So, you want to know everything there possibly is to know about word of mouth? Then you've grabbed the right book (or, you know, downloaded the right PDF) — CEO and founder of BzzAgent Dave "Chief Bzz" Balter's The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II.

Around the Central Hive, we like to think of it as the definitive guide to all things WOM (and, no, Dave doesn't make us say that). It's actually a perfect go-to for Agents to discover the guidelines of great Bzz, a must-read for marketers looking to adapt and evolve and probably the only time you'll learn about leeches, Ace of Base and Tickle Me Elmo between the covers of one book. Yeah, it's pretty comprehensive.

The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II is split into three enlightening, funny sections, all working together to prove that WOM is one of the most powerful marketing mediums on the planet. Check them out:

• Part I: What You Should Know (in Theory) takes a look at what's new with word of mouth
• Part II: What You Probably Know Already (Unless You Don't) answers the questions, doubts and criticisms from organized word of mouth's early formation
• Part III: What You Must Know (in Practice) discusses the necessities of practicing this communications phenomenon

Dave's book is full of facts, stories and insights about word of mouth and the industry that's been built around it. His insider's look helps show that while WOM may be a medium that can't be forced, fabricated or created, it certainly can be managed, understood and enjoyed by all!

Why is this book $45.00?

• Only a few thousand have been made
• It includes all of the material from Volume I
• Its cover is entirely water resistant and sized to be used as a rainhat
• There's a monkey on the cover (of course)
• Each comes with a one-of-its-kind bookmark, cut from a massive piece of artwork by BzzAgent Artist-in Residence, Seth. B. Minkin.

Of course, if you don't want to pay for this fantastic, water-resistant version, you can get the entire book for FREE in PDF form from 20 of the big thinking bloggers around.

And that's the point. The Word of Mouth Manual, Volume II is the ultimate illustration of how Word of Mouth actually works. Each element of the book (including the free distribution) was carefully crafted as an example of how you can make Word of Mouth work.

What do Falco and the Grateful Dead have in common? How did Joey Chesnut unseat "Tsunami" Kobayashi in the Coney Island hot dog eating contest? From Tickle-Me-Elmo and Casey Kasem to Crocs and those terribly annoying HeadOn commercials, the book is packed full of real-world examples of what makes people recommend products and services to each other. If you're a company who is interested in how to get people talking, you can't get started without reading the Manual.

The Word of Mouth Manual, Volume II is the second book from BzzAgent founder and CEO, Dave Balter. His first book, Grapevine, was released in December 2005.

BzzAgent, Inc. is an international word-of-mouth media network that helps companies accelerate and measure honest, real-world conversations among everyday consumers. BzzAgent's more than 250 clients generate awareness and shape perception about their products and services via the company's growing community of 420,000 trained consumer volunteers.  (Amazon.com)

Visit The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II Bizagent Website

You can download the free PDF (non-waterproof) version of The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II from the following Big Thinker's blogs:

Jason Fried, 37signals    
Todd Sattersten, 800-CEO-READ    
John Moore, Brand Autopsy
Chris Brogan, ChrisBrogan.com  
Jackie Huba, Church of the Customer  
Emmanuel Vivier, Culture Buzz
John Bell, Digital Influence Mapping Project  
John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing  
Jeff Bussgang, Flybridge Ventures
Greg Verdino, Greg Verdino's Marketing Blog  
Guy Kawasaki, How to Change the World  
Rohit Bhargava, Influential Marketing Blog
Bill Taylor, HBSP: Game Changer  
Todd Defren, SHIFT PR  
Seth Godin, Seth's Blog
Christopher Carfi, The Social Customer Manifesto  
Tom Peters, tompeters!  
Jeremy Gutsche, Trend Hunter
Mitch Joel, Six Pixels of Separation  
Mitch Caplan, What's Next in Marketing

Download The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II

PDF format, 2.4MB, 119Pages.

The Word of Mouth Manual, Volume II
Copyright © 2008 by Dave Balter
ISBN 978-0-9796685-1-7

CONTENTS:

Reading Notes .......................................................................................... vi
I. What You Should Know (in Theory )..................................................... 1
1. 100% Pure, Unadulterated, Uncut, Straight-to-the-Vein,
Word of Mouth Purity............................................................. 4
2. The Top 40 Products............................................................ 10
3. Collective Shared Experiences.............................................. 18
4. The Post-Purchase Effect..................................................... 24
5. The Comparative Value of Word of Mouth............................. 31
6. Word of Mouth Goes Global......................................................... 35
II . What You Probably Know Already (Unless You Don’t).................... 41
1. Some People Just Want to Hate Word of Mouth.................... 44
2. How to Get Hundreds of Thousands of People
to “Work” for Free................................................................. 49
3. Samples That Count............................................................. 53
4. Lying Is for Liars................................................................... 57
5. Communications Can’t Be Automated.................................. 63
6. Everyone Deserves to Be Rewarded..................................... 69
7. Word of Mouth Is (Not) for Losers......................................... 74
III . What You Must Know (in Practice) ................................................... 81
1. There Are No Shortcuts................................................................ 84
IV. Random Bonuses Ar e Worth Talking About.................................... 113
1. Mike & Dave’s Room: Feb. 21, 1991....................................... 116

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dave Balter is founder and CEO of BzzAgent, Inc., one of the world’s first and most highly-respected word of mouth media companies—and certainly the most talked-about. Balter and BzzAgent were featured in a New York Times Magazine cover story in 2004, just two years after the company’s founding, and have since been a regular presence in print, broadcast, online media, and Harvard Business School case studies.

BzzAgent has grown into a network of 400,000 volunteers who—just by talking to others and sharing their opinions—have helped more than 250 companies generate word of mouth about everything from sausages to social networks. In just six years, BzzAgent has generated more than 85 million dialogues for more than 450 brands.

Dave is a serial entrepreneur who startedup and sold two companies prior to creating BzzAgent. In 2004, he co-founded the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) and currently sits on its board of directors.

In 2008, Harvard Business School dubbed him one of Boston’s “Hottest Technology CEO s” and the Adclub named him a “Future Legend.” Dave’s first book, Grapevine: How Buzz was a Fad and Word of Mouth is Forever, was published by Portfolio, the business imprint of the Penguin Group, in 2005.

In some weird and virtually unexplainable twist of fate, Dave was named one of the “7 People Changing the Face of Beauty” by Women’s Wear Daily—even though he has difficulty matching his socks.

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