5 Questions With Dan Schawbel Episode 64: David Meerman Scott
An interview with David Meerman Scott about being a successful author, why entrepreneurs should focus on community building, what he learned from his daughter, his view on the top marketing trends and his best career advice.
Welcome to the 64th episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions.
This episodes guest:
My guest today is author, speaker, and marketing strategist, David Meerman Scott. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, David graduated from Kenyon College with a BA in economics. He had multiple jobs as a clerk on Wall Street before working at publisher Knight Ridder in their online newsroom. David moved back from Boston to join Desktop Data, which was acquired by NewsEdge Corporation then sold to Thompson Reuters. Throughout his early experiences in the publishing world, he learned the power of using content to drive customers. David’s ideology of using social media, blogs, and podcasts to earn attention, instead of buying it, become the basis for his book “The New Rules of Marketing & PR”. The success of the book led to a global speaking career, an advisory position at Hubspot and a series of other books, including his latest entitled “Fanocracy”. David was an early mentor of mine back in 2009 when I was publishing my first book and has been at the forefront of the latest marketing trends for decades. That’s why I was excited to speak with him for this podcast episode.
The 5 questions I ask in this episode:
- When people ask me for my best advice on book publishing, I refer them to what you told me before my first book, Me 2.0, was published 10 years ago. You suggested that I should market, promote and sell the book without relying on the publisher. Can you explain how being accountable in this way has helped you achieve success?
- Why should every entrepreneur focus on purpose, values, and community not just selling products and services? How can they make this shift if they aren’t currently doing it?
- You co-authored Fanocracy with your daughter. What have you learned from each other that has made you a better marketer and her a better student?
- Throughout your 25-year career in the marketing field, you’ve been at the forefront of some of the biggest trends like the rise of social media. What are some marketing tools, strategies, and techniques that you would recommend to people looking to build their brand?
- What is your best piece of career advice?
Follow David’s journey: