This is Marketing by Seth Godin
⭐⭐⭐⭐- Shelf Worthy!
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
Morning Readers & Happy Monday!
It’s an extra-long weekend here in Canada & I celebrated by not doing anything besides reading, cleaning and writing. It was a much needed break after a busy week and an even busier weekend with the family, and I enjoyed every second of it! I feel like I’m finally starting to get back into reading and I love the routine it’s bringing back into my life after a winter of chaos.
In his book This is Marketing, Seth Godin reframes marketing as building meaningful connections by serving a specific audience, not shouting at the masses. Through clear principles grounded in connection, generosity, and culture-building, the book teaches you how to create work that resonates deeply and spreads because it matters to the people it serves.
I love how Seth take the mundane world of marketing, and turns it into a journey of self reflection, asking the reader to figure out what change they want to make in the world, and finding their why as a way of connecting better with those they wish to serve. This honestly turned into an evening of journaling and reflection on my part, and I loved getting more intimate with the change I want to make in the world and how I want to show up for all of you here too!
So many highlighted quotes, here are a few more of my saved-snippets:
- It doesn’t make sense to make a key and then run around looking for a lock to open. The only productive solution is to find a lock and then fashion a key. It’s easier to make products and services for the customers you seek to serve, than it is to find customers for your products and services.
2. The last step is often overlooked. Show up. Regularly, consistently and generously… to organize and lead and build confidence in the change you seek to make.
3. Marketing begins and often ends with what we do and how we do it… your strategy, your commitment to a way of being, and a story to be told and a promise to be; made can change everything. If you want to make change, begin by making culture… organizing a tightly knit group.
4. What you say isn’t nearly as important as what what others say about you.
5. Marketing is our quest to make change on behalf of those we serve… who will you seek to serve?
6. The relentless pursuit of mass will make you boring because mass means average. and it means the center of the curve. it requires you to offend no one and satisfy everyone.. it will lead to generalizations. Begin with the smallest viable market, what’s the minimum number of people you would need to influence to make it worth the effort.
7. Start with empathy to see a real need, not an invented one. Not how can I start a business, but what would matter here? …Show up in the world with a story they want to hear, told in a language they’re eager to understand. Make it easy to spread. Earn & keep the attention and trust of those you serve. Look for ways to go deeper. Create and relieve tension as people progress in their journeys towards their goals. Show up, often, do it with humility and focus on the parts that work.
8. If you need to be authentic to do your best work, you’re not a professional. You’re a fortunate amateur.
9. Racing to be the cheapest probably means you’re not investing sufficiently in change. When you’re the cheapest you’re not promising change, your promising the same but cheaper. The race to the bottom is tempting because nothing is easier to sell than cheaper.
10. The Story of self… gives you standing, a platform from which to speak when you talk about how your actions lead to a change. The story of us is the kernel of a tribe, why are we alike? Why should I care? The story of us is about together.. explains why your story of self is relevant to us and how we will benefit… The story of now enlists the tribe on your journey… to move forward together… Shared interests. Shared Goals. Shared Language.
If you are working on any form of marketing, whether it be a product, service or even self-marketing, I would definitely recommend finding a pen and piece of paper and turning this book into an exercise!
What kind of change do you want to make in the world?
-Anna R.
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*Please note that I work 60-hour weeks and am more of a reader & writer than a photographer. While I do take and edit many of my own photos, some AI may also be used in their creation and editing for the sake of convenience, money, time & my personal sanity.
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
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