Five minutes with Seth Godin

When NZBC initially approached prolific blogger, marketing guru, bestselling author and entrepreneur Seth Godin and asked if he could spare us five minutes in October last year, we weren’t too surprised when he politely declined. “Alas, just now, I don’t even have two minutes!” he apologised. Oh well, If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, and try again. Then give up. There’s no use being a damned fool about it, the great WC Fields once advised us over several martinis. So we tried again. And this time, Seth graciously acquiesced. But time is money, and this man keeps his answers brief and to the point; which is just as well because the NZBC certainly couldn’t afford to hire him as a marketing consultant, what with the government cuts and the Director-General’s lunch expenses to cover. We thought our CFO would be impressed if we could get some of Seth’s advice for free. But, as Mr Godin himself explains, it’s the way you ask the questions that matters. So, do you want to see how he answers them?

You’ve pointed out that today the creative bar is set a lot higher because access to professional tools is easier and cheaper. For example, you suggest we’re less likely to give substandard movies the benefit of the doubt. But doesn’t a wealth of ‘smooth-looking’ product also mean that much great creative output is being buried in an avalanche of new releases and aggressive marketing?

“There’s no doubt that in movies especially, the marketing and the opening weekend are critical. It’s interesting to note that in music, marketing got so big it exploded... so now, an unknown has a better chance of breaking through (if the record is good).”

In Unleashing the Ideavirus you’re an outspoken critic of sites that charge for web content. Do you have any advice for the publishers of the New Zealand Herald (which as recently as last year went over to a ‘premium content’ model for its columns), as well as for bloggers and writers who struggle to make a living from the written word?

“You can make a living, but by LEVERAGING the attention, not charging for it. Readers are already paying you... they are paying attention, which is precious.”

In Douglas Rushkoff’s new book, Get Back In The Box, he writes: “In the emerging new renaissance culture, ownership is itself something of a burden… Accumulation of stuff is giving way to the right to use stuff — the misunderstood principle at the heart of every Internet phenomenon from user-to-user trading sites such as eBay to file-sharing applications such as Bittorrents.” Do you share Rushkoff’s enthusiasm for “Open Source Everything”?

“Nothing is everything! But it is true that getting people to interact, getting them involved, is a required first step.”

Do you believe that the future could look like Minority Report: “Good morning, Mr Godin,” the shop window ads would say, “would you like some brown rice and squid soup?”

“No question about it. It will definitely happen, and it will happen because in fact, we want it to.”

How many extra copies of your books do you think you’ve sold by having your readers do the marketing for you (as you recommend in Unleashing the Ideavirus and Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable) than you would have done if you’d left it to Old Economy book publishing companies?

“I think it’s a 100 to one difference, no exaggeration.”

If visitors to NZBC only read on book this year, which book should it be?

“That’s a hard one. How about Ben Zander’s The Art of Possibility.”

Which tracks do you have on your iPod’s ‘On the go’ playlist at the moment, or are you an iPod refusenik?

“I’ve got an iPod. I’m listening to Nina Simone, Fatboy Slim, Gil Evans, The Trammps and Young MC.”