“Get the most of the story inside the headline but leave just enough so people will want to click.”

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Professor Jonah Berger

This great book practically walks the reader through what makes things become popular, why people talk about certain ideas more than others, why certain stories are more “contagious” than others, and what makes online content become viral. The writer talks about the following contagious STEPS:

1. Social currency – if something makes us look good we are more likely to share.

2. Triggers – one thing can remind us of something else. A que that makes something top of mind. A link to something in the environment.

3. Emotion – the more we care about something the more likely we are to pass it on.

4. Public – easier to see, easier to imitate. “Monkey see, monkey do”.

5. Story – wrap up your narrative in a story.

Quotes that resonated with me:

“Word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20-50% of all purchasing decisions. Consequently, social influence has a huge impact on whether products idea and behaviors catch on. A word of mouth conversation by a new customer leads to an almost $200 increase in restaurant sales. A 5-Star review on Amazon leads to approximately 20 more books sold than a 1-Star review. Word of mouth is at least 10 times more effective than traditional marketing.”

“People like to help others. If we can show people how our product or idea will save time, improve health or save money they’ll spread the word. We need to make our message stand out. We need to do more than just tell a great story, we need to make vitality valuable. We need to make our message so integral to the narrative that people can’t tell the story without it.”

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

I truly believe no startup can afford not to read this book.

This book instills a mindset of figuring out the MVP – most viable product by utilizing feedback loops. Instead of building products and then rolling them out to the market’s mercy, only to then find out if the market responds well to them or not – this book teaches an approach of viable learning. By building, measuring and learning on the go, you can evolve while keeping your feet on the ground. This can be applied to marketing campaigns as much as to products.

Quotes that resonated with me:

“Vanity metric are things like registered users, downloads and raw pageviews. They are easily manipulated and do not necessary correlate to the numbers that really matter: active users, engagement, the cost of getting new customers and ultimately revenues and profits.”

“Numbers or stats that look good on paper but don’t really mean anything important are dangerous.”

“Actionable metrics: stats that tie to specific and repeatable tasks you can improve and to the goals of your business.”

“At the root of every similarly technical problem is a human problem.”

Wrapping up

I think a book that alters your mindset for the better is a great gift. During the past two years I became addicted to audiobooks (something I never thought I’d be able to relate to). I find myself on long walks wandering both to where my feet take me and where the authors help take my mind to. I sometimes halt midst a busy street to take out my phone and write a quote that challenged my thinking. I hope the above recaps might help move the needle in your daily strategizing. If you have good books to recommend, please reach out to me or tell me in the comments below. Good luck!