I remember the day that I first heard David Meerman Scott’s name. During my freshman year as a student of The College at Brockport, I took a Public Relations Principles & Practices course, and enjoyed it quite a bit (considering I might not have known what PR stood for at the beginning). At the end of the semester, I asked my professor what I could read over the summer to learn a bit more about the topics presented in the course. She suggested Scott’s The New Rules of Marketing & PR, and I essentially became his biggest fan overnight.

Fast forward about a year. I had finished my first PR internship, was about to start my second, and found myself enrolled in Brockport’s capstone PR course: PR Campaigns. Taught by the same professor, I was thrilled to see Scott’s New Rules listed on the syllabus as required reading!

Scott’s writing is as far from college-textbook, theory-laden drivel as anything I have read in school, though. Rather, the things that I learned from his books apply directly to the professional experiences I had in both my first and second internships, as well as in my current role at Carestream Health.

Scott doesn’t write jargon-filled books. He doesn’t pack them with as many industry terms as he can, either. In fact, he commonly calls that out as “Gobbeldygook.”

Instead, he identifies proven best practices that will allow you to do more with less. For example, Scott urges businesses to become thought-leaders within their industry:

“Indeed, many organizations create content especially to position them as thought leaders in their market. Instead of just directly selling something, a great site, blog, or podcast series tells the world that you are smart, that you understand the market very well, and that you might be a person or organization that would be valuable to do business with.”

Scott himself produces content in many different forms, and he makes it as accessible as possible. In fact, there is an entire section on his website that allows people like you and I to download his content for free! Additionally, Scott also recently made one of his books, World Wide Rave, completely free on a variety of platforms.

Scott also stresses the importance of being present in the online forums that one’s audience is present in. He says:

“Where are people discussing your industry, and the products and services you offer? If that place already exists, you should monitor it and participate as appropriate.”

He may not remember this, but shortly after I created my own blog, Millennial’s Marketing, I asked David via Twitter to check it out. Shortly afterward, I received a thoughtful and insightful response with some great tips – participation that I really never expected from such a well-established, globally respected individual.

David Meerman Scott is a former VP of Marketing for multiple publicly-traded companies, an internationally known best-selling author, and a widely-respected keynote speaker who has presented to groups in 33 countries on five continents. And he gave me more attention in an online forum than some individuals are known to give in person.

Isn’t that refreshing?

That is why I am beyond excited to announce that David Meerman Scott will be speaking in Rochester, NY this April! Learn more by checking out the Facebook Event. Step it up a Notch! Be one of the first 50 to register and get your free book.

Friday, April 19, 2013


• 3:30 pm Check-in & Networking
• 4:00 pm Speaker
• 5:00 pm Q&A
• 5:30-6:30 pm Networking & book signing

**Connect with James on LinkedIn, follow him on Twitter, or check out his blog at Millennial’s Marketing.