One of my projects earlier this year was being on the team helping Sally Hogshead proofread, format, and research an updated version of Fascinate: How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist. It’s a fun, creative way to help a business or even an individual identify what makes their brand fascinating to others and to help them capitalize on those advantages to get customers’ attention.

My personal marketing advantage, for example, is Trust, which includes things like showing up on time, getting good work done on time, and being someone who takes the time to learn his clients’ work and priorities so that I write a better product. This dependability/trustworthiness is how I built up my relationship with Science Cheerleader, for example (you think they let just anyone work for them?). Other advantages in the book include appeals to Power, Passion, Prestige, Mystique, Alert(ness), and Innovation.

As far as the book goes, Sally has a fun, punchy prose style that gets your attention. It’s a fast read and is full of concrete examples demonstrating how the different marketing advantages work for each product or business. Among other things, I got to do research on Jägermeister, high-end jewelry, sushi, BMW, and the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” So if you’re interested in crystallizing for your market what makes your product/service “fascinating,” this is a great book to read, with a bit of mirth thrown in as well.