Bestseller Interviews

Seth Godin is the author of seven (or is it eight now?) bestsellers. From Permission Marketing to Unleashing the Idea Virus to Purple Cow, his ideas have transformed the way we think about marketing. After only a few weeks in print, his new book, The Dip, has already climbed to #5 on the NY Times Bestseller List. As if that weren’t enough, he also writes one of the most highly regarded blogs in the world.

For a full biography, click here.

In my opinion, his advice for authors posts from 2005 and 2006 are the best of their kind on the Web. Not only is Seth one of the most prolific and consistently successful authors alive today, but he knows how to communicate what’s important to people that are struggling to understand the publishing business. If you haven’t read the above posts, they’re required reading for this interview.

That being said, here are 10 questions and answers with the legend himself, Seth Godin:

1) With 172,000 books published in 2005 in the US alone, it seems like everyone is doing it now. Is a book still a good way to distinguish my ideas?

A book is just a vessel, something that holds your ideas. It used to be that the act of getting published was a Dip (see my new book for details). Getting through it meant something. Getting an editor to take the time and the trouble and the money to turn your book from manuscript to bookstore was not just a seal of approval, it was a source of scarcity. Because published books were relatively rare, it mattered.

Now, of course, there’s no scarcity. So the Dip in creating a book isn’t in getting it published… it’s in getting it read. And ironically, the pricing and distribution of books makes it less likely, not more likely!

2) Do you think a video on YouTube could eventually become a better medium?

It already is! For most topics, a great video is seen by far more people than a great book ever would be (do a google search on “will it blend” and you’ll see what I mean. Of course, this doesn’t apply to literary fiction or detailed historical tracts. I’m talking about the books most people write and the books most people read. Most of them, especially popular non fiction, would deliver the idea to more people if they were great videos instead.

Now, let me be clear: I’m talking about “most” people. There are still people, important people, who are far easier to influence with a book. And that’s going to be true for a long time.

3) There are even more blogs than books. Are blogs really a good way to build a platform, or is it even harder to get noticed?

Again, no Dip in building a blog. There are 80,000,000 of them! But, a blog is fast and free and relatively easy way to have a platform. The real question I’d ask an author-in-process is: what’s your effort going into? If the effort is about persuading publishers, persuading bookstores, etc., then you’ve entered the “I cut down trees” business. If you spent that same effort spreading your ideas with a blog, would it have a better outcome?

4) Between your books and blogs, the amount of insightful content you produce is staggering. How do you do it? Does being bald help?

Being bald, of course, is a cooling mechanism, and no sense overheating the cranium.

The secret of what I do: I notice things and give them names. I haven’t bit off more than that, because I’d probably do it poorly. Part of the challenge in breaking through is finding a niche you can overwhelm.

5) Which is harder: getting signed by a big, New York publisher or regaining the credibility I’ll lose for not being signed by a big, New York publisher?

Depends on who you are trying to influence! Do the editors at the New York Times book review REALLY matter to your life? Why? Most Americans will never read your book. In fact, the typical American buys exactly one book a year and probably doesn’t read the entire thing. So we’re back to: who are you trying to influence?

6) What is a permission asset? The same thing my accountant is always harping about?

Send an email to free@permission.com and you’ll see what I mean.

It’s the privilege (not the right) to deliver anticipated, personal and relevant ideas to the people who CHOOSE to get them. And it’s at the core of what is being built online. If you don’t have that, you’ve got nothing. Amazingly, this asset is undervalued by traditional powers that be in publishing. They just let authors take it. And we should. We must…

7) How can I use a free e-book to build a permission asset?

Write a manifesto (see changethis.com for examples). Sell your ideas, hard. At the end, say, “if you send me an email, I’ll send you a monthly newsletter of ideas on topic xyz.” And then follow through. Day by day, week by week, this list should grow. Especially if your ideas are good!

8) I’m trying to get attention (interviews, links, press) for my free e-book, but the media treats me like I’m not a real author. What should I do?

Who needs that media? They’ll all be unemployed sooner or later, and unless you can get on Oprah, it’s not your best bet. Your best bet is relevant blogs. If your ebook is fantastic, blogs will blog it. If they do, it’ll spread. Fact: the ratio of downloads to listeners/readers is 500 to 1 better on a blog than on a radio station or magazine.

9) Let’s say 10,000 people have downloaded my e-book and entrusted me with their e-mail addresses. Is that enough to make my next book a bestseller?

What does ‘bestseller’ mean? You mean NYT bestseller? Sure, if you do the timing right. But is that label worth so much? If you self publish a book and 3,000 people buy it and you make 20 bucks a copy…

10) This all sounds like hard work. Is it really, really, really worth it?

Only if your goal is to spread your ideas. That’s the last great dip. Ideas that spread, win. If there were a better, more reliable, more rational way to do this, I’d suggest it!

The best way to become a millionaire is to find a million dollars in the street.

The most reliable way to become a millionaire is to get really good at something and work hard at it.

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