Everything Great is *Nixbased

Review

Rating: 10

I’m not usually a fan of marketing books or material as it is one of my weaker points that I never really understood, however as I have been reading some blogs online I have heard mention of Seth Godin on several occasions. Most mentions have portrayed him and his methods in a positive light and detail his vast experience in helping some of the most well known brands in our lives become even larger on a fairly small marketing budget.

Since I am starting a new business in which I will be performing all the marketing duties myself and on a small IE: non-existent budget I figured it was time to read up on the subject. The book immediately caught my attention with its edgy title. This was to me a good sign that Seth knew what he was doing; he was able to catch the interest of a random person (me) by the title alone. Chalk a point up for Seth.

As I started to read the book I found that the storytelling style was entertaining and easy to follow, which gives the book a real attention holding ability. Seth explains that the title is a bit misleading but it was done as a way to be extreme, to get the attention of potential readers. Really what this book stresses is that people buy an experience, a story, not just a product. To do well you need to choose your niche in a market (or create one) and create a “purple cow” or remarkable experience and product. He stresses that everything must be congruent, that the story must match the product. If we lie as marketers’ people will catch on especially with the widespread use of the Internet.

Much of the book is about using techniques some of us have been using in other areas of our lives for a while now. For example; the idea of framing has been used in the pickup artist community since it’s inception. Godin stresses framing stories to match the worldview of your niche and really believing in the story you are telling. There are many lessons in this book that are worth learning. The overall idea and implementation of the ideas and the book is positive. There are some great examples and the concepts really appeal to me. I wish every marketer would buy this book and I will be checking out more of Seth’s publications in the near future.