Godin - Free Prize Inside

THE NEXT BIG MARKETING IDEA

PORTFOLIO

PORTFOLIO

Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 Penguin Books India (P) Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi110 017, India Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices:

80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

First published in 2004 by Portfolio,

a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Copyright Seth Godin, 2004

All rights reserved

Publishers Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If you require legal advice or other expert assistance, you should seek the services of a competent professional.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Godin, Seth.

Free prize inside!: the next big marketing idea / Seth Godin.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-101-21845-7

1. Marketing. I. Title.

HF5415.G577 2004

658.8dc22 2003070688

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.

For Lynn and Rick

Helping someone with a book is not thankless, but it is a no-win proposition. Here are my selfless friends, allies and aides, who you should feel free to blame for anything in this book you dont like: Christopher Ireland at cheskin.com, Ramit Sethi at Stanford, Karen Watts, Robin Dellabough and especially Lisa DiMona at Lark. Adrian Zackheim, Will Weisser, Allison Sweet, Stephanie Land and Mark Ippoliti at Portfolio. Joseph Perez for the fabulous cover and the patience to live with the worlds loudest backseat driver. Joi Ito and Heath Row in cyberspace and Dean Kamen on two wheels. Big thinkers like Andrew Beebe, Chris Meyer, Marcia Hart, Jackie Huba and Tim Manners. David Evenchick, Steve Dennis, Nancy Pellowe Dennis, Keith Yamashita, Chris Anderson and Jacqueline Novogratz for living out loud (and well). Jonathan Sackner Bernstein, for embodying the idea of the champion. Jerry Colonna, for never failing to find a good reason.

Helene, Alex and Mo: Great idea! Write it down! and for the Wrigley story. My dad, Bill Godin, who is my hero and role model. Tom Cohen, for consistently being suave, smart and steadfast. Fred Hills, for setting a high standard. Yo-yoers David Simon, Jerry Shereshewsky, Dan Lovy, Barbara Johnson, Michael Landau and Mark Hurst for doing great stuff, with care. John Byrne, for picking up where Alan and Bill left off, and Alan and Bill for turning the volume up to 11.

Special hugs to Red Maxwell for making every single thing look good. Ann Shepherd for being my favorite elf, and Eve Yohalem for lunch. Mark Vamos never fails to improve my columns for Fast Company and Heath Row spreads them into cyberspace. Michael Cader always manages to execute something thats worth talking aboutand he understands just how crazy this business is. Stuart Krichevsky is a beacon of rational entrepreneurship (and a great friend). Pam Dorman never fails to indulge my rants and raves.

Every day, I get a lot of e-mail. All of you who have shared your stories, your predicaments and your gratitude have made this journey a lot of fun. You are who this book is really for.

Thanks.

Seth Godin

seth@sethgodin.com

How Much Does a Paper Clip Cost?

Soon after I started my first company while in college, my partner laughed at me. I had announced to the office staff that we would save money by diligently reusing paper clips. If we dont throw them out, theres no reason we should ever have to buy another box, I said, proudly lifting up the big box I had just purchased.