Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers, by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, and James Macanufo, offers numerous lessons and tips for business professionals who want to write a book to build a personal, or corporate, brand.
Gamestorming’s success speaks for itself
Gamestorming appeared less than a year ago–during July, 2010. It currently is among Amazon.com’s top 1,500 books–no easy task, given competition from Chelsea Handler, Harry Potter, Tina Fey, 17-Day Diets, and girls who kick hornet’s nests.
More important to its authors than its overall sales is its leading position (April 17) in its target business book categories on Amazon.com:
#1 Book in Business & Investing > Business Life > Etiquette
#2 Book in Business & Investing > Skills > Running Meetings & Presentations
#3 Book in Computers & Internet > Computer Science > Information Theory
So, what does Gamestorming teach about brand-building?
Here are some initial observations about writing a bestselling brand-building book from Gamestorming. If you’re a Gamestorming reader, of course, you have probably noticed other branding lessons, and I invite you to submit them as comments, below.
- Title. Gamestorming’s branding lessons begin with the title. The title is short and engaging; it resonates with a familiar term–brainstorming–yet is different enough to be unique and memorable. It communicates at a glance. The title is short, permitting use of a large, heavy type size on the book cover.
- Subtitle. The longer subtitle clearly describes what the book is about and–more importantly–targets its intended readers.
- Tone. Gamestorming projects a friendly, non-intellectual image, one promises an informal, rather than academic, reading experience. After all, who doesn’t like games? The graphic on the front cover communicates a non-intimidating, “drawings anyone can create,” image. Open Gamestorming to just about any page or 2-page spread, and you’ll likely another, similar, drawing.
- Contents. Gamestorming presents 80 games that can create productive meetings and collaborations by overcoming inhibitions and encouraging creative exploration. The first 3 chapters explain the premise and set the stage. The games that follow are organized by reader objectives, i.e., engaging, exploring, closing sales, etc.
- Format. A consistent format is used for each game. Subheads set in bold organize text into Object of Game, # of Players, Duration of Game, How to Play, and Strategies. Thanks to the subheads, large graphics, and numbered lists, pages can be skimmed at a glance, rather than “studied,” (unlike the textbooks we tended to avoid in high school and college).
Gamestorming was obviously designed and written for today’s overworked and practical business readers who demand maximum information presented as concisely as possible.
Equally obvious, Gamestorming’s market was waiting for a new type of book addressing perennial issues like creative thinking, effective meetings, and group collaboration.
Additional lessons
A couple of closing thoughts and issues for additional study:
- Efficiency. Although I discuss the format, above, in terms of reader efficiency, the consistent subheads used to describe each game undoubtedly also helped Gamestorming’s authors efficiently write the book. Consistent content formats benefit both readers and writers!
- Timing and position. The past 2 years has seen an explosion of interest in business books describing visual approaches to business challenges. Gamestorming entered a very competitive market. Yet, because of effective positioning tools like graphics and concise, reader-friendly writing, it has more than held its own against competition like Dan Roam’s Back of the Napkin, and David Sibbett’s Visual Meetings.
- Social marketing. Good books don’t sell themselves, and Gamestorming is no exception. Although a well-established business book, there’s a Gamestorming website and blog (with a forum). In addition, the authors each have an active web and social media presence. Here are some starting points for exploration: Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, James Macanufo.
The above just scratches the surface of the lessons and tips that Gamestorming teaches about writing a book to build a personal, or corporate, brand. If you’re a Gamestorming reader and you’ve noticed other lessons or tips, please share them below, as comments.
Author:
Visit Roger C. Parker‘s Published & Profitable blog — over 1,000 posts and tips for planning, writing, promoting, & profiting from writing brand-building books.
