When it came time to promote Personality Not Included, Rohit Bhargava had the clever idea of inviting fellow bloggers to send him five questions about the new book. Apparently they liked getting an exclusive interview—at least 55 bloggers took him up on the offer.

Some qot right to the point. Kevin Duggan asked for Bhargava's elevator pitch. "Faceless companies don't work anymore," he answered. "In the social media era, personality matters. "

Others playfully queried Bhargava's general outlook. Referring to the American Idol judges, Scott Monty wondered if he considered himself a Simon, a Randy or a Paula. "Definitely Simon, because he's authentic," replied Bhargava. "Authenticity to me means not blowing smoke up people's behinds when you think they are stupid."

And Todd Andrlik asked a question that was probably on everyone's mind: Did the "weird little wind-up chickens" on the book's cover have any significance? Bhargava's pragmatic response: "Nope. Actually, they were just used as some imagery to get the book to stand out in the business section. Seriously, have you seen chickens on any other marketing books?"

Reflecting on the book-club experience, Rohit wrote, "The main reason I think this idea worked so well, is that bloggers got something tangible in return for participating ... I wasn't just asking for a favor, I was trying to do one for participants as well." And that's pure Marketing Inspiration.

→ end article preview
Read the Full Article