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The best simple guide to marketing.Book Chat Live

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Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable Hardcover – Illustrated, November 12, 2009

by Seth Godin (Author)

4.4 3,689 ratings

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The cult classic that revolutionized marketing by teaching businesses that you’re either remarkable or invisible.

Few authors have had the kind of lasting impact and global reach that Seth Godin has had. In a series of now-classic books that have been translated into 36 languages and reached millions of readers around the world, he has taught generations of readers how to make remarkable products and spread powerful ideas.

In Purple Cow, first published in 2003 and revised and expanded in 2009, Godin launched a movement to make truly remarkable products that are worth marketing in the first place. Through stories about companies like Starbucks, JetBlue, Krispy Kreme, and Apple, coupled with his signature provocative style, he inspires readers to rethink what their marketing is really saying about their product. In a world that grows noisier by the day, Godin's challenge has never been more relevant to writers, marketers, advertisers, entrepreneurs, makers, product managers, and anyone else who has something to share with the world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Seth Godin says that the key to success is to find a way to stand out—to be the purple cow in a field of monochrome Holsteins. Godin himself may be the best example of how this theory works: The marketing expert is a demigod on the Web, bestselling author, highly sought-after lecturer, successful entrepreneur, respected pundit, and high-profile blogger. He is uniquely respected for his understanding of the Internet, and his essays and opinions are widely read and quoted online and off.”—Forbes.com

“Seth Godin alters the way people think about marketing, change, and work.”—Selling Power

“I love this book! Part wake-up call, part action plan, Purple Cow shows organizations how to add distinction—and avoid extinction.”—Tom Kelley, author of The Art of Innovation

“Godin is endlessly curious, opinionated, and knowledgeable on a wide variety of subjects. He is a relentless marketer…and also a clear-eyed visionary with strong and sensible ideas.”—Miami Herald

“Seth Godin may be the best intuitive marketer alive today. He’s in that tiny subset of the niche within the microcommunity of people who simply get it.”—Randall Rothenberg, columnist for Advertising Age

“Take Leo Burnett, David Ogilvy, Bill Bernbach, and Mark Twain. Combine their brains and shave their heads. What’s left? Seth Godin.”—Jay Levinson, author of Guerilla Marketing

About the Author

Seth Godin is the author of more than a dozen bestsellers that have changed the way people think about marketing, leadership, and change, including Permission Marketing, Purple Cow, All Marketers Are Liars, Small is the New Big, The Dip, Tribes, Linchpin, and Poke the Box. He is also the founder and CEO of Squidoo.com and a very popular lecturer. He writes one of the most influential business blogs in the world at sethgodin.com.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Portfolio; New edition (November 12, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1591843170
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1591843177
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.8 x 7.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #126,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #19 in Product Management
- #118 in Marketing & Consumer Behavior
- #841 in Entrepreneurship (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 3,689 ratings

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Seth Godin

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Seth Godin is the author of 20 international bestsellers that have been translated into over 38 languages, and have changed the way people think about marketing and work. For a long time, Unleashing the Ideavirus was the most popular ebook ever published, and Purple Cow is the bestselling marketing book of the decade.

He worked as a year as the volunteer founding editor of The Carbon Almanac, and his recent bestsellers also include The Practice and This is Marketing.

He's a recent inductee to the Marketing Hall of Fame, and also a member of the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame and (go figure), the Guerrilla Marketing Hall of Fame.

His book, Tribes, was a nationwide bestseller, appearing on the Amazon, New York Times, BusinessWeek and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. It's about the most powerful form of marketing--leadership--and how anyone can now become a leader, creating movements that matter.

His book Linchpin came out in 2008 and was the fastest-selling book of his career. Linchpin challenges you to stand up, do work that matters and race to the top instead of the bottom. More than that, though, the book outlines a massive change in our economy, a fundamental shift in what it means to have a job.

In addition to his writing and speaking, Seth was founder and CEO of Squidoo.com,. His blog (find it by typing "seth" into Google) is the most popular marketing blog in the world. Before his work as a writer and blogger, Godin was Vice President of Direct Marketing at Yahoo!, a job he got after selling them his pioneering 1990s online startup, Yoyodyne.

He's known as a pioneer in online education, and was the founder of the altMBA.

You can find every single possible detail that anyone could ever want to know at sethgodin.com

Customer reviews

3,689 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and well-written. They appreciate the compelling concept and insights that inspire them. The style is elegant and trendy, with a good theme overall. Many readers find it refreshing and provocative. However, some customers feel the information is outdated or not up-to-date for today's market. Opinions differ on the value for money, with some finding it great and lasting, while others feel it has little take-home value.

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Readability Thought provoking Style Refresher value Value for money Dated information

186 customers mention "Readability"168 positive18 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and a good read for those new to marketing. They say it's well-written, clearly explains what you should do, and is worth considering. The book provides unique and memorable approaches to marketing that are worth thinking about.

"...Yet, its message is worth the three hours it will take to read it...." Read more

"...When I wrote Purple Cow all those years ago, it was groundbreaking. People said I was nuts...." Read more

"...You must develop products and services so useful, interesting, outrageous, and noteworthy that your niche market will want to listen to what you..." Read more

"Quick read and great idea!" Read more

186 customers mention "Thought provoking"158 positive28 negative

Customers find the book provides good insights and inspiration. They appreciate the compelling concept and advice about having a remarkable product that gains word-of-mouth. The book is interesting for those without a background in marketing, with great examples of how they got to where they are. Overall, customers find the message clear and useful.

"...Learn as much as you possibly can to succeed, explore every option at your disposal, and the remarkable will be within reach!..." Read more

"...You must develop products and services so useful, interesting, outrageous, and noteworthy that your niche market will want to listen to what you..." Read more

"Quick read and great idea!" Read more

"The essance of this book is quite simply to make your business unique, make it stand out, and start people talking about it --- recommending it to..." Read more

13 customers mention "Style"13 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's style. They find it elegant and a quick read that helps businesses stand out. The premise is trendy and the theme overall is good. Readers appreciate the simple concept, great presentation, eye-opening suggestions, and exciting new look on marketing.

"...of this book is quite simply to make your business unique, make it stand out, and start people talking about it --- recommending it to others...." Read more

"...There is an elegance to his clarity. Godin writes books that have a single core idea. He writes in a conversational tone...." Read more

"...Definitely have some takeaways, and I love the vision, but would love to see more structure." Read more

"...Give this book 5+ stars for its title and cover design!)" Read more

8 customers mention "Refresher value"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's perspective refreshing and insightful. They describe it as a good guide for re-examining their businesses and maximizing opportunities within their market.

"...that idea to particular individuals that will find it remarkable, interesting, and a must have...." Read more

"...You must develop products and services so useful, interesting, outrageous, and noteworthy that your niche market will want to listen to what you..." Read more

""The Purple Cow" by Seth Godin is a refreshing and thought-provoking read for anyone looking to stand out in a crowded marketplace...." Read more

"...sales letters to market mediocre products, this book offers a refreshing and honest education on how you can build your marketing right into the..." Read more

8 customers mention "Value for money"4 positive4 negative

Customers have different views on the book's value for money. Some find it great and lasting, while others say it has good ideas in theory but little practical value.

"...present economy, to succeed in business products must have high, lasting value, be talked about often and be outstanding...." Read more

"...The stories are poorly written and add no value. Buy the book - but buy the bargain ones without the bonus chapter." Read more

"...I have learned to begin my search with Amazon, the prices and quality can not be beat. By the way, I got an A+ on the paper." Read more

"...Great ideas in theory but very little take home value - Yes we need a purple cow - but where do we get the paint?" Read more

13 customers mention "Dated information"0 positive13 negative

Customers find the book's information outdated. They mention the case studies and examples feel old, and the book is out of date for today's market.

"Thought provoking. A bit outdated." Read more

"...The book is a little dated in terms of the examples it uses, but the points are still valid and it is worth thinking about." Read more

"...The examples in the book feel old. There are better books out there with more useful advice...." Read more

"...His examples and case studies were outdated, yes I realize the book was published over 10 years ago, but still they were unremarkable...." Read more

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Corrynn Cochran
A Must Read for Marketers
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2020
Verified Purchase

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin.

First published in 2003, and again in 2005, and again in 2019, The Purple Cow resonates with aspiring and seasoned marketers alike for it’s timeless message; BE REMARKABLE. Seth Godin is a champion of the marketing industry, making a name for himself by selling his marketing firm to Yahoo for 30 million dollars and then becoming their vice president of direct marketing. At the same time he began writing marketing books, to which Purple Cow in only one of many. Yet, its message is worth the three hours it will take to read it. Whether new to marketing or refreshing your ideas, you’ll want to consider the bullet points Godin has to offer within these pages.

When Godin speaks, people listen. This book is primarily base on his personal opinion and therefor scrutinized, yet it holds major weight for those individuals about to jump into the melting pot of marketing that Godin so wittingly has mastered.

Out with the old, in with the new. Marketing has evolved, according to Godin, and innovation is the key to success. He believes it would be a waste of energy to focus on products and services that already exist for the masses. Developing new products or services for a market that is not saturated but small and specific is the new key to success. His message is throttling innovators forward with the idea they must put extreme amounts of effort into standing out from the crowd. He provides multiple case studies of companies that have done so, such as Starbucks, and Dutch Boy Paint. His examples shed light on a different way of thinking that is so inspiring! It will spark you to try harder, search deeper, and expand your reach much farther than you had originally anticipated.

If you are dealing with attempting to re-spin an old idea into a new one, he uses the example of Dutch Boy, the painting company who changed the idea of the paint can, making it so much more user friendly than the old one that the companies’ sales went up, their distribution broadened, and their retail price instantly increased.

Godin’s approach to advertising leaves some weary of his methods. He believes television ads are in the stone ages and Internet banners are a complete waste of time. He has the statistics and the experience to back it up. His ideas stray from the typical mass media approach and hone in on investing in an idea and then spreading that idea to particular individuals that will find it remarkable, interesting, and a must have. This foreign concept seems like the long game to me, finding people to like a product, try it and then tell their friends, takes time. Yet Godin offers streamlined examples of how this can be done. Influencers on Instagram suddenly made much more sense. The entire format of Instagram and how it caters to like-minded individuals who feed off of each other’s ideas and inspiration is an absolute gold mine for what Godin proposes. It makes perfect sense. I would also gather, that the folks disagreeing with the value of this book may not be fluent in the social media formats younger generations have now grown accustom.

Godin sheds light on subjects not otherwise considered unless you’ve already read some of his other books in which case his ideas are similar and reiterated. He’s a master of marketing, and this book contains keys you might not otherwise have considered. Learn as much as you possibly can to succeed, explore every option at your disposal, and the remarkable will be within reach! 5 stars, and a quick easy, concrete, authentic read. In fact, I read it twice.

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Brian Perez
Red Pill-MGTOW- Rugged Individualists
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2015
Verified Purchase
Red Pill-MGTOW- Rugged Individualists
Reread: 2 of 7

Game.
Beware of Popcorn brain advertising with a dash of amygdala hijack.
Be remarkable. Who cares about dubious opinions from zombies? Assert your ideas.
Be sure to avoid eating too many Krispy Kreme donuts.
Slogan, business cards, South Park appeal to women, irresistible to certain tiny groups, complicated sells, word of mouth vs. TV ads.
Bonus part of book is not worth reading.
Self-publish

Research:

Decline of Maxwell house vs. Starbucks
Curad band- aid – collectible product
Otaku – Japanese passionate hobbies
Bloomberg terminal- learned and not going to give up that expertise

Monkey Branch:

Joel Spoelstra – Marketing Outrageously
Crossing the Chasm – Geoffrey Moore

Quotes:

The world has changed. There are far more choices, but there is less and less time to sort them out. 217

Boring is always the most risky strategy. 698 – learn game

It’s fairly obvious who the big losers are—giant brands with big factories and quarterly targets, organizations with significant corporate inertia and low thresholds for perceived risks. Once addicted to the cycle of the TV-INDUSTRIAL complex, these companies have built hierarchies and systems that make it awfully difficult to be remarkable. 829 – be fluid, ship it.

The Opposite of “Remarkable” is “very good.” 904 – go full throttle, share the game

Pearl Jam knows that once they have permission to talk to someone, it’s much easier to make a sale. 965 - warmth

Reinvest. Do it again. With a vengeance. Launch another Purple Cow (to the same audience). Fail and fail and fail again. Assume that what was remarkable last time won’t be remarkable this time. 1189 – fail and work

Marketing is the act of inventing the product. The effort of designing it. The craft of producing it. The art of pricing it. The technique of selling it. How can a Purple Cow company not be run by a marketer? 1203

Cheap is a lazy way out of the battle for the Purple Cow. 1337 – invest and share, game

South Park, it set a record, scoring just 1.5 out of 10 points with women. Three of the women in the group cried, 1485 – not appealing to the feminine imperative

Remember, it’s not about being weird. It’s about being irresistible to a tiny group of easily reached sneezers with otaku. Irresistible isn’t the same as ridiculous. Irresistible (for the right niche) is just remarkable. 1488 – attraction through polarization

When I wrote Purple Cow all those years ago, it was groundbreaking. People said I was nuts. The publisher of my earlier books refused to publish it, saying it would never sell. By leaving it as is, I want you to see what it was like then, sort of like a musician not resinging his old songs every time the album moves to a new format. 1739 – boldness, ship it, resistance, game

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Akanksha
Insightful and a little less informative
Reviewed in India on November 1, 2024
Verified Purchase

I liked the book it had what I was looking for it aligned with what I've been thinking for a long time so it reaffirmed my beliefs and hence I liked it due to confirmation bias, and yet I found the case studies present in the book to be very less explanatory,

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chris
Un incontournable de Seth Godin
Reviewed in France on June 30, 2024
Verified Purchase
Seth Godin nous offre une masterpiece sur le marketing qui invite les entrepreneurs à se démarquer dans un monde de plus en plus saturé et sans réelle innovation majeure (hormis l'IA maintenant...)

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chris

Un incontournable de Seth Godin

Reviewed in France on June 30, 2024
Seth Godin nous offre une masterpiece sur le marketing qui invite les entrepreneurs à se démarquer dans un monde de plus en plus saturé et sans réelle innovation majeure (hormis l'IA maintenant...)

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Ronald Carvalho
Marketing prático com charme
Reviewed in Brazil on January 13, 2021
Verified Purchase
Uma aula prática de bom Marketing. Útil e agradável de ler. Nota 10

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ravid
Birlant as always. How to Marketing.
Reviewed in Germany on December 4, 2022
Verified Purchase
Highly recommended to markets, founders, entrepreneurs, business people, product people and more.

How to rethink marketing.

To the point as always, Seth.

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Guia Online Music
Very good book for sales and marketing
Reviewed in Spain on October 10, 2022
Verified Purchase
Very good book for sales and marketing, good ideas and pills to transfer to small business. And above all, he insists throughout the book that you have to be different and creative. Recommended.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Marketers

5.0 out of 5 stars Red Pill-MGTOW- Rugged Individualists

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and a little less informative

5.0 out of 5 stars Un incontournable de Seth Godin

Un incontournable de Seth Godin

Images in this review

5.0 out of 5 stars Marketing prático com charme

5.0 out of 5 stars Birlant as always. How to Marketing.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book for sales and marketing

A Must Read for Marketers

Red Pill-MGTOW- Rugged Individualists

Insightful and a little less informative

Un incontournable de Seth Godin

Marketing prático com charme

Birlant as always. How to Marketing.

Very good book for sales and marketing