Is ‘This is Marketing’ by Seth Godin Worth Reading?

This is Marketing by Seth Godin is a book meant to challenge traditional marketing and inspire a new wave of more ethical marketing that creates connections and delivers high value. Instead of framing marketing as something transactional, this book frames it as the chance to create meaningful connections and real impact.

Seth Godin has written several books on marketing. This book, in particular, focuses on how to become a better marketer, how to ask the right questions, and how to create content that “makes a ruckus.” Now, you might be thinking, “But I’m not a marketer. I have no interest in that field.” Here’s the thing—everyone is a marketer. We all have a personal brand, whether we realize it or not. Every time we meet someone, we’re selling ourselves. Every time we advocate for dark chocolate over other kinds of chocolate, we’re selling an idea. Even now, as I write this, I’m pitching this book to you. This book is for everyone.

The Author: Seth Godin

Seth Godin is a renowned author, entrepreneur, and marketing expert. He has degrees in Psychology and Computer Science from Tufts University and an MBA from Stanford. He’s known for being the pioneer of ethical online direct marketing. He’s all about ditching the old-school marketing playbook and finding ways to connect with people. Throughout his career, he has held various leadership positions in the marketing and technology sectors. He was the Vice President of Direct Marketing at Yahoo and has founded several successful companies, including Yoyodyne and Squidoo. He’s also a highly sought-after public speaker and author, known for his captivating and engaging approach to his work. You can learn more about him and read his blog here.

What to Expect

This visual, which is on one of the very first pages, is a sneak peek at what kinds of things will be discussed in the book.

When I pick up a book in a store to decide if it’s worth buying, I read the title of each chapter to see if the topics sound interesting. You might be the same way, so here’s a list of all those chapters…

• Chapter 1: Not Mass , Not Spam, Not Shameful…
• Chapter 2: The Marketer Learns to See
• Chapter 3: Marketing Changes People Through Stories, Connections,, and Experience
• Chapter 4: The Smallest Viable Market
• Chapter 5: In Search of “Better”
• Chapter 6: Beyond Commodities
• Chapter 7: The Canvas of Dreams and Desires
• Chapter 8: More of Who: Seeking the Smallest Viable Market
• Chapter 9: People Like Us Do Things Like This
• Chapter 10: Trust and Tension Create Forward Motion
• Chapter 11: Status, Dominance, and Affiliation
• Chapter 12: A Better Business Plan
• Chapter 13: Semiotics, Symbols, and Vernacular
• Chapter 14: Treat People Differently
• Chapter 15: Reaching the Right People
• Chapter 16: Price is a Story
• Chapter 17: Permission and Remarkability in a Virtuous Cycle
• Chapter 18: Trust is as Scarce as Attention
• Chapter 19: The Funnel
• Chapter 20: Organizing and Leading a Tribe
• Chapter 21: Some Case Studies Using the Method
• Chapter 22: Marketing Works, and Now It’s Your Turn
• Chapter 23: Marketing to the Most Important Person

What I liked About It

Seth’s writing style and use of short-form content make “This is Marketing” an incredibly accessible and easy-to-read book. While it may require some critical thinking and logical reasoning when envisioning certain scenarios, this is to be expected in a book that supplements ideas with practical examples.

One aspect that I truly admired was Seth’s recognition of the often unethical nature of marketing practices and his unwavering commitment to promoting ethical marketing approaches. Unlike a dreary, academic read filled with complex terminology and outdated marketing tactics, “This is Marketing” is an uplifting and forward-thinking book. It delves into new marketing strategies and ideals, explaining why they are effective and providing actionable insights on how readers can implement them in their own endeavors.

My Key Takeaways

1. Treat Different People Differently

No two people are the same. It’s best to tailor your approach to your target audience’s needs, aspirations, and wants. Treating people as homogenous masses won’t work. It’s better to choose a group, empathize with them, and pick an approach that will help most of them.

2. Your Approach May Not be for Everyone, and That’s Okay

You shouldn’t be trying to appeal to everyone; that’s a sure way of running yourself into the ground. The better strategy is to appeal to the smallest viable market first. That way, you start off strong with a loyal group of supporters who can sustain you. There will be people who don’t need your products and won’t want to listen to your ideas, and that’s okay. You shouldn’t be trying to appeal to everyone. It’s wise to say, “I’m sorry, this isn’t for you. Here’s the number of my competitor.”

3. Good Marketing isn’t About Volume, but Strategy

Spamming is the worst. As I just mentioned, it’s all about your audience. It doesn’t matter how much content you’re putting out if the content isn’t good. Quality trumps quantity when it comes to engaging your audience.

My Favorite Quotes from This is Marketing

• “Your most generous and insightful work needs help finding the people it’s meant to serve. And your most successful work will spread because you designed it to.” (Authors Note, Pg XIII)
• “How to know if you have a marketing problem You aren’t busy enough. Your ideas aren’t spreading. The community around you isn’t what it could be. The people you care about aren’t achieving everything they hoped. Your politician needs more votes, your work isn’t fulfilling, your customers are frustrated If you see a way to make things better, you now have a marketing problem.” (Authors Note, Pg XV)
• “It doesn’t make any 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.” (Chapter 1, Page 5)
• “The way we make things better is by caring enough about those we serve to imagine the story that they need to hear. We need to be generous enough to share that story, so they can take action that they’ll be proud of.” (Chapter 3, Page 19)
• “Harvard marketing professor Theodore Levitt famously said. “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill bit. They want a quarter-inch hole.” The lesson is that the drill bit is merely a feature, a means to an end, but what people truly want is the hole it makes. But that doesn’t go nearly far enough. No one wants a hole. What people want is the shelf that will go on the wall once they drill the hole. Actually, what they want is how they’ll feel once they see how uncluttered everything is, when they put their stuff on the shelf that went on the wall, now that there’s a quarter-inch hole. But wait, They also want the satisfaction of knowing they did it them-selves. Or perhaps the increase in status they’ll get when their spouse admires the work. Or the peace of mind that comes from knowing that the bed room isn’t a mess, and that it feels safe and clean. “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill bit. They want to feel safe and respected.” Bingo.” (Chapter 3, Page 21)
• “(1) Start with empathy to see a real need. Not an invented one, not “How can I start a business?” but, “What would matter here?” (2) Focus on the smallest viable market: “How few people could find this indispensable and still make it worth doing?” (3) Match the worldview of the people being served. Show up in the world with a story that they want to hear, told in a language they’re eager to understand. (4) Make it easy to spread. If every member brings in one more member, within a few years, you’ll have more members than you can count. (5) Earn, and keep, the attention and trust of those you serve. (6) Offer ways to go deeper. Instead of looking for members for your work, look for ways to do work for your members. (7) At every step along the way, create and relieve tension as people progress in their journeys toward their goals. (8) Show up, often. Do it with humility, and focus on the parts that work. (Chapter 3, Page 40-41)
• “If you can’t succeed in the small, why do you believe you will succeed in the large?” (Chapter 4, Page 92)
• “When we seek feedback, were doing something brave and foolish. We’re asking to be proven wrong. To have people say “You thought you made something great, but you didn’t.” Ouch. What if, instead, we seek advice? Seek it like this: “I made something that I like, that I thought you’d like. How’d I do? What advice do you have for how I could make it fit your worldview more closely?” That’s not criticism. Or feedback. That sort of helpful advice reveals a lot about the person you’re engaging with. It helps us see his or her fears and dreams and wants. It’s a clue on howl get even closer next time.” (Chapter 4, Page 99)
• “When we find the empathy to say, “I’m sorry, this isn’t for you, here’s the phone number of my competitor, then we also find the freedom to do work that matters.” (Chapter 4, Page 101)
• “Six things about status: (1) Status is always relative. Unlike eyesight or strength or your bank balance, it doesn’t matter where you are on the absolute scale. Instead, it’s about perception of status relative to others in the group. 6 is bigger than 4, but lower than 11. There is no highest number. (2) Status is in the eyes of the beholder. If you are seen as low status by outsiders but as high status in your own narrative, then both things are true, at different times, to different people. (3) Status attended to is the status that matters. Status is most relevant when we try to keep it or change it. For many people, status is upmost in our minds in every interaction. But it only matters when the person we’re engaging with cares about status. (4) Status has inertia. We’re more likely to work to maintain our status (high or low) than we are to try to change it. (5) Status is learned. Our beliefs about status start early. And yet the cohort we are with can influence our perception of our status in very little time. (5) Shame is the status killer. The reason that shame is used as a lever is simple: it works. If we accept the shame someone sends our way, it undermines our entire narrative about relative status.” (Chapter 11, Page 131)
• “The lesson: Always be wondering, always be testing always be willing to treat different people differently. If you don’t, they’ll find someone who will.” (Chapter 14, Page 160)
• “Lowering your price doesn’t make you more trusted. It does the opposite.” (Chapter 16, Page 185)
• “Put people to work. It’s even more effective than money. Challenge your people to explore, to learn, and to get comfortable with uncertainty. Find ways to help others on the path find firm footing. Help others write rules that allow them to achieve their goals. Treat the others the way you’d want to be treated. Don’t criticize for fun. Do it when it helps educate, even if it’s not entertaining. Stick with your tactics long after everyone else is bored with them. Only stop when they stop working. It’s okay to let the pressure cease now and then. People will pay attention to you and the change you seek when they are unable to consistently ignore it. Don’t make threats. Do or don’t do. Build a team with the capacity and the patience to do the work that needs doing. If you bring your positive ideas to the fore, again and again, you’ll raise the bar for everyone else. Solve your own problems before you spend a lot of time finding problems for the others. Celebrate your people, free them to do even more, make it about the cohort, and invite everyone along. Disagree with institutions, not with people.” (Chapter 20, Page 234-235)
• “It is the marketing we do for ourselves, to ourselves, by our-selves, the story we tell ourselves, that can change everything. It’s what’s going to enable you to create value, to be missed if you were gone.” (Chapter 23, Page 252)

Why You Should Read It

It’ll change the way you think about marketing. Before reading this book I never really took the time to ask myself what I was marketing and why. I now constantly think about the importance of good content and how just pushing out posts won’t cut it.

Still Unsure?

Still unsure on whether you should read the book or not? Well follow this link to read an excerpt from it here. You can also check out this podcast episode from Akimbo where Seth discusses his very own book. I hope this helped you. If it did, purchase the book and let me know your thoughts.