Seth Godin's Blog, page 303

In between frames

Scott McCloud's classic book on comics explains a lot more than comics.

A key part of his thesis is that comic books work because the action takes place between the frames. Our imagination fills in the gaps between what happened in that frame and this frame, which means that we're as much involved as the illustrator and author are in telling the story.

Marketing, it turns out, works precisely the same way.

Marketing is what happens in between the overt acts of the marketer. Yes you made a...

Type tells a story

If you write it down, we're going to judge it.

Not just the words, we're going to judge you even before we read the words. The typography you use, whether it's a handwritten note or a glossy brochure, sends a message.

Some typefaces are judged in a similar way by most people you're addressing (Times Roman in a Word document or Helvetica on a street sign or Myriad Pro on a website) but even when you choose something as simple as a typeface, be prepared for people to misunderstand you.

If you...

Craftsmanship

Find a calling and then deliver.

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'" – Martin Luther King, Jr.         HT to Andy.

Unrealized projects

 When I was at MOMA last week, I saw a list of director and artist Tim Burton's projects. Here's the guy who's responsible for some of the most breathtaking movies of his generation, and the real surprise is this: almost every year over the last thirty, he worked on one or more exciting projects that were never green lighted and produced. Every year, he spent an enormous amount of time on failed projects.

A few: Catwoman, Conversations With Vincent, Dinosaurs Attack!, The Fall of the House o...

Multiple minds

Most people grow up with one and only one voice in our heads. It's the one that talks when we talk to ourselves. (If you have more than one voice, time to check in with a doctor). It's easy, then, to assume that this is the mind, that we have just one, one brain, one voice, one thing going on at a time.

We can demonstrate that this isn't actually true. There's the mind that gets nostalgic or excited at a photo or a smell or a sound. There's the mind that keeps us breathing. There's the mind t...

Why you, why now?

That's really the only questions between you and a sale.

If

someone is going to buy from you, is it because you're the cheapest?

That's a hard thing to maintain. There better be a more sustainable reason than that.

If they're going to by from you

today, is it because you're in proximity, the closest, the one source

that can satisfy the itch they happen to have? It's a little like being a

peanut vendor at the ball game. You need a big crowd and you have to

give up a big share of...

What the industry wants

It's easy to get trapped wondering what consumers want, and then being frustrated when you can't get what you cook up in front of the people who want to buy it.

It's easy to forget what industry wants.

Supermarkets don't want unbranded fruits and vegetables, because handling is expensive and it's hard to differentiate and charge extra. On the other hand, they love nationally advertised packaged goods, because they bring in shoppers, they have promotional support, they come with shelf...

Update on the early Linchpin citizen reviewers

Last month, I offered readers who wanted to review my new book a chance to get an early copy. It was a pretty big risk, because it meant ignoring the tried and true process of talking to big media and tailoring a message for critics and reviewers. What happens when you go to your best customers with a product that's untested?

Five weeks later and I couldn't be more pleased or more grateful. We sent out thousands of books (your donations raised more than $100,000 for charity) and so far, the...

Maneuverability

We often talk about speed when describing certain kinds of businesses. Some companies are bureaucratic, slow, dysfunctional... others are fast... fast to market, fast to ship you something.

Just like a car, though, there's an alternative to raw speed. Call it maneuverability. You might still take a long time to get up to perfect cruising speed, but you can initiate a turn on a dime. I'd put Ford in this category. Obviously, it's going to be a long time before a car company is fast. It can...

Amplifying complaints

Here's a common human trick: before you state your complaint, wind yourself up with a preface that makes your complaint even more plaintive and more vivid.

"Do you know who I am!"

"I saved up for four years for this vacation and paid your top of the line rate..."

"I've told you a million times that the most important feature was this, and in fact the only reason I bought your product was..."

"I've worked my butt off for him for years, showing up even on holidays, and now..."

You've heard it, and p...