I finally, and I do mean finally, got around to reading "Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?" by Bryan & Jeffrey Eisenberg. I picked up the book free at last year's Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose when the brothers were in attendance signing and handing out copies. Now, almost nine months later, I'm finally ready to review it... or at least I think I am.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure how to go about rating this book. I'm a big fan of the Eisenberg's - they put out a hell of a newsletter, and their previous book, "Call to Action" was a damn good read (that reminds me, I should probably get around to reviewing that one too). However, I have mixed feelings about this one. I've literally got a split decision.

"Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?" highlights two very strong ideas. The first idea is to enter the mindset of website's visitors / customers and browse your website asking the same questions that they would. Theoretically, in this mindset you don't know enough to understand the problem; rather you know only that a problem exists and that you've turned to the Internet for a solution. What phrases did you search for? What questions are you asking? Afterwards, review your website and ensure that it addresses these same questions.

The second idea involves creating personas by breaking down your website's visitors into classes, such as gamers or the ever popular soccer moms. Once you've done this than you can begin to ask yourself what is needed in order to attract these kinds of people. What questions are they asking? Why are they interested in making a purchase? How would they use your company's website? Addressing these questions is a great way to ensure that you're in tune with your target audience, and that your website appeals to those it intended to.

Here is a small excerpt from the book:

All in all... the book offers solid and actionable advice. However, my only problem with it is that after several pages in it became a bit of a chore to read. The concepts were those that I've personally become familiar with over the years, and so I feel that this book provides very little in return for advanced marketers... or even those with several months of ecommerce experience. Instead of being enlightened, I thought that the authors were just stating the obvious.

So in the end, my review is this: If you're new to ecommerce and the online marketing world, this is a great read for figuring out what needs to be done in order to make your business inviting to your general audience. If you're on the other end of the spectrum and are looking for advanced reading... I'm quite sure that this isn't the book for you.

In any event you can get more information about "Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?" from its Amazon page.