Purple Cow, Say What?

You're probably asking:"What is this purple cow you speak of? Britney, are you alright? Have you lost your marbles...?"
And I'd probably respond like so: "No. At least not completely."


Guys, purple cow is an actual thing!!!

It's a marketing concept by Seth Godin that states, "companies must build things worth noticing right into their products or services. "

He says that a product that isn't somehow remarkable--like a purple cow--is unlikely to sell, regardless of how awesome it is, or how much advertising it has.

Seriously, who wants a regular cow when you can have a PURPLE one?

Think: IKEA, Starbucks, Smart Cars.... these are the purple cows of the industry. When you think IKEA, you think beautifully-crafted, cheap, DIY furniture; when you think Starbucks, you think of a comfortable hangout place with coffee; when you think Smart Cars, you think of how such a product is selling. It's so small...

How is this useful for writers?

For one, as an author, each and every one of us is going to have to market our own product, in this case, books. Even the very best publishing agency doesn't market an author's book as best as an author him/herself.
Secondly, if we're wanting to sell anything or catch the eye's of an agent, we need to be purple cows! We gotta give them a good reason to gawk at our writing like it's gold.

No one wants something that's been over done. The market wants clean, fresh ideas that will last. They want something that set the trends, they want something that people are going to copy--and trust me, if people enjoy it, they're going to want to reproduce it.


So when you sit in front of your manuscript today, I challenge you to color outside the box of norms. Be different. Be creative. Make that first sentence, first paragraph, and entire book count. Be that extrordinary part of yourself.
Make people want to copy you!
Because if they are....you must be doing something right.



Phew...sure glad that marketing class paid off....


Till Next Time Blog World,

Related articles: The Agonizing First Chapter, How Do You Know When You're Done Editing