Seth Godin is extraordinary.
He’s authored 18 internationally best-selling books.
He was recently inducted into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame for being a brilliant marketer.
He’s got one of the most loved blogs on the Internet and publishes a new post everyday.
I first discovered Seth through stumbling upon his blog about six years ago.
I remember that I couldn’t stop reading his content.
After reading about 30 blog posts, I knew I wanted to adopt Seth as a virtual “mentor” in my life.
I bought several of his books and read them multiple times.
From Seth’s books and blog, I learned and implemented many valuable lessons in marketing, leadership, and life.
Among all the lessons I learned, a few of the most memorable ones for me include knowing when to quit and when to stick, how to market ideas, how to build a tribe, and how to be indispensable.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Seth.
I asked him several questions, thinking about everyone who wants to share their ideas and stories by writing a book.
He responded with pure wisdom.
Adam: What inspires you?
Seth: We're living at a highly leveraged moment in time, where many have the reach and voice to impact countless numbers of people...and that impact can really make a difference, because each of us has the chance to live life more generously, with better intent. The privilege of doing that gets me out of bed, daily.
Adam: You've authored 18 best-selling books that have been read by people all across the globe. With all the wisdom and experience you've gained as a very successful author, what would you be doing to expand your message to as many people as possible if you were a first-time author?
Seth: I wouldn't try to expand my message to as many people as possible. Instead, I'd focus on the smallest viable group. I'd try to change a few people, really make a difference. If you can do that, scale takes care of itself.
Adam: With self-publishing making it easier than ever for authors to create a published book, what advice would you give authors taking the self-publishing route?
Adam: On social media, it's easy to see many people growing large audiences with their photos and videos. Do you believe writers can attain extraordinary results on social media? If so, how?
Seth: Why is it worth "growing a large audience"? In social media, you're the product, not the customer. The customer is the advertiser. It's worth being really clear about what you're measuring, and why.
Adam: You've had the most successful book project funded on Kickstarter. Why is that? What can other authors learn from that?
Seth: It took three hours, but it actually took ten years. That's the lesson. Drip by drip.