The Marketing Seminar was a life-changing experience for me.

The first concept that changed me was that marketing was about making change. If you're looking to make a change happen - any change - you're a marketer.

The second concept that changed me was empathy, taught in a way that I have never been taught before. Deeper than the increasingly trite advice to "walk in someone else's shoes."

And there were many, many other things I learned there that radically changed the way I saw the world, and This is Marketing is the perfect companion to my Marketing Seminar experience and a stand-alone handbook for those looking to make positive change happen. Whether you have participated in The Marketing Seminar or not, Seth guides the reader through a journey that isn't focused on product, place, price, and promotion, but empathy, status, connection, stories, tension, tribes (smallest viable audience), and generous attention. He boldly confronts selfish marketing that seeks to cajole or manipulate, and demystifies other concepts that allow anyone with the heart and determination to make their change real overcome both internal and external barriers.

A word of warning, though: what you read in this book you cannot unread. Your excuses for not making your change happen will become just that: excuses. Now that you'll know, you won't have the convenience of hiding.

I've been a fan of Seth's for years and have the pleasure to connect with him, so, yes, I am biased. I'm different because of his work: a better leader, a better coach, a better teacher, a better person. This is Marketing continues his mission to empower others to empower others. It might work for you, too.

You'll never be famous, but you can choose to be "famous to the family." In other words, you can make a decision to choose a tribe who will care about the story you have to tell, and you can connect that tribe and serve that tribe.

In Seth's words: "If you're a business consultant, a designer, or an inventor, being famous to the right three thousand people is plenty."

If you are new to Seth Godin, his latest book is a great encapsulation of many of his major themes:
- The job of marketers is to change people through stories
- Go for the smallest viable market (as opposed to the minimum viable product)
- "When you know what you stand for, you don't need to compete."
- "People like us do things like this."
- Treat different people differently
- Price is a story you are telling
- "Trust is as scarce as attention."
- Earn the permission to send regular, expected communications to your customers
- "Who would miss you if you didn't show up?"
- Organize and lead your tribe
- "If people care, you've got a brand."

Don't expect a technical guide to the latest SEO techniques. This is a book of philosophical riffs to ponder and reflect on.

I've been reading Seth's blog every day for ~15 years and his insights have helped me build a thriving, global business that gives me the chance to do meaningful work that I love. If you haven't been following Seth, now is a great time to start. Do buy this book, and Google "Seth's Blog" to continue receiving a daily dose of generous insight.

I had the honor of getting an advanced look at This is Marketing and it's one of those books that is packed with such wisdom that I found myself often needing to pause after a page or a passage to integrate his thoughts into my projects and myself. I found myself consistently nodding and smiling and thinking, "YES!" as I read. As far as I'm concerned, this should be the marketing text that every school, organization and team is required to read before putting anything into the world. Seth's emphasis on generosity, listening and having the empathy to realize that the change you seek to make is about meeting the humans you seek to serve where they are (not where you are or based on any assumptions that you may have), which resonates more for me than any other marketing text I've ever read. Plus, Seth writes like he speaks, which at once makes it feel like he's talking directly to you while making the depth of his words even more profound. The way he inspires each of us to embrace the change we seek to make and the way this book guides us through how to put it into the world is like having a compass (or a mini Seth standing on your shoulder). Bottomline: it's a book about marketing, but it's really book about life. I will be sharing it with everyone who will listen! Instant classic!

Seth Godin’s latest book, This is Marketing, is for people who choose to lead. It’s a blueprint for making change happen in which Godin invites the reader to see the forces at play and navigate in a new way. In my work as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, I have turned to Godin’s work repeatedly to help me learn how to change the culture of a large Federal agency and its stakeholders. This is Marketing provides the reader everything I wish I had known when I first started my career, namely how to overcome the noise in your head so that you can help those you seek to serve become the version of themselves they seek to be. It’s not about you, it’s about them. It’s emotional and it might not work, but it’s worth turning pro because it matters.

For everyone who has the courage to make a difference, This is Marketing helps demystify how people make decisions so that you can help create an experience for those you seek to serve that is both exceptional and worthwhile. Decide what impact you want to make, be open to what’s possible, and do it with intention. For those who are generous and willing to see in new ways, This is Marketing will help make your ideas spread.