable was the index which I received on July 8th and sent back on July 12th.

Now the book is off to the printers and should be rolling off the press any day now in time to hit stores on 8/27.

Note: this post is part of a series. For more, see the full list of FAQs.

No.

When I first contacted Google’s PR department to secure interviews with specific employees, it was made very clear that Google could not endorse any particular book or author. However, they were happy to help me get in touch with key personnel and, for the most part, allowed the interviewees to speak with me unmonitored and uncensored.

One thing that’s been a bit dicey relative to Google’s  policies is the use of “Google” in a domain. Originally, I secured LearnFromGoogle.com as the URL for my book and I used @LearnFromGoogle on Twitter to mirror it. This was before I had stumbled across these Google brand permission guidelines which state somewhat ambiguously, “We cannot approve the use of Internet domain names that use the word ‘Google’ or some variation of ‘Google’. For example, we would not approve a site called googleXYZ.com or gogggles.com.”

So do they prohibit it or just “cannot approve” it?

While no-one from Google had contacted me about my use of LearnFromGoogle.com, I thought I better play it safe and switched to GoogleyLessons.com. Sure, the letters “Google” still appear in order in this domain but Googley is a different word with its own meaning so I hoped (and still hope) it’s kosher.

As it were, Googley has turned out to be a more versatile phrase for use in my chapter summaries (Get Googley!) and, in general, conveys a more informal tone which is in line with my persona and the book’s narrative. Let’s just hope no-one from Google legal reads this post and decides to do more than “not approve” it!

Note: this post is part of a series. For more, see the full list of FAQs.

Now Playing at a Blog Near You!

30 Stops. 10 Days. 1 Googley Blog Tour.

In Chapter 5: Be Where Your Audience Is, I preach about creating and distributing content in the places where your best prospects and customers spend time…

“Don’t ask people to stop what they’re doing or leave where they are to come visit you. Break down your brand into assets they can use wherever they are. Find out where the conversations about your brand or offering are happening and plant seeds there.”

It’s with that mantra in mind that my publishers hatched the idea of a blog tour to promote my book. Rather than asking people to come to GoogleyLessons.com, let’s take the Googley Lessons to the people!

Below is the rundown of all scheduled tour stops.

Update: I’m also doing some “real-life” appearances to promote the book, discuss its theme, and share best practices. That schedule is posted at GoogleyLessons.com/Speaking.

Monday, August 30
David Dalka: Online Marketing Management and Business Strategy (Video) – LIVE!
The Social Times (Guest post) – LIVE!
Critical Mass: Experience Matters (Video) – LIVE!

Tuesday, August 31
Temkin Group: Customer Experience Matters (Video) – LIVE!
Jack Myers: MediaBizBloggers (Excerpt) – LIVE!
Andy Santamaria: Chronically Curious (Video) – LIVE!

Wednesday, September 1
PR Newswer (Podcast) – LIVE!
Resolution Media: Find Resolution (Video) – LIVE!

Thursday, September 2
TopRank Online Marketing Blog (Video) – LIVE!
The Search Agency: The Search Agents (Video) – LIVE!
Mobile Marketer (Sound-bytes) – LIVE!

Friday, September 3
Shawn Collins: Affiliate Tip (Q&A) – LIVE!
iMediaConnection (Guest post) – LIVE!
Joe Kutchera: Latino Link (Video) – LIVE!

Tuesday, September 7
Samir Balwani: Connecting Brands with Consumers Online (Guest post) – LIVE!
AdExchanger.com (Q&A) – LIVE!
Fuor Digital (Video) – LIVE!

Wednesday, September 8
Rick Liebling: How Soon is Now? (Guest post) – LIVE!
David Berkowitz: Inside the Marketer’s Studio (Q&A) – LIVE!
Razorfish Search Shots (Video) – LIVE!
Yianni Garcia: Social Media Guy (Guest post) – LIVE!
GroupM Search: Search Fuel (TBD)

Thursday, September 9
DigiDay Daily (Q&A) – LIVE!
Dave Fleet: Conversations at the Intersection of Communications, PR, and Social (Q&A) – LIVE!
SmartBrief SmartBlog on Social Media (Guest post) – LIVE!
Drew McLellan: The Marketing Minute (Video) – LIVE!
BBH Labs (Video) – LIVE!

Friday, September 10
Adam Sherk: News Media SEO – PR – Social Media Marketing (Guest post) – LIVE!
Rohit Bhargava: Influential Marketing (Q&A)
SEOmoz (Video) – LIVE!
Denuo Group: Denuology (Video) – LIVE!

As discussed in my post on how social media helped me land a book deal, my first idea (Tweet-o-biography) was rejected. But I had the ear of an editor and I couldn’t let that go to waste so I set out to find a more relevant topic for the McGraw-Hill Professional (MHP) catalog.

The idea that turned out to be the basis for my book was actually inspired by an old poster my brother, Noah, had hanging in his room growing up. It said, “Everything I Need to Know About Life, I Learned From Star Trek.” (Yes, he was, and still is, a trekkie.) My favorite quote from that poster, by the way, is, “Always set your phaser on stun.” I’ve since adapted that to my repertoire of quick quips with, “I always set my phaser to stunning.)

After dropping that line one day, I got to thinking about the poster which made me consider that as affected as my brother’s life has been by Star Trek, mine has been by Google. From there, I started laying out life lessons learned from Google. The list quickly morphed to business lessons as that had been consuming my life at the time and viola, the idea was hatched.

I thought the topic had book potential but I needed to be sure that 1) others would be interested in the topic and 2) that I had enough to say on the subject… so I set out to pen a series of bylines for MediaPost under the theme, “Everything I Need to Know About Marketing I Learned From Google.” These 3 columns became the outline of the book and the fodder I used to lure MHP into making me an offer.

The title ended up getting shortened by MHP’s editors to remove “I Need” and the rest, as they say, is history.

Note: this post is part of a series. For more, see the full list of FAQs.

I outlined this pretty extensively in my post, “How I Used Social Media to Land a Book Deal,” so I won’t repeat myself here. I will add, though, that I think there are 5 keys to getting published:

1. Idea - must be timely, relevant, and unique
2. Connections - a strong network will help you get in with a publisher, secure interviews while doing research, and generate PR for launch
3. Penmanship – bottom line, you need to be a halfway decent writer
4. Time - creating flexibility in one’s schedule is key to carving out the blocks needed to put pen to paper. See also FAQ #5.
5. Luck – always a factor!

Note: this post is part of a series. For more, see the full list of FAQs.

To answer this question, I’ll cut and paste the response I included in my book proposal to this set of questions from McGraw-Hill:

In four to six paragraphs, please describe your book, its purpose, approach, and content. What prompted you to write the book now? Describe any significant trends, events or current news relating to the subject matter of your book. What are the outstanding, distinctive, or innovative features of the book?

I’ve always wanted to write a book. Now that I’ve started a family, it’s one of two things left on my bucket list. The other is running a marathon. I figure my knees will hold up better then my fingers — what with the carpal tunnel setting in from all the blackberrying and blogging I do — so I’d better get going on that book.

I’ve always loved to write. I was the sports editor of my high school paper. I worked at my college newspaper — granted that was an ad sales gig. And I currently publish a byline every two weeks in one of the largest internet marketing trade publications — in addition to authoring some fifteen odd blogs.

I’m ready to write this book. When I started my own company in April of this year, I finally took control of my professional destiny, as well as my personal calendar. Accordingly, I’ve been able to set my own priorities and publishing a book is at the top of the list.

The industry is ready for me to write this book. Google is everywhere. It’s loved and feared all at the same time. But, more importantly, it’s well-known and used by billions. For business professionals, Google is not only part of the every-day routine navigating the web, it’s a core component of the corporate marketing mix. (Google currently generates over $20 billion in advertising revenue globally and accounts for over 25% of all internet advertising spend.) The ubiquity of Google and the uniqueness of its corporate culture make it a subject everyone can relate to.

I’ve learned so much from Google. Having been involved in internet advertising for over ten years and spent hundreds of millions of dollars with Google on behalf of my clients, I have a unique window into where the company’s been, where it’s going, and what’s made it so successful. These lessons transcend advertising with Google, advertising on the Internet, and even advertising in general. These lessons can be applied to every aspect of marketing from public relations to product development to promotions to brand strategy.

Everyone can learn so much from Google. It’s time for me to share what I’ve learned. I’ll share what I’ve learned through first-hand experience working with clients like FedEx, Visa, Gatorade, State Farm, Lowe’s, Apple among others. I’ll share what I’ve learned through first-hand encounters with the Google brain trust. And I’ll share what I’ve learned by observing innovative, growth-oriented companies, like Zappos and Threadless, putting lessons learned from Google to good use. Along the way, I’ll keep the action moving with a compelling narrative from an “insider’s” point-of-view, leaving the reader with tangible action-items to improve his or her own marketing efforts. And, ala Twitter, I’ll keep the copy light and easily digestible to appeal to today’s attention-span-challenged professionals. Speaking of Twitter, I plan to intersperse relevant tweets from industry influentials as well as messages solicited specifically for this book via a new account I’ve set up, @LearnFromGoogle. [Note: this was subsequently changed to @GoogleyLessons -- see FAQ #4 for rationale.]

Note: this post is part of a series. For more, see the full list of FAQs.