Marketing is about creating change, not just making noise.
Stop interrupting people and start connecting with them.
Book summary
Current BestsellerGoodreads Favorite
This is Marketing
by Seth Godin
You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See
Game-changing approach to marketing, sales, and advertising
4.6(8.9k)Published 2018
Topics
MarketingBusiness StrategyCustomer PsychologyBrand Building
Reading companion
How to read This is Marketing with Readever
Read this book as a strategic planning session—after each chapter, define one specific action to implement Godin's principles in your business. Use Readever to highlight examples that match your industry and create a customer empathy map. The AI insights will help you identify your smallest viable audience and suggest ways to build trust through consistent, generous action.
Things to know before reading
- Godin writes in essay format—each chapter stands alone but builds on previous concepts
- The book emphasizes mindset shifts over tactical how-tos
- Come with a specific product, service, or business you want to apply these principles to
- Be prepared to challenge traditional marketing assumptions and embrace a more human-centered approach
Brief summary
This is Marketing in a nutshell
Seth Godin redefines marketing as a generous act of helping people solve their problems and become who they want to be. He argues that traditional interruption-based advertising is dead, replaced by building meaningful connections with specific audiences who share your values and worldview.
Key ideas overview
This is Marketing summary of 3 key ideas
Godin's marketing philosophy centers on empathy, generosity, and creating change rather than just making noise.
Find your smallest viable audience—the people who want what you have.
Don't try to sell to everyone; serve the people who already want what you offer.
Build trust through consistency and generosity.
Trust is the engine of modern marketing.
Start reading This is Marketing for free
Ready to continue? Launch the Readever reader and keep turning pages without paying a cent.
Book summaries like This is Marketing
Discover similar journeys
Transform how you connect with customers and build lasting relationships.
This summary gives you a framework for moving beyond transactional marketing to create genuine value for your audience. You'll learn how to identify your smallest viable audience, craft compelling stories, and build trust through consistent, generous action.
Deep dive
Key ideas in This is Marketing
Key idea 1
Marketing is about creating change, not just making noise.
Stop interrupting people and start connecting with them.
Godin argues that traditional marketing—interrupting people with ads they don't want—is ineffective and disrespectful. Instead, real marketing creates meaningful change by solving real problems for specific people. It's about making things better, not just louder. This requires deep empathy and understanding of what your audience truly wants to become.
Remember
- Focus on creating change rather than just capturing attention
- Build relationships based on solving problems, not interrupting experiences
- Measure success by the positive impact you create, not just sales numbers
Key idea 2
Find your smallest viable audience—the people who want what you have.
Don't try to sell to everyone; serve the people who already want what you offer.
Instead of chasing mass appeal, Godin recommends identifying your "smallest viable audience"—the specific group of people who already share your values and worldview. These are the people most likely to become loyal customers and advocates. By focusing on serving them exceptionally well, you create a foundation for sustainable growth through word-of-mouth and referrals.
Remember
- Identify the specific people who already want what you offer
- Serve your core audience exceptionally well before expanding
- Build a community around shared values and worldviews
Key idea 3
Build trust through consistency and generosity.
Trust is the engine of modern marketing.
Godin emphasizes that trust is earned through consistent, generous action over time. This means showing up reliably, delivering on promises, and adding value without expecting immediate returns. When people trust you, they're more likely to listen to your message, try your products, and recommend you to others. This trust-based approach creates lasting relationships that transactional marketing can never achieve.
Remember
- Consistency builds familiarity and reliability
- Generosity creates goodwill and reciprocity
- Trust enables permission for deeper engagement
Context
What is This is Marketing about?
This is Marketing presents a radical rethinking of what marketing means in the modern world. Seth Godin argues that the era of interruption-based advertising is over, replaced by a new paradigm centered on empathy, generosity, and creating meaningful change. The book provides a framework for identifying your ideal audience, crafting compelling stories, and building trust through consistent action.
Godin challenges readers to move beyond traditional sales tactics and instead focus on serving specific communities who share their values. He emphasizes that real marketing isn't about manipulation or persuasion—it's about helping people solve their problems and become who they want to be.
Dive deeper into This is Marketing
Open Readever's reader to highlight passages, ask the AI companion questions, and keep exploring without paying a cent.
Review
This is Marketing review
Godin's writing is characteristically clear, direct, and packed with actionable insights. He blends philosophical depth with practical guidance, making complex marketing concepts accessible to beginners while offering fresh perspectives for experienced professionals. The book reads like a series of thoughtful essays rather than a traditional how-to guide, inviting readers to reflect on their own approach to connecting with customers.
Critical Reception: This is Marketing became an instant Wall Street Journal bestseller and has been praised for its humane approach to business. Reviewers note that Godin successfully bridges the gap between marketing theory and real-world application, offering a framework that works for both startups and established companies.
- Wall Street Journal bestseller
- Humanizes the aggressive, industrialized approach to traditional marketing
- Offers a generous, empathetic framework for connecting with customers
- Bridges the gap between marketing theory and practical application
- Provides actionable insights for both beginners and experienced marketers
- Emphasizes building trust rather than just making sales
Who should read This is Marketing?
Entrepreneurs and business owners looking to build authentic customer relationships
Marketing professionals seeking to move beyond transactional approaches
Startup founders defining their brand and market position
Anyone frustrated with traditional advertising and sales tactics
Leaders wanting to create meaningful change through their work
About the author
Seth Godin is an American author, entrepreneur, and marketing expert who has written 21 international bestsellers about marketing, leadership, and the post-industrial revolution. He is the founder of altMBA and The Marketing Seminar, online workshops that have transformed the work of thousands of entrepreneurs, artists, and leaders.
Godin is a member of the Marketing Hall of Fame and has been called "America's Greatest Marketer" by American Way Magazine. He founded Yoyodyne, one of the first internet-based direct marketing companies, which was acquired by Yahoo! in 1998. His popular blog, Seth's Blog, is one of the most widely read marketing blogs in the world.
Known for pioneering concepts like permission marketing, the Purple Cow, and tribes, Godin has consistently challenged conventional business wisdom and inspired generations of entrepreneurs to do work that matters.
People also liked these summaries
Keep the momentum going
Categories with This is Marketing
Discover the Readever catalogue
Build your personalized reading stack
Download full-length ePubs in one click with personal cloud storage.
Blend AI-guided insights with tactile note-taking to accelerate reflection.
Follow curated reading journeys tailored to your goals and time budget.
Sync highlights across devices so lessons stick beyond the page.
This is Marketing FAQs
Still curious about This is Marketing?
Sign in to Readever to keep reading with AI guidance, instant summaries, and synced notes.
Final summary
This is Marketing offers a humane, effective alternative to traditional advertising. Godin's framework emphasizes empathy, generosity, and creating real value for specific audiences. By focusing on building trust and solving problems rather than interrupting people, you can create lasting relationships that drive sustainable business growth.
Inside the book
Core Marketing Principles
The Shift from Interruption to Connection
Godin argues that traditional marketing—interrupting people with ads they don't want—is fundamentally broken. In an age of infinite choice and attention scarcity, people actively avoid being sold to. The solution isn't to shout louder, but to build genuine connections with people who actually want what you offer.
Marketing as Generosity
At its heart, marketing should be a generous act: "Marketing is the generous act of helping someone solve a problem. Their problem. Marketing helps others become who they seek to become." This reframing transforms marketing from something manipulative to something genuinely helpful.
Practical Applications
Finding Your Smallest Viable Audience
Instead of trying to appeal to everyone, identify the specific group of people who already share your values and worldview. These are the people most likely to become loyal customers and advocates. Godin suggests asking: "Who is this for?" and "What is it for?" as foundational questions.
The Worldview Framework
People make decisions based on their existing worldview, not based on facts or logic. Effective marketing works within people's existing belief systems rather than trying to change them. This means understanding your audience's fears, hopes, and aspirations at a deep level.
Building Trust Through Consistency
Trust isn't built through grand gestures but through consistent, reliable action over time. Showing up consistently, delivering on promises, and adding value without expecting immediate returns creates the foundation for lasting relationships.
Key Quotes and Concepts
- "Don't find customers for your products, find products for your customers."
- "People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it."
- "The best way to complain is to make things better."
- "Change is made by people who care enough to make a difference."
Implementation Framework
- Identify your smallest viable audience - Who already wants what you have?
- Understand their worldview - What do they believe? What do they fear? What do they aspire to?
- Create change - How can you help them solve problems and become who they want to be?
- Build trust - Show up consistently and deliver value without expectation
- Tell stories - Share narratives that resonate with your audience's worldview
This approach creates marketing that feels less like selling and more like service—building relationships that last beyond individual transactions.
Featured titles
Curated reads from the Readever team
Ready to keep reading smarter?
Start reading This is Marketing for free and unlock personalized book journeys with Readever.