Announcing: Seth Godin will be Keynoting Authority Intensive

Ah, the challenge of writing about Seth Godin.

The process: Write 12 paragraphs of embarrassing mush. Delete. Ponder.

Write 12 more paragraphs of really embarrassing mush. Delete. Despair.

Because “Seth Godin is awesome” is a terrible marketing cliché. And like a lot of clichés, there’s a good reason for that.

Around the Copyblogger Media virtual offices, we’ve been squeeing all over our shoes very pleased to learn that Seth Godin will be keynoting our first major live event, Authority Intensive, taking place May 7-9, 2014, in beautiful Denver, Colorado.

Desperate for material Curious to see what they’d have to say, I asked our editorial crew for their favorite Godin quotes — the ones that are scribbled in Moleskines, enshrined in Evernote, or tattooed on various body parts.

Here’s what they came up with:

Robert Bruce

Stubborn is a virtue:

You can outlast the other guys if you try. If you stick at stuff that bores them, it accrues. Drip, drip, drip you win. ~ from the blog post, The secret of the web

Chris Garrett

Do the “rules” you follow make any sense?

Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.
~ Tribes

Kelton Reid

While others pontificate, make something happen:

While you’ve been wishing for the inspiration to start something great, thousands of entrepreneurs have used the prevailing sense of uncertainty to start truly remarkable companies. ~ from the blog post, The chance of a lifetime

Demian Farnworth

Pragmatism doesn’t have to be boring:

The best way to motivate the monkey, of course, is to use a banana. ~ The Big Red Fez

Beth Hayden

Know … really know why you’re doing what you’re doing:

In my experience, people get obsessed about tactical detail before they embrace a strategy… and as a result, when a tactic fails, they begin to question the strategy that they never really embraced in the first place. The next time you find yourself spending 8 hours on tactics and five minutes refining your strategy, you’ll understand what’s going on.
~ from the blog post When tactics drown out strategy

Brian Clark

The core of what makes your marketing story work:

People don’t believe what you tell them. They rarely believe what you show them. They often believe what their friends tell them. They always believe what they tell themselves.
~ Tribes

We’ve spent almost 8 years creating content that allows our audience to tell a story to themselves and to others about Copyblogger, and how to teach other people (that would be you) how to do it, too.

Sonia Simone

I get two because I wrote the post. (That’s why they call me the pink-haired tyrant.)

Before I create anything for my audience, a (perhaps painful) reality:

As a marketer, you can no longer force people to pay attention. ~ All Marketers Tell Stories

Also from All Marketers Tell Stories (once upon a time titled All Marketers are Liars):

When you find a story that works, live that story, make it true, authentic, and subject to scrutiny. All marketers are storytellers. Only the losers are liars.

Save the date

So yeah, everyone on our team has at various times been influenced, challenged, and inspired by Seth Godin. And he’ll be keynoting our first large-scale live event in Denver, Colorado. Obviously, we’re excited.

On May 7-9, 2014, we’ll be connecting face to face with a select group of serious, smart, passionate, creative online marketers. We’ll be talking about core strategies, smart tactics … and a little bit of inspiration, too.

Maybe you’re one of them?