B.S. Donovan

Book Review

Methods of Persuasion

By Nick Kolenda

Image from Amazon.com

This is the second book on marketing and influence I read in the past six months. The first was Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion, which was new to me, but not a new book. The two were quite similar. They both used anecdotes from research studies as social proof. They both covered similar studies (sometimes exactly the same studies).

The difference might have been the time of publishing. Methods of Persuasion was published in 2013, while the revised edition of Influence I read was published in 2006, but many of the studies cited were pre-turn of the century (as a side note, as someone born in mid-20th century, the term turn of the century still makes me think of horse drawn wagons). As such, some of the research is newer and slightly more relevant.

Another difference is the self-reflective nature of MoP. It is kind of a clever gimmick. The author introduces a concept of influence and then uses it in his writing. Then he tells you what he did, and directly appeals to you that his book is good because he is not being deceitful in his  use of it. Like I said, kind of clever.

The book is not ground breaking. If you read I-TPoP, then you don’t really need to read MoP, but if you haven’t then it is just as good, and slightly more practical. I think in the world of web marketing, I-TPoP will help you a little more directly.

So, why am I reading so many (well, not that many, just three if you include Contagious) books on marketing? Am I plotting world dominance? A web marketing company? Launching a site that sells overpriced yoga mats? Nah, I just find myself more introspective on how I feel and react to ever increasing demands for my attention, resources, time – unless that was a clever deception    😛