I had read other books by popular marketer Seth Godin (I was a regular reader back in 2009). But not one of his best known, one most aligned with work I do, his 2008 Tribes.
A friend (thanks Kristin!) handed me a copy last year and told me to get it done already. Godin is so ubiquitous in web circles that I stopped pursuing his work. I do respect his perspective and approach; I just expect to come across it from his passionate follower base. I supposed a friend handing me the book was just that.
I read it in a weekend last fall, and I just came across the notes I wrote down for myself. Below find them.
- The modern challenge of marketing is to get casual fans into passionate ones that will spread your message.
- Of rallying an alternate SXSW party via Twitter, it didn’t take four minutes, it took four years of relationship building that was then activated on a social platform.
- The easiest thing is to react. The second easiest thing is to respond. But the hardest thing is to initiate.
- Fight the Peter Principle in reviews by really discovering what people want and where they can be best supported.
- Nobody worth following wants to make General in peacetime. This is a paraphrasing but it sticks with me.
- A thermometer tells you something is wrong. A thermostat can do something about it.
- What is your company’s manifesto? What does the team believe that your followers will too?
- Give people a story they believe themselves
- My takeaway: your tribe is always leaking so you must work to maintain
