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Top of Mind (PB): Use Content to Unleash Your Influence and Engage Those Who Matter to You
A game-changing framework for staying top of mind with your audience―from the No. 1 company dominating content marketing
What do many successful businesses and leaders have in common? They're the first names that come to mind when people think about their particular industries. How do you achieve this level of trust that influences people to think of you in the right way at the right time? By developing habits and strategies that focus on engaging your audience, creating meaningful relationships, and delivering value consistently, day in and day out.
It's the winning approach John Hall used to build Influence & Co. into one of "America's Most Promising Companies," according to Forbes. In this step-by-step guide, he shows you how to use content to keep your brand front and center in the minds of decision makers who matter. He reveals:
- how consumer needs and expectations have changed and what this shift means for you
- how to build a helpful, authentic, and consistent brand that serves others just as well as it serves you
- proven methods for using digital content to enrich your target audience's lives in ways that build real, lasting trust
Whether you're a marketing leader engaging an audience of potential customers, a business leader looking to humanize your company brand, or an industry up-and-comer seeking to build influence, maintaining a prominent spot in your audience's minds will increase the likelihood that the moment they need to make a choice, you'll be the first one they call. There's no better way to drive opportunities that result in increased revenue and growth.
Business is never "just" business. It's always about relationships. It's always about a human connection. When you're viewed as a valuable, trustworthy partner, the opportunities are endless. Position yourself for success by establishing and developing content-driven relationships that keep you and your brand Top of Mind.
What do many successful businesses and leaders have in common? They're the first names that come to mind when people think about their particular industries. How do you achieve this level of trust that influences people to think of you in the right way at the right time? By developing habits and strategies that focus on engaging your audience, creating meaningful relationships, and delivering value consistently, day in and day out.
It's the winning approach John Hall used to build Influence & Co. into one of "America's Most Promising Companies," according to Forbes. In this step-by-step guide, he shows you how to use content to keep your brand front and center in the minds of decision makers who matter. He reveals:
- how consumer needs and expectations have changed and what this shift means for you
- how to build a helpful, authentic, and consistent brand that serves others just as well as it serves you
- proven methods for using digital content to enrich your target audience's lives in ways that build real, lasting trust
Whether you're a marketing leader engaging an audience of potential customers, a business leader looking to humanize your company brand, or an industry up-and-comer seeking to build influence, maintaining a prominent spot in your audience's minds will increase the likelihood that the moment they need to make a choice, you'll be the first one they call. There's no better way to drive opportunities that result in increased revenue and growth.
Business is never "just" business. It's always about relationships. It's always about a human connection. When you're viewed as a valuable, trustworthy partner, the opportunities are endless. Position yourself for success by establishing and developing content-driven relationships that keep you and your brand Top of Mind.
209 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 20, 2017
107 people are currently reading
1191 people want to read
About the author
John Hall
1 book17 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
John is the CEO and co-founder of Influence & Co., a tech-enabled content marketing agency that helps brands and individuals extract and leverage their expertise to create, publish, and distribute content to gain influence, visibility, and credibility with their key audiences.
In 2016, John was a recipient of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Best Emerging Company and was recognized as one of the Business Journals’ Top 100 Visionaries. Influence & Co. was ranked No. 239 on the Inc. 500 and No. 72 on Forbes’ list of the Most Promising Companies in America in 2014. Influence & Co. was also recognized at the United Nations for being Empact’s Best Marketing and Advertising Company of 2014.
John has been called “one of the most powerful people in media who you’ve never met” by Inc. and a “must-see keynote speaker” by Forbes. He is consistently mentioned in major publications as a top influencer, leader, and speaker. John writes weekly columns for Forbes and Inc. and has contributed to more than 50 online publications, including Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and Mashable.
John is the CEO and co-founder of Influence & Co., a tech-enabled content marketing agency that helps brands and individuals extract and leverage their expertise to create, publish, and distribute content to gain influence, visibility, and credibility with their key audiences.
In 2016, John was a recipient of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Best Emerging Company and was recognized as one of the Business Journals’ Top 100 Visionaries. Influence & Co. was ranked No. 239 on the Inc. 500 and No. 72 on Forbes’ list of the Most Promising Companies in America in 2014. Influence & Co. was also recognized at the United Nations for being Empact’s Best Marketing and Advertising Company of 2014.
John has been called “one of the most powerful people in media who you’ve never met” by Inc. and a “must-see keynote speaker” by Forbes. He is consistently mentioned in major publications as a top influencer, leader, and speaker. John writes weekly columns for Forbes and Inc. and has contributed to more than 50 online publications, including Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and Mashable.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
September 11, 2017
Best book I have ever written. Disclosure...I've only written one book.
October 12, 2017
Business is never "just" business (and it’s also more than spreadsheets too)
Business is always about relationships.
I agree 100% with this statement from the description of the book (I added the spreadsheet part)
Staying Top of Mind is as important as ever and as challenging as ever too. And it’s not going to get any easier.
John Hall’s book is timely and full of solid advice and direction on activating one’s own top of mind strategy. Some things are common sense but are worthy of a refresher and lay the foundation for building influence. As the book progresses, more sophisticated content marketing strategy and tactics are reveled and provided some very thought provoking ideas for me.
Throughout the book John is honest, vulnerable and humble – practicing his approach on transparency and earning trust. He also writes in a conversational and easy to absorb manner – making for a fun and quick read.
Also noteworthy, the Forward by Joe Pulizzi – Founder of the Content Marketing Institute and author of Epic Content Marketing - is one of the best I have come across. It’s concise, honest and spot on with its focus on the customer and the relationship questions you need to ask yourself about your customer. In fact – the 4 questions he challenges the reader with are worthy of being written on your marketing conference room white board – with a permanent marker.
I don’t believe I have ever mentioned a Forward in a review before but this one is not to be skipped over.
Personally I feel content marketing is very important for every organization and especially important for smaller and midsize firms. I am certainly not alone on this and doing it right is an art. Top of Mind is a fantastic resource to help you hone the art and should be added to any marketers bookshelf and is a must read for editors and content marketing pros.
Disclosure, I am a former client of John’s firm Influence and Co and he provided me with a copy of his book.
Business is always about relationships.
I agree 100% with this statement from the description of the book (I added the spreadsheet part)
Staying Top of Mind is as important as ever and as challenging as ever too. And it’s not going to get any easier.
John Hall’s book is timely and full of solid advice and direction on activating one’s own top of mind strategy. Some things are common sense but are worthy of a refresher and lay the foundation for building influence. As the book progresses, more sophisticated content marketing strategy and tactics are reveled and provided some very thought provoking ideas for me.
Throughout the book John is honest, vulnerable and humble – practicing his approach on transparency and earning trust. He also writes in a conversational and easy to absorb manner – making for a fun and quick read.
Also noteworthy, the Forward by Joe Pulizzi – Founder of the Content Marketing Institute and author of Epic Content Marketing - is one of the best I have come across. It’s concise, honest and spot on with its focus on the customer and the relationship questions you need to ask yourself about your customer. In fact – the 4 questions he challenges the reader with are worthy of being written on your marketing conference room white board – with a permanent marker.
I don’t believe I have ever mentioned a Forward in a review before but this one is not to be skipped over.
Personally I feel content marketing is very important for every organization and especially important for smaller and midsize firms. I am certainly not alone on this and doing it right is an art. Top of Mind is a fantastic resource to help you hone the art and should be added to any marketers bookshelf and is a must read for editors and content marketing pros.
Disclosure, I am a former client of John’s firm Influence and Co and he provided me with a copy of his book.
July 5, 2020
3.5 rounded up. Good how-to resource for developing and using content, even better resource for other resources. I will be exploring and revisiting many great suggestions from John Hall. The content marketing funnel is a perfect approach for our business.
August 25, 2021
This book is a good cheerleading book on understanding what the new model of marketing is and how to start getting there. For an old fogie, it is a great place to start to reframe how to view the entire system of sales from where it used to be to where it is today and where it might be going. It is easy to read and easy to understand for a beginner, like me.
October 11, 2020
We live in a you-marketing world. The book describes tools and method in a nice way and builds on a theoretical framework that is solid.
Read
March 24, 2022Inbound (email) marketing is not so much to dazzle and delight as to be reliably helpful. Hall’s approach makes it easier for sales folk to be consistent without trying so hard.
April 21, 2017
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
As marketers, we’re all trying to be top of mind for our audiences. Whether it’s families wanting a hotel, a potential client, or a conference organizer needing a keynote speaker. We want to be thought of before others.
In his new book, John Hall explains why we want to be top of mind and how to get there. Oh, and his book is called Top of Mind.
One this I particularly love about John’s advice is that he doesn’t pretend it’s effortless. The steps he describes are easy but they require work. It’s work to send non-sales emails to a prospect, or a gift to their spouse. It takes time to create quality content that helps your customers when there’s no promise of a sale. These are all things John has done to be top of mind. However, I recommend you read the book before stalking your prospects and sending their spouses birthday gifts. You could be on their mind for the wrong reasons.
John daringly tackles two audiences in the book and pulls it off. Not easy in only 208 pages. I’ve already inferred it but his instruction is for your business and for your personal brand. I apologize if I misrecall this but the focus is very relationship sales. While you can apply some tactics en masse, you’ll need to be creative.
What could be a weakness is John’s vast use of personal anecdotes. His teen salesperson experiences and the time being snubbed at a conference because his online personal brand was nonexistent. You need to read that second story. He gets around the anecdotes by referencing others’ books and resources – a lot. Each chapter has a resources section and he often links to his own site of resources for readers.
There’s a large section on content marketing. I’ve seen a stat saying 70% of purchases are decided before speaking with a salesperson. Following the tips will mean you’re top of mind for this 70%.
Who Should Read Top of Mind?
The first group I thought of is salespeople. Especially those more transactional with relationship selling methods.
Second, marketers need to read Top of Mind for the personal branding tips. Going back to John’s experience at the conference, we need to ensure we’re taking the advice we give our clients.
Go read it!
Originally published: https://tapdancingspiders.com/book-re...
As marketers, we’re all trying to be top of mind for our audiences. Whether it’s families wanting a hotel, a potential client, or a conference organizer needing a keynote speaker. We want to be thought of before others.
In his new book, John Hall explains why we want to be top of mind and how to get there. Oh, and his book is called Top of Mind.
One this I particularly love about John’s advice is that he doesn’t pretend it’s effortless. The steps he describes are easy but they require work. It’s work to send non-sales emails to a prospect, or a gift to their spouse. It takes time to create quality content that helps your customers when there’s no promise of a sale. These are all things John has done to be top of mind. However, I recommend you read the book before stalking your prospects and sending their spouses birthday gifts. You could be on their mind for the wrong reasons.
John daringly tackles two audiences in the book and pulls it off. Not easy in only 208 pages. I’ve already inferred it but his instruction is for your business and for your personal brand. I apologize if I misrecall this but the focus is very relationship sales. While you can apply some tactics en masse, you’ll need to be creative.
What could be a weakness is John’s vast use of personal anecdotes. His teen salesperson experiences and the time being snubbed at a conference because his online personal brand was nonexistent. You need to read that second story. He gets around the anecdotes by referencing others’ books and resources – a lot. Each chapter has a resources section and he often links to his own site of resources for readers.
There’s a large section on content marketing. I’ve seen a stat saying 70% of purchases are decided before speaking with a salesperson. Following the tips will mean you’re top of mind for this 70%.
Who Should Read Top of Mind?
The first group I thought of is salespeople. Especially those more transactional with relationship selling methods.
Second, marketers need to read Top of Mind for the personal branding tips. Going back to John’s experience at the conference, we need to ensure we’re taking the advice we give our clients.
Go read it!
Originally published: https://tapdancingspiders.com/book-re...
June 22, 2017
The author exposes us in a very clear, concise way, with many practical tips and strategies how to achieve marketing content for those who do business online.
A very important factor to be influential is also to become trustworthy, authentic person and keep you present. For this it is fundamental to develop a digital content strategy and make it a system or habit: to be consistent in creation, content quality and distribution. John Hall explains how to bridge the barriers of mistrust of audiences to build relationships of trust and influence people to think right about you at the right time.
The most effective way to significantly influence our customers' lives and build a relationship that positively impacts them is to communicate through valuable digital content and useful information that can empower consumers in their lives and businesses, so we will be first in their minds as people with whom they would be interested to do business or offer some recommendation. It is also important to properly target the content to the right people, not hundreds of wrong people.
Written in a very enjoyable way, with interesting real stories, research and also contains a practical and useful resources section.
With tactics such as these, being a vehicle to drive the opportunities and goals of the company, we can make our brand grow.
My gratitude to the Publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review the book
A very important factor to be influential is also to become trustworthy, authentic person and keep you present. For this it is fundamental to develop a digital content strategy and make it a system or habit: to be consistent in creation, content quality and distribution. John Hall explains how to bridge the barriers of mistrust of audiences to build relationships of trust and influence people to think right about you at the right time.
The most effective way to significantly influence our customers' lives and build a relationship that positively impacts them is to communicate through valuable digital content and useful information that can empower consumers in their lives and businesses, so we will be first in their minds as people with whom they would be interested to do business or offer some recommendation. It is also important to properly target the content to the right people, not hundreds of wrong people.
Written in a very enjoyable way, with interesting real stories, research and also contains a practical and useful resources section.
With tactics such as these, being a vehicle to drive the opportunities and goals of the company, we can make our brand grow.
My gratitude to the Publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review the book
July 14, 2022
At the end of Top of Mind, I found myself disagreeing with the author about the best way to use content to engage audiences. In the early days of the Internet, many of the concepts and examples were perhaps useful, but aren't applicable today as data-driven platforms dominate both attention and advertising. In a way, I should be grateful because the antithesis of this book's central premise became the theme of my first book on marketing, The Death of Content As King: How a Data Democracy Has Revolutionized Marketing.
November 20, 2017
The whole book is essentially about why it's so important to create authentic connections with your audience. A lot of "why" and not a lot of "how." It got a bit repetitive, I read the whole thing in a day. Good for a beginner with little knowledge of why inbound marketing is important for the modern business.
August 7, 2018
For traditional companies this might prove useful. In today's marketplace, Me Marketing is no longer a viable strategy to build a lasting brand with loyal customers. The "You Marketing" of today builds real trust when you involve listening to your client's concerns and provide them with real solutions.
January 16, 2019
“This book is about something much deeper and more personal. Achieving top-of-mind status is not the goal in and of itself. The goal is to create rich relationships. Even if you are diving headfirst into full content strategy, by consistent communicating with your audience in engaging way that they find valuable, you will see a positive difference.”
August 10, 2020
Maintaining a presence as an influencer is tough. There is a lot of noise, competition, and work required to achieve top of mind awareness. That's why this book is a useful read. Focusing on both rationale and actionable steps - including resources - for maintaining top of mind awareness, the author brings practical approaches to bear so you can take the steps necessary to get and keep yourself and your organization top of mind. Content being king, and consistency being critical, top of mind is the long game that we all need to play. A good read.
September 28, 2021
Who doesn't want to be and remain top of mind for their customers? John does a brilliant job out outlining through decades of experience working with the top companies in the world.
Not only is he a great writer, but he is also a genuine human. Confession as I have had the pleasure of doing business with John the last few years. My clients always rave and get tremendous success working with John and his team at Relevance.
Read this book and transform your business.
Gordon Bufton author of The Connection Effect
Not only is he a great writer, but he is also a genuine human. Confession as I have had the pleasure of doing business with John the last few years. My clients always rave and get tremendous success working with John and his team at Relevance.
Read this book and transform your business.
Gordon Bufton author of The Connection Effect
October 22, 2023
This should have been an article - the content got stretched pretty thin to meet book length. Nothing wrong with the points he's making in the book, though they are a bit shallow. The first half could be summarized as don't be an a$$hole. A little more meat in the content marketing section, though nothing groundbreaking (though admittedly the book could be a victim of its own success - what is now the content marketing formula we see ubiquitous across social media, was not so big 6 years ago when the book was written.)
July 30, 2019
This book has so many actionable ideas. Suggestions that are very much achievable by those either just starting out or years into their role. Easy to read and packed full of information any reader is sure to find useful in their career. I especially like the resource library in the back of the book. I highly encourage readers to use the information provided and dive deeper, there are countless options.
January 16, 2026
A book that has a lot of great sentiment and message. I walked away from it wanting to change how I approached my work and relationships. The idea of content as a way to extend your trustworthiness and influence to others was a powerful thought.
A lot of the ideas are a little basic. The book gives them some depth. But be friendly, helpful, and frequently produce the information others need to start for free is the basis of the book. It’s important, as the title suggests!
A lot of the ideas are a little basic. The book gives them some depth. But be friendly, helpful, and frequently produce the information others need to start for free is the basis of the book. It’s important, as the title suggests!
August 8, 2018
Хуучин цагийн маркетинг зар сурталчилгаа бүхэлдээ Me Marketing буюу миний эрхэлж буй бизнесийн талаар тэрийгээ хэрхэн хэрэглэгчидэд тогтмол сануулж сайныг нь гайхуулах талаар байсан бол одоо үед You Marketing гэх хэрэглэгч төвтөй тэдний санал хүсэлт сонирхолыг харгалзан үзсэн сурталчилгааны арга барилруу шилжээд байгаа юм байна.
January 28, 2020
Excellent book with clear strategies. This feels like an evolved version of marketing where your work is all based on providing value not simply making money.
I would give it ten stars if I could because by following advice I became my own marketing guru. The result: my company is being introduced at a national convention to top prospects.
It is easy to read and implement.
I would give it ten stars if I could because by following advice I became my own marketing guru. The result: my company is being introduced at a national convention to top prospects.
It is easy to read and implement.
August 18, 2017
This is a really clear concise look at the importance of personal branding in todays business world. In a world dominated by social media it gives great advice on how to utilize these tools to make you stand out. Highly recommended
January 27, 2019
It’s a good book, with different perceptions on the new era of marketing. I enjoyed the reading. However, I think it should’ve been more focusing on the subject of the book. I think it wasn’t well-organized.
March 29, 2020
Essential ideas about being helpful and being human also in professional relationships. My favorite quote: "Good things happen when you help people out rather than treating them as extensions of your business plan. (...). Your interactions become friendly, genuine, and infused with humanity."
December 28, 2017
If you’re looking for strategies to keep your company’s brand in the minds and hearts of your audience, this book is a great start.
Read
January 3, 2019Read the summery on Blinkist.
October 29, 2019
From basics to a more advanced social media strategy, this book is a must for anyone wanting to learn more about Digital Marketing
April 9, 2020
If you’re in charge of your company’s Inbound Marketing strategy or thinking about developing one, this book is for you!
Content is king.
Content is king.
July 25, 2020
The underlying principles of the book are foundational when it comes to building relationships that last through non-intrusive marketing
February 26, 2021
Began with a lot of strength. Great premises and a good human approach to creating content and marketing. But the second half of the book fell flat for me.
May 23, 2021
It took forever to finish the book because every few pages I got an overwhelming urge to create content. Very inspiring and helpful.
August 9, 2021
Zwar viel Allgemeinwissen - dafür gut zusammengefasst und auf den Punkt gebracht. Ein guter Einstieg in das Thema Content Marketing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews