For those who do not know, Seth Godin is the founder of Squidoo. To be honest, I do not truly understand Squidoo. It seems like a blog to me. But it’s helped to launch Seth Godin’s career, so it must be something good.
I’ve read three of Seth Godin’s books (All Marketers Are Liars, The Dip, and Meatball Sundae) and part of his e-book Unleashing the Ideavirus. I also follow his blog, which is loaded with daily tidbits of knowledge and insight.
No matter the medium, Godin’s message is consistent and clear: the business environment is changing. The way people do business is changing. Seth Godin identifies the changes, and he wants to give you all the information you need to make it in this new environment.
Traditional marketing methods are losing their effectiveness. Spending big money on extravagant television ads won’t get satisfactory results, thanks to innovations such as TiVo and DVR’s. The Goodyear blimp is now just a tradition; I doubt anyone rushes out to buy tires because of a giant balloon in the sky. Interrupting people with loud Internet ads and bombarding them with spam will only turn them off.
Today, businesses don’t go after customers. Customers go after businesses. If people want to find you, they will look for you. Your job is to make it easy for them to do so. And you have to make them care. About you. This is the challenge that businesses face today. And Godin has all the answers.
Consumers have more options than ever before. How are you going to get and, more importantly, maintain their attention?
Godin says, Give something away for free. E-books, blogs with valuable information — don’t be afraid to give away something. Think of yourself as the sample-guy at Wal-Mart on Sunday afternoons. Give until it hurts!
Be unique. Be different. Be a purple cow, something that people can’t help paying attention to. Don’t be afraid to stand out. That’s what people want now. They want something to talk about — something that doesn’t feel like word-of-mouth or promotion. They want something worth repeating. And that’s where the real challenge lies.
You can’t be afraid to lose control. You can not dictate a consumer’s every move. Instead, you’ve got to give consumers a part in building your brand. People enjoy spreading the word about something good. They like passing it on, whether it’s a link to a hilarious YouTube video, information for a great weekend getaway, or the name of some fabulous restaurant. People want to let others know. You have to make sure people talk about you, and make it as easy as possible for them to spread your message for you.
Although I love Louisiana Tech University and thank them for giving me an education and a degree, I feel that I’ve learned so much more from Seth Godin in a short amount of time.
