Authors Equity

Author of THIS IS STRATEGY and also THIS IS MARKETING and THE SONG OF SIGNIFICANCE with Penguin/Portfolio. Find them all at www.seths.store.

Author

Puzzmo

Game Designer

The Carbon Almanac

Founding Editor

Do You Zoom 

Author, blogger and lecturer. TED talks, seminars in my office, software projects, books, some self-published. Course development, including altMBA and The Marketing Seminar.

Thirty years of projects: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/07/thirty-years-of-projects.html

Founder and CEO 

Seth Godin Productions

Book packager, software developer. Clients included AOL, Compuserve, Microsoft, Penguin, Random House, Simon & Schuster and hundreds of others.

Founder and CEO

Squidoo

Pioneer in content-building online. Peaked at #40 most visited website in the US. Acquired by Hubpages.

Yahoo! Inc.

VP Direct Marketing

Yoyodyne

Creator of the first ethical commercial email. Developer of online email games and contests. Worked with major brands worldwide. Sold to Yahoo! in 1998

Prodigy

Independent Developer

Spinnaker Software

Brand Manager

Interesting algorithmic data point: My blog post traffic on Linkedin (which point back to my blog, automatically posted every morning) is down 90% from a few years ago. But when I write a short post directly here, we're back to large numbers.

You can see how easy it is to get sucked into doing what the algorithm wants, instead of what works best for my work. Building and maintaining content on a platform we don't own is a risky trap.

Don't check into a motel where it's hard to check out.

[Update! Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this. Tomorrow I'm going to test a new format for my blog, using a Zap to bring it in without a link.]

Seth Godin 🌔

21 bestsellers, founding editor of the Carbon Almanac, blogger and entrepreneur.

IF YOUR MARKETING ISN’T WORKING…

If you are struggling to get the word out, if customer traction is elusive, if you are always hustling for a little bit of attention, if it feels like you need to spend more money on promotion…

It might be that you skipped the important part.

Marketing isn’t hype. Marketing is making a product or service that matters.

If you’re struggling selling the thing you made, it’s worth reconsidering the audience, the promise and the change you seek to make–and then be honest with your team about whether your offering is actually remarkable, or just the best you could do with what you had.

Because the market doesn’t care how hard you’re trying.

          

[This is a repost of my blog. The most up to date version is found there every morning. It's at seths dot blog]

GRATITUDE AND EMPATHY

Empathy is difficult. I’m not you, I can’t imagine the path you’ve traveled, the stories you tell yourself and the pressures you’re under.

But real gratitude requires empathy. Everyone is under the circumstances. Everyone does the best they think they can with the options they think they have.

All of us know what something is worth to us, but we often don’t think much about how much it cost.

Once we understand this, it’s easier to embrace the kindness and opportunities that people offer us.

PS here’s my favorite Thanksgiving Day post. It’s every day if we let it. Sending good vibes and hugs to you and your family.

          

[This is a repost of my blog. The most up to date version is found there every morning. It's at seths dot blog]

Complex systems

Gall's Law is appropriately simple: “A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system.” This is why sudden change rarely is, and why persistence and user feedback end up changing the systems that run our world. Begin. Learn. Succeed. Then add complexity.

seths.blog

Complex systems

MEDIOCRE MEANS AVERAGE

Two different ways to consider this:

First, in the marketplace, where most people, most of the time, want the thing that most people want. The average one. Exceptional is the exception.

Second, in the committee meeting, where the easiest way forward is to sand off interesting edges, eliminate unknowns and challenge as little as possible.

When you put these together, you see the relentless slide toward banality.

For people who care enough to develop skill and bring bravery to the work, this is a huge opportunity. Not an easy or an obvious one, but perhaps one worth chasing.

          

[This is a repost of my blog. The most up to date version is found there every morning. It's at seths dot blog]

THE HOTEL CALIFORNIA (AND SUBSCRIPTIONS)

Every day, this blog is automatically echoed on my Linkedin channel. Over the last few years, the traffic to those posts on Linkedin is down more than 90%. Understandable. Platforms evolve, people shift their patterns and interests.

I recently did a manual post on Linkedin, though, and was amazed to discover that within minutes, it had 10 times as much traffic as a typical post does. I did another one about this leap and it did even better. It’s clear that the algorithm was changed.

Not to help me, not to help you, but to help the endless quest for more that most public companies wrestle with.

The seduction is clear. They’re sending a message: If you want us to bring you eyeballs, move in. Don’t link out.

Problem one: eyeballs don’t make change happen, people do.

Problem two: Don’t check into a motel that makes it hard to check out.

Enshittification is real. VCs and public markets push the companies they invest in to maximize profits. First, please the customers. Then, double cross them to please the advertisers. Finally, double cross both of them to please the stock price.

The alternative is to own your own stuff. To build an asset you control, and to guard your attention and trust carefully.

The best way to read blogs hasn’t changed in twenty years. RSS . It’s free and easy and it just works. It’s the most efficient way to get the information you’re looking for, and it’s under your control. There’s a quick explainer video at that link along with a reader that’s easy to use.

And, if you’re a creator of change, of brand, of content or of art, it’s worth considering whether you want to own the assets or just rent them.

As an experiment, this blog is now going to be shared via Zapier as a cut and paste to Linkedin. Perhaps that will help users who are trapped in their ecosystem be able to read it more easily. It’ll probably be stripped of links, which you can find here on the blog itself…

As always, the source of truth (and the latest posts with all typos fixed) is right here on the blog at seths dot blog.

Where we create our media and how we consume it are still up to us. It’s true, at some point, that the medium is the message.

          

[This is a repost of my blog. The most up to date version is found there every morning. It's at seths dot blog]

I'm distressed to see that my name and image is still being used on the nextmba website, despite my clear instructions to them that they're not to use them. They don't pay their bills, and I've heard from more students who were deceived and disappointed than any other platform I've ever been engaged with. Other people mentioned on the site have also told me about their disappointment in doing business with them. Check the details before you commit. ccing: Guy Kawasaki Martin Lindstrom Lars Silberbauer Philip Kotler Will Scougal Matt McKie

On a mission to make people remarkable. Chief evangelist, Canva. Host, Remarkable People podcast.

#1 Branding & Culture Expert, New York Times Bestselling Author. TIME Magazine 100 most influential people in the world, Top 50 Business Thinker in the World 2015-2026 (Thinkers50). Financial Times & NEWSWEEK columnist.

CMO | Marketing Academy Fellowship

S.C.Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at Northwestern University ● Author ● Speaker

People. Strategy. Creativity. Technology.

VP Marketing // 2K Sports

THE SHARD MOMENT OF TRANSITION

When a new technology arrives, it appears unpolished, ill-formed and a bit wonky.

As it gains traction, existing industries and processes begin to be threatened, often before their replacements in the new technology are fully ready.

This is how Napster showed up for the music business, or email for faxes, or television for radio. Same with online shopping, smart phones and online learning.

The pointy part is the precipice–a shard where change is inevitable, but also feels fraught. The biggest gap between fear and hope. This is when foreboding in the existing industries begins to peak, and it’s not clear that the new tech is going to be able to absorb the energy, investment and attention of folks who can feel the old ways slipping away.

Right now, we’re seeing the beginning of that phase for AI.

People are either concerned about the future of their old ways, or in denial and ignoring what’s going on around them.

I’ve never seen a smooth handoff between technology regimes, and I’m not expecting one now. Not-smooth doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen, though.

Organizations and leaders can’t wait until the next steps are obvious and safe. At that point, it’s too late.

          

[This is a repost of my blog. The most up to date version is found there every morning. It's at seths dot blog]

Marketing lessons from the Grateful Dead

Of course, a book with a title like this gives us pause--when we think of marketers, we don't ordinarily think about Jerry, Phil, Bobby and the rest of the crew. But that's one reason why the insights are so profound. Marketing isn't hype or hustle or scamming. It's not spam or manipulation either. We already have words for those things....

Marketing lessons from the Grateful Dead

Hard work and goodwill

The other day, Tom Cruise gave a long acceptance speech. But unlike every other speech of its kind, there were no notes. No rambling. No false starts. He did what he always does--he outworked everyone else. It must have taken weeks to write, rehearse and edit this performance. And then he intentionally added a layer of awards-show stiffness to make it seem real....

Hard work and goodwill

BOLD ENOUGH TO FAIL

The only theories worth testing are those that are falsifiable–that it’s possible for the test to indicate that in fact, the theory is wrong.

And the difference between art and illustration is the same. Illustration can’t fail. It can be improved, surely, but it’s not wrong.

Art, on the other hand, is a bold assertion, something that might not work.

          

[This is a repost of my blog. The most up to date version is found there every morning. It's at seths dot blog]

9 SHORTCUTS

The simple rule: Nine shortcuts take longer and are less productive than simply doing the work the right way the first time.

When we look for one-quick-tip and the lazy hack, we’re wasting time we could have spent on the direct path instead.

When a shortcut becomes the best way to do something, it ceases to be a shortcut. It’s simply the direct path. It’s easy to find satisfaction in finding the unexplored shortcut that gives us a temporary advantage. However, it won’t last long, and the time spent looking for it is a distraction.

Sit down and type. Stand up and lead. Simply begin.

          

[This is a repost of my blog. The most up to date version is found there every morning. It's at seths dot blog]

THE RED ZONE, WASTED

Sports cars have a tachometer, a gauge showing how close the motor is to melting down.

When the revs enter the red zone, performance is enhanced–for a while. Do it too much or for too long, and you’ll burn out.

In our work, there are two sorts of red zones.

Athletes know that the last 5% of their effort accounts for 100% of their success. The same is true for pianists and any endeavor where we are sorted by elite performance.

But many people work in industries where the last 5% of their effort might account for just 5% of their success. A stockbroker who stays busy cold calling clients late into the night doesn’t receive increasing rewards–they just get a little busier.

The problem with the linear reward curve is obvious–people who are driven to get just a little more repeatedly do just a little more, until they’ve broken everything they said they wanted.

If you’re going into the red zone, be clear about what the outcome is supposed to be.

          

[This is a repost of my blog. The most up to date version is found there every morning. It's at seths dot blog]

Infantilization

The worst sort of powerlessness happens when we're seduced into doing it to ourselves. Waiting to get picked Repeating and rehearsing negative self-talk Only choosing from the available options Refusing to do the reading Not having a budget Not having a timeline Avoiding new ideas Undermining your own work Seeking useless criticism Avoiding useful feedback Having a tantrum Focusing on the short term Avoiding generous connection

Infantilization

ACTIONS AND BELIEFS

It’s tempting to believe that our actions follow our beliefs. That’s what we do, it seems, and so others must as well.

In fact, just about always, our beliefs arise as a result of our actions.

If you want to change what people believe, change how they act.

          

[This is a repost of my blog. The most up to date version is found there every morning. It's at seths dot blog]

AVOIDING THE TOXIC STATUS LOOP

Organizations and cultures are build on affiliation and organized by status. And that status never stays stable.

There’s a status loop in some suburbs in how the front lawn looks. A nicely kept yard gets a nod of approval from a neighbor and might be rewarded with a higher resale price. And so one nice lawn might become three or four, and then rakes come out and the cycle continues. The same could happen with Christmas lights.

But it also happens in some law firms, where working late or weekends gets you a promotion to partner, and then the race is on, with people sacrificing years of their personal lives to earn more status.

A toxic status loop goes further. Not only might it harm some participants, it also ends up belying the larger goals of the culture. Body shaming can lead to toxic eating disorders, or a focus on sales commissions can lead to eroding standards of ethics–all of which undermine the very point of the culture in the first place.

In certain political circles, status is gained by outdoing competitors in apparently being even more true to some of the party’s stated principles–focusing on performative or fringe elements of the platform at the expense of serving the public.

The first step is noticing the loop. The second is being clear about whether the steps taken to gain more status in this area are actually aligned with why you’re awarding status in the first place (is it helping you get the job done?). And finally, either changing the systems that award status or providing support and encouragement to people who refuse to create harm by single-mindedly pursuing metrics at the expense of the work to be done.

          

[This is a repost of my blog. The most up to date version is found there every morning. It's at seths dot blog]

A convincing argument

It's almost never exclusively based on logic. We navigate the world with stories, beliefs and assumptions. And the people you're trying to persuade have a different set of all three than you do. "If I were you" is a hard sentence to sell, because you're not me. A convincing argument works when the recipient is convinced, not you.

A convincing argument

Kinds of value

Which is worth more, Kind of Blue from Miles Davis, or the third Boston album? It depends on your taste. I hope we can agree, though, that the fact that Miles spent four days on his album and Tom spent eight years on his is irrelevant. Sometimes, we buy the story of inconvenient creation. The carrots at the farmer's market or a hand-crafted piece of pottery is worth more because we know the focus and care that went into the creation of an item....

Kinds of value

UNDERSTANDING CARRIAGE

The announcement of the planned Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros, one of the last remaining major studios, is shedding light on a key issue we often overlook when thinking about culture, creativity and creation.

Carriage is the term for the method that books, movies, TV shows and other media get from the producers to the public. It’s about who controls user access to the medium.

Until recently, bookstores were a largely open system. Any publisher had a chance to get any book into any bookstore, sometimes with prime placement and promotion.

Radio stations offered carriage to record labels. When labels tried to bribe the program directors (‘payola’) the power of this carriage was clear and the practice was banned. Even so, major record labels had power because they, and they alone, had a chance to get a record heard and played.

Throughout the 1930s, film production in the US was controlled by about eight studios, and five of the studios had their own movie theaters. With this advantage, they could force the independent movie theaters to take a block of movies, exerting control over what got seen.

It’s this control of carriage that amplifies power. With just three major TV networks, an independent producer of shows had almost no chance to have their shown seen without their participation. Middlemen control carriage, and that gives them the key to the gate.

The internet was supposed to change the way creators dealt with carriage issues. If you wanted someone to visit your website, no one could step in the way. This was a breakthrough, the first in a century. Songs, books, videos–put them up and bring your own audience.

Of course, once Google gained traction, they offered to engage in thinly veiled payola–pay Google for search ads, and traffic would come to your site. Don’t pay, no play.

Amazon started out as an everything store, treating all books–and then everything else they sold–evenly. If an author or publisher could get the word out, Amazon ensured that the item would be found. Widespread and open carriage of ideas and products. Alas… if you’ve noticed that the Amazon shopping experience has gotten a lot worse, it’s because they’re maximizing their ad profits (payola) and burying (taking efficient carriage away from) those that won’t pay or partner.

And Netflix?

Hollywood is petrified. If Netflix further integrates into production, as well as buying another large library of previously produced content, they fear that there will only be one streaming platform, and, with control over carriage, one company will control what gets made and what gets seen. It doesn’t really matter how many studios there are–it’s not hard to start one–what matters for the future is that carriage, and the profits that go with it, are available to anyone with a studio.

The solution, one that Netflix would probably benefit from, is to offer to adopt more of a YouTube approach to carriage–allow anyone who produces video content to show

REHEARSING EMOTIONAL STATE

If you walk into the Parthenon or paddle at dawn on Joe Lake, it’s easy to feel a sense of wonder.

And waiting in a long line for an important flight can trigger frustration.

But much of the time, our state is automatic.

What’s your default? Satisfied, bitter, anxious, sad, curious, grateful, energized, disappointed, exhausted, eager, bored, hopeful, frustrated, overwhelmed, inspired or nostalgic…

If we can trigger one for six minutes, perhaps we can do it for an hour.

We’re more likely to perform what we rehearse.

          

[This is a repost of my blog. The most up to date version is found there every morning. It's at seths dot blog]

taplio

Seth Godin 🌔's Linkedin Analytics

Seth Godin 🌔

Performance ScoreSeth Godin 🌔's LinkedIn Performance

What is Seth talking about?

Who is engaging with Seth

Seth Godin 🌔's Best Posts (last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

.css-6ytdur{background-image:linear-gradient(284deg, rgba(39, 43, 72, 1) 0%, rgba(33, 47, 183, 1) 100%);color:transparent;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;}Seth Godin 🌔's Linkedin Analytics

Seth Godin 🌔

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Seth Godin 🌔's LinkedIn Performance

What is Seth talking about?

Who is engaging with Seth

Seth Godin 🌔's Best Posts .css-1emoo84{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:400;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);}(last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Seth Godin 🌔's Linkedin Analytics

Performance ScoreSeth Godin 🌔's LinkedIn Performance

Seth Godin 🌔's Best Posts (last 30 days)