First, a snippet about the instantly recognisable man…
You may know of marketing maven Seth Godin. He’s one of the world’s leading thought leaders on marketing, business and publishing. He has one the most-loved marketing and publishing blogs on the internet, blogging short and thought provoking ideas.
Before penning more than a dozen bestselling books, he founded a few companies such as his book packaging company Seth Godin Productions, then onto Yoyodyne and today’s popular social article site Squidoo.
Seth coined the term ‘permission marketing’ which is based on the idea of creating remarkable content that draws people in, that people seek out themselves, which eventually spreads on its own.
Part of what will make any business owner or author find success in today’s new economy, is understanding the changing world we’re living in, how people are adapting and how we can use this to our advantage to …
Grow our platforms and our brand.
I have all of Seth’s books and can highly recommend each and every one of them. Each of them is focused around one main idea, that compliments the other books.
Start here first.
Out of all the books available on marketing and building a platform in today’s new economy, I’ve cherry picked two of Seth’s books that I believe are a must read for writers and authors.
Those who’ll do well into the future are those that realise they have to take control and keep their heads out of the sand.
I’m the biggest advocate of actionable advice, but having an understanding of how your author platform and brand will be perceived and consumed by your target audience and the world at large, will separate you from all others that compete for the same eyeballs.
It comes down to having a basic understanding of what motivates people to buy or digest an idea. Positioning your platform to adapt to our ever-changing technological consumer economy.
1. Purple Cow – by Seth Godin
This book is about standing out from the crowd. It’s what everyone wants for their brand and platform, but it’s not enough to just be “out there”. You need to be remarkable. This is the message in Seth’s book Purple Cow. The book is spot on, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve read this book multiple times.
Why should you read this book?
Your author brand and books need to stand out in the crowd. Don’t make the mistake of jumping to the assumption that you have to do something ridiculously epic in the world like curing third world hunger to create a Purple Cow. Seth talks about examples of the things you can do and ideas to consider, just a little bit everyday which will help you create your Purple Cow.
You can find Purple Cow here on Amazon.
2. Tribes – by Seth Godin
A platform is becoming the life blood for anyone growing an audience online. To do so, it’s important to understand the qualities of a leader or maven, someone that people respect and follow. Seth’s book Tribes covers how you can build a group of fans “your tribe” and build platform and audience who’ll help you achieve great (remarkable?) things.
Why should you read it?
Because you, like every author needs to build a platform to sell more books, be heard, to be discovered. Understanding the need to build your tribe of fans who know, like and trust you will allow you to launch and be heard far more easily, as your tribe of fans will be there to support you. Every brand, author or business needs a tribe who share and value the same ideals and will be first in line to support their tribe leader on the journey to greatness.
You can find Tribes on Amazon here.
Quick note: I can also highly recommend the audio books, because Seth narrates them himself, He’s got such a unique voice and manner.
Take action. Don’t wait six months to pick these up, by then others will be ahead of you. Pick these books up today and apply what you learn to build your own author empire.
