Seth Godin’s Simple Marketing Worksheet

By Woven Agency, Tuesday February 12, 2019

We’ve been leafing through Seth Godin’s latest book, This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn To See, this week. And it’s pretty darn good.


A back-to-basics primer, Godin’s book is ideal for those starting out in the trade or for those so far down the marketing rabbit hole they’ve lost track of the foundational ways that marketing is supposed to help people.

Godin cuts through the fluff that so often surrounds the industry and brings things back to simple, elegant truths; insights you kind of already knew but had forgotten about or hadn’t managed to articulate them so clearly.

A Simple Marketing Worksheet

One of the best examples in the book is his Simple Marketing Worksheet.

This marketing worksheet has two main benefits. One, it (re)emphasises the core purposes of marketing – purposes that are always worth visiting before starting a new piece of work.

And two, the marketing worksheet acts as an ongoing project roadmap for success, to which you can refer during your work in order to keep you on the right path.

So, got your notepad and pen at the ready to see how this marketing worksheet could work for you? Good. Then let’s begin.

Cover of Seth Godin's book, 'This is Marketing.'

Who’s the work for?

You don’t work for you. You don’t work for clients. You work for end users. Whether you’re working on marketing strategy, web dev, design or copywriting, you should gear everything towards the user.

Obvious, right? So obvious you might have overlooked it, in fact…

What’s it for?

Why are you doing the work in the first place? Brand awareness? Pure sales? Changing peoples’ attitudes?

And how do you define that success?

Just like the above, in the day-to-day grind it’s easy to forget what you’re doing something for. But your objectives should always be central to your decision-making.

What is the worldview of the audience you’re seeking to reach?

Related to ‘Who’s it for?’, Godin’s marketing worksheet asks us to consider the cultural, political and socio-economic views of your target audience, and how this shapes your messaging.

What are they afraid of?

Also known as: what are your audience’s pain points and how can you alleviate them? One of the most important questions of all because it positions you as the answer to your audience’s problems and helps differentiate you from the competition.

What story will you tell? Is it true?

Storytelling lies at the heart of branding – it’s how we contextualise and understand concepts.

Sure, I could just tell someone that rushing a job makes things go slower, not quicker. Or I could tell them the story of the tortoise and the hare. Stories resonate, they stick. So use them whenever you can.

Oh, and please try not to lie. This shouldn’t really need reaffirming with a quote from an industry legend, but here’s Bill Bernbach wading in on the subject anyway – ‘The most powerful element in advertising is truth.’

Bill Bernbach quote that says 'The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.'

What change are you seeking to make?

You – or your client – are at point A and you want to get to point B. You need to define what the difference between point A and B looks like and then work out the best way to get from A to B. Definining what point B actually is (“We want to grow market share by 10%”)  is your strategy. The ways in which you’ll reach point B (“We’ll grow market share via a mix of content marketing and influencer marketing”) are your tactics.

And don’t forget to use the difference between point A and B when measuring how successful you’ve been (“We grew market share by 12%, beating our goal by 20%”).

How will it change your status?

Will the change defined above transform you from a start-up to an established player? Will it change how people think about you? Do your design or tone of voice need to change as a result?

How will you reach the early adopters and neophiliacs?

If you’re creating something new, you need to appeal to those who love new things.

Have you identified who this market is? Have you created a content marketing strategy that tells them your proposition? Have you offered any promotional material, discounts or competitions to entice them onboard and turn them into brand advocates?

Why will they tell their friends?

Give the early adopters a reason to believe, to generate a buzz that does your marketing and selling for you. Tie that reason to believe into the story you’re planning to tell.

What will they tell their friends?

Ah, we’re back to the story again. (See how important that part of your strategy is?) Make it clear, make it shareable. The simpler your story is, the easier it is for people to remember and repeat it. And the less chance there is of your message being miscommunicated.

Where’s the network effect that will propel this forward?

There’s no point in telling a story if no one’s around to hear it, so work out how you’ll disseminate your message as you’re putting it together.

The options are many: web content, social media, paid media, earned media, OOH, influencers, PR, colleagues, friends, family… pick those that will get the most bang for your buck.

A quote by David Ogilvy that says 'If it doesn't sell, it isn't creative.'

 

What assets are you building?

What format will your story take? Blogs, video marketing, Instagram stories, banner ads, guerrilla marketing, brochures, VR content. This is your chance to get creative and stick in the memories of your audience. Make sure you take it.

Are you proud of it?

The most important question of all, perhaps. After all, that’s why you’re doing the work to start with, to create something to be proud of.

In considering whether or not you succeeded, ask yourself questions like: Did the process work? Did you hit all your opportunities? Did you make the best creative you could? Are there any lessons you can take into the next project? Is it something you’d be proud to tell your friends, family or that bored-looking guy on the 15:26 train to Leeds about?

Just remember: don’t judge your work based on whether you like it but on whether your customers like it.

**

Create your own marketing worksheet

So, there you have it. Your (not-so) quick and simple marketing worksheet to help you plan out your projects and refer back to during the process.

Sure, these are simple truths contained within this marketing worksheet, but such truths are often the first things to be forgotten in the daily drama of marketing life.

Create your own marketing worksheet and refer back to it throughout your process. Use it to judge how successful your marketing work or campaign and to find ways to improve. And try to use consistent metrics in your marketing worksheet so you can accurately compare the relative success of your projects.

Want a hand formulating your brand strategy and marketing worksheet? Contact Woven today.

Speak to a member of the Woven team today Click Here to get in touch