The Long Tail and the Dip

Marketing guru Seth Godin has just posted a very concise explanation of the Long Tail theory and the Dip (both of which he has written excellent books about). These are the kind of books and theories that anyone thinking of launching a web based / mass market product or business should read and factor into their business strategy.

Just last week, I was meeting with a client who sells niche music to a very wide ranging audience (iTunes style only on a minature scale) and was explaining that his business was long-tail based. He immediately understood what this meant although he’d never actually heard the term before and as a result, our discussion with regards to how his new site should look, what it should do and who it should be targetted at became a more powerful and valuable session.

I’d recommend Seth’s book to any prospective web entrepeneur. If Brian Flanagan was still serving drinks, these are the books that he’d keep under the Cocktail bar.