When a colleague asked me whether I wanted to review David Siteman Garland‘s new book I did what every Web-savvy marketer would do: I went to Amazon to read the reviews. I got no further than the author’s own video introduction.

In other words, he found a smart, fast, and cheap way to hook me in.

Garland lays out the premise of Smarter, Faster, Cheaper on page 1:

When you break down all the fluff, there are two ways to promote and market your business: dumber, slower, and expensive–or smarter, faster, and cheaper.

The other point Garland makes is that savvy entrepreneurs and smart business owners can compete against big brands. (Sometimes we even have an edge.):

Lean companies are at a distinct advantage in the new world of business building, marketing, and promoting, because they aren’t required to ask a board of 739 people before posting something online… David has been given a slingshot and can outmaneuver Goliath.

Faster, Smarter, Cheaper is filled with marketing advice about being human, building trust, growing your community, and leveraging social platforms to expand your reach and demonstrate your uber-smarts. While the book seems aimed at newbies, there’s plenty of advice for seasoned business owners and marketers alike.

In fact, the book saved me big time the other day. I was reading Garland’s chapter on “Creating a Shareable and Spreadable Website” when I came across a bulleted list of things to consider in addition to content. One of the bullets: “Is it clear to users how they can contact me? Do I tell them what the best way to reach me is? E-mail? Phone?…”

I was so focused on making sure I was getting my shiny social media icons on my new Web site that I’d forgotten to include e-mail and telephone information front and center. Fortunately, the site wasn’t yet live.

There are lots of reasons we read business books. Some are for Big Ideas. Others for inspiration. Still others are designed to help us do what we do, but a little bit better. Smarter, Faster, Cheaper is great for this.

*Disclosure: I received a free copy of Smarter, Faster, Cheaper in exchange for agreeing to review it–but without any restrictions on what I might say.

Photo by puuikibeach (Flickr).