Rick Stanton, our popular MARKETING columnist, has turned his writing talents—and 40 years of experience in the local ad-biz wars—into a rollicking recount of his dealings with clients, co-workers and a collection of others encountered along the way—in a book titled “How to Sell a Chicken.”Ron Elgin’s Latest Book: ‘Hucksterville’
Maxwell Foreskin, the CEO of Tight Fit, has a problem: He’s a horrible, absolutely incompetent asshole. Tight Fit desperately needs a new ad campaign, but its advertising agency just fired his recently inherited company. When his marketing staff convinces him to create their own in-house agency, Max insists that it be done yesterday
A former madam, recently turned job recruiter, takes on the task of assembling a team of creatives for Tight Fit. Due to the unreasonable deadline, she settles for any warm body she can uncover. Soon she’s assembled a bizarre team that includes the recently sober homeless woman, a man who can’t stop shouting crude language, a hopelessly confused cross-dresser, a psychologist recently released from a mental institution and two men with the same name, one of whom has some serious flatulence issues.Will the new team be able to control Foreskin’s idiotic behavior? Will the homeless woman realize her dream or will a grisly murder change the game?” Hard cover, 436 pages, pre-sale price $19.95.
The Book Store: Fearless—Diary of a Badass Reporter
Pub. Note: Julie Blacklow, who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of local investigative reporters, shares memories of her one-of-a-kind career with KING-5 TV—as well as other aspects of her uncommon life. From faking polio at an early age to managing a horse ranch in North Bend—and all in between,“Fearless • Diary of a Badass Reporter,” is a true page-turner. Do yourself a favor and order your copy now.
This is the narrative of a most uncommon and astonishing life—where even as a teenager Julie Blacklow displayed qualities that marked her as a natural for reporting. Courage, tenacity, and a willingness to get in anyone’s face if it served her mission to help people were in her DNA. Her intolerance of injustice made her especially popular—or unpopular—depending on which side of the fence you sat. She fit right in at Seattle’s KING-TV, where the owner instilled an ethos of excellence, honesty, and always doing the right thing.
Blacklow was among the first women in television news in America. With her curiosity, determination and willingness to tackle other people’s stories, Blacklow survived and thrived in a forty-year career…covering murders, movie stars and making trouble whenever it needed to be made. Throughout her decades in the television news business, she met thousands of people and learned along the way how to ask questions in the worst—and best—moments of their lives. As a reporter, she had to remain objective, her passions and thoughts hidden. Now she is free of those constraints.
After decades as a journalist, Julie Blacklow changed careers and returned to what she loved most as a child—horses. She bought a foal and took over managing a horse ranch in the shadow of a mountain near Seattle She has survived a dramatic television career, cancer, and dozens of extreme highs and lows and tells us about all of it in her unforgettable memoir.
Julie’s book is available for purchase on her website, julieblacklow.com
‘Citizen Jean’—Grande Dame of Seattle Journalism
Pub. Note: With the proliferation of self-published books, and the challenges of marketing them once they’re published, we want the Book Store to be the first place you look for marcomm-related books self-published by Seattle-area authors. Authors, please email melissavailcoffman@gmail.com for information on how to get your book posted here.
The title of her book is Citizen Jean, but to me, Jean Godden clearly is the grande dame of Seattle journalism. Former Mayor Greg Nickels called her a “Seattle treasure” and says the stories she’s sharing in the book are “not to be missed.”
The dust cover of the book discloses that Jean “had lived in more than 100 cities and towns before she moved to Seattle,” which she describes as “simply the most spectacular place I had ever seen.” There, she married, raised two children and spent two decades as a reporter, editor and columnist with both the late Seattle P-I and the Seattle Times.
It also was where she served as an activist and Seattle City Council member and watched Seattle evolved into a national leader and became a local celebrity herself. In the book, she recounts—as only she can—the World’s Fair that first got Seattle noticed, the fight to save the Pike Place Market and dozens more personal insights on subjects ranging from newspaper strikes and rivalry to a revealing look at regional politicians.
Jean also is keeping her hand in the business by writing a weekly column for Westside Seattle, where she continues to amaze readers with her catalogic knowledge of Seattle history.
The WSU Press publication can be found in local bookstores, like the U Book Store and Third Place Books, as well as online at Amazon.
—Larry Coffman
BONUS Your Way To Profits! by Gary Brose
Pub. Note: Gary Brose, author, serial entrepreneur and principal of Fleetfoot Messenger Service, has gotten involved with niche-TV marketing to promote his most recent employee-management books. Here’s Gary’s report on his recent appearance on ROKU:
“With the advent of cable TV, many aspects of marketing have changed. As cable matures, more and more opportunities present themselves. Whole networks are cropping up with their own programming and they are focusing on specific niches that are underrepresented.
“One hot and rising Network is ROKU, a channel like NetFlix or Hulu or Amazon, that you can access on your smart TV and select from a plethora of shows and “mini-networks” that offer programming. In many cases, private individuals are stepping up to create their own networks. One such network is EANTV, (Edge of America Network Television). On EANTV, one show, Politics and Profits focuses on both politics and business and sometimes on the intersection of the two.
“I recently came in contact with Rick Amato, who hosts the show, Politics and Profits, and he had me connect via Skype and talk about employee- management techniques, which is what I write about, consult on and speak about. I talk about techniques I’ve developed that help create a more motivated and engaged workforce and which are described in detail in my books like The Ultimate Motivated Employee and Express Exec. It’s a great way to reach an under-serviced audience and potential customers nationwide.
“My first TV appearance on June 1 was aired on ROKU and simultaneously uploaded to Vimeo. I talked about creating a Pay-For-Performance compensation model (the use of bonus programs) and how that can impact employee motivation and profits. My book, Bonus Your Way to Profits lays that all out. I plan to be on Rick’s show and, hopefully, other ROKU shows often in the next year. I think I sense another book coming on—maybe, Niche TV Your Way to Profits. We’ll see…”
All of Gary Brose’s books are available on Amazon.com.
Author Copacino!
Jim, left, and Larry composing the song.
Jim Copacino has added “author” to his impressive resume in a collaboration with two old friends on a children’s song, book and video titled The Cat, The Fiddle and Me. Jim explains how it came about:
“I have an old friend and former college roommate, Larry Keen, who is a singer and guitarist and has performed for years in Los Angeles and Phoenix. We’ve written dozens of songs together over the years. Recently, Larry, myself and another old friend, Richard Pollack, decided to collaborate on a song about a child’s fantasy of traveling the world ‘on a ship of clouds… to places that no one has seen.’
“Larry’s wife, Colleen Taylor, is a talented illustrator who created a storybook, based on the lyrics of the song. We repurposed her illustrations to also create a little music video that you can view on YouTube.” (see below.)
Jim said it took about a month, working back and forth among the threesome, to write and record the song. Colleen worked another six months, between her paying commissions, to create the images. The book is available online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. In true Copacino style, Jim reports that “we’ve sold a few books but still trail Harry Potter by about 500 million copies!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yygQqw_S3wA
Preflight Checklist, Is Self-Employment For You? By Paul Casey
This book gives you a list of questions to ask yourself prior to starting your own business—to help you avoid major turbulence along your journey—much the same way a pilot goes through a preflight checklist, prior to taking off. Drawing on his experience running a successful business and interviewing hundreds of entrepreneurs, the author walks you through the 10 steps of thinking like an entrepreneur, the eight myths of self-employment, offers a five-minute self-employment quiz and much more. After you’ve read this book, you have a clear understanding of what self-employment really means and what challenges await you once you decide to take off on your own.
Preflight Checklist is available for $7.99 at Amazon.
Huckster, My Life as an Ad Man, By Ron Elgin
This is a humorous account of Ron Elgin’s 40-year career in the intensely challenging, extraordinarily competitive, and sometimes insanely wacky advertising agency business.
Rather than write a “How to” book about advertising, Ron decided to share the hilarious tale of how he co-founded one of the most successful advertising agencies in the Pacific Northwest, Elgin Syferd, and perhaps, in the process, teach readers a thing or two about advertising, business and life.
Whether it’s reading about employees who began bleeding profusely during presentations, trips to the U.S.S.R. that almost ended with Ron being sent to a gulag, a client who decides to breastfeed her child during a meeting, an employee Christmas party gone wrong, too many martinis at a business lunch or making some of the most incredible deals in advertising history, your view of the advertising world will never be the same.
Join Ron as he shares his delightfully entertaining story of going from gas station attendant, college student, award-winning copywriter and Army officer to co-founder of an agency that grew to a quarter billion dollars in billings, with clients such as Holland America Line, McDonald’s, Jansport, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Nordstrom.
Ron’s philosophy of hiring people better than himself and his strong belief that the harder you work the luckier you get put his agency in the national limelight. His four decades of business successes, failures and experiences will instruct, educate, inform, and keep you laughing for hours.
The personalized hard-cover copy of Huckster is $24.95, available only at www.huckster-book.com and the digital is $14.49 at Amazon, iBooks, etc.
The Man Behind the Curtain, by Ron Elgin
The Man Behind the Curtain is another humorous accounting of Ron Elgin’s 40-year career in the intensely challenging, extraordinarily competitive and sometimes insanely wacky advertising agency business.
Ron’s best-selling prequel, Huckster: My Life as an Ad Man, told the hilarious tale of how he co-founded one of the most successful agencies in the Pacific Northwest – Elgin Syferd – and perhaps in the process taught readers a thing or two about advertising, PR, marketing, business and life. Readers not only showered that book with praise and five stars, but requested more.
So here are more of his delightful stories. Whether it’s reading about a creative director who believed he’d been somehow transported to an alternate universe, brave clients and shitty clients, lessons learned from a billionaire friend who masqueraded as a janitor, encounters with a delusional businessman on a cruise ship, or making some of the most incredible deals in advertising history, your view of the advertising world will never be the same.
Join Ron as he shares his delightfully entertaining story of going from gas station attendant, being kicked out of several high schools, graduating from college, serving as an Army officer during the Viet Nam war, to co-founder of an agency that grew to a quarter billion dollars in billings with clients such as Holland America Line, JanSport, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Nordstrom and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates.
Ron’s philosophy of hiring people better than himself and allowing them the freedom to be put his agency in the national limelight. His four decades of business successes, failures, and experiences will instruct, educate, inform and keep you laughing for hours.
The personalized hard cover copy of The Man Behind the Curtain is $29.95, available only at www.manbehindcurtain.com and the digital is $16.99 at Amazon, iBooks, etc.
Life Is a Sales Job—You Can’t Score a TD If You Don’t Swing the Bat, By Shirley Thom
My design team at Archway Publishing was having trouble coming up with an image for the cover of this second edition of my book, Life Is a Sales Job. The editing and marketing teams came jp with several possible demographics, causing some consternation. Ideally, we like to select a primary and secondary target and draw up a marketing plan. We were stumped.
“Well, I finally offered, “I use sports metaphors throughout the book. My grandson, Alex Suryan, gave me a baseball with this message written on it: “You can’t score a TD if you don’t swing the bat.” He said he learned that from me when I was his Little League coach.”
One of the designers surprised me. She immediately said, “That sounds like Yogi Berra.” I’m thinking, if a thirty-something young woman knows who Yogi Berra is, we’ve got ourselves another demographic. Swell. That’s all we need. But the creative juices were flowing now.
Those of us who’ve been in the ad game for decades are sometimes lulled into thinking we know everything there is about who does what, and why. We should know better. Our greatest success stories begin with the words, “Tell me…” And, if we’re lucky, we’ll hear something we haven’t heard before, something to help us build a story we’ll use to sell our clients’ goods and services to new consumers. Demographic lines are changing. They‘ve become blurred by modern technology. Multiple demographics, even crossing generations, can be reached with the same words and media strategies. It is lifestyles and interests we’re looking for, not the limitations of age and professional work segments.
My grandson and I still go to ballgames together and share stats, stories and a preference for local brews. Throw us the ball and we’ll either swing the bat, or catch it and run like hell to our designated goal lines. What Yogi said decades ago still works, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Learn more about the changing world of sales and marketing. Life Is a Sales Job—You Can’t Score a TD If You Don’t Swing the Bat, is available for sale in hard cover, soft cover and eBook at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Archway Publishing. You can contact author and sales trainer Shirley Thom at shirleythom97@gmail.com or 425-870-9405.
