Spin Sucks Book Review: 3 Things I Didn’t Expect

If you’re familiar at all with the PR industry you’ve probably heard the name Gini Dietrich or at least her popular blog Spin Sucks, which has the #1 spot in Cision’s Top 50 PR Blogs list.

Gini has been one of my career role models for a few years now. When I heard she had written a book called Spin Sucks, I signed up right away to be one of her brand ambassadors and received an early copy of the book.

Since today is the official launch for Gini’s new book, I wanted to give you a sneak peak into what you’ll learn from reading Spin Sucks.

3 Things I Didn’t Expect (and the reason why you should buy the book)

I’ll be honest, I didn’t give much thought to what would be written in the book when I signed up to be a brand ambassador. All I knew was that Gini wrote it (so it would have to be awesome) and it was obviously going to be about public relations. But while reading it there were a few things I didn’t expect, that doesn’t mean they were bad surprises. Matter of fact, the book was better and more applicable than I had originally thought it would be.

1) Spin Sucks is directed towards small businesses.

Being a loyal reader and occasional contributor to the Spin Sucks blog, I had expected the book to be directed solely to PR professionals. However, the book’s targeted audience is much broader than that.

The book’s easy-to-understand and practical nature makes it a primary resource for small to medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs who want to do their own digital communication. It would also make a great read for communication and business students.

I was a little nervous at first that the book might be too basic for the PR professional, but that all changed when I got to chapter 3. Not only is Spin Sucks digestible for the novice but also those who have been in the PR industry for years can glean plenty of golden nuggets from the wisdom Gini shares throughout it.

2) She said what…?!

I interned at a PR agency for half a year before I took on my current job at WebpageFX. The PR agency used traditional tactics and had a blind eye to how PR connects with SEO and content marketing.

What does this have to do with Spin Sucks? Gini broke the mold. I didn’t expect her to encourage and explain how to combine all digital communication efforts (SEO, content marketing, reputation management, etc) to create an overall better PR campaign. I thought she was going to reinforce the PR mold but her book completely shatters what most PR agencies do.

3) I’m going to have to reread it.

I don’t reread books often. The list is very short and includes books such as: How to Win Friends and Influence People, Secrets of Closing the Sale, and several books from the Bible. But Gini’s Spin Sucks is now added to that list. The practical tips and tricks she shares make it certain that I’ll be taking it off the shelf to dig through it again soon.

I read a lot. Just to give you a glimpse, in March I read Spin Sucks, The Positive Dog, Epic Content Marketing, and The Oz Principle (this doesn’t include my weekly in-take of industry articles). Spin Sucks is one of the best communication books I’ve read in a long time.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. Check out the 38 positive reviews she already has on Amazon.