Important note: This is a critical and independent review and not a salesletter or an ad! The author of this review is not paid to write this review.

Product description and format

Paperback, 190 pages.

Review 

"Grassroots Marketing – Getting Noticed in a Noisy World" by Shel Horowitz is a true marketing toolbox. It’s quite impressive how much information Shel Horowitz has packed into this book.

The aim of this book is to show you, the reader, how you can market your business, product, service, or whatever, on a minimum budget. Effective doesn’t necessarily require a large marketing budget. That’s Shel Horowitz’ starting point.

"Grassrots Marketing – Getting Noticed in a Noisy World" is partly based upon the content in Shel Horowitz’ earlier book, "Marketing Without Megabucks". But "Grassrots Marketing" contains so much new material that it must be characterized as a completely new book.

Shel Horowitz covers a wealth of different important marketing techniques and strategies. First he gives you a short overview over the different marketing methods that you can use, dependent on your particular marketing budget. The cheapest marketing budget Shel lists, will only cost you $10. Hardly a budget that ruin you, don’t you agree?! Next he lists a $100 marketing budget, a $1,000 marketing and finally a $2,000-$10,000 marketing budget.

But is it really possible to effectively market a business, product or service on such small budgets?

Yes, says Shel Horowitz.

In the beginning of the book, Shel Horowitz shares how he personally has used and continually uses these same methods to effectively market his own highly successful business. According to Shel Horowitz himself, these marketing methods have turned his own business into the largest business of its kind in the area where he is living.

As Shel Horowitz’ says himself: "["Grassrots Marketing – Getting Noticed in a Noisy World"] is based largely on my own experience, running a diversified service and information business and growning it from extremely humble beginnings. In just one week recently, I had clients in London, Cyprus, Boston, Alaska, Arkansas, and my own home base in western Massachusetts."

I don’t know about you, but personally I much rather prefer this kind of credential than a long line of academic titles and university degrees. I prefer what works, instead of dry, theoretic discussions and speculations.

On the other hand, when you read "Grassrots Marketing", it’s obvious that Shel Horowitz himself has read a lot of other books on the subject. He’s really done his homework and has the theoretic basis for his subject. But what I really like is that "Grassrots Marketing" is so immensely practical. It’s based upon practical, real-life experience, and you – the reader - can immediately go out and apply, what you read, on your own business.

None of the methods Shel share with you seems over-the-head or too complicated. At least that’s my personal impression when I read the book. Personally I really hate it if I invest in a promising book, only to discover that it’s advice is way too unreal or complicated.

Shel Horowitz obviously favors a marketing approach that belongs to the Direct Response Marketing category. And that’s precisely the marketing approach I personally adhere to. Generally speaking, the typical Image Marketing approach simply doesn’t work for the small business owner.

However, a few places I think that Shel Horowitz could emphasis the Direct Response Marketing even more.

For example, in his chapter on how to create effective business cards, I would prefer to emphasize the Direct Response aspect even more than Shel Horowitz has done. This doesn't that it's a bad chapter. Not at all! I would just personally place the emphasis a bit differently.

But when this is said, it's obvious that the general emphasis in on proven Direct Response tactics rather than the typical 'Madison Avenue image advertising principles'.

Finally, I'd like to mention that the book is very readable. You get an excellent overview and if - after you've read the book - you'd like to check something again, just as a kind of reminder, it's very easy to quickly find that pariticular information.

Overall assessment

In my opinion "Grassrots Marketing – Getting Noticed in a Noisy World" by Shel Horowitz can be a really good help for any small business owner, or anyone else who wants to market his or her business on a limited budget.

This is an excellent general guide to effective marketing on a small budget. Actually I like Shel Horowitz' "Grassroot Marketing" so much that I consider it to be one of the best overall guides I've read on Marketing. And I've seen a lot.

At the same time you get enough details to get started and keep going for quite some time.

In short, this is a really good book on Marketing a business on a small budget.

Price (at the time of this writing)

US $22.95 (plus shipping)

Buying information

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http://www.frugalmarketing.com
 

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