Acknowledgments

So much more goes into creating a book than anyone realizes, especially for a first-time author. Even though I’ve been blogging for over eight years and have written over 2,000 articles and blog posts on my own, writing a book is by no means a solitary activity. Numerous people contribute to the ideas, perspectives, and knowledge that come together in a book’s creation. I’ve made many connections with amazingly smart, curious, and interesting people over many years of blogging, speaking at conferences, client consulting, and from being a participant on the social web at large. All the good people I’ve connected with have played a part in developing the point of view, insights, and perspectives shared in this book. For that I thank you all.

To our blog and newsletter subscribers, Facebook fans, Twitter followers, Google + friends, and the TopRank Online Marking community on the web—I get to learn something new from our interactions every single day. Thank you for the opportunity to engage and learn together.

A very special thank you goes to Ashley Zeckman, who hit the ground running at TopRank Online Marketing and has been a true “right hand” during the most important phases of this book. Her tireless dedication helped make it possible. Thank you to all the members of the TopRank Online Marketing team, including Jolina Pettice and Mike Yanke who pitched in to help with Optimize and to my partner Susan Misukanis who provided support and took on additional responsibilities in order for me to write.

Numerous industry friends and peers were helpful during this process, some unknowingly. Thanks to authors Jay Baer, Ann Handley, Bryan Eisenberg, Mike Stelzner, Ron Jones, Greg Jarboe, Mike Moran, and Mike Grehan, who answered my questions, and offered encouragement and even fair warning about the before, during, and after of writing a book.

A tip of the hat goes to search, social media, and content marketing thought leaders who have been an inspiration to me for writing and the endless pursuit of knowledge in the online marketing and PR industries: Brian Clark, Chris Brogan, Brian Solis, Charlene Li, Michael Brito, David Meerman Scott, David Alston, Rebecca Lieb, John Jantsch, Danny Sullivan, Andy Beal, William Murray, Aaron Strout, Chuck Hemann, Katie Payne, Shonali Burke, Arik Hanson, Tac Anderson, Jason Falls, Brett Tabke, Rick Calvert, Heidi Cohen, Eric Schwartzman, Mel Carson, Vanessa Fox, Aaron Goldman, Avinash Kaushik, and Bill Hunt. Thanks to Chris Heuer for the spark many years ago that opened my mind to the world of social media. Thanks to Joe Pulizzi for bringing the rain of attention on content marketing—a rising tide lifts all ships, my friend.

Thank you to the editorial staff at Wiley and, in particular, the persistence and patience of Shannon Vargo, who saw potential where I didn’t and proved to be a great compass in my book writing journey.

Books are written nights and weekends and that means sacrifices in time from my wife, Susan, and especially “the munchkins” Dominic, Cameron, and Violet. They are the inspiration for anything and everything good that I do.

Without family there is nothing, and so I must thank my parents, Michael and Ruthe, for their unconditional support, love, and enthusiasm.