As I was considering what to write this evening, I started thinking over many of the online marketing efforts I see being made.
One quite glaring issue is the lack of originality. Sure, successful people copy successful people.
Yet I wonder why I should sign up for the latest program that Jane Doe is offering if it looks just like the last 10 'amazing' releases.
Like most people I am attracted to things that are novel... new. Like others I want something unique.
If that's the case, why do we feel like we have to copy each other?
Why do we feel we must copy what others do?
This is something that I've seen countless times: Like attracts like.
People tend to group together because what they like is similar to what others like. This is also seen with people who work together. They often 'hang out' after work because they have a commonality: Their workplace or job tasks.
This same tendency is seen with Internet Marketing as well. People who like certain marketing ideas or methodologies tend to group together.
There's nothing wrong with being part of a group. There's also nothing wrong with learning by following a plan someone else laid out if you know it works. ClickTrackProfit.com comes to mind.
Yet there's a difference between following a similar plan as someone else and flat out copying their material.
Why should you recreate something that's just like the next guy's? Do you see the delima here?
We are attracted to people and things that are similar to what we like or do. We feel safe around others who are similar. Yet success comes to those who are distinct - original.
So this means that from a business standpoint, we have to go against our trend to do EXACTLY what other successful people do. We must be similar enough (ie: emulate) successful marketers to 'pick up' their successful habits, but DISTINCT enough to stand out and not be 100% like them.
Seriously.
Think about the money you've invested online in the tools you need for your business. Chances are your tools consist of a combination of these:
- website hosting,
- auto-responder or email mailing list software,
- advertising channels such as safe lists, viral mailers, traffic exchanges, solo ads, Adwords, etc.,
- lead magnets and website graphics,
- training resources.
When you write your own content such as a blog entry, you most likely have Wordpress, Drupal, or some other content management system.
Each system like Wordpress allows you to make your site unique with graphics and a custom theme.
So why copy everyone else?
This can create a sort of 'monochromatic' look among many marketers where the sites, splash pages, lead capture pages, etc. all look the same.
This 'homogenous' look isn't going to help you stand out from the competition.
Why are you trying to make your site look just like someone else's?
Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but that doesn't make plagiarism king.
Quite the opposite. Your visitors are going to notice the lack of passion in your design and the fact that you 'phoned' it in.
What are you doing to make your site look distinct?
Even if you choose to use a Wordpress blog hosted by some parent company or service that makes all the blogs look the same, what steps can you take to make your content stand out?
Consider something like peakd.com or hive.blog on the Hive blockchain.
Sure, you can blog with their platform (I use it, and you may even be reading this article on their platform), but what are you doing to make your site or blog different?
Here's 5 ideas to help your content look distinct.
- Write a catchy headline.
- Use your own graphics. If you don't have your own, use stock photography.
- Use your photo in your posts.
- Add videos of yourself or your team.
- Create your own unique Lead Capture Pages to gain sign-ups.
Here's how these items can help you:
Write a Catchy Headline
Catchy headlines are the first thing your visitors will see. Human beings are visual by nature, and we are inquisitive to boot. Throw some interesting text at someone, and your blog title will standout in the sea of other blog titles.
I've been testing this by changing my blog titles up to see if I can get more engagement. It's been working. Instead of using a 'templatized' format every time, I try writing something unique.
People notice and they visit my PeakD blog. :)
Use your own graphics that are consistent between posts.
To really stand out, try to use your own graphics. If you have the option to do so, create your own graphics or pay someone to do it for you.
I'm not great at graphics, but I am OK when it comes to making memes. Therefore, with my dadjokesandmemes.com website (and sometimes even on my business site), I make my own unique dad joke memes, and this makes my site unique, because I am not just using other people's hackneyed memes.
If you have a more traditional site, you can use fiverr.com and hire someone to make your header graphics. I've done that before as well, and it really works. It helps you build your own brand.
Add your photo to your posts to build your brand.
Use your own photo in your blog posts. If you really want to stand out, use your photo or a video in your posts.
This will let people see that you are a real person. This matters. I have been doing this recently by adding my photo to the bottom of each blog post I wrote on my Wordpress blog so that my visitors are going to start recognizing my face. I am building my own brand, and over the long haul this will make a difference.
Use a custom video of yourself.
Use a custom video of you or your team. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a thousand photos.
I recently began making my own videos of my progress though #myHiveGoals (it's a challenge I started to blog and write about my own goals). By using the video format and creating a daily video, it added another dimension to my efforts. This really works.
I used this same concept with my dad jokes site. I could have just made tweets and Instagram posts using text, but instead I started creating dad joke videos with my son and posting them daily on YouTube and Facebook.
Every single day the two of us record a dad joke and it's been one of the highlights of my life recently. He's 11 years old, and a natural in front of the camera. He loves doing it, and it suits him.
By incorporating items like that, even in a 'cookie-cutter' blog, your material will stand out.
Quit using 'cookie cutter' Lead Capture Pages.
Ouch. I know that one hurt. There's plenty of you out there who use the basic template for your lead capture pages, and then wonder why your results are lackluster.
Yeah, stop doing it.
The hard truth? Your LCP looks just like all the others.
Change up the look slightly and I think you will be surprised at how your response rate will increase.
I create my lead capture pages from scratch, and they do better than the ones provided by the affiliate programs I use. I typically can out-perform the default pages, simply because my lead capture page is unique in some way.
It's not just a copy of what someone else has done.
By doing this I increase my own brand and help my site visitors and email subscribers with original content.
I hope in some small way I've encouraged you to evaluate what you're doing and come up with a small change to make your efforts stand out from everyone else.
It pays dividends in the end.
Peace and Love,
-Rob
P.S. As an example of something that is unique and different than most marketing sites, Jon O and Blain J have created a fantastic site: https://plus1success.com/robwillmann
Their site is unique because they have videos and an ebook that gives you 30 days of life-changing habit-forming ideas for you to try. You can't skip ahead, because the videos only come out once per day.
By creating their website this way, it forces you to track along and not jump ahead. Genius!
The content is unique each day, and Jon O's videos pair nicely with the backed coding that Blain did to make their site unique. Best of all, it completely dovetails into ClickTrackProfit (their other site), which makes it such a great addition to their arsenal of tools to help you succeed.
I highly recommend plus1success.com and would encourage you to take a look and give it a spin. The URL is: https://plus1success.com/robwillmann
Thanks. -Rob