This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See Hardcover – Illustrated, November 13, 2018

Seth Godin's books have been invaluable to me over the past eight years since I discovered him online. His insight, encouragement, and knack for getting to the core of each idea he talks or writes about has been invaluable in my actual everyday life, before I started a business.When I was a stay-at-home homeschooling mother I read Seth's books and blog. His message about "work that matters" has always inspired me. I'm an INFJ, so doing work that matters is pretty much as important as breathing. On page 14 of his latest book, This is Marketing, Seth Godin writes: "Marketing is the act of making change happen".And he shows us how we can use the principles of marketing to share our meaningful work with the world and bring about change. All through this book, and, indeed, all of Seth's work, you will hear him talk about doing "work that matters for people who care" and that we, as marketers, are meant to serve people and add value.This is not the way marketing was seen in the past. It is no longer considered a good marketing practice to selfishly demand that people (who don't know us) give us their time and attention as we try to sell them something. Instead, we are to start by showing up consistently, bringing our best to people, and serving them.Then, if we earn their trust and we become part of a "tribe" or community of people who share interests, we can offer what we have. And they might actually choose to listen to our message and, possibly, to buy from us. One very important point Seth makes in Chapter 20 "Organizing and Leading a Tribe" is this:"The tribe doesn't belong to you, so you don't get to tell the members what to do or to use them for your own aims." (p. 230)I hear a lot about "building your tribe" and "growing your followers on social" from successful influencers, but Seth is right: if you are lucky enough to have a group of people who want to listen to you, that's great! But you don't own that community--you are there to serve them, not use them.I'm jumping around a bit, but Chapter 9, "People Like Us Do Things Like This" is about people's desire to fit in and their perception of status. Seth explains why it is so difficult to bring about change. I found this chapter super helpful to understand why marketing can be so difficult.Chapter 10 is about the creation of tension, as a marketer, in order to bring about forward motion, and, thus, the change we want to make. He explains "pattern match" and "pattern interrupt". This was helpful in understanding what to do about the resistance people have to change.Other valuable and practical insights can be found in his chapters "A Better Business Plan", "The Funnel", and "Status, Dominance, and Affiliation".I always appreciate the generosity with which Seth shares his wisdom and the clear way he explains marketing principles so that anyone can comprehend them. Throughout the book, just like in everything else he shares with the world, Seth's message is about being generous and doing your best work. Not perfect work, just your best. And then ship it. And then tomorrow you can make it better.If you're an entrepreneur, small business owner, or involved with marketing in any organization, including non-profits, you need to read this book. Oh and one final book nerd note: at 5.3 inches by 7.3 inches, the size of this book feels just right to hold in my hands.

I'm not a marketing expert, but have experience in running start-up businesses. In this book, Seth provides the most powerful elements in helping your business stand out in a way that any business owner can understand. This is a must read for any start-up or small business owner.

This is the first book I read by Godin, and I've enjoyed it so much that I will certainly read more of his works in the future. In the past I read marketing books for pleasure, not to be 'manipulated' by advertisers, i.e. as a shield kind of thing. Cialdini's first book ('Influence') has always been a book of reference for me in that regard. However, I've always felt that it fell short for the needs of the modern contemporary Internet-dominated society and market. This is Marketing fills the gap, adding elements that are relevant to the social, cultural and marketing reality of the 21st century; elements that I can use to think about selling my services without having to think about learning psychological tactics that are already well-known, have been used and overused for decades, and no longer work.TARGET READER> Godin's book is a more a book that gives you food-for-thought than a book that provides you with a proper system to implement things. Godin himself states that this is not a step-by-step set of tactics by a compass and, to me, that's true. To me that's inspirational.> I see the book more targeted to lay people and small biz entrepreneurs than a book devoted to professional marketers, who might react with a 'what?!" to some of the points that Godin makes.GODIN'S CORE MARKETING PRINCIPLES+ Marketing seeks more market share, more customers, and more work.+ Marketing is driven by better service, better community, and better outcomes.+ Marketing creates culture: Status, affiliation, and people like us.+ Marketing is change: Change the culture, change your world. Marketers make change happen.+ Each of us is a marketer and has the ability to make more change than we can imagine.+ Our opportunity and our obligation is to do marketing that we’re proud of.GREAT THINGS+ The thing I like the most about this book is Godin's understanding of contemporary group dynamics, conformity trends, cultural disruption, and cultural influence. Above all, what stands out to me is the author's emphasis on serving the client or customer, treating them with respect, and not selling yourself too short in the process.+ Probably because I experience the over-dominance of Facebook and Google as something dangerous and even burdensome, I loved Godin's insistence on narrative instead of advertising, and on care as a way to obtain profit.+ Godin debunks the fallacy of the efficiency of FB and Google paid adds in marketing small businesses.+ The book reads with gusto, and has a very simple language.+ Some of the examples that Godin uses to exemplify his points are really good, too.+ The explanation of why the same book gets both 1-star and 5-star reviews is really good.+ The advice on how to treat loyal customers who ring a call center to complain.+ The definition of goal, and how it differs from a strategy and a tactic.+ The difference between direct marketing and brand marketing, and why the latter is better for your biz.+ The selected readings list at the end of the book is really good.MY FAVORITE NUGGETS> "Online advertising is also the most ignored advertising ever created. It’s not unusual to run an ad in front of a hundred thousand people and get not a single click. It’s not unusual for an entire ad campaign to start, run, and finish without making any impact on the culture. (p. 169).> "If you’re buying direct marketing ads, measure everything. Compute how much it costs you to earn attention, to get a click, to turn that attention into an order. Direct marketing is action marketing, and if you’re not able to measure it, it doesn’t count." (p. 172).> "The lifetime value of a new customer rarely exceeds the cost of running the ads necessary to get a new customer. People are so distrustful, and the web is so cluttered, that the ads rarely have enough power to pay for themselves." (p. 210).> "Lowering your price doesn’t make you more trusted. It does the opposite." (p. 185).WHERE TO START READING~ The Simple Marketing Sheet at the end of the book, especially if you get to book to help you market something you want to sell.~ Chapter 23, because it summarizes the main points discussed in the book .DOWNSIDES__ The core message is repeated over and over again, sometimes unnecessarily.__ I would have loved that Godin provided a few more examples on certain points he makes to make his advice more precise and less generic.__ Some statements are a bit vague. An example: "And then, with this knowledge, overdo your brand marketing. Every slice of every interaction ought to reflect the whole. Every time we see any of you, we ought to be able to make a smart guess about all of you." (p. 175).__ The book reads like an upgraded collection of blog entries, which makes a great read, but lacks the patina of seriousness that makes things trustworthy for the newcomer. When you get a footnote system where you back what you say, the trust is immediately there; when you don't do that, I have the doubt whether some of the statements are hyperbolic or just a way of speaking. No doubt, Godin is a powerful voice in the marketing world, but I have difficulties taking bombastic statements at face value, no matter how much I like the speaker.__ Godin defines marketing in p. 2 as "the generous act of helping someone solve a problem. Their problem". I consider that BS, sorry. I think marketing is the act of selling something to people who might need or not need it, might want it or not, especially the act of selling to people who would initially say no to something.__ Godin repeats over and over that marketers create change. I think that's a bit of BS, too. The way I see it is, marketers sell change, and that's great in itself. People who really make change in the world, do so mostly outside the marketing world, sorry. The world of ideas, the word of science, the world of art, the world of technology. I see change coming from scientists, philosophers, artists, and innovators, not so much from marketers. Navel-looking hyperbolas work when giving a conference, in a book, not so much.MINDGodin himself states that the book is based on a hundred-day seminar that involved both lessons and peer-to-peer coaching around shared work. (p.2), and that some bits of his blog are also incorporated (p. 259).BAD ENGLISH> “Treat the others the way you’d want to be treated.” (p. 234).> “Build a team with the capacity and the patience to do the work that needs doing.” (p. 235).