Title: The “Smart Guide” to Marketing

Author: Jack Gaskell

Genre: Non-fiction

The “Smart Guide” to Marketing provides step-by-step instructions on how to become an expert in your field and open as many avenues for your business as you can. At its core, the guide is about shaping how you are perceived by others in your professional life to maximize your business and your skills.

It’s worth noting that “marketing” in the title refers to the marketing of oneself and one’s business. This won’t provide you with tech savvy tips, rather it teaches you on how to create, build, and navigate your career path, from choosing a college major to designing pamphlets for your services.

The guide is targeted for people who may not have finished at the top of their class, but do have ambition and willpower. At times, the advice can be a bit limiting because it maintained an approach that advocated for college degrees and pursuing careers that are viewed as “professional.” Overall, the guide’s advice reflects traditional career values.

Even as an informational handbook, the tone is charming and empathetic, especially regarding struggles in your business journey. In light of the 2020 pandemic and subsequent economic fallout, the guide includes a section on how to create an effective economic recovery plan.

This section is not only empowering for new and veteran business owners who may have never experienced an economic emergency like this, but you can also deploy the economic recovery plan advice to prepare for all kinds of emergencies beyond the pandemic.

Gaskell turns to his experience as an electrical engineer often, which gives readers actual examples of how to implement the guide’s teachings. However, some examples contain jargon or technical terms that may muddy the overall advice for readers. Incorporating examples from a myriad of industries would have been a beneficial addition for readers whose careers are vastly different from engineering.

At the end of each chapter, there is an outline guide. Though useful for skimming or for future reference, they aren’t terribly necessary. The content in the chapters are short and concise enough to follow along and retain the information easily.

One of the best parts of the guide is when Gaskell walks us through how to build knowledge and obtain expertise in your career using note-taking methods and preparing your own white papers. These are moments when Gaskell gives the most convincing examples and clearly explained instructions.

Gaskell provides a lengthy insert of a white paper that he wrote and the article he retrieved information from. Despite its length and specificity in engineering, readers get a substantive comparison for what resources and formats will work for their white papers.

The Appendix is one of the most enjoyable sections of the guide to read. Gaskell presents a list of businesses who have impressed him in his personal life because of how they’ve shifted their business plans during the pandemic. Like a friend telling us about their day, this section was equally balanced in personal tone and informative takeaways.

A handbook to becoming the “smartest person in the room,” The “Smart Guide” to Marketing provides tangible advice and practices to get yourself and your business to reach the highest of achievements. From joining organizations and associations to practicing public speaking skills, Gaskell provides solid, straight-forward advice on how to make the most of your resources and how to create your own when you can’t seem to find an “in”. Well-researched and insightful, this guide is perfect for anyone wanting to turn their dreams into a doable, achievable reality.

This Editorial Review was written by the Book Review Directory staff. To receive a similarly honest, professional review for one of your own books, click here.