Saturday, October 14, 2006
Whoppers
I have a weakness for marketing books. Right now, I have a stack of Seth Godin's books beside my bed. (Surely you've noticed that I've mentioned him before?) He's inspirational & motivational & cutting edge where there is no edge, yet he has a fairly simple message overall. His book, All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World, can be summed up with the following:
1. Be remarkable.
2. Be authentic.
3. Tell a good story.
4. Believe the story.
5. Live the story.
There are a couple of caveats.
1. Whatever you're selling, be it a product, a service, your fine personality, be sure that it will not cause long-term damage to your audience or the world. Of course, if the thing you're selling does cause damage, then it's not really remarkable or authentic, is it?
2. Pick an audience whose worldview meshes with your story, or adapt your story to fit a particular worldview. Audiences at the fringes of society (those without a homogenized worldview) are best.
Marketers are not the only ones telling whoppers. Fiction writers do the same, only we place more emphasis on creating a believable story, because that's what makes our stories authentic and remarkable.
I wonder if Seth has ever tried his hand at fiction . . . .
1. Be remarkable.
2. Be authentic.
3. Tell a good story.
4. Believe the story.
5. Live the story.
There are a couple of caveats.
1. Whatever you're selling, be it a product, a service, your fine personality, be sure that it will not cause long-term damage to your audience or the world. Of course, if the thing you're selling does cause damage, then it's not really remarkable or authentic, is it?
2. Pick an audience whose worldview meshes with your story, or adapt your story to fit a particular worldview. Audiences at the fringes of society (those without a homogenized worldview) are best.
Marketers are not the only ones telling whoppers. Fiction writers do the same, only we place more emphasis on creating a believable story, because that's what makes our stories authentic and remarkable.
I wonder if Seth has ever tried his hand at fiction . . . .
Labels: marketing, seth godin, story
