Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts

Read Jonah’s book Contagious as well. (And see word of mouth!)

still reads newspapers) will see. Most people wish they could just cut a check and be done with it. They’d like to see the tangible results of their promotion in newsprint on the morning of launch day. I’ve felt those same impulses—paying for media always seems easier than earning it—but they are worth resisting.

When the product has real revenue and traction and can fund its own advertising? That’s when it starts to make sense.

The other reason that advertising isn’t an option for a lot of projects is that the real data required to answer the above questions is rarely available when launching something new. Yet time and time again I see clients try to start their project’s growth this way—probably because it feels easier than the blocking and tackling discussed elsewhere

The next step—when you have something that is likely to make an influencer look like a badass, or benefit that person through a recommendation—is the research.

How do we draw influencers to our work and increase our chances of it happening to us? How do we increase the odds for these accidents? The first step is the hardest: making something really awesome that exceeds the expectations even of busy, important people

else who’s figured out how to make money—you won’t get the chance unless people have heard of your stuff.” Think about

Price is marketing.

Cory Doctorow, a well-known science fiction author and editor of one of the biggest blogs in the world, has explained, “Although it’s hard to turn fame into money in the arts, it’s impossible to turn obscurity into money in the arts. It doesn’t matter how you plan on making your money—selling books or downloads, selling ads, getting sponsorship, ge