Writing Business Book Reviews - Simple Instructions From an English Class Dropout to You

A business book review is a great way for anyof the book. You may also ignore the structure
consultant, sales professional or thought leader inof the content and just deliver the main points of
the business arena to demonstrate expertise andthe book in your own words and sequences.
pre-sell products and services. This is particularlyA great way to do this is to identify the author's
true when your business book review isstated goals for the book and share your opinion
syndicated online and gives the readers of youras to whether the author fell short, met, or
reviews an easy way to connect to a targetedexceeded their goal and why you think so. Don't
landing page or business presence online.be afraid to use this area to illustrate some of the
If you are an independent consultant, salespersonkey concepts communicated by the author.
or consultative entrepreneur, you can use4. What You Liked
business book reviews as a promotional vehicleImmediately following your summary of the
by offering them to targeted local communitybook's key concepts, you can share what you
publications or even trade specialty publications.liked or were impressed by (if anything). You'll
5 Simple Steps to a Great Business Book Reviewgenerally have a broad selection of areas to
If you've never written a book review, here's achoose from:
template for writing useful business book reviews- Author tone, authority or approach
even if you flunked (or stumbled through) all your- Key concepts
high school writing classes.- Communication format of those concepts
1. Attention-grabbing Introduction section- Use of examples, quotes, case studies
One of the realities of using book reviews in the- Sequencing of ideas
ways that I describe above is that they must be- Assessments, tools and extras
at least slightly entertaining or engaging byAny one of these areas can give you all the
themselves. As a matter of fact, they must besubstance you need to engagingly communicate
engaging first before they inform. That's how youyour impressions while giving your reader a strong
will get your book reviews consistently read.sense of what the book is about and how it tries
2. Background (or context)to accomplish its purpose.
A book review is incomplete if you don't help5. Dislikes or Holes in the book
your reader understand the context surroundingFor both personal and promotional reasons, I like
the book. For instance, the author of the bookto find something I dislike, or at least find a
might also be the head of an organization thatdeficiency within every business book I read. Even
sells services related to the theme of the book,with books that I am overwhelmingly impressed
or may be an outcast in the community of hisby, I look for "holes" in the scope of the book...if
expertise (which may give the reader criticalonly as an exercise in intellectual acuity and critical
"extra information" that helps them judge whatthinking.
they read).Always make sure you are being fair to the
One excellent reviewer I came across evenauthor and displaying intellectual honesty when you
differentiates between the "background" and theuse this tactic. It's not okay to just throw up
"deep background" of the books in this excellentanything for the purpose of having a "bone to
business book reviews.pick" with the author.
3. The BookThis last step is also a critical skill to master if you
In this section you break down the mainwrite book and product reviews for online affiliate
components of the book. These break downsmarketing purposes.
could be according to the parts or the chapters