They Don’t Want New, They Want Familiar

My friend Rishi sent me a blog post that I thought I’d share:

Three months ago, as I strolled along Leeds canal in the blistering UK heat (23 degrees), I listened to Tim Ferris interview Seth Godin. Ferris asked Godin how he’s kept so consistent with his popular daily blog, of which he’s posted 8,109 times. Godin replied with a point I loved: ”It’s not your job to say new things. It’s your job to say things that confirm your audience’s beliefs.” Most writers, myself included, think the secret to success is coming up with novel and unique ideas. But Godin’s a master marketer, and he shattered that belief—explaining that people don’t want new. They want familiar.

There are some days when I’m sitting in front of my laptop figuring out what to write for my daily post. I used to think I had to write a new or novel post everyday. But that’s not sustainable in the long run.

I noticed that many writers just write about a similar idea, they just reframe it in multiple ways. James Clear, The Atomic Habits, author does this a lot. Many popular Twitter accounts do this too. And it works because people don’t want new, they want familiar.