Disclaimer: This book was released in the early 2000's. So while the general idea behind the book is quite sound, I'm not sure what influence AI has in marketing plans these days. Regardless, this is still one of the most influential marketing books that I have read in the past few decades!
Around the time this book was released, I was just falling in love with self education. And when you start your journey in that area, you want to read everything you can about the niche you love.
For me, that was marketing and sales.
And back then, a guy kept popping up when you researched 'marketing experts' and that guy was Seth Godin.
Seth had such an enjoyable way of writing. He took complicated topic when it came to marketing, and broke them down into fun examples that anyone could master.
And that's where his concept of the 'purple cow' came in.
Here's the general idea behind the book in a nutshell....
Stick out from the crowd like a 'purple cow'.
Be remarkable. Be memorable.
It's funny when I think back at the message from the book now, and how tough it was to 'stick out' in the early 2000's.
And I'm sure it's even more so these days.
However think about the ones that 'make it' in business, marketing, social media....
They don't do what everyone else does. Sure, they make share similar niches, and passions...But how they present their brand, their business or their products is unique.
Seth's argument is that the markets are filled with black and brown cows. Sure there may be a black and white one here and there. But if you ever saw a purple cow, you would have to stop and look.
THat's the idea behind the book.
Make people stop and look at what you are doing. And if your business is in highly competitive market, this message is even more so important today.
For me, some of the ways I 'purple cow'd' my business was to treat people as actual people, and not just names in a database.
I was big on personal relationships. And made sure that my customers and partners felt like I cared.
These concepts of doing things differently than most may seem like a no brainer now, but because of the purple cow lessons, this is how my businesses stuck out over the years.
What was also a huge plus to Purple Cow (the book) was that it was a short read. If I remember, it was around 200 pages long. The fact that you could digest the main idea behind it, and learn of ways to put the concepts into practice quickly was a huge benefit.
Purple Cow remains one of the top 10 books I recommend when it comes to building businesses and marketing strategies.
Be unique. Be different. Be memorable and be remarkable.
How effective is that in 2026?
I think it's quite powerful, because when everyone (the masses) seem to gravitate towards one way of doing things, the purple cow in you knows to do things a wee bit different!
Purple Cow by Seth Godin
ISBN: 978-1591843177
Note: This is my first review while using Scrobble Life. I'm absolutely fascinated by the idea and plan to dive into creating more #book reviews on the platform.
Rating: 94/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/books.