Around this time of year we often see the announcement of new books being published, new music being released and new films arriving in the cinemas – all in time for the holiday season. It’s the marketer’s year end rush – our attempt to stake our claim for your attention and your wallet. But this year, there are some differences – with a number of free alternatives bypassing their claim over our hard-earned income, hoping instead to capture our imagination.
Top of my reading list this holiday season are:
- What matters now: the crowdsourced eBook curated by Seth Godin. It’s a collection of thoughts from seventy “big thinkers” – from Kevin Kelly and Ariana Huffington to Jessica Hagy and David Meerman Scott.
- The perfect gift for a man: another crowdsourced book – sharing stories about manhood.
- How to write, publish, sell and promote your own book: a great collection of tips and ideas from Joanna Penn,
Valeria Maltoni is also pulling together a year-end, crowdsourced collection just in time for the holidays. Keep your eyes out for this – it’s due any day now!
With publishing tools now readily available, I am surprised that more brands don’t pull together some sort of publication for their customers at year end. Agencies too. It is a GREAT alternative to the staid Christmas card. And while I know that the last weeks of December are fraught with activity, going that extra step to provide your business stakeholders with an unexpected, branded gift such as an eBook shows that you understand that the new currency is not FREE but all about VALUE.