Hit Makers
Derek Thompson's book on why some cultural products become hits.
Where Hit Makers comes up1 episode or test
- 1Critics fault the thesisThey said Hit Makers' thesis wasn't clear
- 2Thompson agreesPainful, but accurate in retrospect
- 3Clearest articles winHis clearest-message articles perform best
- 4Simplifies his messageBoils it down to a bumper sticker
From Derek Thompson on Hit Makers
What was said about Hit Makers
Hit Makers argues that hits braid the familiar with the new. Derek Thompson's book explains why some cultural products become hits. Its central claim is that successful ones combine something audiences already know with something novel.
Critics found the book's thesis unclear, which taught Thompson to simplify his message. Critics of Hit Makers said its thesis wasn't clear, and Thompson agrees in retrospect. He now sees that his articles with the clearest message perform best.
He found the criticism painful but accurate, and it changed how much he values simple messaging. The hard part, he says, is a message simple enough to remember that still carries the nuance of the full story: "boil down a complicated subject so it's a little simple bumper sticker."
All Aspiring Journalists Should Watch This Video — Derek Thompson
The book argues that hits braid the familiar with the new. A critic said its thesis was unclear, which hurt at first but taught him to value a simple message, and his clearest articles now do best.
Hit Makers argues that hits braid the familiar with the new. Derek Thompson's book explains why some cultural products become hits. Its central claim is that successful ones combine something audiences already know with something novel.
Critics found the book's thesis unclear, which taught Thompson to simplify his message. Critics of Hit Makers said its thesis wasn't clear, and Thompson agrees in retrospect. He now sees that his articles with the clearest message perform best.
He found the criticism painful but accurate, and it changed how much he values simple messaging. The hard part, he says, is a message simple enough to remember that still carries the nuance of the full story: "boil down a complicated subject so it's a little simple bumper sticker."
More in Other
OtherApple
A consumer technology company that makes the Mac, iPod, iPhone and software.
86 sources · 212 tips
OtherGoogle's web search product, now including AI Overviews, AI Mode and Lens.
53 sources · 103 tips
OtherGoogle Play
Google's app store for Android, with its own listing rules and search ranking.
18 sources · 49 tipsStandard Oil
John D. Rockefeller's oil refining company that came to dominate American kerosene and oil distribution.
5 sources · 48 tips
OtherIntel
A semiconductor company that made memory chips and the first microprocessor.
B12 sources · 23 tips
OtherTSMC
The world's leading contract chip maker, a pure-play foundry that manufactures chips for fabless designers.
6 sources · 32 tips
OtherTesla
An electric car maker that builds its own key components and factories.
14 sources · 23 tips
OtherSpaceX
A private aerospace company building reusable rockets, the Dragon capsule, Starship and the Starlink satellite network.
5 sources · 29 tips