Internet Marketing Pioneer Seth Godin says he wants to change the way almost everything is marketed today. Will you give him permission to show you the future?
The man Business Week calls "the ultimate entrepreneur for the Information Age" explains "Permission Marketing" -- the groundbreaking concept that enables marketers to shape their message so that consumers will willingly accept it.
Whether it is the TV commercial that breaks into our favorite program, or the telemarketing phone call that disrupts a family dinner, traditional advertising is based on the hope of snatching our attention away from whatever we are doing. Seth Godin calls this Interruption Marketing, and, as companies are discovering, it no longer works.
Seth Godin, one of the world's foremost online promoters, offers his best advice for advertising in Permission Marketing. Godin argues that businesses can no longer rely solely on traditional forms of "interruption advertising" in magazines, mailings, or radio and television commercials. He writes that today consumers are bombarded by marketing messages almost everywhere they go. If you want to grab someone's attention, you first need to get his or her permission with some kind of bait--a free sample, a big discount, a contest, an 800 number, or even just an opinion survey. Once a customer volunteers his or her time, you're on your way to establishing a long-term relationship and making a sale. "By talking only to volunteers, Permission Marketing guarantees that consumers pay more attention to the marketing message," he writes. "It serves both customers and marketers in a symbiotic exchange."
Godin knows his stuff. He created Internet marketer Yoyodyne and sold it in 1998 to Yahoo!, where he is a vice president. Godin delves into the strategies of several companies that successfully practice permission marketing, including Amazon.com, American Airlines, Bell Atlantic, and American Express. Permission marketing works best on the Internet, he writes, because the medium eliminates costs such as envelopes, printing, and stamps. Instead of advertising with a plain banner ad on the Internet, you should focus on discovering the customer's problem and getting permission to follow up with e-mail, he writes. Permission Marketing is an important and valuable book for businesses seeking better results from their advertising. --Dan Ring
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Easy read with great insight:
Okay, so Seth in my opinion is the most insightful of the obvious. But keep in mind that the obvious is often overlooked and Seth does a great job of bring it back to the front. Our clients are the most important thing to the business and without them, there is no business, we do and must continue to treat them well. Seth points out it is far better to work with someone that wants to work with you then to just keep interrupting them until they give in. Read the book, it has good insight.
This book changed my career:
This book changed my career - ever since reading it I've pushed the surf company that I work for to adopt the marketing tactics that are so eloquently laid out in this book. We have just gotten to a level now where we're ready to begin implementing those concepts and a lot of people at work are very excited about the prospect of increasing our sales. The entire concept of permission marketing seems like a natural way to rise above the noise of traditional interruption marketing techniques and Seth lays... more info
Good read:
Nutshell review - A good read written in a easy to read style. Good insights and ideas. Worth reading.
Great Book So Far, Especially for Realtors!:
Not done reading it yet, however, so far it is just what I expected and great for Realtors!
