You know, that line “Consumers don’t care about you” from Seth Godin is a brutal but necessary truth. It forces you to stop talking about yourself and start connecting with your audience’s existing beliefs. It’s the key to marketing that doesn’t feel like marketing.
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Meaning
The core message is that marketing isn’t about broadcasting your features; it’s about framing your product within a story your customer already believes about themselves.
Explanation
Let me break this down for you. We all walk around with a mental model of the world, a set of biases and beliefs. Godin’s genius here is pointing out that successful marketing doesn’t try to change that model. It taps into it. You’re not selling a drill bit, you’re selling the belief that they are the kind of person who can create, who can build a beautiful home. The story isn’t about your company’s history, it’s about the customer’s future. It’s a subtle but massive shift in perspective. Once you get this, your entire approach to messaging changes.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Business (233) |
| Topics | branding (15), customer focus (5), empathy (143) |
| Literary Style | blunt (8) |
| Emotion / Mood | realistic (354), strategic (66) |
| Overall Quote Score | 78 (178) |
Origin & Factcheck
This quote comes straight from Seth Godin’s 2005 book, “All Marketers Are Liars,” published in the United States. It’s a central thesis of the book, and it’s often misunderstood. He’s not advocating for literal lying, but for telling “authentic stories” that resonate with a specific worldview.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Seth Godin (100) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World (57) |
| Origin Timeperiod | 21st Century (1892) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Seth Godin writes and teaches about marketing, leadership, and creative work. After earning an MBA from Stanford, he founded Yoyodyne, sold it to Yahoo!, and later launched ventures like Squidoo and the altMBA. He has authored bestsellers such as Permission Marketing, Purple Cow, Tribes, Linchpin, and This Is Marketing. He posts daily at seths.blog and speaks globally about making work that matters. If you’re starting with the Seth Godin book list, expect insights on trust, storytelling, and shipping creative projects that change culture.
| Official Website | Facebook | X
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | Consumers don’t care about you. They care about themselves and how your story fits their worldview |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 2005; ISBN/Unique Identifier: 9781591841009; Last edition: Portfolio Penguin 2012; Number of pages: 240. |
| Where is it? | Chapter 20: The Customer’s World, page 190, 2012 edition |