"Social Dandelions" article

There were several ideas in here that are tangential (at least) to book promotion, so I thought I would share it.

Some interesting bits:

Today, we’re going to turn this law into a playbook by answering four key questions:

• What type of community is best for launching a new idea?

• How do you find the right community to introduce your idea to?

• Which members of a community should you talk to first?

• How can you maximize the odds that a community will embrace your idea?

With a little help from an unruly financial subreddit, a Midwestern blogging conference, and a 1950s farm report, all shall be revealed…

Many of the most influential people in a community are the most present. 

Dandelions are the people you need to win over first.

This is actually the strategy that Bloomsbury used to seed one of the most viral ideas of all time—the first ever Harry Potter book. In their initial publishing release they only had 500 books to give away for promotions. 

What community is the most effective target for a children’s book, they asked? 

Well, where did children go to read books in 1997? Libraries of course. And within that community, who are the most present and well connected dandelions? Librarians! So Bloomberg gave away 300 of their 500 books to librarians, who then recommended Harry Potter to kids and parents. By effectively seeding the idea in dozens of targeted communities across the UK, the stage was set for the explosion in popularity and the powerhouse literary universe we all know of today.

Now you know which type of community to target, how to find the right one for your idea, and who you need to talk to—one question remains.

How do you convince a dandelion to adopt your new idea?