Review of Niching Up
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tom mcclung
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- Latest Review: Niching Up by Chris Dreyer
Review of Niching Up
[Following is a volunteer review of "Niching Up" by Chris Dreyer.]
Chris Dryer wrote a self-help book entitled Niching Up. It is written to give guidance on how to distinguish oneself against competition in a given area of expertise. The book identifies both the pros and cons of identifying and operating within an identified niche. It speaks to tactics and methods (as well as common mistakes) of these and then pinpoints what the author has done in the past to achieve recognition in these areas. The author reveals many details and parameters that can be used to step out from the crowd and improve one's position in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The goal of niching up is to improve one's position in a search engine key word search.
When the summary was first read, it was exciting and prompted a quick reading of the first chapters. At first the definition of niching was not understood but the author quickly explained the definition and why he deemed it successful. SEO was not a topic with which I was familiar. I needed some background which was provided. A simple definition may be that niching up is simply a process for separating yourself in your area of expertise from others in the same field. I found this both interesting and intriguing and so I read the first four chapters quickly. I thought the writer's style was captivating and engaging. The writer revealed methods, tactics and schemes that would be effective to almost anyone, but especially to consultants or independent experts.
The writing style included examples, humor and specifics which were helpful. As more of the book was revealed though, it appeared to be a testament to an ego more than a how-to education. I did not like the multiple references to his greatness and past exploits. There are multiple points where he pats himself on the back for his successes in life. I thought they became too numerous and I found them distracting. For example on page 85, he tells how he knows "hundreds" of people and pages 97-98 where he tells a story of helping children. Another example is chapter 3 which is on expertise and is nearly all about the author's successes. Although the points were pertinent, they seemed more to point to an ego. He also spoke of his success as an athlete, a card player, a designer of web sites, and his knowledge. I tired quickly of the "ego points" as I came to call them.
The book had some salient points relative to niching and optimizing keyword searches, but because of the ego points, I would only give the book 3 out of 5 stars and would only call it fair. The book did not hold my interest as the ego points became more of the story than the instruction and so I deducted two points. The book did have strong relevance to improving one's position in search engine optimization (SEO) so I would not go below 3.
I recommend this book with some reservations due to the ego points as mentioned earlier. I believe this book could be improved with fewer references to the writer's successes in life and more emphasis on how these successes have helped him. They are related but to me are more focused on the writer than his education or improvement tactics. I still think the book is pertinent to professions where differentiation is crucial, like consultants, expert witnesses, or independent specialists.
******
Niching Up
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Chris Dryer wrote a self-help book entitled Niching Up. It is written to give guidance on how to distinguish oneself against competition in a given area of expertise. The book identifies both the pros and cons of identifying and operating within an identified niche. It speaks to tactics and methods (as well as common mistakes) of these and then pinpoints what the author has done in the past to achieve recognition in these areas. The author reveals many details and parameters that can be used to step out from the crowd and improve one's position in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The goal of niching up is to improve one's position in a search engine key word search.
When the summary was first read, it was exciting and prompted a quick reading of the first chapters. At first the definition of niching was not understood but the author quickly explained the definition and why he deemed it successful. SEO was not a topic with which I was familiar. I needed some background which was provided. A simple definition may be that niching up is simply a process for separating yourself in your area of expertise from others in the same field. I found this both interesting and intriguing and so I read the first four chapters quickly. I thought the writer's style was captivating and engaging. The writer revealed methods, tactics and schemes that would be effective to almost anyone, but especially to consultants or independent experts.
The writing style included examples, humor and specifics which were helpful. As more of the book was revealed though, it appeared to be a testament to an ego more than a how-to education. I did not like the multiple references to his greatness and past exploits. There are multiple points where he pats himself on the back for his successes in life. I thought they became too numerous and I found them distracting. For example on page 85, he tells how he knows "hundreds" of people and pages 97-98 where he tells a story of helping children. Another example is chapter 3 which is on expertise and is nearly all about the author's successes. Although the points were pertinent, they seemed more to point to an ego. He also spoke of his success as an athlete, a card player, a designer of web sites, and his knowledge. I tired quickly of the "ego points" as I came to call them.
The book had some salient points relative to niching and optimizing keyword searches, but because of the ego points, I would only give the book 3 out of 5 stars and would only call it fair. The book did not hold my interest as the ego points became more of the story than the instruction and so I deducted two points. The book did have strong relevance to improving one's position in search engine optimization (SEO) so I would not go below 3.
I recommend this book with some reservations due to the ego points as mentioned earlier. I believe this book could be improved with fewer references to the writer's successes in life and more emphasis on how these successes have helped him. They are related but to me are more focused on the writer than his education or improvement tactics. I still think the book is pertinent to professions where differentiation is crucial, like consultants, expert witnesses, or independent specialists.
******
Niching Up
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Niching Up by Chris Dreyer
