Review of "This is Marketing" by Seth Godin
And a little update before that.
So LinkedIn restricted my account for seemingly no reason at all. I don’t know what I did. They didn’t tell me what I did. This is the second time this has happened to me.
If you follow my LinkedIn account you might know that I share job openings daily and have over 1200 followers. I’m obviously going to try to get the account back but considering this is the second time, I think LinkedIn isn’t the best platform for me.
Which is why I’ll be writing Substack posts more often!!! I’ll still be posting daily on LinkedIn but I’ll post twice a week here.
What will I write about?
Different topics. Whatever I feel like writing about. This could be music, fitness, productivity, books, TV, or anything else. My goal is to write. I will keep writing until my writing gets good.
I won’t leave it at that today because this post is now a book review.
That’s right!
Welcome to a review of the book, “This is Marketing” by Seth Godin, by me :).
This is Marketing by Seth Godin
Not many business books compare to this one. For those looking to learn about marketing, this is THE book.
Summary
In This is Marketing, Seth Godin challenges the common ideals of marketers and introduces a more realistic, healthy, and modern version of marketing. He gives actionable and easy-to-implement advice through personal stories and examples. This marketing focuses on helping people and building communities instead of tricking and spamming. This is also a surprisingly easy read. There are no confusing buzzwords and the language is simple. This is at most a high-school-level read.
In the next section, we will dive deeper into each chapter.
Analysis
This book has 23 chapters. Here’s a summary for each in 1-2 sentences.
Chapter 1 introduces the concepts of the book. Marketing is a competition, ads are all you need to make sales, getting the word out is the priority, and doing selfish marketing like spamming and tricking; are all ideas that are challenged in this book.
Chapter 2 also holds the message of the whole book: ideas that spread, win. True marketers make solutions, culture, and change.
Chapter 3 is about how we as marketers can change people through stories, connections, and experiences. This chapter has my favorite quote in the whole book. (See quotes section!)
What is the Smallest Viable Market? What kind of people are you trying to serve? What is the smallest group of people you need to change? Chapter 4 walks you through how to find your SVM (Smallest Viable Market).
Empathy is the core of marketing. Everyone has a life as complex as yours. What is “better” and “best” in business? How do you market yourself as “better” than the alternatives? Chapter 5 teaches you how to position yourself as “better” for your SVM.
It’s easier to find a solution to a problem than to find a problem for your solution. Chapter 6 talks about finding your place and building your story so you don’t have competition. Godin further explains the ideas from the previous chapters with real-life examples.
Chapter 7 is about how to find out what people want and need. Most people on Earth have the same core dreams and fears. It’s about how our stories will involve these desires or fears.
Chapter 8 talks more about the Smallest Viable Market. This chapter has an insightful story about the Grateful Dead’s success despite only having one song ever to reach the top 40 billboard. The chapter discusses true fans and critics, and how every customer’s choice is the right decision for them, whether it helps you or not.
“People like us do things like this.” This is one of the core messages of the book and is discussed in chapter 9.
Chapter 10 is all about how to create tension as a marketer to move forward and change patterns.
Chapter 11 is about status and how you can use it in marketing. People care about affiliation and dominance, which you can use to connect with them.
Chapter 12 is the halfway point in the book. This is a short chapter that talks about constructing your business plan around what you’ve learned so far.
Logos, symbols, and slogans can all represent your company and build your brand. But that isn’t your brand. This chapter explains what “brand” means and how you can create logos and slogans based on it.
Chapter 14 talks about different types of consumers. There are neophiliacs, social crusaders, power users, and many more. Always treat different people differently.
Chapter 15 explains the difference between direct marketing and brand marketing.
This chapter is all about pricing. Pricing affects your marketing and marketing affects your pricing. The price can tell a different story from your marketing.
Chapter 17 talks about permission. Real permission is when someone gives you the privilege of their attention and expects you to deliver. Somehow getting someone’s email doesn’t automatically permit you to email them. This chapter explains how to earn permission.
This chapter is about trust. “People remember what you did long after they forget what you said.” Godin explains why public relations is more important than publicity.
This is one of the key chapters in the book. Godin introduces the sales funnel. Imagine a funnel where the attention of strangers goes in at the top, and loyal, trusting customers come out at the bottom. This chapter is all about how to find, fix, and improve your funnel so that the difference between the top and bottom of the funnel is minimal.
Chapter 20 is called “Organizing and Leading a Tribe”. It’s about the principles you should use to help your tribe flourish. When he says tribe, he means a group of people who all share the same interests.
Chapter 21 contains case studies using the principles found throughout the book: “People like us do things like this”, the impact of status and affiliation, and others.
For chapters 22 and 23, I don’t need to spoil it for you! Read the book if you’ve made it this far :).
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths:
This is one of the most insightful marketing books you will read.
Every chapter is a gold mine of information and advice.
It’s an easy read for a business book. No complex terminology or confusing grammar.
The many case studies in each chapter will help you understand marketing in action.
Chapters are divided into sections so you can pause anywhere.
Weaknesses:
This book is more about strategy than tactics. If you are looking for a “how-to” guide book on marketing then this is not for you. Strategy is about the overall principles that you need to be a great marketer.
This book is rich with important advice, so you will probably need to read it a few times to capture all of it. Not a weakness if you like re-reading books though!
This is not a book about advertising or sales. This is about real marketing. Advertising is part of it, but again this book is meant to reframe your idea of a marketer.
These aren’t really “weaknesses” but misconceptions people could have about this book.
Top 5 Quotes from this book
Marketing is the generous act of helping someone to solve a problem. Their problem. It’s a chance to change the culture for the better.
People don’t want to buy a quarter inch drill. They want a quarter inch hole!
- Theodore Levitt
(This isn’t directly a Seth Godin quote but it’s used in the book so it counts.)
Sonder is defined as that moment when you realize that everyone around you has an internal life as rich and as conflicted as yours.
Always be seeking, connecting, solving, asserting, believing, seeing, and yes, testing. The other way to read this is: to always be wrong. Well, not always. Sometimes you’ll be right. But most of the time you’ll be wrong. That’s okay.
There’s a difference between being good at what you do, being good at making a thing, and being good at marketing. We need your craft, without a doubt. But we need your change even more.
Final Recommendation
If you couldn’t already tell, I 100% recommend this book to anyone starting in business and wanting to learn how to market their services. You will not be disappointed.
I give this book a 9/10!
Affiliate Link to the Book
Here is the link to buy this book on Amazon. If you buy the book with this link, I will get a small commission so thank you!
If you enjoyed this book review, please subscribe! I will write more of these in the future and I will continue posting job summaries once I get my LinkedIn back.