Seth Godin just released a new book called Tribes. The book talks about leading tribes and who is doing it. I wanted to make a post about how Seth launched the book because it really shows why he is such a revered marketer and why all of his work reaches the highest levels. Now normally a book launch goes through some general steps. The author will probably work it into presentations he makes to promote it. They will announce it on their website or blog. They might form a group that is excited about the book to further promote the launch. Then they will just tell everyone they know and spread the word as best they can.
Now Seth implemented these strategies but with some twists that made his launch really “remarkable” as he would say. So lets take a look at some of the steps he took.
1. Created Triiibes
Back in July Seth announced that he was starting a private network called Triiibes. In order to join the network you had to pre-order a copy of his new book Tribes which was set for release in mid October. Once you pre-ordered the book you had to send him the receipt and then he would send you an invite to this private network. The network right now has 3,647 members. It has grown slightly from the original number because Seth has offered things like friend invites during the 2 months the network has been up. Now lets look at what this network does for the launch of Seth’s new book.
- Core followers
Everyone who pre-ordered the book to get an invite to the network was excited about this opportunity to be a part of this. These people told their friends about this exclusive club they were in and at the same time told them it was because of a new book Seth was launching. So right off the bat Seth has created word of mouth marketing about his book launch that is still 2 months away!
- Seth is active in the network
Seth as usual shows he cares about his followers and stayed fairly active on Triiibes. He has a Q&A discussion in the forum and regularly posts updates to the network. This lets people see further into Seth’s mind, exactly what anyone who joined Triiibes would want to do. This also enhances Seth’s image as people who maybe decided to check out this network but weren’t a long time follower of Seth now got to see how helpful and dedicated he is to his work.
- It became a resource
As Seth said this wasn’t a network like facebook. The network was created to create content. It became a great place to go to read a great blog post or take part in an intriguing discussion. This came from keeping the network private which made it full of like-minded people who were focused on making related content. This kept people coming back and thus kept the thought of Tribes on their minds.
2. Surprise Free Early Copy
So about 2 weeks before the actual release of the book I and all others who pre-ordered a copy got a little surprise in the mail. A free copy of the book! At first I was a little confused I didn’t even realize it wasn’t the copy I had ordered. But then there was a note inside from Seth telling everyone it was free with no strings attached. He then said that he wanted us to read that copy of the book and once we received the pre-ordered copy in the mail to give it away. What a way to create even more hype around the book!
After this happened I went onto Triiibes to see if everyone else had the same experience. I found that everyone was talking about it whether they had received their free copy yet or not. I realized then what a great way to create viral marketing right there. Every person who got a free copy talked about the fact that they got a free early copy of Seth’s new book for the rest of the day. In giving away thousands of books Seth was probably able to reach tens of thousands of people with his concept of Tribes.
3. Speaking
Now this is a fairly common technique that follows a book launch. Seth will be speaking in NYC on Oct. 22nd about the book, it is a brand new presentation covering the material and concepts that Tribes is about. Even for this event Seth encourages people to take videos of the presentation. Something you don’t see to often from speakers and again he knows that these videos will be put on youtube, facebook, mypsace, and whatever other networks are out there. Thus it ends up being 1 more method that his words and ideas and book reach more ears and eyes.
All of this was no accident. This is why Seth Godin is considered a master marketer. He knows how to sell things.
I think this is key to any business that is just starting, you don’t need a master marketer to create similar effects. Finding ways to create that all important “wow” factor that gets people talking. Do something that makes people go out and tell their friends and family. Seth planned out how he was going to get that “wow” factor by creating the Triiibes network and then having a group to surprise with a free copy. But it doesn’t have to be on that scale. Most people have fairly ordinary and even boring day to day routines. If you find a way to interrupt that for just a minute that may be all that is needed to get that person to spread your ideas to a few more people.
The point is that any business can implement this type of marketing. It’s not very hard. It just takes a little creative thinking and some planning but anyone can find a way to make someone go “wow” so that person goes and tells the next few people they talk to.
Anybody have any experiences with things like what Seth did? Made you take a second look or go “wow”.
If I get some good responses I’ll make a follow up post about them. Don’t forget to leave your name and a link if you want so I can give you credit!
Get a copy of Tribes at Amazon
And nice job to Seth! He talks about this kind of marketing all the time and then he shows that he knows what he is talking about by successfully doing it.
