One astute reader of the new e-Book Dandelion Marketing: How to Increase Your Odds of ‘Going Viral” pointed out a potential inconsistency between two ideas I’ve put forth.

On the one hand, Dandelion Marketing is about “spreading sparks as many places as possible” and the ideas in Community Driven Marketing: The Power of the Raving Fan are about of “marketing as gasoline” in the sense that you pour the gasoline on the fiery passion of your Raving Fans..

Robin Fichtner wrote in:

I heard you speak at an AMA-Milwaukee breakfast (thanks for that!) and just read the eBook Dandelion Marketing.  In that talk, you referred to marketing lighting matches and throwing them around trying to start a fire, versus finding some gasoline and putting a match to it.

In this book, you speak of the dandelion and creating many seeds, some of which will land and grow.

Conceptually, aren't dandelion seeds and matches the same?  If not, how are they different?  It they aren't different, then I'm confused.

I can see why Robin asked this question and in looking through the e-Book, I can see where I could have been more clear about this idea.

On page 2, I offer three ideas for how you can increase your odds of ‘Going Viral.”

1. Be Remarkable
2. Create an Ignitable Environment
3. Make Smaller Bets More Often

I think the answer to Robin’s question and cognitive dissonance lies in where you throw those sparks/matches/dandelion seeds.

In the old model, we were throwing them out to people with whom we had no relationship and no permission. We didn’t need to. We interrupted them. We bought attention.

Now, however, we throw out the low-cost sparks into the “ignitable environment,” which is made up of people with whom we DO have permission and attention (e.g. our Raving Fans) and we make it easy for them to share the Remarkable ones with their trusted networks by the tactical implementation of tools like TweetMeme or ShareThis (among hundreds of others).

The strategic underpinning is that you need a community of Raving Fans who will be receptive to your dandelion seeds (or matches) in the first place. Maybe I should call them ‘drops of gasoline?”

Thanks to Robin for proving, again, that this whole thing is Perpetual Beta and that the eBook is not the end line, just another starting point.