Being a Rebel (Book Review)

Interesting and frustrating. Those are the two best words to describe my reaction to Rebel's Guide to Email Marketing by DJ Wadlow and Jason Falls.

The book was interesting because it was well-researched and full of case studies and examples. It explains a lot of aspects of email marketing in great detail. In particular, the authors do a good job of describing how email and social media work so well together - calling them Batman (email) and Robin (social media). Their definitions of social connecting, social sharing, and other social terms cover the basics but they fall a bit short of offering unique ideas about combining the two.

The book was frustrating because it was about email marketing in general and I specialize in enewsletters. I kept thinking, "But that's not true for newsletters" or "I wouldn't do that." Much of the information referred to promotional marketing rather than content marketing. While some things hold true for both, there are also many distinctions.

The book was rebellious because Wadlow and Falls highlight common 'best practices' and then debunk a lot of them. The case studies are top notch with accompanying screen shots and diagrams. It got me thinking outside the, umm, borders. Thumbs up!


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