This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to Se

Seth Godin’s new book releases today. I received an early copy and read it in two sittings. Yes, I am a Seth Godin fan having read all his books and every blog post he’s written since about 2004. This Is Marketing is Seth’s best book because it’s written for people who think they already know about marketing. It’s written for today’s era of polarization and spin. It’s written to help us all get back to basics.

“This is Marketing shows you how to do work you're proud of, whether you're a tech startup founder, a small business owner, or an executive at a large corporation. Great marketers don't use consumers to solve their company's problem; they use marketing to solve other people's problems. Their tactics rely on empathy, connection, and emotional labor instead of attention-stealing ads and spammy email funnels. When done right, marketing seeks to make change in the world.”

What would Jerry do?

The book has a wonderful chapter titled “What would Jerry do?” Jerry being, Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. As I was checking out the book’s index, I instantly knew that was the first chapter I’d read. You see, Seth and I are both mega Grateful Dead fans. I’ve been to 73 Grateful Dead concerts. Seth has 233 Grateful Dead albums.

We created a video to talk about fandom, the Grateful Dead, and great marketing.

David Meerman Scott Interviews Seth Godin on Marketing (and The Grateful Dead) from David Meerman Scott on Vimeo.

The Grateful Dead served the best fans like me and Seth rather than trying to appeal to the masses. Unless you sell Crest toothpaste or Pringles potato chips, that’s exactly what you should do too.  To be successful selling into your market you need to do the same – focus on a specific market. 

Marketing is not about spin and hype and polarization. It’s about connection. 

Read “This Is Marketing”. It is a book for now.