I’ve read several of Seth Godin’s books.  Next year I’ll have him as a guest on my podcast.

Seth has tremendous knowledge about permission-based marketing.

I watched a speech by Seth Godin, and here are a few things that were impactful to me.

The Purple Cow

The Purple Cow, written by Seth Godin, was one of the first books I ever read about marketing.

Seth shares the story of driving down the road in the middle of the country. All of a sudden he looks out the window and he sees a purple cow.

Wow! a Purple Cow!

Isn’t that remarkable?

Something is remarkable if it is worth remarking about.

Why is a Purple Cow remarkable?

Because it is different.

I’ve never seen a Purple Cow.  I’m sure if I saw a Purple Cow tomorrow, I’d be calling all my friends and telling them about the Purple Cow.

A couple of days a week, I like to go for a thirty-minute walk to get a little exercise and to breathe in some fresh air.

Most days, when I walk on the greenway, nothing extraordinary happens.

A few days ago, I was on the greenway near my office.  I was strolling along at a nice pace.

The sky was a beautiful blue touched by puffy clouds here and there.

All seemed right with the world until my life passed before my eyes.

I looked down at my feet. Right as I was stepping forward, I saw something that made me jump in the air with terror.

I just about jumped out of my skin.

Right in the middle of my feet was a slithering black snake.

Thinking of it right now gives me the shivers.

I’m not even afraid of snakes.

Now I have a remarkable story about my lunchtime walk.

Write a Blog Post Every Day

Until you have a point of view, you will never have anything of value to share with people because you are just like everyone else who doesn’t have a point of view.

You should write a blog post every day even if nobody ever reads anything you write.

The reason you should write every day is because it forces you to think about what you are going to write the next day.

Three months ago, I started my blog by writing three blog posts a week.  Then a month ago, I upped the ante and started writing a blog post every day.

I was on a conference call last week, and someone made a comment to me, maybe you should allocate some of your writing time to promotion time. If all you’re doing is writing, not many people will read your writing.  You have to spend time promoting your writing.

I got the message he was saying and agree completely that I should allocate more time to promoting my writing.

The promotion of my writing is the next phase of my content marketing plan.

Right now, I’m honing my craft.

While I am happy with my writing, I know tomorrow I’ll be a little better than I was today.

The way to become a better writer is to write.

It might be a good thing that not many people are reading my writing right now.

You have to develop a point of view.

Until you have a unique point of view, there is nothing remarkable about what you have to share with the world.

You have to become firm in your point of view.  Your point of view is what makes you different.

When you work with people, you have to say this is what I do.

That is a vastly different message than saying, “What do you want?”

When you say, “What do you want?” you weaken your position.

Everyone one else says, “What do you want?”  Everyone else is a people pleaser.

Instead, you have to take the position.  This is what I do.  If what I do is desirable for you then let’s talk more.

Otherwise, go work with someone else.

Putting it all together

A few months ago, I met a very successful businesswoman.

I’ve spent a lot of time sharing my message with everyone about how Profit First is the best solution to help people make more money in their businesses.

I never directly solicited business from her.

Recently she contacted me and said she wanted help implementing Profit First in her business.  She also inquired of me what my process was.

I started to write out a response to her.

Then I paused and realized I didn’t need to spend the time writing the explanation to her.

I had just spent the last 30 days developing my new Profit First package.  I had already created a webpage that explained my whole Profit First process.

All I had to do was send her to that webpage.  The webpage explains my Profit First package to her.

We’ll talk in a few days to determine if my Profit First package makes sense for her.

Here’s how I applied Seth Godin’s golden nuggets in my life.

1. I’m promoting myself as a Profit First Professional. Profit First is a unique offering. There are less than 400 Profit First Professionals in America.  Profit First is my Purple Cow.
2. I’m writing a blog post every day. Some days my writing is better than others. Im okay with that.
3. I’m uncovering my point of view every day as I record my podcast and write my blog post.

One of the things I’ve recognized is that I’m continually testing my messaging each day in my writing and my podcasting.

Then when I actually get to talk with a live person, I’ve sifted through my words.

The writing and podcasting are helping me create my unique position.

One day I’ll be a Purple Cow.