So what is marketing?

"Help! I need help!"

This is my feeling when it comes to marketing. I've been writing this blog for 10 years, and I've never really considered marketing it. With a book and potential series on their way, I feel it's time to see if I could find someone to help get out the message and aesthetic of this Polack.

At least I read Seth Godin's This Is Marketing to try to get a sense of what marketing entails. One of the takeaways was that it is best to focus on the smallest, dedicated audience. I also realized that I have no interest in any "hit and run" type of product or book. My goal is to create content that is relevant today but is not just digestible and to be forgotten.

That is one problem I find with a lot of the products and marketing out there nowadays. A lot exists solely for a quick hit, something that will peak quickly and be forgotten. I guess I'm thinking of fidget spinners, slime and rainbow loom. Well, that was stuff I saw in a high-school classroom, only to be long gone before we knew it.

Godin has been around for a while and has 18 books. His name kept coming up when I was thinking about marketing, and I went with This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See (2018) because it is relatively new. He cleared up several misconceptions I had about marketing, and I appreciate him for helping out this layman.

One misconception I had is that marketers are "out to make a fast one" or there to "manipulate." Godin explained how marketing involves a relationship and is for people, and companies, who offer needed goods and services. Marketing does not create the marketplace.

While it is true that we are bombarded with approximately 5,000 ads per day, effective marketing identifies a real problem, offers a solution and actually does care about the customer, and not just the customer's dollar. This approach is music to my ears because I've always hated lame salespeople who just want my dollar or marketing that is too heavy handed.

The power of marketing is something that I haven't focused on as much as I should. In his Ted talk, Godin talks about how sliced bread wasn't popular until it was marketed by Wonder Bread. I sense that there is so much out there that needs more marketing, but there is so much that is "over-marketed."

Yes, I am certainly a layman when it comes to marketing, but I have respect for those who are in this business. I especially respect those who wholeheartedly believe in what they market.