by Skellie
From the cover of All Marketers Are Liars (not affiliate) by Seth Godin
If you run a blog or website you can learn a lot from the world’s marketing mavericks. Even if you’re not making any money (or intending to).
You can unlock these lessons by making a mental switch.
- Blog or website = product.
- You = marketer.
- Customers = readers.
- Instead of buying the product, you want readers to consume it (to read what you write).
With these easy substitutions in place the new marketers have plenty to teach us. In this post, I want to share some of the key lessons I’ve learned from Seth Godin in particular.
Why going viral is more powerful than word of mouth
For some time I understood ‘viral’ to be a catchier way of saying ‘word of mouth’. I’ve even said as much on this blog, and for that I apologize (proof that I’m still learning as much as anyone else is). Here’s Seth Godin on why viral marketing is not the same as word of mouth.
I found his explanation a little dense, so I want to illustrate it with an example from my day-to-day life.
I discovered a fantastic restaurant in the CBD closest to where I live. They have huge, delicious gourmet pizzas big enough to make two people feel full for a very reasonable price. After going there to have dinner with my mother, I was determined to introduce my friends to the restaurant’s wonders. I must have raved about it to five friends now. That’s word of mouth marketing.
Why isn’t it viral marketing? Because as far as I know none of the people I’ve told have taken the next step and visited the restaurant (I think they’re waiting for me to take them!). For viral marketing to take place, they’d have to visit and then go one step further: tell more friends, who would tell their friends, and so on. That’s viral marketing.
Word of mouth marketing happens at the individual level. An individual experiences something and tells others about it. Viral marketing is collective: an individual experiences something, tells five others. Those five others tell five friends… and on it goes.
For that reason, viral marketing is infinitely more powerful than word of mouth. You want your content, or the idea behind your site, to go viral. It will mean you need to spend less time pushing your own stuff because other people will do it for you.
Reproduce freely.
How much is a reader really worth?
“The true, current value of any one customer is a function of the customer’s future purchases, across all the product lines, brands, and services offered by you.”
– Seth Godin, Permission Marketing: Turning Into Friends and Friends Into Customers, p. 69.
Let’s flip this quote around.
“The true, current value of any one reader is a function of the reader’s future engagement, contributions, links, votes and recommendations across all the content you offer.”
This helps us to think of individual readers differently. We might no longer feel that it’s wise not to read comments, to ignore emails that are ‘too hard’, or to break promises when they become inconvenient.
The importance of being remarkable
Seth Godin outlines ten short points to help you be remarkable. It’s a nice read, but you might wonder how it applies to what we do.
If you’re not unique, you’ll always be constrained by the success of those you’re imitating. Sometimes it can be tempting to try and achieve success by numbers: this site is successful, so if I do what they’re doing, I’ll be successful too. In fact, this is a guaranteed way to cripple your route to success from the outset.
If you’re providing the same things that those bigger than you provide, readers will always choose the authority over the unproven imitator.
Uniqueness alone is not the same as being remarkable. Remarkable innovation needs to satisfy a demand which hasn’t been met yet, or solve a problem better than anyone else. Is your content remarkable?
Interruptions vs. Interactions
Seth Godin teaches that interaction is far more powerful than interruption. For this reason, the What Would Seth Godin Do? Wordpress plug-in has always puzzled me. I think it’s exactly what Seth Godin wouldn’t do (though correct me if I’m wrong — I’m no expert).
The plug-in creates a box-out on your blog or website that only new visitors can see. The text within the box urges the visitor to subscribe to your feed or email updates, before they’ve had a chance to work out if they like your content or not.
If there’s no pre-existing relationship of trust and good faith before you try to get the visitor to do something, it’s an interruption, not an interaction.
For the plug-in to be worthy of its name it would pop-up after the third or fourth visit from a particular IP address. Once there’s a pre-existing relationship, your offer becomes an interaction.
This is why I always advocate that new sites start without advertising. When there’s no pre-existing relationship, ads are an interruption. When you’ve established a relationship with a network of people who like you and your content, ads start to become more like interactions.
Ask yourself: is what I’m doing an interaction, or an interruption?
The next step
The aim of this post isn’t to archive every lesson new marketers can teach bloggers. There are too many. What’s revelatory for me will be ho-hum for you. Besides, they said it better.
The key to interpreting new marketing advice is worth repeating.
- Blog or website = product.
- You = marketer.
- Customers = readers.
- Instead of buying the product, you want readers to consume it (to read what you write).
With those switches in mind, I’d recommend going to your local library and borrowing some Seth Godin. His blog is one of my favorites, and works a lot like a serialized book. Skelliewag reader engtech recommends Made to Stick (not affiliate), too.
You won’t be able to use every piece of advice given, but some of it will be a revelation.
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34 Comments, Comment or Ping
Michael Martine
Seth Godin’s points on remarkableness were the inspiration for me to really improve my blogging game and take it all to the next level, even to renaming the site to Remarkablogger. Remarkableness is quite a difficult ideal to live up to, but another “me too” blog isn’t worth anybody’s time.
The holy trinity of marketing and business for me is Seth Godin, Tom Peters, and the Clutetrain Manifesto. If you haven’t read either of the other two, Skellie, I highly recommend them.
Nov 14th, 2007
skellie
Thanks for the recommendation, Michael: I will definitely check them out.
And I did suspect Seth Godin was the inspiration behind ‘remarkablogger’ — I was really pleased to see that! (Was wondering if I was the only blogger who finds marketing stuff so enlightening in this field.)
Nov 14th, 2007
Patrick
Seth Godin Rocks!
I agree with Michael. I read the Cluetrain Manifesto and all of Seth’s books as well. Seth Godin is just awesome. I’ll have to check out Tom Peters though.
Skellie, I believe that your enthusiasm for giving to your readers is what makes your blog remarkable, among other things. That’s what really stands out to me.
I’m still struggling to find that “uniqueness” and remarkable stride in my own work.
Nov 14th, 2007
skellie
Two recommendations for the Cluetrain Manifesto… I’ll really have to get on to that.
Thanks Patrick — you’ve identified the route I’ve tried to take to ‘remarkableness’ ;). It’s an ever-evolving thing. I don’t think you just do something once and then you’re remarkable. It’s a work in progress for me, and it will be a work in progress for you (but I think you’re absolutely heading in the right direction).
Nov 14th, 2007
Lea Woodward
Skellie - that’s a great point you made about the “What Seth Godin Would Do” plug-in. I’ve noticed it around a lot recently and at first thought it was kind of cool, but then it started to bug me. As you say, I have no idea whether I want to subscribe to a blog until I’ve read one or more of the posts. I much prefer your tactic of adding the RSS icon at the end of a post. Very smart!
As far as interactions versus interruptions are concerned - I liken every interaction I have with my readers on my blogs (each post), to one more step on their customer journey (or customer experience journey) they’re having with me.
I like to try and make their journey as simple, effective and valuable as possible (and I do try to plan it out in advance) - and I view my blogs/websites as an extension of that.
Nov 14th, 2007
Monika @ The Writers Manifesto
I like it how you put the differentiation of between interruption and interaction. I also learnt that it is better to wait for the relationship to grow before putting up ads.
In the meantime one can focus on the building process.
Nov 14th, 2007
Alex Kay
About that Wordpress plugin… I have always wondered the same thing. I know that this isn’t a discussion about that plugin, but I just can’t see the point in it.
Thank you for a great post, you’re absolutely right, in this “new world”, we’re all marketers.
Nov 14th, 2007
Lexi
following the logic of seth godin’s “all marketers are liars” then are all bloggers liars?
Nov 14th, 2007
Joanna Young
Hi Skellie
I’m enjoying your stuff - glad I found you!
Just wondering about the impact of these shifts…
If we shift from thinking about readers to thinking about customers… Does that change the way that we feel about our writing. The way that we write? Or the sense of connection we have with our readers/customers? Does it make the relationship stronger, weaker, or just different?
In particular - how does it affect our ability to write authentically - which is something else that is much vaunted by the new marketeers? If I know I’m always marketing - and perhaps that’s inevitable in the world that we’re living in - does that generate an unhealthy pressure to be interesting, captivating, remarkable…?
Joanna
Nov 14th, 2007
Bente Lilja Bye
Hi Skellie,
A very interesting post - I concur that we are all marketers out here.
Where I disagree with you this time (and perhaps also with Seth Godin) is your suggested difference between word of mouth and viral. In principle they are the same. The difference is the speed of which the material is spread. Even though your restaurant example may not have led any of your connection to go to the restaurant - in many other examples they actually do.
Through the internet we can reach so many more in a fraction of the time we do by either meeting friends or say talk on the phone.
Even on the internet not all of the hits you get moves on. Some are dead ends on the internet too. Again, it is the size and speed of it all that makes it more powerful than the traditional word of mouth.
I come from a scientific community where words like products and marketing is like cursing in the church. But, it is in fact what we all do - and need to do whether we like it or not - to survive. You do not go to a job interview and say you are worth nothing, do you?
Again, you have spelled out yet another good analysis to us about blogging!
Nov 14th, 2007
skellie
@ Lexi: That book is about how marketers tell ’stories’ about their products, but I think it’s a comment on most marketing practices, vs. how they should be. Seth Godin advocates authentic stories, so in a sense I suspect he’s advocating that marketers *stop* lying. But I’ve actually not read that book yet, so I can’t really outline what he’s saying in that one. It might be worth a read to find out :).
@ Joanna: I think it can only have a positive impact. It’s about being reader-oriented, providing remarkable content, interacting rather than interrupting, being authentic and so on. They’re all positive things. They’re not easy, either — but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being challenged.
@ Bente: Even if my friends did go to the restaurant, it’s still word of mouth, because my friends didn’t go on to spread the process to others. My friends didn’t become ‘carriers’ of the virus, nor did they spread it to others. If they did, it would be viral as opposed to word of mouth.
Let’s say I tell my friend Jordan to go to the restaurant. He does, but he never recommends it to anyone else. That’s word of mouth originating from me.
Let’s imagine another scenario, where Jordan goes to the restaurant and loves it. He tells another friend. That’s viral, because the line of cause and effect spreads from the person I’ve told, rather than ending with them.
I hope that makes sense.
In essence, the speed is irrelevant. It’s about how far it is spread.
Nov 14th, 2007
Mark Dykeman
Thanks for pointing me towards Seth Godin.
As I dabble in blogging and freelancing writing on the Web, I’m finding the self-promotion to be vital, so much that it seems like the self-promotion eats into the creative time. However, I’m convinced that the promotion is a must-do, even if it is contrary to my nature.
Nov 15th, 2007
engtech
I really should post my Made to Stick review.
Hands down one of my best “books that help me blog” reads.
Nov 15th, 2007
Bernhard
Dear Skellie,
again a great post. Since reading your blog I have significantly changed the way I think about my website, the way I think about readers and the look of the whole site. You are great.
If there are any other blogs or websites that might be “better” than yours, I don’t care, it is more than just the information. To speak in a cook’s language: The portions are just perfect, the taste is awesome and the looks - thumbs up.
Thanks for your continuing help!
Nov 15th, 2007
Evan Hadkins
Seth is of course a master of spin (from which much can be learnt).
Eg his definition makes viral marketing sound different to word of mouth. Actually it just amounts to effective word of mouth or marketing plus sales. The only difference he mentions is people doing something - this is the move from marketing to sales or is simply effective marketing.
The advice to be unique can be a bit misleading. You can be unique in all sorts of ways - just the design of your website for instance.
I find it more useful to focus on value. There is an excellent book by Edward de Bono and John Lyons on how Australian entrepreneurs focus on providing value (and the different kind of value they focus on). It doesn’t look at on line but it is very worth reading.
Nov 15th, 2007
Sonia Simone
I think the difference between word of mouth & viral is like the difference between a local village outbreak of flu and a pandemic. It’s proximity and the potential for exponential growth. The Web has moved us into the virtual equivalent of megacities, so that we have a far greater number of people we interact with–not just the 100s of people we see every day, but the potential for “infection” from the 100s of people each of those people see every day.
I’m a Seth Godin junkie myself (my blog is called remarkable communication–”remarkable” is going to the be the first 21st century cliche, I think!).
I think he would use the “WWSGD” tool but he wouldn’t use it in that way. The tool treats the first-time visitor differently (smart) but doesn’t take the correct approach with that first-time visitor (not smart).
Nov 16th, 2007
Sonia Simone
(Agree heartily with Engtech that _Made to Stick_ is a must-read.)
Nov 16th, 2007
seth godin
Wow.
I’m sort of speechless.
Which is rare for me.
Thanks for a terrific post!
(Full disclosure: I have nothing to do with the WWSGD plugin…)
Nov 16th, 2007
Mark
Skellie ~ Very nice post with a tremendous amount of information to digest.
Bloggers are representative of marketing at its most organic level. We are selling ourselves, our content, one reader at a time.
Nov 16th, 2007
skellie
@ Mark: The self-promotion you need to do goes down over time. As the snowball starts rolling, other people begin to do it for you. The advantage is that you can concentrate on the fun stuff: content :).
@ Engtech: Yowtch — I really need to get on to that book!
@ Bernhard: What kind words… thank you! :).
@ Evan: You can have a unique design but I think if you’re not matching that with unique content then visitors will call it as they see it. I think it’s important to innovate across the face of what you do — not just on the surface. I hope that’s what I’ve conveyed in the piece.
@ Sonia: You’re right — it’s good that it treats new visitors and returning visitors differently. It just goes about it in the wrong way ;).
@ Seth Godin: What a pleasure to have you stop by. I’m glad (and relieved) the article sits well with you :). And yes, I suspected the ‘WWSGD’ plugin was very ‘unofficial’.
@ Mark: Great quote — you’ve summed it up perfectly.
Nov 17th, 2007
Stephen Hopson
I thought your comment about viral marketing versus word of mouth was pretty interesting. While reading it, my mind searched for the answer to making something viral.
The answer?
No one really knows. It’s like trying to predict which book would become a national best-seller or which movie will become a hit. It’s a fickle thing. I wish I knew what triggers something into a national or even international sensation.
As for the “What Would Seth Godin Do?” plug-in, I have it installed at my site and it’s the box is the first thing people see. You have an interesting point that it could be an interruption but there are so-called experts who say if you don’t put it in front of people and ask, you don’t plant a seed. That said, I did not experience a significant increase in subscribership after putting that up. So I don’t know if it’s really effective or not.
Great post! Gave me food for thought.
Nov 26th, 2007
Danica
Heh. I searched Seth Godin’s blog for any mention of the plugin and found this: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/07/you-can-ask-fir.html
comparing it to a “First Time Here?” sign that welcomes new visitors and offers them information. I’d rather have a plugin that did that - if I knew the necessary code I’d change this one so that it was offering newcomers information and then popping up the RSS feed thing to return visitors. I might take a whack at modifying the code on this plugin anyway….
Apr 19th, 2008
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