All marketers are liars
the power of telling authentic stories in a low-trust world
by Seth Godin · first published 2005
59% recommend36% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
Shows how the stories people tell themselves shape what they buy and how satisfied they feel. Suggested as a starting point on marketing for founders and developers who need to sell a product.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
All marketers tell stories. And if they do it right, we believe them. We believe that wine tastes better in a $20 glass than a $1 glass. We believe that an $80,000 Porsche is vastly superior to a $36,000 Volkswagen that's virtually the same car. We believe that $125 sneakers make our feet feel better——and look cooler——than a $25 brand. And believing it makes it true.As Seth Godin showed in this controversial book, great marketers don't talk about features or even benefits. Instead, they tell a story——a story we want to believe, whether it's factual or not. In a world where most people have an
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2007–2022Free Prize Inside
Seth Godin
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 54 recommend · 5 mention4 recommend · 54 recommend
2007–2025Purple Cow
Seth Godin
Recommended by 29 · mentioned by 4429 recommend · 44 mention29 recommend · 4429 recommend
2007–2023Permission Marketing
Seth Godin
Recommended by 18 · mentioned by 2418 recommend · 24 mention18 recommend · 2418 recommend
2007–2022The Big Red Fez
Seth Godin
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 76 recommend · 7 mention6 recommend · 76 recommend
2007–2010Small Is the New Big
Seth Godin
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 64 recommend · 6 mention4 recommend · 64 recommend
2009–2025Positioning
Al Ries, Jack Trout
Recommended by 20 · mentioned by 2220 recommend · 22 mention20 recommend · 2220 recommend
2007–2026The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
Jack Trout
Recommended by 26 · mentioned by 4226 recommend · 42 mention26 recommend · 4226 recommend
In addition to Four Steps to the Epiphany, Crossing the Chasm, and Getting Real, I would add All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin. Of Seth's other books, Permission Marketing, Free Prize Inside, and The Big Red Fez also made a big impact on me. But All Marketers are Liars is the best starting place I think. Definitely…
on “Ask HN: Best startup books?” ↗…on, and do a deep dive. OK, maybe not literally every marketing book. But if you're interested, here are a few items I'd recommend to a budding would-be marketer. Permission Marketing - Seth Godin All Marketers Are Liars - Seth Godin Purple Cow - Seth Godin Unleashing The Ideavirus - Seth Godin Positioning - Jack Trout and Al Ries Differentiate or Die - Jack Trout The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing - Al Ries Repositioning…
on “Ask HN: How can a non-technical co-founder add value?” ↗For what it's worth, Seth Godin's book All Marketers Are Liars also covers the material in your specific example. It probably doesn't cover most of what's in the rest of The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing, though imho the idea of 'going to the extremes' is so important…
on “The Ronco Principle” ↗…moving forward. Keep a close eye on what your competitors do, and not just in terms of product features and technical stuff. Read Positioning - The Battle For Your Mind by Al Ries & Jack Trout, and All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin, and think about what "lie" your competition are telling, (or what position they're trying to grab) and figure out if you can A. grab that position / lie before them, or B. establish a related…
on “Ask HN: Do You Go Forward After Finding Very Similar Competition?” ↗…before (or been on a failing team). There's a lot that's counterintuitive about software project management. 4. Peter Drucker's work. Kinda long and repetitive, but some good insights. Marketing 1. All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin. I like this better than Purple Cow, Guerilla Marketer's Handbook, and The Big Red Fez. Most of those have fairly obvious stuff. 2. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell 3. Crossing…
on “Startup founders, what books did you find most helpful?” ↗Fooled By Randomness by Nassim Taleb and Seth Godin's book All Marketers Are Liars have just completely changed the way I think about the business world. I'm looking forward to getting to The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb.
on “What books would you recommend reading? Why?” ↗…presidents. My favorite was Law 28: "Enter action with boldness". Be bold in your ideas, be bold in how your carry yourself in life. I know I said three 3, but Seth Godin still deserves some mention with All marketers are liars. Which simply I take to mean for us here is if your developing a startup, make sure it has a good...no a great story to tell.
on “What books would you recommend reading? Why?” ↗see "all marketers are liars" by seth godin for a pretty thorough treatment of this -- our satisfaction is heavily influenced by the stories we tell ourselves, e.g. that expensive wine tastes better. even just drinking out of an…
on “Expensive Wine Just Tastes Better” ↗Seth Godin wrote a whole book about this. (All Marketers are Liars, my favorite SG book as it were.)
on “Some startup inspiration: Homes of the world’s billionaires” ↗…American Education by John Taylor Gatto The Singularity is Near by Kurzweil This graph: http://alexkrupp.com/picture_library/plot.jpg Dee Hock's essay on leadership A handful of blog posts by Mark Cuban All Marketers are Liars & Free Prize Inside by Seth Godin. All of the books that Seth recommends are also worth reading. Bruce Schneier's interview on ITConversations Magic Ink, an essay by Bret Victor War Is A Force That…
on “Articles, Ideas, Books and/or Concepts that have changed your life” ↗I suggest some of Seth Godin's earlier books. "All Marketers are Liars" and "Purple Cow." Marketing is one of those things you can adapt to any business, any product, you just need to figure out how the lessons apply to what you're doing.
on “Ask HN: a good marketing book?” ↗…http://www.startupbook.net/ It walks through a lot of the things for asking. Once you have an idea, you will find marketing it is all of the work for getting traction. I would recommend Seth Godin. Specifically "All marketers are liars" if you need somewhere to start.
…Jack Trout Repositioning - Jack Trout (with Steve Rivkin) Differentiate or Die - Jack Trout (with Steve Rivkin) The Ultimate Marketing Plan - Dan S. Kennedy The Ultimate Sales Machine - Chet Holmes All Marketers Are Liars - Seth Godin The Purple Cow - Seth Godin
on “Ask HN: What books should I read re marketing for my website?” ↗…Jack Trout Repositioning - Jack Trout (with Steve Rivkin) Differentiate or Die - Jack Trout (with Steve Rivkin) The Ultimate Marketing Plan - Dan S. Kennedy The Ultimate Sales Machine - Chet Holmes All Marketers Are Liars - Seth Godin The Purple Cow - Seth Godin And add in one generic "Marketing 101" textbook. Find something at a used bookstore or order used on Amazon. Something like this, or similar: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0132177153/ref=sr_1_4...…
on “Ask HN: Tips for a first time startup?” ↗…good feeling, at least 2-3x a day (the author 6x). You are immune to the lie :-) you gotta have a different lie to feel good. BTW: I didn’t come up with the stuff. A splendid book about that topic is “All marketers are liars” by Seth Godin
on “Why Trying New Things Is So Hard to Do” ↗