Did you know that Charles Darwin didn’t invent the term “survival of the fittest”?
When he published “The Origin of Species” in 1859, he used the term “natural selection”.
His book is probably one of the most groundbreaking works in science that completely revolutionized the field of biology but its biggest influence might be due to the help of someone else.
Darwin’s book immediately spread in the scientific community. But it wasn’t until five years later when Herbert Spencer crafted the term “survival of the fittest” that the idea really took off.
Charles Darwin was quick to adapt it for the fifth edition of his book and I think the rest is history.
It might feel like just a small change, but the four words make a huge difference.
While “natural selection” is a rather abstract term that needs to be filled with meaning, “survival of the fittest” is very concrete.
You can almost see it as a mental picture, can’t you? It has a very tangible meaning, which means it’s easy to understand. And that makes it memorable. On top of that, it’s a statement made in plain and simple English.
It’s these three traits, simple to understand, memorable, and in plain and simple English that make it easy to pass along.
Herbert Spencer has essentially crafted the pass along phrase for the theory of “natural selection”, the phrase that people used to spread the idea.
Perhaps, the evolutionary theory would have found its influence regardless. But that pass along phrase has likely helped it spread faster.
Which is a good reminder that if you want your ideas to spread, it’s useful to make this as easy for your audience as possible.
So, what’s the pass along phrase for your idea, your product, or your service?