Interview with David Siteman Garland
Smarter, Faster, Cheaper Book Review 
About a year ago I had the pleasure of virtually meeting David Siteman Garland (@TheRiseToTheTop) on Twitter. The more I learned about him the more impressed I became with what he was accomplishing online in such a short period of time. I noticed he was interviewing and featuring some of the top pros in the marketing / blogging / new media industry. He hosted interviews With big names like Seth Godin, Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, some guy named Sean Malarkey, Tim Ferriss, etc.
Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business
What impressed me the most was how smart his approach was. He was networking and forming alliances with all of the top people in our space and doing it at a rapid pace. His hustle & drive was inspiring. Needless to say I was excited to read his new book Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business.
Here’s my honest review:
Get this book if you have a business, brand or product. Smarter, Faster, Cheaper is full of practical advice t
hat works. I know it does, because as I read through the chapters I kept relating his experiences and advice to things I had been doing myself online for the last couple years.
What I really like about this book is David doesn’t say “this or that strategy” is what you “have to do”. Instead he exposes you to what he has seen work for himself personally and also what’s has worked for all of the brilliant people he has interviewed. He did a good job of introducing a ton of good ideas that work well to cultivate relationships and business using mostly free tools available online.
David’s explanation of how the business mindset has drastically changed in the last few years is spot on. He talks about the power of collaboration with other business’s that may share the same customer base. He dives deep into video marketing and using online video to build your brand, which (chapter 7) is a must read.
This book should be required reading for any college student getting a degree in business or marketing.
For me personally, there weren’t any major light bulb moments but it was a good refresher and reminder of a plethora of great ideas to build my business online. It was a fun read and time well spent.
It was inspiring and I found it hard to read more than 20 pages at a time without wanting to put the book down and work on the ideas that kept racing through my head. David does a great job of inspiring you to take action which in my opinion is the mark of a good business book.
If you enjoyed “Crush it“, “The Four Hour Work Week“, “Un-Marketing“, “Purple Cow” or “The New Rules of Marketing & PR” — you’ll love this book.
Side note: While searching for photos of David for this post, I came across this and couldn’t resist sharing it with you. David is gonna kill me for posting this but whatever – enjoy.
Caption Contest: Leave a comment with your caption to this photo to win.
The 5 funniest captions will win a copy of David’s new book:
I will pick the top 5 funniest captions and announce a winner this Sunday night. Enter as often as you’d like.
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