Likeonomics was an engaging and sometimes interesting book, but without any real substance or value.

(Note: Likeonomics is NOT a book about the economics of “Likes” on Facebook. It’s about the importance of “likeability” for business or professional success.)

The book’s full title is Likeonomics: The Unexpected Truth Behind Earning Trust, Influencing Behavior, and Inspiring Action.

Nineteen years ago, when I opened my own law office, I hired a marketing consultant. He advised me that my goal to attract clients should be to guide people to “know, like, and trust” me. It was great advice, short and simple, yet challenging to implement.

A decade later, after transitioning into internet marketing as a career, I summarized my advice to web publishers with another short phrase: “be relevant and useful.”

In effect, Rohti Bhargava combines those two snippets of advice and stretches them to 184 pages, with lots of entertaining stories and anecdotes, many of which illustrate his point (while a few seem largely irrelevant).

While the concept seemed promising, after reading this book, I don’t consider “Likeonomics” to be a meaningful economic theory or meme.

Unlike several earlier reviewers, I didn’t find any “actionable takeaways” in the book. (At the end of several chapters, the author links to five free “Online Workbooks and Action Guides” which aren’t yet available. Update, May 30: all five are now available, but I wasn’t impressed by their content.)

This isn’t a bad book, and for anyone who doesn’t understand the importance of honesty, relationships, relevance, or simplicity in business, it might be helpful.

Overall, I didn’t find this book very useful, and I don’t recommend it.

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