Free Prize Inside: The Next Big Marketing Idea

by Seth Godin

Editorial Review: From Publishers Weekly--A slapdash mix of insight, jargon, common sense, inspiration and hooey, Godin's follow up to last year's Purple Cow argues that the way to make any product a bestseller is to couple it with "a feature that the consumer might be attracted to" whether or not she really needs it or wants it. "If it satisfies consumers and gets them to tell other people what you want them to tell other people, it's not a gimmick," he argues. "It's a soft innovation."

An entrepreneur, lecturer and monthly columnist for Fast Company, Godin knows his business history, and his book bursts with interesting case studies that define "free prize" thinking: e.g. Apple's iPod, Chef Boyardee's prehistoric pasta, AOL's free installation CDs. One of the problems with the book, however, is that its insistent use of needless jargon ("free prize," "purple cow," "edgecraft") clouds complicated issues and lumps dissimilar processes together. "Fix what's broken," Godin advocates on one page. "Inflame the passionate," he declares on another. Both of these ideas could certainly lead to business improvements, but they hardly use the same methods. Like Godin's last book, this volume reads like a sugar rush-fast and sweet-and this may propel the author back onto the bestseller lists. To help jumpstart his sales, Portfolio will be packaging the first few thousand copies of the book inside cereal boxes. Now that's quite a gimmick-er, soft innovation.

Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 05/17/2008)

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable

by Seth Godin

Editorial Review: From Publishers Weekly--The world is changing ever more rapidly, and the rules of marketing are no different, writes Godin, the field's reigning guru. The old ways-run-of-the-mill TV commercials, ads in the Wall Street Journal and so on-don't work like they used to, because such messages are so plentiful that consumers have tuned them out. This means you have to toss out everything you know and do something "remarkable" (the way a purple cow in a field of Guernseys would be remarkable) to have any effect at all, writes Godin (Permission Marketing; Unleashing the Ideavirus).

He cites companies like HBO, Starbucks and JetBlue, all of which created new ways of doing old businesses and saw their brands sizzle as a result. Godin's style is punchy and irreverent, using short, sharp messages to drive his points home. As a result the book is fiery, but not entirely cohesive; at times it resembles a stream-of-consciousness monologue. Still, his wide-ranging advice-be outrageous, tell the truth, test the limits and never settle for just "very good"-is solid and timely.

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 05/17/2008)

All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World

by Seth Godin

Editorial Review: From Publishers Weekly--Advertising's fundamental theorem-that perception trumps reality-informs this dubious marketing primer. Journalist and marketing guru Godin, author of Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, contends that, in an age when consumers are motivated by irrational wants instead of objective needs and "there is almost no connection between what is actually there and what we believe," presenting stolid factual information about a product is a losing strategy. Instead, marketers should tell "great stories" about their products that pander to consumers' self-regard and worldview. Examples include expensive wine glasses that purport to improve the taste of wine, despite scientific proof to the contrary; Baby Einstein videotapes that are "useless for babies but...satisfy a real desire for their parents"; and organic marketing schemes, which amount to "telling ourselves a complex lie about food, the environment and the safety of our families."

Because consumers prefer fantasy to the truth, the marketer's duty is to be "authentic" rather than honest, to "live the lie, fully and completely" so that "all the details line up"-that is, to make their falsehoods convincing rather than transparent. Troubled by the cynicism of his own argument, Godin draws a line at deceptions that actually kill people, like marketing infant formula in the Third World, and elaborates a murky distinction between "fibs" that "make the thing itself more effective or enjoyable" and "frauds" that are "solely for the selfish benefit of the marketer." To illustrate his preferred approach to marketing, the author relates a grab bag of case studies, heavy on emotionally compelling pitches and seamless subliminal impressions. Readers will likely find the book's practical advice as rudderless as its ethical principles.

Amazon Price: $16.05 (as of 05/17/2008)

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)

by Seth Godin

Editorial Review: From Publishers Weekly--Yet another easily digestible social marketplace commentary from the blogger/author who penned Purple Cow and Small is the New Big, Godin prescribes a cleverly counter-intuitive way to approach one's potential for success. Smart, honest, and refreshingly free of self-help posturing, this primer on winning-through-quitting is at once motivational and comically indifferent, making the lofty goal of "becoming the best in the world" an achievable proposition-all you need is to "start doing some quitting."

The secret to "strategic quitting" is seeking, understanding and embracing "the Dip," "the long slog between starting and mastery" in which those without the determination or will find themselves burning out. As such, Godin demonstrates how to identify and quit your "Cul-de-Sac" and "Cliff" situations, in which no amount of work will lead to success. Godin provides tips for finding your Dip, taking advantage of it and becoming one of the few (inevitably valuable) players to emerge on the other side; he also provides guidelines for quitting with confidence. Quick, hilarious and happily irreverent, Godin's truth-that "we fail when we get distracted by tasks we don't have the guts to quit"-makes excellent sense of an often-difficult career move.

Amazon Price: $10.15 (as of 05/17/2008)

Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers

by Seth Godin

Editorial Review: From Publishers Weekly--Godin, a business whiz kid who does direct marketing for Yahoo!, asks a provocative question: Does advertising work? He cites example after example of recent misguided campaigns, a "waste jamboree" of traditional ads aimed at consumers who no longer care. There's an "infoglut" out there, he says, of ads in myriad media whose only power is to "interrupt" people's lives.

Godin's professional journey to his current status as a guru of online promotion began with his work for such industry bigs as Prodigy and AOL. Now, he specializes in direct-mail campaigns online, where he takes advantage of the interactive nature of the technology. Using traditional terms such as reach and frequency to define his efforts, he moves further, into the touchy-feely area of "permission marketing," his term for developing a personal relationship with consumers, where they actually enjoy receiving correspondence. On tape, Godin's message is winning because of his youthful attitude: self-assured, at times cocky, but always sensible.

Amazon Price: $16.50 (as of 05/17/2008)

Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas

by Seth Godin

Amazon Price: $17.13 (as of 05/17/2008)

Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking

by Andy Sernovitz

Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 05/17/2008)

The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable

by The Group of 33

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 05/17/2008)

The Big Red Fez: How To Make Any Web Site Better

by Seth Godin

Amazon Price: $9.56 (as of 05/17/2008)

If You're Clueless about Starting Your Own Business (If You're Clueless)

by Seth Godin

Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 05/17/2008)

Unleashing the Ideavirus

by Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell

Amazon Price: (as of 05/17/2008)

The Bootstrapper's Bible: How to Start and Build a Business With a Great Idea and (Almost) No Money

by Seth Godin

Amazon Price: (as of 05/17/2008)

Wisdom, Inc. : 26 Business Virtues That Turn Ordinary People into Extraordinary Leaders

by Seth Godin

Amazon Price: (as of 05/17/2008)

Survival Is Not Enough: Why Smart Companies Abandon Worry and Embrace Change

by Seth Godin

Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 05/17/2008)