It’s worth a nickel

Every once in a while, you find a book that just really inspires. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by brothers Chip and Dan Heath, is one of those books.

I found myself laughing while reading this book about selling and marketing your ideas! Their combined experience and wisdom made for a great read… which is fitting, since the Heaths suggest that the single best way to sell your idea is to make it into a good story, because that’s how people get attached. They’ve followed their own advice and made what could have been a dry presentation of a framework for selling ideas into a fun book for anyone to read.

I consider this recommended reading for anyone who has ever needed to convince another person of anything. And yes, that’s everyone in the world. Whether you’re actually working in a marketing or advertising role, or you’re in sales, or not… we’re all selling ourselves and our ideas every day.

How often do you read a marketing book that uses urban legends as an example of an idea that sticks? Not too often, but this one does! Here are Chip and Dan’s six principles for ideas that stick:

1. Simplicity. But think proverbs, not sound bites.
2. Unexpectedness. This is how you catch people’s attention, but it’s not how you hold it.
3. Concreteness. Especially when dealing with new information, it must be tangible and accessible, not abstract and theoretical.
4. Credibility. If nobody believes you, it doesn’t matter how good the idea is. There are many ways to establish credibility; find one.
5. Emotions. Engage people’s feelings, and you’re more than halfway there. And it doesn’t have to be only positive emotions!
6. Stories. This is our common human practice. We swap stories, and we’re more likely to swap them if they’re simple, unexpected, concrete, credible and emotional.

Pick it up. Read it. Love it.