Main idea: establish a unique brand, or fail to differentiate yourself
Sub idea: branding doesn’t have to be difficult
Agenda
Being truly unique
The ideas the others have already discovered (or “me too”)
Leveraging your unique into something people will pay for
When I first started Clemson Road Creative, I found Ash Ambirge of The Middle Finger Project. I love her irreverence. She speaks to a very real punk rock personality living within me. Over the years, I’ve revealed more and more of my Zero Fucks personality. The idea that professionalism is tied down, buttoned up, and cold has gone the way of the buffalo. We know people are building their tribes and the internet gives you a chance to find the people who belong in yours.
Let yourself out. You’re not the only unicorn-hating, root beer drinking, f-bomb dropping, jelly bracelet addict out there. If the internet has shown us anything, it’s that everyone has a tribe. Even the Bronies.
So you don’t have to create a persona for this. Stop trying so hard. Just be yourself. You are unique. Aren’t you? How do you know if you aren’t? Is there like a Cosmo quiz or something to help you identify the thing you have that no one else does?
Let’s look at the basics around “brand” and see what we can recommend. Categories? Anyone?
What you Say
What you Wear
What you Do
How much of these are affected by location? By role? Are you a mom? How many mommy bloggers are out there hardly different from any other mommy blogger?
I tried the How to Raise a Maverick podcast (here’s a link to an interview with the podcaster Emily Goudreaux on the Dr. Zoe Show) but the show itself was a little yawny -- she had a tendency to harp on a topic instead of just getting right to it.
Like all podcasters and bloggers, one needs a niche. And sometimes that niche can be exhausted. We did Start Something, Columbia! a radio show about building businesses and we couldn’t get local sponsors. We’re about to discontinue Write On SC for the same reason, we’re just not getting any traction. GaryVee says if you’re building it and people aren’t responding, it’s because it’s not as awesome as you think it is.
So let’s talk about that, too. How do you test adoption? How do you prove concept and get people interested in paying for what you have? The brand can’t be all there is. Your “unique” must also be adding value in some way.
Make it worth others parting with their own resources, willingly, to get more of it.
Additional Resources
Where has this book been my whole life?
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