You know what’s worse than getting your ass kicked ? Getting ignored.
Remember the phrase: There’s no bad news ?
It’s true. Negative interaction means people still pay attention to you. But when no one cares to even spit at you, you know you are an invisible blow of air.
Don’t let this happen to you.
If you are a force for good, and you want people to pay attention to your content, words and products, you must follow a few steps that make you stand out.
It’s fun and refreshing. Let’s rock this together.
Express what you stand for
Most people don’t have a clue what they stand for. They are like a leaf in the wind – you can blow ‘em in any direction and they even don’t care.
Not only is this pathetic, it’s also boring as heck. Spineless creatures don’t deserve attention, and they won’t get it.
Whatever you do, always fully express yourself, no matter how un-popular the choice.
For example, I believe that:
- Religion is manipulative and useless. And I mean any religion.
- You should always cuss if you have to. Saying f**k is weak. Unless you are working for a PG-13 rated family channel, you should go the full mile. Don’t you stand for your words ? Then fucking say them.
- Fast food is an evil curse. It’s cheap and dangerous, and you should avoid it like the plague. And yeah, that includes Coca Cola.
Some of these expressions draw me into the crossfire, but I can take the shots.
Never back down. Express what you stand for. And the right people will listen.
Be over-the-top
Moderation is for losers.
When you are born, you are full of potential. A ray of light, ready to illuminate the world. But as you grow older, you lose your shine. Society covers you with a big, smelly blanket and diminishes your true self. It’s time to free yourself. Take the smelly thing off and shine brighter than a thousand suns – find your natural extremity.
Moderation yields moderate results – d’uh ! Whenever you want to make a deep impact, you have to be extreme:
- when you want to write an email that people must notice, then use a remarkable writing style and back it up with a cool font, colors and pictures
- If you want to make people remember you, then introduce yourself in a way that’s remark-able and noteworthy
- When you have a goal and want to inspire people, then use BIG words and make it as grand as it can be
IMPORTANT: The goal is NOT to be always extreme. That is exhausting. But whenever you want to make an impact – a BAAAAM effect that hits people, you have to be over-the-top.
It’s time for you to remember your light. A healthy dose of extremism not only makes you feel more alive, and it also attracts and influences
Be on a mission
One of my favorites. That one is so powerful it might melt your brain. Determination is a huge attraction – people tend to follow people who (think they) know the way.
They think: Gosh, this person must know that something that I don’t. Better follow, and see where (s)he will lead us.
Famous digital entrepreneurs / bloggers don’t hang around, they obsessively following their mission:
- Chris Guillebeau – inspire people to live an unconventional life
- Jonathan Mead – get people to live on their own terms.
- or me : fire people up to create their own business and DO stuff.
Strong, inspirational words that excite people to do something.
What is your mission ?
Go against the stream
The mainstream that is.
If everyone is saying : This is how you should do it, maybe you should say
Hell no !
Adding controversy to any topic will always get you attention :
- Being abnormal, forgetting “professional” marketing tactics and writing like a buddy ( Johnny B. Truant )
- Guest posting for other blogs is useless and a waste of time ( Everett Bogue )
But be careful – unjustified claims bore people and make them even ignore you. Have a good reason why you go against the stream – never provoke for the sake of provoking.
Treat your content like artwork
How much do you care about your creation ?
Can you put a little more effort into it ?
Can you style it in a beautiful way ?
Can you craft something with so much attention and care that people can’t help but to notice your efforts ?
You should…no…
You MUST !
Tell a kick-ass story
People love hearing stories. Over and over again. Good stories captivate and influence us – the are the salt of (digital) life. Grrreat marketers are great storytellers. Maybe that’s what makes them great. Check out Seth Godin’s talks and you see what I mean.
A great story:
- can be easily understood by everyone
- has a killer opening and ending
- entertains
- uses facts to support its credibility
- inspires people to take action
What are you waiting for ? Want to captivate people ? Tell a kick-ass story !
Be so honest it makes you cringe inside
Let’s face it – everyone delivers white and gray lies :
- How much traffic do you got ? Eh, a few thousand every week.
- How much money do you make ? Eh, over 5,000 a month.
- What do you do ? Eh, all kinds of projects.
We are used to people tweaking the truth, and that’s why we hold still and LISTEN when someone’s brutally honest :
- Chris Corbett from ThinkTraffic.net exposes his traffic report every single month. He states every minor detail – how much he’s growing (or not), if more or few people click on his posts etc. He’s sharing his up and downs.
- Pat Flynn from Smartpassiveincome shows how much money he EXACTLY makes every month. Down to the very last cent.
- Adam Baker from Manvsdebt writes epic long posts. And in some of them, like how to suck at product launching he reveals how he fucks up and what he learns from it.
I know it takes super-courage to jump over your shadow and tell things like they are. But exactly THAT can make all the difference in standing out in a white-lying world.
Make People laugh
Most people are way too serious. And bore the heck out of their listeners. Break the ice and infuse some humor. It can be applied to any topic and guarantees to be sticky. People ALWAYS remember funny stuff.
Lead by example
Most people talk and write about doing awesome things, but never do them. Fail !
If you want people to listen to you, you have to show them what you DO. Everyone talks, very few act
Become an action-doer:.
- If you think that people don’t connect genuinely, then connect like you have connected before and write about it !
- If you think that most online business are dull and boring, then create a kick-ass one and write about it !
- If you think (insert subject) needs to change, then go out and CHANGE it !
Don’t become a hypocrite. Lead by example. And the write about it.
What to do now
It doesn’t matter how tight your competition is. If you got something valuable to share, you deserve to get noticed. You are interesting by default, you just got to remember it. And express it in an awesome way.
What do you do to be interesting (online) ?
And tweet / Facebook – share this post with your friends !
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