You can enter to win a free copy of Margot Bloomstein’s new book, Trustworthy: How the Smartest Brands Beat Cynicism and Bridge the Trust Gap, by leaving a comment on this blog post. Tell us what brand you trust and why. You’ll then be entered into a random drawing to be held on Saturday, May 8, 2021. One lucky winner will be sent a free copy of this terrific new release. To regain the trust of consumers and citizens, marketers talk about empathy and authenticity, transparency and accountability. But how do you get beyond those buzzwords? Margot Bloomstein offers an actionable framework focused on voice, volume, and vulnerability. Voice is the personality and style which should be consistent across time and channels. Volume is how much you communicate and knowing when enough is enough. Vulnerability is the risk you take in telling the truth, reaching to connect with your audience, prototyping in public, and taking responsibility for mistakes when they happen. Bloomstein shows with dozen of case studies how to employ concrete tactics to regain trust, respect, and customer loyalty. Airbnb, Zoom, the FBI, TED, the United Kingdom Government Digital Service, The New York Times, America’s Test Kitchen, local election commissions, and other organizations have all embraced strategies of content and design that transform their audiences into empowered decision-makers. Smart organizations teach their audiences to evaluate product options, engage in continuous self-education, and make more informed choices. She believes business can be a force for good. And she provides practical advice…

You may resist the idea that as an author you are a brand. It sounds so commercial, so corporate, so corny. But remember publishing is a business, and people buy books based on what they think about an author. Your brand becomes your reputation. “A brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room,” Jeff Bezos is credited with saying. How you present your books to the public and represent yourself as an author IS your brand. Even if you aren’t intentionally creating a brand, you’re still leaving people who currently follow you and your prospective readers with an impression of who you are. It’s in your best interest to become more intentional about branding yourself as an author. From your dust jacket to your social media efforts, your brand represents you and your book. Your brand helps you cultivate name recognition, but more importantly, it communicates to audiences whether or not you are trustworthy. It’s one thing to write from the perspective of an unreliable narrator in a work of fiction and an entirely different thing to be an unreliable author. Good strategy for the former, lethal for the latter. For more than a decade it’s been important to include an author head shot in your book proposal. The image you present of yourself is important to aquisitions editors because it’s important to readers. Your photo will be used in all publicity and marketing materials. If you’re the author of a children’s book, and…

Page Two Books released Trustworthy: How the Smartest Brands Beat Cynicism and Bridge the Trust Gap by Margot Bloomstein on March 2. The Silver Unicorn Bookstore hosted her Tuesday launch event with an interview by Lylah Alphonse of the Boston Globe. On Thursday, Magers & Quinn in Minneapolis hosted graphic designer Carolyn Porter, author of Marcel’s Letters: A Font and the Search for One Man’s Fate, and she interviewed Margot. After the hour-long interview, they recorded some bonus footage to talk about the cover design process which involved consulting a trapeze artist to make sure people would trust that the two circus performers shown weren’t going to fall. Her virtual book tour in March took Margot to Seattle, Austin, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee. Phew! She took the #2 spot on the best-selling new releases in Media and Communications Industry category on Amazon for two weeks straight and that landed her in the top #100 books in this category. When Amanda Frost left a review on Amazon encouraging police chiefs, elected officials, and anyone in public service to read the book, Margot tweeted the review and that her excitement warranted a fist pump like that given by actor Eriq La Salle in the opening credits of the ‘90s TV series E.R. Here’s the amazing thing that happened next in Margot’s own words: “ERIQ LA SALLE faved my tweet. “Then he responded to it with congrats. “My jaw hit the floor. “But here’s the kicker. Here’s where it gets creepy, but maybe only if you care about these details…