Last month I was fortunate enough to be able to attend an amazing business conference in San Francisco (what an amazing city!), if any of you read my last post you’ll be aware that I’m from the UK, so it was a pretty long way to travel for a conference. However, the conference was only going to cater to approximately 100 people, so I thought there would be huge value to be gained in attending, and how right I was.

It was an amazing conference, from which a huge amount of value was gained. The reason I feel that I got so much value from it, is because of the size, which as mentioned was about 100 attendees. I’ve attended larger conference where you just can’t get to the people you need to, but I didn’t have that issue here. Anyway, back to the point, it was a three day conference where I met some extremely intelligent people from a range of fields.

But, what I want to focus on for this post is the time I got to engage in a conversation, and listen to perhaps one of the most notable marketing thought leaders around, Seth Godin. He shared a message with me that has now shaped so much of what I do, so I hope you read on and you can get some real value out of reading my post.

Who Is Seth Godin?

Now I’m struggling as to how I should actually present Seth Godin in my post, as he is involved in such a wide variety of things. The best way I can put this, is from what he said himself, he’s an artist! Simple as that. 

However, I don’t want to leave it at just that. I want to explain a little more about what makes him such an influential individual, and why people around the world take action on his thoughts. This way, especially if you weren’t aware of Seth Godin before, you’ll gain a bigger picture of just who he is.

So the best place to start really, is to mention he is an entrepreneur. He’s founded and sold companies that have been sold to the likes of Yahoo in multimillion dollar deals. That’s a fact. So when you read one of his books, as I’ve done and many others have, you know he’s speaking from experience of having been there and done it. It’s much better to learn from someone who has done what you’re trying to do!

I touched on his books in the previous paragraph, if you weren’t aware he’s actually a New York Times Best Seller. Now that doesn’t come easy! It just shows how much value is delivered in his words, through his experience in marketing, business, and in general through his entrepreneurial journey.

Now all of this has made him one of the most in demand marketing thought leaders around, period!  So he’s someone definitely worth taking advice from. I’ve touched on his work very briefly, but if you head over to his wikipedia page at the following link you’ll understand further as to why he is as I mentioned, a marketing thought leader: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Godin.

By the way, there are so many so called “marketing experts” online, I’m sure you’ve come across many, I know I have. They all somehow have this magic formula, but it has never worked for them, yet their selling it to others. I’ve had Skype conversations with these people, and they are unreal (not in a good way!). So if there’s a real marketing thought leader and expert worth listening to, it’s Seth Godin!

What Was My Key Takeaway From Seth Godin?

“If enough people trust you, you’ll never have a problem earning a living”. That’s my key takeaway, word from word what Seth Godin said. Really, it’s that simple!

If enough people trust the content you provide through your blog, they’ll inevitably go onto purchase any products you release.

If enough people trust your social media brand, they’ll more than likely go onto purchase any products that you recommend to them.

You see where I’m going with this? It’s all about building a community that trusts you, because that’s priceless (more on building that community another time). Of course, if you have that, you’ll never have a problem earning a living, because you’ll have that loyal community will purchase whatever you’re selling or recommending. I hope you can understand that. This is so simple, yet so powerful!

Now who reading knows of Kim Kardashian? I’m guessing quiet a few! She was actually on the same flight as me from LA to the UK (I did Route 66 earlier this year, it was awesome!) sitting a few rows in front, I can provide photographic evidence if required. But anyway, once Seth Godin said what he said, it made me think of Kim Kardashian. Why? Not for the reason you’re thinking! But, she has mastered this whether we agree with what she does or not! Enough people trust her, and they trust her brand enough to go out and buy whatever she promotes. It’s a fact!

Now I can’t share it as powerfully as Seth Godin, but I hope that really hit home with you, and you can draw some value from it. Because it has really helped me become more purpose driven in my projects, and build a community around them focussing on the long term over short term gains.

So there we have it! Now I hope you enjoyed reading this post, and I hope you’ll join me in my next post.