Make your idea sticky

SUCCESS is a mnemonic for making your idea sticky, from the entertaining and informative book Made to Stick, by the Heath brothers. It outlines six principles that help ideas resonate, stay memorable, and inspire action: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Stories.

• Simple: Strip your idea down to its core, making it easy to understand and remember.

• Unexpected: Capture attention by surprising your audience or breaking their expectations.

• Concrete: Use vivid, tangible details to make your idea real and relatable.

• Credible: Build trust by including authority, data, or real-world examples.

• Emotional: Tap into emotions to make your message resonate on a deeper level.

• Stories: Use storytelling to create connection and drive engagement.

By applying these steps, you can communicate ideas that stick in the minds of your audience long after they’re shared.

Related ideas

• The Marketing Rule of 7

Examples of the principles of Made to Stick in action:

• Eat the Frog
• Frog boil
• The bullwhip effect
• The cobra effect
• Goodhart's Law
• Survivorship Bias