Interview with Eric Schulz

Author of Marketing in the Digital Age

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

I grew up in Southern California, and moved to Orem, Utah when I was eight years old. My career has taken me all over the country, My professional journey has taken me from Utah to the San Francisco Bay area, back to Utah, Cincinnati, Orlando, back to the Bay area, to Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington DC, Stamford, CT, and back to Utah. I currently reside in Logan, Utah.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

I’ve worked in consumer product and sports marketing for a few decades now. Jobs have taken me to different areas. I’ve loved moving around, as each place has something very special. I still crave Montgomery Inn Ribs and Skyline Chili from Cincinnati. Being able to go to Walt Disney World anytime in Orlando; all the sights and memorials in Washington. Going to Dodger’s games and eating at Tommy’s Original Hamburgers in LA.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

During my career, i was often told that I had a way with simplifying often very complex issues and having a clarity. I often solved problems in unique ways, with different ways of thinking and analyzing than most. Co-workers would say “you need to write that down somewhere”, so I did. My first book “The Marketing Game – How the World’s Best Companies Play to Win” was a compilation of that learning.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

I try to explain marketing in plain and simple language, cutting out the jargon so its easy to understand. I unfold it in a step-by-step manner moving from insight to strategy to execution. My goal is that anyone who reads my book and really takes the time to understand it can execute marketing at a world-class level.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

I tell a lot of stories to connect the marketing with real-life situations. The book is really a series of stories that lead you through how to develop and execute marketing starting at consumer and marketplace insights, to developing brand strategy, to execution.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

I worked with a real publisher on my first book, and I felt like the books were cooked when it came to royalty payments. They sold rights all over the world for sometimes only $100 to an entire country (and I’d only get $20 of it). So I decided to self-publish my last two books and just put them on Amazon. It’s not about the money, it’s about controlling the book myself. It took almost 18 months for the publisher to get it into the marketplace – way too slow. By self-publishing, I had the book on Amazon two days after I finished writing it. Very cool.

If you could, what advice would you give to your past self before embarking on this journey?

It’s a lot harder than it seems. Each chapter took an enormous amount of thinking, writing, re-writing to get it right.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

I wrote Marketing in the Digital Age primarily for use as the textbook in college “fundamentals” marketing classes. Small business owners can also find great value in it, as they often are both owner and marketer, but often lack the skills of the latter.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

Just finding the time to write between teaching classes. Most of my summer break for the past three years has been dedicated to writing Marketing in the Digital Age.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

My biggest strength is I’m a pretty good storyteller – and at its most basic root, that’s what marketing is. It’s telling consumers the story of how this product or service can fit into their life in a way that will make their life better. As to publishing, I use Create space on Amazon. Really easy to use.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

I don’t like to self-promote. It feels like bragging, and I try to stay humble and out of the spotlight.

When do you think you will write your next book?

This is probably my last, but who knows. If the marketing world changes dramatically (as it has over the past several years with the advent of digital marketing) then I may take another crack. We’ll have to see how things evolve.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

I self-published, using the Create Space platform from Amazon.