Seth Godin Quotes

Gone are the days when a publisher could take out an ad, count on a few reviews, and have an author do a couple of signings. Nowadays, readers want to feel a connection with an author.

I've always viewed myself as a brand. When I started 10 years ago, that was very controversial. 'Marketing' and 'PR' were dirty words for the literary world, but that has changed. Once the book is finished, I want as many people as possible to read it.

Being a writer now is about so much more than writing. There's publishing, touring, marketing, web presence.

I look at Twitter as brand building.

I think writers have to be proactive: they've got to use new technology and social media. Yes, it's hard to get noticed by traditional publishers, but there's a great deal of opportunity out there if you've got the right story.

I am stunned by how much time and effort I must spend marketing my book and interacting with my readers. With social media, you don't just publish a book and figure you've done your part; your fans want to talk to you, have a conversation.

Standing out as a writer today requires more than a bright idea and limpid prose. Authors need to become businesspeople as well.

My website, my email magazine, my blog, my books, my corporate seminars, and my public seminars all create the ability for social media to work and all build reputation and ranking.

Not surprisingly, the chief way self-published authors get the word out about their books is through the Internet.

I find it hard to think of myself as selling books. I don't even have a Web site. I want to sit and write, not sell.

I've heard people on panels say, 'You must have a Web site. You need to tweet. Repeat the title of your book constantly,' and I just want to say, 'Shut up. Everything you're saying is wrong.' People will know instantly if your only motivation for tweeting is to sell books.

It's not easy for an entrepreneur to find the time to blog. But for those who do it, it is a great tool to communicate with the various stakeholders in their business and build a reputation for thought leadership.

My best advice for anyone out there that feels like, 'I don't have a million followers so why should I even give it a shot,' is that it's not about the numbers - it's about the engagement. That's how you can build influence.

Just as performers, I think you'd be an idiot not to utilize YouTube.

You really can't spend money on social media unless you really try. Social media is really more about effort than expense.

I will not stop my blog.

I think YouTube has been super instrumental in our success as well, because I think there's something really important about seeing and hearing what we're doing.

I'm forever reading on the Internet that I apparently cultivate this audience and never go badly.

My channel is my baby. Some women have babies; I have a YouTube channel.

Companies should take advantage of social media's power to connect, but honor the continued role of media in shaping opinion.

So many people can see my content and see that I dance and maybe it'll draw them to my Instagram where I have longer clips of me and dance classes or improv.

I actually started my YouTube channel by accident! I was growing a fan base without even knowing it, and it's all in my book 'Is You Okay?'

I started on Vine because it was such an engaging platform that was the most popular at the time. It came natural to me, and I understood the type of content I needed to make on it so that people could enjoy it. I knew it was a great start, but I had to spread my wings and create something that would last forever - a career.

With social media, you take the good and the bad of it. You have to make the most of the opportunities. You can use social media to your benefit to expand your character and gets eyes on you and what you're doing.

I think we live in this interesting point where if you know how to and you're interested in capitalizing on social media for good and for brand building, there's so much potential.