In the last post I mentioned the idea of being your own Purple Cow, but just what does that mean exactly? The original idea was that if you had a product to sell, the way to differentiate it from the competition was not for it to be a marginally better product, but something that would make the audience rethink the very idea of what the product was, or could be. When people are bombarded with thousands of different ads, and so many choices, the only way to stand out isn’t by being marginally better, it’s by having an extraordinary product, something remarkable.
This idea is bigger than just products and services, and it melds well together with the growing importance of relationships in marketing, on the internet, and in business. To take an example of the web as a relationship focused tool: When an acquaintance of yours has a list of upwards of 500 or even 3000 people that he’s connected to online, then taking a spot in their mind is a challenge. The best way to stand out in a crowd as big as that is to be extraordinary, and to have a very strong personal brand.
Being marginal doesn’t cut it anymore.
Here are five tips to help you on your path to becoming extraordinary:
1. Set goals.
Be specific about what your content is going to be that will make you unique and different. It’s unlikely you’ll achieve expertise in a field by accident, so the earlier you choose your goals, the sooner you can start moving towards it. But, there will never be a time where you’ll say “I’ve reached my goal.” You’ll always have something else to discover, and there will always be new areas to explore. How does this help you become extraordinary? Because those who don’t continuously strive to grow will only stagnate and fade away.
2. Focus on your strengths.
Know yourself, know where your talent lies and consistently work to grow your strengths. If the way to be unique is to have extraordinary ability, you’ll go further if you take advantage of where your passion lies and where your strengths are.
3. Be persistent.
If you have a persistent attitude towards improving your strengths, there’s nothing that will help you achieve more. Even if you aren’t embedded with a particular talent or knack for something, your persistence and dedication will take you further ahead than those who are talented but aren’t persistent with their work.
4. Read, Read, and Read!
The best thing about knowing what your direction is and what your goals are, is that the action plan you need to accomplish to reach those goals becomes clear. The result of which, is that you’ll realize all the reading that you’ll probably have to do. Reading is a key activity to what it takes to know what’s required to have a really unique expertise on something. Books, Magazines, Blogs, Newspapers, etc… Always be reading, always be keeping up with the trends, follow the key thinkers in your field, and situate yourself on the cutting edge.
5. Share your knowledge.
Start a blog, speak at a conference, become a mentor, and use your new knowledge to help others who are in need of your new talents. Doing this is what will help to reinforce your new knowledge, and it’s the only way that others will know that you have anything worth paying attention to.
These tips are nothing extraordinary in themselves, but when it comes time to change your unique content, you’ll find that you’ll just be repeating the list again.
You can also share what you know by leaving a comment on what you’re doing to differentiate yourself from the crowd!
