The Trickster and The Marketer

What is the Trickster and why does it matter? In brief, the Trickster, in Greek mythology, is a deity that breaks the rules of the gods and nature. The Trickster defies convention by playing with convention. There are a few qualities of the Trickster that are worth considering in relation to the work we do as marketers.

Now you might not think of direct linking with ppc as being marketing. But it is marketing. And there are some principles that inform direct linking and ppc ads that may surprise you as well as many other areas of marketing. I think so often marketing, and especially Internet marketing, is viewed as an odd little corner of the market where all the rules don’t apply, lazy people can be millionaires and clicks can turn into gold. Well, there are some truths that have existed for many generations and are still true today. One of those truths is that change comes from people that are willing to challenge convention and common practice. Some famous Trickster figures in literature are Puck (from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream), the coyote in Native American literature and even Bugs Bunny. When you consider the characteristics of the Trickster, outlined below, I think you will find them everywhere.

So what is the Trickster again? Really the Trickster is that character that changes the course of the story; the Trickster surprises you by challenging your assumptions. There are a few characteristics that we can learn from as marketers:

The Trickster is willing and able to cross boundaries and act as a go-between.

The Trickster sees things from a different perspective and see continuity where others see difference.

The Trickster sees opportunity where others see roadblocks.

The Trickster allows for paradoxes rather than contradictions. The Trickster allows for two seemingly incompatible realities to coexist.

The Trickster makes connections that other people don’t.

The Trickster believes in smart luck.

Good marketers do all of these things well. And as marketers that are constantly striving to be better at our craft, let’s think for a minute about how we can apply these characteristics to our work.

A marketer builds bridges between communities to add value to those communities. Here is one example: A marketer is able to communicate the value of a product or service so that someone will understand that value. A marketer builds a bridge between buyers and sellers. A marketer takes information from experts and communicates the value to consumers.

A marketer takes other people’s point of view in order to communicate to them. A marketer that never gets outside his own perspective will fail to sell his product every time.

A marketer is more interested in what other people think than in what he thinks. Why is your landing page not converting? Stop asking yourself. Start asking your visitors.

A marketer sees connections between communities and websites and messages that others don’t. This allows for whole new markets to be created. Imagine 15 years ago listening to someone talk about a multi-billion dollar industry dedicated to helping people make money online. Marketers told people that there would be such an industry because they made that connection.

A marketer believes that he will win in the long run. A marketer will test test test to find out how to sell something because he believes that he will find out how, and he will actually sell his product or service.

In brief, don’t hold your own opinions as being more important than your customers’ — break down conventional wisdom, build bridges between people and communities, and believe that you will win.

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