How to Stand Out and be Unique?

[Peakdesire]

So, I'm currently building a blog where I write fitness & motivational and self-development articles.

There are a million websites like this and I'm trying to figure out how to stand out from the masses.

Of course it all starts with having unique and interesting content, but do you guys have any ideas on how you could really stand out and maybe innovate a twist to it.

help much appreciated.

 

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[Salem]

Don't read other blogs. Find your own sources of information that nobody else is reading. Read books and extarct your own ideas, and write them down. Use this techninique https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/how-to-become-an-idea-machine.56584/. Write down 10 everyday, and apply them to your blog. Hope it helps

 

[Peakdesire]

Don't read other blogs. Find your own sources of information that nobody else is reading. Read books and extarct your own ideas, and write them down. Use this techninique https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/how-to-become-an-idea-machine.56584/. Write down 10 everyday, and apply them to your blog. Hope it helps

Thanks.

I'm already using James's idea machine strategy

 

[Mr.B]

Don't read other blogs. Find your own sources of information that nobody else is reading.

Yeah, I agree with this. Read articles from a completely different industry and see how the ideas presented could be applied to the areas you specialize in. You want to come up with something that you could tell people at a party. Remember, it isn't about what you find interesting, but about what others find interesting.

 

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[Peakdesire]

Yeah, I agree with this. Read articles from a completely different industry and see how the ideas presented could be applied to the areas you specialize in. You want to come up with something that you could tell people at a party. Remember, it isn't about what you find interesting, but about what others find interesting.

Hmm got me thinking. Thanks.

Is that you in the picture? What an excellent beard.

 

[smarty]

Why don't you give us some ideas you already have so then we can hit you back with the truth? From many personal experiences and observations I find out that whenever people ask general/open questions like "how to be unique" or "how to be more productive" they are essentially seeking approval of others and hoping "the truth" will be comfortable.
If I say "do youtube videos, write step by step articles, run a group challenge etc" that is also quite general that won't be of much help to you.
You may want to give up your inner resistance and run with your gut feeling.

What is the biggest problem of your visitor that you can help with?
How are they going to find about you?
How can you be more relevant to them?

 

[Peakdesire]

Why don't you give us some ideas you already have so then we can hit you back with the truth? From many personal experiences and observations I find out that whenever people ask general/open questions like "how to be unique" or "how to be more productive" they are essentially seeking approval of others and hoping "the truth" will be comfortable.
If I say "do youtube videos, write step by step articles, run a group challenge etc" that is also quite general that won't be of much help to you.
You may want to give up your inner resistance and run with your gut feeling.

What is the biggest problem of your visitor that you can help with?
How are they going to find about you?
How can you be more relevant to them?

Hmm, yeah.

Well right now, I'm writing a lot articles like:

''how the supremely successful people make their decisions''
''8 extraordinary habits to make this year super successful''
''sense of urgency: a perspective extremely successful people possess''
''5 transformational steps to getting whatever you want''
''Early bird gets the worm: The success morning routine''

''pack on muscle: superb mind & muscle connection''
''The force growth factor: build muscle faster''

This kinda stuff. I try to keep my writing style unique, ambitious, and motivational. And also I try to give a boat load of value in each article.

I will make the site look professional and cool.

 

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[Digamma]

Find your own voice.
You will rehash the same shit everybody else is spitting out anyway. Do it in your personal style. Build a character and play it.
The more polarizing and interesting it is, the better.

 

[Peakdesire]

Find your own voice.
You will rehash the same shit everybody else is spitting out anyway. Do it in your personal style. Build a character and play it.
The more polarizing and interesting it is, the better.

True. Thanks Digamma

 

[Durete]

Use your personality.
See what your personality traits are, then magnify them. and play that character.

I'm mostly looking into the fitness industry and so far the best selling public coaches/trainers all have made a magnifying version of their personality. some even brought it to the ridiculousness. but it sells.

Just some examples:
- One guy I follow is: Being creative with exercises, very professional and scientific
- Another one: Very direct to the point, uses quiet a lot of language, but at the same time very spiritual (Leads one of the best strength gyms in the US)
- A fairly new fish on the market, started 2 years ago, very succesfull now: totally absurd, very oversexed... compares a lot of exercises to Boners. (Leads one of the most wanted gyms for people that are in the entertainment business, singers, dancers, entertainers etc.)
- One of the most knowledgable trainers I know: Always focussed on the military stuff. always focussed on his past injuries. he never talks about anything else. he is chosen to be the "Smartest trainer" of 2013.


So find your own unique thing in your personality, and blow it up, magnify it. then play that character in all your writings, video's and so forth.

 

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[Peakdesire]

Use your personality.
See what your personality traits are, then magnify them. and play that character.

I'm mostly looking into the fitness industry and so far the best selling public coaches/trainers all have made a magnifying version of their personality. some even brought it to the ridiculousness. but it sells.

Just some examples:
- One guy I follow is: Being creative with exercises, very professional and scientific
- Another one: Very direct to the point, uses quiet a lot of language, but at the same time very spiritual (Leads one of the best strength gyms in the US)
- A fairly new fish on the market, started 2 years ago, very succesfull now: totally absurd, very oversexed... compares a lot of exercises to Boners. (Leads one of the most wanted gyms for people that are in the entertainment business, singers, dancers, entertainers etc.)
- One of the most knowledgable trainers I know: Always focussed on the military stuff. always focussed on his past injuries. he never talks about anything else. he is chosen to be the "Smartest trainer" of 2013.


So find your own unique thing in your personality, and blow it up, magnify it. then play that character in all your writings, video's and so forth.

Awesome, thanks.

 

[Esquire]

What is the purpose of your blog ...?

What do you hope to achieve ...?

I think that should be the starting point in the analysis.

Define your goal.

Once you have answered that question ... the next thing I would ask is ... who is your target audience ...?

Define your niche.

Then ... once you know what your goals are ... and who your target audience is ... how do you intend to reach them ...?

Develop a marketing plan.

After you've answered those questions ... with reasonable specificity ... I think then (and only then) should you focus on content.

If you have not defined your reason and niche ... it is difficult to imagine how you are going to write compelling copy.

Provided that you have a solid marketing plan in place ... the next thing I would tell you ... is forget about being "original."

People don't give two shits about "original." They care about "useful."

Just give them what they want.

Who cares if it already exists ...?

Just because you've read something somewhere else ... doesn't mean the next guy has.

See something you like ...?

Use the concepts as a framework and re-write it in your own voice.

Perfectly legal. Perfectly legit.

With that said:

As I see it ... there are only two good reasons to blog:

(1) Using the blog to sell your own high-margin products
(2) Reputation management

Otherwise ... blogging is just a hobby.

Which is fine ... provided that is all you hope to get out of it.

 

[Peakdesire]

What is the purpose of your blog ...?

What do you hope to achieve ...?

I think that should be the starting point in the analysis.

Define your goal.

Once you have answered that question ... the next thing I would ask is ... who is your target audience ...?

Define your niche.

Then ... once you know what your goals are ... and who your target audience is ... how do you intend to reach them ...?

Develop a marketing plan.

After you've answered those questions ... with reasonable specificity ... I think then (and only then) should you focus on content.

If you have not defined your reason and niche ... it is difficult to imagine how you are going to write compelling copy.

Provided that you have a solid marketing plan in place ... the next thing I would tell you ... is forget about being "original."

People don't give two shits about "original." They care about "useful."

Just give them what they want.

Who cares if it already exists ...?

Just because you've read something somewhere else ... doesn't mean the next guy has.

See something you like ...?

Use the concepts as a framework and re-write it in your own voice.

Perfectly legal. Perfectly legit.

With that said:

As I see it ... there are only two good reasons to blog:

(1) Using the blog to sell your own high-margin products
(2) Reputation management

Otherwise ... blogging is just a hobby.

Which is fine ... provided that is all you hope to get out of it.

Wow. Perfect answer. Thanks.

My goal is to motivate, inspire and write great content that people love. Financial goal is to make 10k/month for starters.

My niche is mostly young people who need motivation and are into fitness, but I think anybody can read motivational/self-development, and fitness posts.

I have no idea about my marketing plan. That I need to figure out.

And my high-margin products will be e-books that I will sell for like 10-20$ each.

 

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[Esquire]

Wow. Perfect answer. Thanks.

My goal is to motivate, inspire and write great content that people love. Financial goal is to make 10k/month for starters.

My niche is mostly young people who need motivation and are into fitness, but I think anybody can read motivational/self-development, and fitness posts.

I have no idea about my marketing plan. That I need to figure out.

And my high-margin products will be e-books that I will sell for like 10-20$ each.

Well ... to make $10k per month selling ad space on Google Adwords ... on average ... your blog would need to attract (approximately) 526,000 viewers ... per DAY.

Think about that.

526,000 viewers ... per DAY.

So unless your e-Book is just so absolutely off-the-charts irresistible ... where I just can't help but whip out my wallet fast enough ... take the whole blog idea behind the barn ... and shoot it.

Build your PRODUCT first ... build your blog LATER.

Plus ... your marketing plan ... is 10x more important than your actual content. Build that first (too).

The articles (themslves) are the least important component.

 

[Peakdesire]

Well ... to make $10k per month selling ad space on Google Adwords ... on average ... your blog would need to attract (approximately) 526,000 viewers ... per DAY.

Think about that.

526,000 viewers ... per DAY.

So unless your e-Book is just so absolutely off-the-charts irresistible ... where I just can't help but whip out my wallet fast enough ... take the whole blog idea behind the barn ... and shoot it.

Build your PRODUCT first ... build your blog LATER.

Plus ... your marketing plan ... is 10x more important than your actual content. Build that first (too).

The articles (themslves) are the least important component.

I already have excellent ideas for ebooks that I know will be well worth the $10 or $20 im going to charge.

Thanks for the tips.

Check out boldanddetermined.com this dude is making well over 10k / month just on 2 ebooks.

 

[Esquire]

I already have excellent ideas for ebooks that I know will be well worth the $10 or $20 im going to charge.

Thanks for the tips.

Check out boldanddetermined.com this dude is making well over 10k / month just on 2 ebooks.

How do you know that ...?

Have you seen his tax returns ...?

That would mean he is selling 1000 e-books a month.

Which ... is possible ... not likely ... but I suppose anything is possible.

Well ... for you to decide.

 

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[Peakdesire]

How do you know that ...?

Have you seen his tax returns ...?

That would mean he is selling 1000 e-books a month.

Which ... is possible ... not likely ... but I suppose anything is possible.

Well ... for you to decide.

He made a income report. Of course it can be fake.

Is it that hard to sell 1000 ebooks a month? which is only 33 books a day? if you have a ton on unique visitors a day?

 

[Esquire]

He made a income report. Of course it can be fake.

Is it that hard to sell 1000 ebooks a month? which is only 33 books a day? if you have a ton on unique visitors a day?

Well ... suppose you have a 2% conversion rate ... that would require about 3,234 unique visitors a day ... which would (in turn) require 97,020 (unique) visitors a month ... and 1,164,240 (unique) visitors a year.

And this of course assumes that acquiring that massive crowd costs nothing out of pocket.

So ... I suppose it depends on his conversion rate and traffic ... so like I said ... it is possible ... but I doubt it.

* Unless, of course ... the $10 e-Book was just the start of a sales funnel for higher priced services. Then, maybe I could see it ... but I seriously doubt he would pull those numbers from the sales of the $10 e-books alone.

 

[Peakdesire]

Well ... suppose you have a 2% conversion rate ... that would require about 3,234 unique visitors a day ... which would (in turn) require 97,020 (unique) visitors a month ... and 1,164,240 (unique) visitors a year.

And this of course assumes that acquiring that massive crowd costs nothing out of pocket.

So ... I suppose it depends on his conversion rate and traffic ... so like I said ... it is possible ... but I doubt.

Well can't you acquire a massive crowd by creating a great website? ( like addicted2success.com ) which owner was offered a million for the site 3 times already.

What else could it depend on than his conversion rate and traffic?

 

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[tafy]

Microsoft makes 4 billion profit, if my software can make just 1% of that then I could be a millionaire....

Im sure MJ makes great money on his books, but it doesnt mean that the other guy will make even 1% of that.

Is it that hard to sell 1000 ebooks a month?

Yes, it is very very hard. Your content needs to be amazing, you need authority status. Im not saying it cannot be done, its just very hard.

 

[Peakdesire]

Microsoft makes 4 billion profit, if my software can make just 1% of that then I could be a millionaire....

Im sure MJ makes great money on his books, but it doesnt mean that the other guy will make even 1% of that.



Yes, it is very very hard. Your content needs to be amazing, you need authority status. Im not saying it cannot be done, its just very hard.

Well yeah that's what I'm shooting for, authority status and amazing content. I'm positive I can do it in a few years time

 

[smarty]

Hmm, yeah.

Well right now, I'm writing a lot articles like:

''how the supremely successful people make their decisions''
''8 extraordinary habits to make this year super successful''
''sense of urgency: a perspective extremely successful people possess''
''5 transformational steps to getting whatever you want''
''Early bird gets the worm: The success morning routine''

''pack on muscle: superb mind & muscle connection''
''The force growth factor: build muscle faster''

This kinda stuff. I try to keep my writing style unique, ambitious, and motivational. And also I try to give a boat load of value in each article.

I will make the site look professional and cool.

One thing I would like to see in a fitness blog is articles that are connected to one another and create a clear sense of "gym process".
I would like these questions answered:
1) What should I do? (action steps, gym routines)
2) What to expect? (set expectations straight)
3) How long before I start seeing results? (timeframe)

Straightforward and honest advice will get you returning fans, general hyped stuff may only get you one-time visitors.

 

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[Esquire]

Well can't you acquire a massive crowd by creating a great website? ( like addicted2success.com ) which owner was offered a million for the site 3 times already.

What else could it depend on than his conversion rate and traffic?

Creating a "great website" is just the bare minimum.

The metaphorical cover charge ... just to get to the starting line.

There are plenty of great sites on fitness out there.

More than I can count.

So no ... creating a "great website" is not enough.

If anything ... in my opinion ... a "great website" on "fitness and motivation" fails the commandment of entry.

I am no fitness expert ... but I could (easily) create a "great website" on "fitness and motivation" in under a week.

There is so much free content out there ... all I would have to do is swipe and deploy.

Collect a shitload of articles ... re-write them in my own words ... then hit "publish."

Easy.

And ... as long as I am not copying them word for word ... perfectly legal.

But then comes the hard part ... attracting eyeballs.

What you really need ... is off-the-charts marketing and positioning.

You have to answer the question ... with all the great options out there ... Beachbody ... Men's Health ... Etc Etc.

Why YOU ...?

Why should they leave Beachbody's blog ... to read your blog instead ...?

And why should they buy YOUR product ... instead of theirs ...?

Or why should they buy yours ... instead of buying a used Beachbody DVD set on e-bay ...? (of which there is a limitless supply) ...?

Or hell ... why should they even listen to your sales pitch ...?

Tough questions to answer.

Saying "shouldn't it be enough" to build a "great website" is like asking "shouldn't it be enough" to be a "great basketball player" to get a spot on a NBA team.

No.

There are TONS of "great players" who never make it to the pros.

Like I said ... that is just the bare minimum.

It's a competition. And you have to be better. And be able to sell that.

More power to you if you can pull that off ... but the bookies in Vegas aren't giving great odds.

A blog is good to have ... if you have a compelling product ... and a compelling marketing plan.

But "fitness" is not something I would jump into.

The market is over-saturated.

Well ... I don't know what more to say. Your decision to make.

 

[Peakdesire]

One thing I would like to see in a fitness blog is articles that are connected to one another and create a clear sense of "gym process".
I would like these questions answered:
1) What should I do? (action steps, gym routines)
2) What to expect? (set expectations straight)
3) How long before I start seeing results? (timeframe)

Straightforward and honest advice will get you returning fans, general hyped stuff may only get you one-time visitors.

Thanks. I will make a post like that!

 

[Peakdesire]

Creating a "great website" is just the bare minimum.

The metaphorical cover charge ... just to get to the starting line.

There are plenty of great sites on fitness out there.

More than I can count.

So no ... creating a "great website" is not enough.

If anything ... in my opinion ... a "great website" on "fitness and motivation" fails the commandment of entry.

I am no fitness expert ... but I could (easily) create a "great website" on "fitness and motivation" in under a week.

There is so much free content out there ... all I would have to do is swipe and deploy.

Collect a shitload of articles ... re-write them in my own words ... then hit "publish."

Easy.

And ... as long as I am not copying them word for word ... perfectly legal.

But then comes the hard part ... attracting eyeballs.

What you really need ... is off-the-charts marketing and positioning.

You have to answer the question ... with all the great options out there ... Beachbody ... Men's Health ... Etc Etc.

Why YOU ...?

Why should they leave Beachbody's blog ... to read your blog instead ...?

And why should they buy YOUR product ... instead of theirs ...?

Or why should they buy yours ... instead of buying a used Beachbody DVD set on e-bay ...? (of which there is a limitless supply) ...?

Or hell ... why should they even listen to your sales pitch ...?

Tough questions to answer.

Saying "shouldn't it be enough" to build a "great website" is like asking "shouldn't it be enough" to be a "great basketball player" to get a spot on a NBA team.

No.

There are TONS of "great players" who never make it to the pros.

Like I said ... that is just the bare minimum.

It's a competition. And you have to be better. And be able to sell that.

More power to you if you can pull that off ... but the bookies in Vegas aren't giving great odds.

A blog is good to have ... if you have a compelling product ... and a compelling marketing plan.

But "fitness" is not something I would jump into.

The market is over-saturated.

Well ... I don't know what more to say. Your decision to make.

Hmm...Great thoughts...great thoughts..

Success & motivational blogs also fail the commandment of entry.

How do you think that addicted2success guy pulled it off? great marketing?

What If i become an authority in my niche, like these people like josefrakich or simeonpanda, who have like 500k instagram followers. I could then offer online personal training for a good profits, much larger than with ebooks. and then also sell the ebooks.

I'm positive I can be better than my competition with enough effort and time.

And hey, I'm not trying to create a fastlane business out of the blog. I'm just trying to make some money to fund other ventures.

I mean, making 5-10k/ a month cannot be that hard with a blog.

Boostblogtraffic makes like 100k/month...

 

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[BradJ]

People read blogs for different reasons. If you think it's just entertainment purposes then well I suggest you make sure everything you write is funnier than those others.

But looking at your description I think it would be best to step back and instead of writing about topics write about goals. People also read because they have a goal they are usually procrastinating on.

So if it were me I would pick 5-10 goals my target audience has and make sure that every post I write has the potential to move them toward that goal. I would structure every sentence around this idea and cut anything that is just filler.

I would then use my website design to have a very consistent site wide layout that makes the goal of each post very easy to see at the beginning along with some sort of internal verbage grading the posts effectiveness toward that goal along with an estimate of how much work it would take to act on the post content.

I would then look at my competition's best posts and steal their ideas cast into this goal system and use the skyscraper backlink method. This would make sure that not only is my content more focused but it's also just all around better and more in depth than everyone else.

Everyone and their brother is writing a blog these days. To stand out you have to be better and more relevant. Focus on a small set of goals and ideas you can be better at and drop everything else until you feel like you've dominated that small set before expanding.

 

[Peakdesire]

People read blogs for different reasons. If you think it's just entertainment purposes then well I suggest you make sure everything you write is funnier than those others.

But looking at your description I think it would be best to step back and instead of writing about topics write about goals. People also read because they have a goal they are usually procrastinating on.

So if it were me I would pick 5-10 goals my target audience has and make sure that every post I write has the potential to move them toward that goal. I would structure every sentence around this idea and cut anything that is just filler.

I would then use my website design to have a very consistent site wide layout that makes the goal of each post very easy to see at the beginning along with some sort of internal verbage grading the posts effectiveness toward that goal along with an estimate of how much work it would take to act on the post content.

I would then look at my competition's best posts and steal their ideas cast into this goal system and use the skyscraper backlink method. This would make sure that not only is my content more focused but it's also just all around better and more in depth than everyone else.

Everyone and their brother is writing a blog these days. To stand out you have to be better and more relevant. Focus on a small set of goals and ideas you can be better at and drop everything else until you feel like you've dominated that small set before expanding.

Thanks!

 

[Formless]

Whether or not your idea is fastlane or not is a different convo entirely, regarding your original question... Uniqueness is severely misunderstood. I'm on a phone so I can't write this in detail but in a nutshell.

most uniqueness comes down to tone
tone is determined by your target market (google 'customer avatar' and craft your tone to your target)

mj will call it process, altucher will call it journey.
mj will call it market demand, ferries will call it a muse.

same message (at the core), different tone, ya dig?

p.s. Nobody gives a shit about 'different' if it helps them. but tone definitely matters. People don't just need facts, sometimes, they need to be sold on your truth.

 

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[Peakdesire]

Whether or not your idea is fastlane or not is a different convo entirely, regarding your original question... Uniqueness is severely misunderstood. I'm on a phone so I can't write this in detail but in a nutshell.

most uniqueness comes down to tone
tone is determined by your target market (google 'customer avatar' and craft your tone to your target)

mj will call it process, altucher will call it journey.
mj will call it market demand, ferries will call it a muse.

same message (at the core), different tone, ya dig?

p.s. Nobody gives a shit about 'different' if it helps them. but tone definitely matters. People don't just need facts, sometimes, they need to be sold on your truth.

Sold on my truth? Do you mean being unique?

 

[Esquire]

Hmm...Great thoughts...great thoughts..

Success & motivational blogs also fail the commandment of entry.

How do you think that addicted2success guy pulled it off? great marketing?

What If i become an authority in my niche, like these people like josefrakich or simeonpanda, who have like 500k instagram followers. I could then offer online personal training for a good profits, much larger than with ebooks. and then also sell the ebooks.

I'm positive I can be better than my competition with enough effort and time.

And hey, I'm not trying to create a fastlane business out of the blog. I'm just trying to make some money to fund other ventures.

I mean, making 5-10k/ a month cannot be that hard with a blog.

Boostblogtraffic makes like 100k/month...

The top 10% of bloggers earn approximately $19,000.00 per year.

So yes ... earning $10k a month blogging is very hard.

Only the top 2% earn six figures ... and they do that by aggressively pushing their own high-margin products.

They are (in other words) professional "marketers" (with blogs) ... not "bloggers."

I know plenty of people ... with HUGE online followings ... making very little money.

Because they are pumping out quality content ... and not enough high-end product.

Remember that Brad Paisley song "I'm so much cooler online" ...?

Well ... my experience and observation has been ... that is sooooo true with so-called internet gurus.

Look ... I'm not telling you that it can't be done. Sure ... "some" people are doing it.

But telling me making $10k a month on blogging "cannot be that hard" because "XYZ" is doing it ... is like saying ... "earning $10 million a year playing basketball can't be that hard because Kobe Bryant is doing it."

Or "earning $15 million a year selling motivational books" can't be that hard because Tony Robbins is doing it.

If it were easy ... everyone would be doing it.

Very (very) few people can earn even a beans and hot dogs standard of living "blogging."

Blogging does not pay the bills. Marketing products and services pay the bills.

Setting up a blog with nothing to sell is like setting up a brick and mortar store with no products on the shelves.

Handing out free product ... and getting nothing in return.

And worse yet ... handing out free samples of a product for which there is little to no unmet demand.

You can't honestly say ... you woke up one morning and said ... "You know what the internet needs ...? More articles about fitness and motivation. Because lord knows there are not enough of em."

I think the idea of blogging to fitness folks ignores the commandment of need.

You are doing it because the subject interests you. Not because the market needs it.

Or (as MJ says) ... you want to get paid to swing in a hammock and eat pizza.

Unless you are a retired all-pro professional athlete (or similar) with extreme credibility ... I wouldn't touch this market with a ten foot pole.