Find a niche, and fill it. That’s the secret sauce Seth Godin serves up in Purple Cow. It’s about becoming the only logical choice, not just another option in a sea of sameness. Stop trying to be for everyone and start being everything to someone.
Share Image Quote:Stop competing with everyone and start dominating a specific, underserved area. It’s the strategic move from being a commodity to becoming a category of one.
Look, I’ve seen this play out so many times. The “generalist” Godin mentions? That’s the company or person who’s a mile wide and an inch deep. They’re okay at a lot of things, but they’re not the *best* at anything. And in today’s noisy world, “okay” gets you ignored. Finding a niche isn’t about limiting yourself; it’s about focusing your energy so intensely that you become the undisputed expert. You’re not just another marketer; you’re *the* marketing expert for vegan skincare brands. You’re not just another coffee shop; you’re the only place in town that sources single-origin beans from female-owned farms in Rwanda. You fill the “it” by solving a very specific problem for a very specific group of people better than anyone else. That’s how you build a tribe. That’s how you become remarkable.
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3670) |
| Category | Career (192) |
| Topics | focus (155), niche (4) |
| Literary Style | concise (408), direct (414) |
| Emotion / Mood | realistic (354) |
| Overall Quote Score | 81 (258) |
This wisdom comes straight from Seth Godin’s 2003 marketing classic, Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. It was published in the United States and really captured the early internet’s shift away from mass-market advertising. You sometimes see the sentiment echoed elsewhere, but this is the definitive source.
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Seth Godin (100) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable (43) |
| Origin Timeperiod | 21st Century (1891) |
| Original Language | English (3670) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
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
| Quotation | Find a niche, and fill it. The world is full of generalists |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 2003; ISBN/Unique Identifier: 9781591843177; Last edition: 2010; Number of pages: 160. |
| Where is it? | Chapter 27: Niche Power, page 144/160 |
Godin was pushing back hard against the old model of “safe” mass-market products and interruptive TV ads. The “Purple Cow” itself is a metaphor for something truly remarkable—you’d definitely notice one in a field of normal brown cows. This quote is the actionable strategy *for* creating that Purple Cow. Don’t make another brown cow. Find a field where there isn’t one and be the purple one.
So, who is this for? Honestly, almost anyone who wants to stand out.
**For a Freelancer:** Don’t just be a “writer.” Be the writer who *exclusively* crafts SEO-driven content for B2B SaaS companies in the cybersecurity space. You’ll have less competition and can charge a premium.
**For a Small Business:** Instead of opening another generic pizza place, you open a spot that only does Detroit-style pizza, with a hyper-local focus on ingredients from within your state. You become a destination, not just an option.
**For a Job Seeker:** You tailor your resume and personal pitch not to be a good “project manager,” but to be *the* project manager for scaling e-commerce logistics, because that’s where all your experience and passion lies.
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Theme | Advice (652) |
| Audiences | consultants (70), entrepreneurs (1008), freelancers (18), professionals (753), students (3113) |
| Usage Context/Scenario | career workshops (35), entrepreneurship mentoring (2), freelancer coaching (1), marketing strategy discussions (1), personal branding talks (3) |
Question: Isn’t a niche too limiting? What if my market dries up?
Answer: It feels that way at first, but it’s the opposite. A strong niche makes you the big fish in a small pond. You can always expand *from* a position of strength once you own that niche. It’s much harder to start broad and then try to find a niche later.
Question: How do I even find a good niche?
Answer: Look at the intersection of three things: what you’re genuinely good at or passionate about, what a specific group of people truly needs and will pay for, and where there isn’t already a dominant player. That sweet spot is pure gold.
Question: But what if I’m just starting out and need to take any work I can get?
Answer: Totally valid. Think of it as a direction, not an overnight transformation. You can start as a generalist to pay the bills while you consciously build your skills and reputation in your chosen niche on the side. Then you pivot.
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