Are you in the tribe?

[LAST UPDATE: As of 9 am NY time on August 10th, invites are closed. Please don't respond, because unfortunately, we'll have to say no.].

I'd like to invite you to join a members-only tribe. A tribe for marketers, for leaders, for those focused on building communities or creating products or spreading ideas.

This online community will live on a site we've created that will feature blogs, forums, social networking, comments, photos, videos and a job board. And it's by invitation only until October. Spots are limited and early members get privileges and bragging rights.

Members get a password and the privilege of meeting each other, posting thoughts, connecting to big ideas or projects and more. The site will include excerpts from the book as well as a chance to contribute to a new jointly-authored ebook, with full credit and links to the contributors. The contents of the tribe forum won't be posted to the public until October, so it's really the only way to participate until then.

I'm launching my new book in mid-October, and as usual, doing something different to take my own advice.

One of the ideas I talk about briefly in the book is that powerful tribes aren't open to everyone. The exclusivity makes it work. In this case, the exclusivity comes from two things:

1. I'm only announcing the Tribe here on my blog. (Though it would be great with me if you want invite your friends to join, because your friends are my friends and they'll probably appreciate an early invite).

2. You have to be committed enough to pre-order my book, sight unseen (in some places for less than $14), months in advance. It's not about selling more books, of course, it's about creating a small hurdle to get the right people in the door.

The mechanics:

1. You can be anywhere in the world, and it's fine if you've already ordered a book (you know who you are). All you need to do is forward a copy of your electronic receipt (see below).
2. You can purchase the book here: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CEO Read (great for overseas and bulk orders, too), Borders or any bookstore that will give you an electronic receipt. (Here's the Amazon UK link).
3. Forward the receipt no later than August 10 to jointhetribe@gmail.com. Be sure to include your snail mail address in the email because I'm hoping to send you something in the mail in October. This is an automated autoreply address, so please include only your receipt and your address. Don't send your info directly to me, cause I'll lose it. You know how to find me if you need anything else.
4. We'll be sending out the invites in batches. Membership is numbered, with low numbers getting prestige, first dibs on various assets and bragging rights. If we get too big a response, I'll shut down the invite address and let you know here.
5. After August 10th, it's closed. We may decide to re-open the tribe a bit later, but I think that's unlikely.

Members of the tribe will get a chance to win free tickets to my launch event/presentation in New York as well as a few other goodies.

Even with just a few people in the pre-beta tribe we've built, I can already see how powerful it can be to have a safe, well-lit place on line where like-minded people can connect. I hope you can join us.

(Find a FAQ about this right here).