“This is marketing” by Seth Godin

The author 🖋

Seth Godin is an American entrepreneur and considered one of the top marketing experts in the world with over 20 bestselling books to his name.

He founded a Yoyodyne - which pioneered the concept of permission marketing - in 1996 and sold it to Yahoo for almost $30 million 2 years later to become Yahoo's vice president of direct marketing and then founded Squidoo in 2006 which in 2 years became one of the 500 most visited sites in the world.

Key takeaways 🎓

1. Marketing is about helping people

Marketing isn’t about manipulating people into buying things they don't need.

Godin believes that marketing should be viewed as a generous act of helping others solve their problems and achieve their desires.

To do that effectively we need a deep understanding of our audience and a compelling story that resonates.

2. The smallest viable market

We shouldn’t try to be everything to everyone.

Seth suggests focusing on quality over quantity - the smallest group of people who can see the most benefit from our product or service.

By serving this specific audience well we can understand them better, create a strong foundation and build a community that values and supports what we do.

3. A long term approach

Marketing is about earning trust and permission to talk to our audience.

Both are scarce commodities in today's world, therefore they require always thinking about what people need and delivering value consistently over time.

A focus on building long-term relationships rather than seeking quick wins, based on the author, is the only way to create a sustainable path to success.

Closing thoughts 🧠

The book challenges the traditional view of marketing and offers a refreshing, modern approach by someone who’s considered to be one of the best marketers of our generation.

It provides a valuable framework for the XXI century but if you’re looking for more of Seth’s insights - his blog is considered to be one of the best on the topic of marketing.