Erika Napoletano - The Power of Unpopular: A Guide to Building Your Brand for the Audience Who Will Love You (and why no one else matters)

Praise for The Power of Unpopular

Being popular may get you elected to public office, but if you want to be successful in business, you need to understand the power of being unpopular. Erika Napoletano clearly and cleverly lays out the path to unpopularity, a critical new paradigm for business success.

Carol Roth, Business Strategist and New York Times
Best-Selling Author of The Entrepreneur Equation

Erika has kind of screwed it up here. She's written an incredible book about being unpopular which will be popular. That's just amazing. I love brands that take a stand, that have passion and aren't afraid to turn some people away. Erika has written the guide on how to do just that. The power of passion and community is one to be reckoned with but few understand. Take my wordthis is the book that gets it.

Scott Stratten, Unpopular Author of
UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging

The dreaded unpopular. Why the hell do we accord it all manner of awfulness? Who ever convinced us that popular = good, unpopular = bad, majority rules, end of story anyhow? In business or in your personal life, it's finding your right people that matters. That's inbound marketing at its best. Figure out whom you serve and what you do for them and paltry issues like competition basically disappear! When you're unpopular with all of the right peoplethe ones who don't want, need or understand what you have to offerthe ones who fall in love with you will eventually show up at your door. In her hilarious, witty, read-out-loud-to-your-friends prose, Erika is that idyllic best friend you can rely on to slap you back into a reality that they never told you about.

Laura Fitton, Inbound Marketing Evangelist,
HubSpot and coauthor, Twitter for Dummies

Erika has written the no-nonsense, reality-driven and must-read book for anyone dreaming of starting their own business. Her writing is infectiously fun and her advice must be taken to heart by those who wish to succeed. You'll laugh, cheer and be inspired!

C.C. Chapman, Founder of Digital Dads and coauthor,
Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts,
Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage
Customers and Ignite Your Business

Erika Napoletano has one of the most distinct and unique voices in business writing and this book reinforces those qualities from page one. And the fact that she is an entrepreneur grounds her stories and makes them not only engaging, but real. I mean, she walked away from six figures, said goodbye to her bosshole and set out on her own. At its core, that's what this book is abouttaking risks, being bold, embracing failure, and snuggling up to the notion of being unpopular. A spirited and intelligent book that should make every business person dedicated to rethinking unpopular.

Amy Cosper, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief,
Entrepreneur Magazine

This is the first business book in a long time that grabbed me by the throat and pulled me into it. I couldn't stop reading it because it spoke to me... no, it sang to me! Erika Napoletano is clever though. She wrote a book here that you think is about being proud to be unpopular, but is really more about being someone who always matters to the right people, not someone who sometimes matters to just anyone. In a world that is not an end sum game, this book helps make you a winner.

Jason Falls, Author of No Bullshit Social Media:
The All-Business, No Hype Guide To Social Media Marketing
and CEO of Social Media Explorer

I've got two rules for effective marketing: (1) Try to please everyone, and you please no one. (2) The natural corollary of the first rule, which is if no one hates you, you're doing it wrong. With The Power of Unpopular , Erika Napoletano gives you a modern field guide to building a rabidly passionate group of fans, not just customer, clients, or prospects. Beyond knowing her stuff, Erika practices what she preaches better than just about anyone out there, which is why we all need this book within arm's reach at all times.

Brian Clark, CEO,
Copyblogger Media

A brilliant concept, powerfully delivered. I've already ordered six copies for my closest friends.

Seth Godin, Author of
We Are All Weird

If anyone understands the power of Personality: Unleashed, it's Erika. But where most people mistake snark for grit and substance, Erika actually understands core elements of a strong, irreverent brand, and makes a compelling business case for being unapologetic about who you are (because that's what your audience really wants from you). It's about damn time that someone did.

Amber Naslund, Former Vice President of Strategy,
Radian6 and coauthor of The Now Revolution

Copyright2012 by Erika Napoletano. All rights reserved.

Published by JohnWiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Napoletano, Erika, 1972

The power of unpopular : a guide to building your brand for the audience who will love

you (and why no one else matters) / Erika Napoletano.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-118-13466-5 (hardback); ISBN 978-1-118-22522-6 (ebk);

ISBN 978-1-118-23866-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-26332-7 (ebk)

1. Target marketing. 2. Branding (Marketing) 3. Target marketingCase studies.

4. Branding (Marketing)Case studies. I. Title.

HF5415.127.N37 2012

658.8 '27dc23

2011045220