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Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers Hardcover – May 6, 1999

by Seth Godin (Author)

250 customer reviews

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The man Business Week calls "the ultimate entrepreneur for the Information Age" explains "Permission Marketing"—the groundbreaking concept that enables marketers to shape their message so that consumers will willingly accept it.

Whether it is the TV commercial that breaks into our favorite program, or the telemarketing phone call that disrupts a family dinner, traditional advertising is based on the hope of snatching our attention away from whatever we are doing. Seth Godin calls this Interruption Marketing, and, as companies are discovering, it no longer works.

Instead of annoying potential customers by interrupting their most coveted commodity—time—Permission Marketing offers consumers incentives to accept advertising voluntarily. Now this Internet pioneer introduces a fundamentally different way of thinking about advertising products and services. By reaching out only to those individuals who have signaled an interest in learning more about a product, Permission Marketing enables companies to develop long-term relationships with customers, create trust, build brand awareness -- and greatly improve the chances of making a sale.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Seth Godin, one of the world's foremost online promoters, offers his best advice for advertising in Permission Marketing. Godin argues that businesses can no longer rely solely on traditional forms of "interruption advertising" in magazines, mailings, or radio and television commercials. He writes that today consumers are bombarded by marketing messages almost everywhere they go. If you want to grab someone's attention, you first need to get his or her permission with some kind of bait--a free sample, a big discount, a contest, an 800 number, or even just an opinion survey. Once a customer volunteers his or her time, you're on your way to establishing a long-term relationship and making a sale. "By talking only to volunteers, Permission Marketing guarantees that consumers pay more attention to the marketing message," he writes. "It serves both customers and marketers in a symbiotic exchange."

Godin knows his stuff. He created Internet marketer Yoyodyne and sold it in 1998 to Yahoo!, where he is a vice president. Godin delves into the strategies of several companies that successfully practice permission marketing, including Amazon.com, American Airlines, Bell Atlantic, and American Express. Permission marketing works best on the Internet, he writes, because the medium eliminates costs such as envelopes, printing, and stamps. Instead of advertising with a plain banner ad on the Internet, you should focus on discovering the customer's problem and getting permission to follow up with e-mail, he writes. Permission Marketing is an important and valuable book for businesses seeking better results from their advertising. --Dan Ring

From Publishers Weekly

Godin, a business whiz kid who does direct marketing for Yahoo!, asks a provocative question: Does advertising work? He cites example after example of recent misguided campaigns, a "waste jamboree" of traditional ads aimed at consumers who no longer care. There's an "infoglut" out there, he says, of ads in myriad media whose only power is to "interrupt" people's lives. Godin's professional journey to his current status as a guru of online promotion began with his work for such industry bigs as Prodigy and AOL. Now, he specializes in direct-mail campaigns online, where he takes advantage of the interactive nature of the technology. Using traditional terms such as reach and frequency to define his efforts, he moves further, into the touchy-feely area of "permission marketing," his term for developing a personal relationship with consumers, where they actually enjoy receiving correspondence. On tape, Godin's message is winning because of his youthful attitude: self-assured, at times cocky, but always sensible. Based on the 1999 Simon & Schuster hardcover. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product details

Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1 edition (May 6, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0684856360
ISBN-13: 978-0684856360
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 7.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 250 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #83 in Books > Business & Money > Marketing & Sales > Customer Service
- #106 in Books > Business & Money > Marketing & Sales > Advertising
- #457 in Books > Business & Money > Marketing & Sales > Marketing

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Top customer reviews

I loved this book

ByRyan Donovanon September 29, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I loved this book. As a business owner without formal business schooling, this was helpful to get me thinking rightly about marketing. During every chapter, I found myself stopping to make notes, stopping to write down ways to implement the information into my own strategy, and also recognizing some mistakes I was making. Some of the material about internet marketing is dated, so it requires a bit of translating into the modern era, which is crazy to say, since this book isn't that old. I'd love to read more from him that explores these same concepts, but with contemporary internet examples.

If you have a decent understanding of how internet marketing works currently, and what current tools are available, it won't be too difficult to translate this material into today's world.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Continues to be a highly relevant foundational read

Bylindsayon October 25, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Although originally published in 1999, Permission Marketing continues to be highly relevant. It's a particularly important read for marketers who "grew up" in the pre-Internet world where marketing was about interrupting a consumer during her TV show, her drive (billboards), her reading (print ads). Whether you were classically-trained or grew up in the Internet marketing era, you'll find this an excellent foundation for all modern-day messaging

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Different Levels of Permission -- I never thought about

ByAndrew Smithon July 18, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I'm sure this book was like revelation when it was first released. I wish I was into marketing at that time. I've come across the principles of building an audience and selling to them internally before finding this book.

What was in this book that I never happened to come across is the levels of permission. Even if you've been building an audience and marketing internally, You should get a copy of the book for what it says about the different permission levels.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

The marketing book by Seth Godin I needed twelve years ago!

ByMichael Neelyon December 29, 2011

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I have been a big fan of Seth Godin's for years. I came across his name when he was a contributor for Fast Company magazine, about the same time that this book came out in the late 1990's. To my utter embarrassment, I recently realized that I did not have one of his books on my bookshelf. I decided to fix that with Permission Marketing.

Twelve years ago, I haughtily started a business that I was trying to get online and make a million dollars with, just like everyone else was. I built a web site with the old marketing wisdom in mind and sat back...and nothing happened. I have always acknowledged that something was missing from my marketing efforts, but I could not put my finger on it.

I began questions of myself when I had tried to engage some marketing execs in conversation and they spoke of "connecting" and "reaching out." It was then that I had realized that the "fire and brimstone" marketing of old, the "call `em until they buy or die" methods were done. I was suddenly realizing that the one who screamed the loudest did not always get the most attention and that I had truly missed something along the way, but was now being dismissed as just another noisy distraction. Permission Marketing has the answers I was looking for.

Although, some of the references have gone bankrupt and some of the companies faded from the business headlines, this book is a must-read, not only for marketers, but also for web developers involved in eCommerce in any way. This book has helped me get to the "what's the point?" of web development and design...and realize that I am just getting started with my marketing activities.

Ignore this book and this recommendation if you think that this "technology thing" is just a fad. The reality is that this "technology thing" has redefined our world and the ways that we communicate with others....that is it has changed everything!

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Good concepts. A bit dated now

ByIman Maghroorion December 11, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Good concepts. He's definitely got a great idea. I wish I had looked at the year it was published before I read it. Being written in 99 means that the internet and all of the different marketing techniques hadn't really come to maturity quite yet.

Seth spends a good amount of time evangelizing 'the Net' and how important it will be.

Good book. Happy I read it. Wish it was written more recently so that the advice offered was more actionable.

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How not to screw things up

ByMax Jeniuson January 26, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I think the book does a good job educating the reader on how not to mess-up an interaction with other people, but it doesn't do much more. I hoped to pick-up some methods that would more often then not bring myself into a stranger's comfort zone. Naïve? Probably. But if it doesn't do that then the book probably doesn't teach a reasonably likeable adult more than he already knows, albeit at an unconscious level. Ultimately, it's about time and volume of interactions. Use the author's tips to grow a large network of people and don't piss them off. Eventually (hopefully), you'll get a good return on investment. But there's no magic revealed.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

It may be over 15 years old but....

ByAlessandraon April 3, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The advice in Godin's book continues to be pertinent and actual. Worth reading as a beginner's guide to modern day marketing.

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Most recent customer reviews

Three Stars

Not as good as his other books, but worth a read.

Published 1 day ago by KD

This is a Must Read!

This book is a MUST for anyone launching their own product or starting their own business. I learned so much from it!

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer

Masterpiece!

The only thing I regret is that is that I did not read this book before.
Mandatory to

Published 1 month ago by Miguel

Totally Irrelevant

Published in '99, this book feels totally irrelevant now. Completely outdated in just a few years. Interesting historical artifact, but you're better spending money on a business...Read more

Published 4 months ago by A/M

Written a long time ago in a galaxy far away, Permission Marketing still holds many truths for today's marketing managers

Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers While the book is showing it's age, it's also still vitally needed by marketers of all levels.Read more

Published 5 months ago by Joe G Kushner

Four Stars

Very good book never thought about marketing in this way.

Published 5 months ago by Amazon Customer

Exactly right!

Seth Godin is right about this. It feels a bit aged, but the crafty reader will develop from it.

Published 6 months ago by dlb

Five Stars

Seth Godin is the Marketing God

Published 6 months ago by Optical Suppliers

Its an older book. Late 1990's so not everything ...

Its an older book. Late 1990's so not everything is relevant to today.

Published 7 months ago by Martin S.

5 stars in 1999. 2 stars in 2016. Split the difference and I get 3

Antiquated and outdated. I read it because I thought it might offer something new, but it's not for anyone who is already running a newsletter aka permission marketing.Read more

Published 7 months ago by Michelle

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