Marketing Is Not For Dummies
There are many of books out there for dummies. Actually, I’m referring to the “For Dummies” book series. They have done a phenomenal job of cornering the market for people who want to quickly learn about a specific topic. They offer books that range from self-help topics (be a better you, meditation, and sex) to website management, personal finance, do-it-yourself (DIY), historical events and much more.
The “For Dummies” series of books reaches a wide audience due to the wide range of topics covered, with 110 different titles available on Amazon.com alone. There have been more than 1,600 titles published in the series’ history. The books’ format, packaging and titles stay true to a specific type of information seeker: one who wants to quickly deepen and broaden their knowledge on a single topic rather than simply surf the Internet for bite-sized pieces of information.
The series started with a single book in 1991: “DOS For Dummies” by Dan Gookin. It was hugely successful, hence the birth of the “For Dummies” series. However, in 1991, the publisher didn’t know how the market would respond to the initial product, let alone an entire series. Sometimes you just have to put something out in the marketplace that you think has potential without knowing what the outcome will be, but still be tuned in enough to at least recoup your investment.
What’s your story? I’d love to learn about the successes you’ve made as a result of taking calculated risks.
We took a calculated risk and sent a copy of our book, ‘Choosing to Smile’ to the CEO of Coles, Indigo, Chapters and asked her if they would like to carry our book in their stores across Canada. Because we had some VERY successful sales as independent publishers at several of their stores they didn’t hesitate to accept it. If we had not stepped out of our comfort zone and taken the opportunity to ‘ASK’ we never would have had our book placed in book stores ALL ACROSS CANADA! Sometimes you have to take a calculated risk – especially if you believe in your product!
Glenda, that’s great. Thanks for sharing your story getting your team getting out of their comfort zone. Very cool outcome. Often we get stuck in fear and then it’s difficult to move forward. I hope this inspires others to take more risks:)