By Seth Godin.

A couple years ago, as I was continuing on in my career, still early, but not quite starting. I went through an organizational change that was completely out of my control.

In this case our department was split in two, some of my colleagues went one way, and I, among others, went another. I didn’t influence what happened, or what caused the schism in our team, but I was impacted.

I started out in Sales. I ended up in Marketing.

I quickly realized, I have no conceptual idea of what marketing is. All of the questions started flooding my brain. What is Marketing? What am I going to do? How do I succeed in my job? What’s our end goal? What is our collective team’s measure of success. 

It was a tumultuous time for me and the team.

And it was an incredible learning experience I’ll never forget.

When something is thrust upon me that I’ve never done before, or something I probably would never have chosen, I always go through the change curve. I start out excited and hopeful, quickly dive down deep into the valley of despair, eventually find hope to move forward, and then start looking for ways to grow and contribute in ways I never would have tried before.

That’s what Marketing was for me.

I was curious. But I had no idea what I was doing.

So I read a book.

What better book to pick up about marketing than one that’s titled, This is Marketing? Made sense to me.

What I discovered was not what I expected. I was probably looking more for what to physically do in marketing than the heart behind marketing.

But the heart behind marketing is what I needed the most.

I’m very grateful for that mindset in my life. For a long time I’ve known to be open to different ideas that challenge me. I learned the hard way, by being closed minded and hard-nosed, but life became a lot more fun once I started listening to different views and different ideas. It gave me the opportunity to look for the gold in every person, situation, and piece of writing.

And this book is filled with gold.

And it’s not just for marketers. It’s for anyone who has an idea and needs to communicate it. It’s for sellers, marketing their solution to a prospect. It’s for the employee marketing their idea to their boss. It’s for the husband to market to his wife why the family needs that new boat….okay maybe not. But the tools would still help.

And that’s what we need. We need some help to remember that our message is for someone, somewhere, somehow. It’s not for everyone. It’s for the people you need to reach the most. You might not know them yet, but when you find them, your message of “people like us do things like this” will resonate. And you’ll find the tribe you were meant to serve.

There’s a lot about servant style leadership. Seth Godin speaks to servant style marketing.

If you’re looking for some way to level up your marketing in your company, your department, your home, or your relationships. 

This book is for you.

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Call out quotes:

“The other kind of marketing, the effective kind, is about understanding our customers’ worldview and desires so we can connect with them. It’s focused on being missed when you’re gone, on bringing more than people expect to those who trust us. It seeks volunteers, not victims.” – Seth Godin

“Persistent, consistent, and frequent stories, delivered to an aligned audience, will earn attention, trust, and action.” – Seth Godin

“It’s not for you” shows the ability to respect someone enough that you’re not going to waste their time, pander to them, or insist that they change their beliefs. It shows respect for those you seek to serve, to say to them, “I made this for you. Not for the other folks, but for you.” – Seth Godin

“Always be wondering, always be testing, always be willing to treat different people differently. If you don’t, they’ll find someone who will.” – Seth Godin

“The best marketers are farmers, not hunters. Plant, tend, plow, fertilize, weed, repeat. Let someone else race around after shiny objects.” – Seth Godin

“If you hesitate to market your offering properly, it’s not that you’re being shy. It’s not that you’re being circumspect. It’s that you’re stealing, because there’s someone who needs to learn from you, engage with you, or buy from you.” – Seth Godin