Take A Lesson From the Book, Three Cups of Tea

Wow; have you ever read a book that left you thinking about it days and weeks after you turned the last page? Such was the case when I finished Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Greg’s vision and passion to build schools in war-torn Pakistan and Afghanistan is truly inspiring. But why haven’t more people heard that story?

After years of being surrounded by true guerrilla warfare, the authors are using their own guerrilla tactics to get the word out. Guerrilla marketing that is. And they’re doing it beautifully. First they captured us with a powerful story, and now they’re telling us how we can make a difference by taking action. Among their final words:

"If Three Cups of Tea inspires you to do more, here are suggestions for how to help:

1. Visit the www.threecupsoftea.com web site for more info, books reviews, events and ideas. If you purchase books online, through this web site and 7 percent of all your book purchases will go toward a girls’ education scholarship fund in Pakistan and Afghanistan."

"2. Suggest Three Cups of Tea to a friend, colleague, book club, women’s group, church, civic group, synagogue, mosque, university or high school class, or a group interested in education, literacy, adventure, cross-cultural issues, Islam, or Pakistan and Afghanistan."

"3. Check if Three Cups of Tea is in your local library. If not, either donate a book or suggest to the library to add Three Cups of Tea to their collection. Ask your friends or family in other states to do this also."

"4. Encourage your local independent or chain bookstore to carry this book."

"5. Write a Three Cups of Tea book review for Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, or a blog. Your candid comments will help the buzz with this (or any) book."

"6. Ask the book editor of your local newspaper or radio to consider reviewing the book."

"7. Pennies for Peace, www.penniesforpeace.org, is designed for schoolchildren. Get your local school involved to make a difference, one penny, one pencil at a time. Since 1994, more than eight million pennies have been raised through Pennies for Peace!"

"8. If you want to support our efforts to promote education and literacy, especially for girls, you can make a tax-deductible contribution to our nonprofit organization, Central Asia Institute, PO box 7209, Bozeman, MT 59771, www.ikat.org. It costs us $1 per month for one child’s education to Pakistan or Afghanistan, a penny to buy a pencil, and a teacher’s salary averages $1 per day.”

Guerrilla marketing is all about time, energy and imagination. Kudos to Greg Mortenson for using time, energy and imagination to build 55 schools, especially for girls, in the forbidding terrain and backyard of the Taliban. Kudos to Greg Mortenson for using time, energy and imagination to co-author a book and show readers how to create a buzz and boost fundraising efforts.

Need help developing your Guerrilla Marketing tactics? Sign up for your FREE Marketing Mastery Success Kit that puts you on the Fast Track to business success at: http://www.boostyourbottomline.com.

© 2007 BoostYourBottomLine.com

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