Do More than Sell Your Book–Get People into Your Tribe
ByAmazing innovator Seth Godin has come up with yet another amazing twist on selling books: Get people to join your “tribe.”
A tribe, according to Godin, is “a group of people aligned around an idea, connected to a leader and to each other.”
Creating tribes is a natural for an author. It’s about more than selling books. It’s about creating community. What you want is for people to “come into your world,” to connect to you and each other around the ideas in your book.
Michael Masterson, of Early to Rise, is doing something a bit different but similar with a new newsletter he’s starting. It’s just for people who have been following him for a while, who are familiar with the concepts from his books and training, and who want to go to “the next level” with him. It’s not clear to me yet whether he’s planning to develop a “tribe” around him, or if it’s more of an “inner circle” kind of thing. But once you have an “inner circle,” inviting them into a “tribe” would be a natural next step.
Another Internet marketing innovator, Mark Joyner, also has a variation with his Integration Marketing Deal Board. (By the way, he’s also offering his Integration Marketing book for free–a year before it’s out as a printed book in bookstores. Another bold experiment.)
In Seth Godin’s case, you get into his tribe by invitation only. And your “ticket” to receiving your invitation is to order the book (Tribes). Three months before publication.
I bought it. Just in time to get into the “tribe.” And you know what? I’m really excited about it!
Check these things out. Think: How can you get people into your own “tribe”? (Let me know–post your comments here for some free publicity!)
4 Comments
July 31st, 2008 at 3:44 am
Diane, Hi! Funny I should get this email from you because my whole writing theme today was an analysis of what a “community” is. The working title is: “First There Is You, Now What? Understanding Human Relationships.” It’s an analysis of what life is as we expand out into the physical and spiritual world and form relationships.
July 31st, 2008 at 3:48 am
P.S. A nice thing about starting your own “tribe” is that you don’t need to compromise your message for gatekeepers, publishers and people who aren’t open-minded. If you feel that you have something really pure and clear, this is a good way to go. I’ll be interested to see Seth’s technology for accomplishing that.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Hi – Everyone needs a tribe – not just to boost book sales but for those days when you want to quit and give it all up. The folks in your tribe are a wonderful support system as well as a place where you are free to be you.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:07 am
[...] few days ago, I commented on Seth Godin’s creation of a community for his new book, Tribes. I mentioned that it is more than about selling books; it’s about [...]