I am absolutely thrilled that my book
Web Analytics 2.0 has been released and is in retail stores now, online and offline! Hurray!!
Even with a broken right hand I can't help but write this post!
The waterfall of positive feeling stems from the fact that this book was very hard to write.
I only had one job, at Intuit, when I wrote my first web analytics book. I now have several full time jobs, plus this blog, plus speaking around the world, plus a family, plus… so much more.
It took weekends of writing and nights of editing and days of research combined with practicing the preaching by doing oodles of analysis and, more importantly, the support of the most understanding wife in the world.
At the end of it all it is rather gratifying to see one's book at a bookstore, helps grasp the magnitude of the process. And there's absolutely nothing quite like hearing your five year old yell in a busy Borders bookstore: "I FOUND DADDY'S BOOK!"
This blog post is in three parts: The pitch. Request for help. A lovely contest [Contest closed now, thanks for the entries!].
You don't have to read the whole thing & skip ahead, but that would hurt my feelings. :)
Here we go. . .
The Pitch:
I invite you to consider buying my second web analytics book. It is not only the most current book on everything important and bleeding edge in Web Analytics, it is a labor of love that will help you transform your personal thinking and assist in revolutionizing your organization (big or small).
It is not a technical book, though it will make you technically dangerous. It is not just a business book, though every dna strand in this book is more about online marketing than online analytics. It is not a hard book to read, though it is brain food.
Here's why I think you'll love it:
Chapter 1 The Bold New World of Web Analytics 2.0
No dragging of the feet, the book starts with a bang by laying out the framework that will be the center of every company that will leverage data (qualitative, quantitative, competitive) on the web. It ends with a challenge to embrace Multiplicity – without this it's goodbye greatness.
Chapter 2 The Optimal Strategy for Choosing Your Web Analytics Soul Mate
It will be hard for you to find a more compelling four step process to choose the right web analytics tool for your company. Soul searching, questions to torture vendors with, comparing vendors, running a pilot and negotiating a contract, it's all in there. You be off to the races right.
Chapter 3 The Awesome World of Clickstream Analysis: Metrics
The thing I enjoyed about this chapter (I know I wrote it, but still. . .) was that the first half works really hard to evolve your critical thinking skills. I love that because we take too much for granted, now you'll be skeptical. A good thing. The second half shows exactly how to pick the best metrics for your org and, my absolute favorite (Page 64), how to diagnose the root cause of a metrics performance.
Chapter 4 The Awesome World of Clickstream Analysis: Practical Solutions
When people think of web analytics everything they think about is chapter 4, and yet you'll find so many yummy treats here. The best WA report, segmentation, site search, SEO & PPC analysis, email, rich media, cookies, data sampling. . . . I am out of breath!
Chapter 5 The Key to Glory: Measuring Success
If I have one jihad it is to massively convert every person who touches the web to focus on measuring Outcomes! It is the one reason we can't achieve the greatness we so richly deserve. No more! Glory will be yours!! B2B. B2C. Small Biz. Large Biz. Non-Ecommerce. We make love to 'em all! One thing you'll read here that you'll read no where else? Computing Economic Value, a concept that will liberate you.
Chapter 6 Solving the “Why” Puzzle: Leveraging Qualitative Data
Oh, oh, oh qualitative analysis!! I am a Mechanical Engineer with a MBA, a late covert to the power of understanding the super sexy "why" by leveraging lab usability studies, surveys, card sorts, online remote testing and more. You get a jump start. The thing you'll adore: Pages 190 – 192.
Chapter 7 Failing Faster: Unleashing the Power of Testing and Experimentation
Sure you've heard of A/B and multivariate testing. But do you know how to truly win the game? There is no technical mumbo-jumbo here, just the real deal and how to get testing right. The thing you might not know / realize the power of: Controlled Experiments. I am convinced this is God's gift to online humanity, you'll agree with me by the time you reach Page 208.
Chapter 8 Competitive Intelligence Analysis
The most magnificent advantage the web possesses: everyone's data is available for everyone else to use. If Hilton Hotels has the data for Choice Hotels why not use it to "crush" them (sorry Sarah!). This chapter shows you how. I think the thing you'll be surprised by is at the start of the chapter (Data Sources, Types and Secrets).
Chapter 9 Emerging Analytics: Social, Mobile, and Video
The chapter I had the second most fun writing. Mobile, twitter, blogs, videos etc are just so darned hard to measure and so much changes every few hours that I had to really really work hard to find the essence of each and then make specific practical measurement recommendations that will stand the test of time. It was hard.
Chapter 10 Optimal Solutions for Hidden Web Analytics Traps
This is a collection of major reasons I think people fail at web analytics, and of course I boldly try to share how to avoid that fate. Behavior targeting, dashboards, accuracy, data mining, predictive analytics, and, the thing you'll appreciate the most IMHO, five steps for intelligent analytics evolution!
Chapter 11 Guiding Principles for Becoming an Analysis Ninja
All my life learnings laid bare. . . this is where you, yes you, start to evolve from a Reporting Squirrel to an Analysis Ninja! No metrics, data pukes, guidance on creating every more reports. No, none of that. Rather… analytical techniques, tips and tricks to apply to your job, how to evolve your thinking to a higher level.
Chapter 12 Advanced Principles for Becoming an Analysis Ninja
The chapter I had most fun writing (and rewrote the most number of times). It deals with two of the hardest practical challenges we face in the field of measurement: multi-touch campaign attribution analysis and multi channel analytics. Both are very hard to get right, both have a ton of fud out there, it was fun to share my recommendations.
Chapter 13 The Web Analytics Career
The chapter I should have had in the first book. How to plan a career in web analytics (paths, salary, longevity), and how to then cultivate the right set of skills. If you are a leader then how to spot great talent, how to interview them and make the right choice.
Chapter 14 HiPPOs, Ninjas, and the Masses: Creating a Data-Driven Culture
Some might argue, rightly so, that the most elusive thing to accomplish is to truly bring data democracy to your organization. This chapter bravely hopes to help you do exactly that: excite people about data, remove organizational barriers, use data to change behavior, dealing with data quality, and creating data driven HiPPO's.
Convinced?
Nothing, absolutely nothing, in life is easy. But if you have the will and access to knowledge then that just might help you choose an optimal path, a path where your hard work will yield above normal results. That's my hope, and promise, with Web Analytics 2.0.
Jennie and I have decided to donate 100% of our proceeds from this book, just like for the first one, to two charities. This book benefits The Smile Train and Ekal Vidyalaya. We are very excited about that.
Request For Help:
As you all know my philosophy for this blog is eat like a bird, poop like an elephant. But if you are up for it I would love to ask you for a bit of help.
Recommend the book. If you know someone who needs to turbocharge their online existence, please recommend Web Analytics 2.0 to them. Even in our hyper connected world, nothing works like a personal recommendation.
If you use a link please consider using: http://bit.ly/akwa20 That link has an affiliate code, all proceeds of which go to the above mentioned charities.
Review the book. If you have a blog, website, twitter account, any kind of platform, it would be great if you could write a review of the book and help spread the word.
If you purchased the book online then please, pretty please, review the book on the store's website. Amazon. Borders. Target. Powells. Whatever you used.
Connect me. I am very very bad at pimping. So if you know someone who is someone (or knows someone who knows someone) then please consider connecting us. Especially people outside our analytics / search circle. Authors. CEO's. Journalists. Influencers. TV anchors (or weather man/woman). Oprah (I can dream, can't I?).
Our world is separated by six degrees of separation, I am sure you know someone who just might consider helping me with my cause.
Share a picture. I love getting to know my audience, and while your emails and tweets are pretty fun there is nothing like a picture.
I had a "Web Analytics: An Hour A Day Fan Mail" flickr group that has some incredible pictures from around the world, bringing my audience closer to me.
I would love to do the same again for my "Web Analytics 2.0: Fan Mail". Be as creative as you want to be. Babies. Cats. Posters. Cars. Places. Or the best, you. All would be welcome.
I will only post the pictures with your permission. Please send them to blog at kaushik dot net. Thanks!
A Lovely Contest:
[The contest is closed now. Winning entry details.]
Steve Cunningham invited me to be a part of a little "contest" he is running. The prize is a delight, you get to win a pack of seven books on online marketing & social media: Six Pixels of Separation, The New Community Rules, The Whuffie Factor, Trust Agents, Crush It!, Duct Tape Marketing, and Web Analytics 2.0.
How to win you ask? Two ways.
1. Answer this question in comments below: If you were to measure the success of a company's social media efforts how would you do it?
Pick any social media channel, or all. Only a short answer is required. The most innovative / interesting answer wins. No answer is too small or too simple.
[If you have my book already then my answers in the book to this question will win you major brownie points, but perhaps not the contest! :)]
2. You can get four more chances to win, if you want. Simply visit these blogs and answer a different question on each: Steve Cunningham, Beth Kanter, Tara Hunt, and John Jantsch.
Good luck!
A Word of Thanks:
This is from my book's acknowledgment page…
I would like to express my deep appreciation to the readers of my blog, Occam’s Razor. In approximately three and a half years I have written 411,725 words in my 204 blog posts, and the readers of my blog have written 615,192 words in comments! Their engagement means the world to me and motivates me to make each blog post better than the last. It is impossible to thank each person, so on their behalf let me thank three: Ned Kumar, Rick Curtis, and Joe Teixeira.
A very solid case can be made for the fact that neither one of my books would exist without you and your engagement and encouragement.
Gracias. Arigato. Ngiyabonga. Xie xie. Obrigado. Shukriya.
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