Do you ever feel like all the businesses you come across online are all kind of the same? They have the same look and feel, preach the same results, and do everything that everyone else is doing? They use the same marketing strategies, share the same content, and even use the exact same email service providers.
The truth is that while there are a million and one online businesses out there, you don’t have to do business or show up the same as everyone else.
While there absolutely are places for best practices and not reinventing the wheel, I’ve personally found that brands and businesses who go along with what everyone else is doing tend to be just a little… well, dull.
Sure there’s room for being unique, but what I’m suggesting isn’t about doing everything in your business in a completely unconventional way. What I’m saying is that when you build a business, you need to stand out – even a little bit – so that others know that YOU and YOUR BRAND have something unique to offer. And you aren’t just creating and selling what’s already been hashed and rehashed a thousand times over.
If we want to stand out in business, we need to be willing to give up on the status quo and start making our own rules for our businesses. We need to set aside the “best practices” and the expert opinions and start doing what feels right to ourselves.
The best businesses know that in order to stand out, you need to first and foremost do what comes naturally to you. So let’s go over a few ways your business can start standing out from the crowd, shall we?
5 Ways To Make Your Online Business Stand Out in a Sea of Sameys
Allow your business to showcase your unique combination of who you are, who you serve, what problem you solve.
I call this the Profitable Passion Profile, because when you very clearly know what makes you different than all others who are serving your same niche, it becomes easy to stand apart from the crowd.
Maybe it’s in how you communicate with your audience. Or how you can easily cut through bullshit in order to help someone shortcut their way to success. Whatever it is, once you know what makes you unique, don’t hide it – use it to your advantage and make it “the thing” you become known for.
Stand out from others by showing your customers a new way of HOW to help them make a transformation.
We’ve all seen the same businesses around online, right? Life coaches, health coaches, virtual assistants, selling handmade or digital products. These are all great ideas, but I’ll be the first to tell you that LEADING with this as how you show up in business isn’t unique. Saying “I’m a life coach who can help you get over past emotional issues” or “I’m a health coach who can help you lose the last 10 pounds” aren’t new ideas.
So how do you stand out when you offer the same transformation as a million other people out there? You lead with the HOW. How do you help people make a transformation? Do you have a special process you walk your clients through in order to get from Point A to Point B? Does your product help someone make their life ten times easier than it was before?
By telling your customers (and potential customers) the HOW before they even really dig in and get to know you, you will help to set yourself apart in the sea of sameys that are still just going by their general titles or “coach” or “virtual assistant.” Invite your potential clients into your world by telling them HOW you will change their lives before even spending more than a few moments with them (on your website or elsewhere).
Set yourself apart by how you show up in your business.
Branding isn’t just about pretty colors and fonts and beautiful images on your website. Nor is it about site design, business cards, and the perfect head shots. Branding encompasses EVERYTHING that you do in your business from the moment your potential customer hears about you to the moment they finish working with you.
A great way to stand out is in the HOW you decide to show up. Some online business owners swear by live events – Google+ Hangouts, Periscope sessions, and webinars. While others prefer to rely solely on Facebook or Instagram to get the word out about their business. Instead of thinking you need to do ALL the things – choose a platform that comes naturally to you and do that one thing (or two or three) REALLY well.
Don’t dilute yourself by trying to be all things to all people – choose the people that you want to be in front of and go all in to attract them by finding them on the right platform.
Let the quirky side of you show through in everything you do.
Do you love cats or love writing haikus? Use that in your business to stand out! Maybe add a few cat photos or memes or a weekly haiku to your email newsletter. Or do you read cheesy romance novels like nobody’s business? Let your customers and potential customers see that side of you! Add a “what I’m reading” icon to your blog sidebar or tell them about your latest read in an email.
I’ve seen a number of interesting ways to stand out from your competitors online – but the truth is that whatever you do, it has to be unrelenting, unabashed and TOTALLY YOU in order for you to pull it off. The more you share of your true personality, the more that the right people will flock to your business – and you’ll stand out, because of YOU, not because of who you think you should be.
Stay in your zone of genius.
Your “zone of genius” is a term coined by Gay Hendricks, author of The Big Leap. The idea of the zone of genius is simply that you’re in your “flow” or creative state where time has no limits and your work flows through you effortlessly.
When you find what your zone of genius is, stay in it as much as you possibly can! Your best work will come from it – and all the other tasks will become that much easier to delegate and hire out. Leveraging your zone of genius will allow you to skyrocket your business faster than if you were to do everything yourself, but also let others see you working at your absolute best as much as possible.
I personally try to stand out with my business in a few ways – many are conveyed outright in words on my site, while others are just inferred by the people who visit.
These are just a few ways I strive to stand out from others teaching online business:
1. I stay true to my introverted nature by using marketing methods that feel good to me.
Right now, I’m only using Pinterest as a social platform, because that’s the one that speaks most to me and I know my target audience (stay-at-home and work-at-home moms) hang out there. I also only use email marketing and my blog to communicate with my audience. Writing comes naturally to me – so that’s how I share my message.
2. I aim to do only what feels best to me while I’m running my business.
I spent years following other people’s lead and can attest to it not working, because it wasn’t ME. Now I know that when I do what feels good, results follow. I’ve taken many online courses, watched a million webinars and tried a ton of different advice – the one thing that I’ve learned from all that experience? Do what feels good. When it feels good, people can feel it – and flock to you. It’s the law of attraction at its finest.
3. I am okay not being the biggest voice in the room.
I love the fact that I can make a big impact without having to shout or scream from the rooftops to get business and paying customers. It isn’t my style to be the center of attention and with my business, it’s no different. I want to be the quiet one who has something big to say, but doesn’t need pomp and circumstance in order to be noticed or to help facilitate transformation.
4. I strive to provide highly valuable information so that the right people find me and want to hear more from me.
There are a million people who ask you to pay for everything when it comes to learning their techniques or about how they start or run their businesses. The truth is, I firmly believe in giving away as much as I can for free. Why? Because I believe in karma and know that there’s more good to come from giving away my knowledge for free than charging for it. Plus I know that when the message I’m sharing about starting an online business that allows you to be with your family, make great money, and do what you love resonates with someone, they’ll be more than happy to invest with learning even more from me. I trust that the Universe will always provide for me as I’m sharing my knowledge freely for others who want to learn from me.
Standing out from the crowd doesn’t have to be difficult. It really comes down to choosing a few things that are unique to you and really allowing a light to shine on them so that customers and potential customers have the opportunity to fall in love with you and how you do business. It doesn’t matter if it’s through a cat meme, being the quiet one who shares big ideas on their blog, or showing up on Periscope every day. When you show up in YOUR way, people will take notice and the right people will flock to your brand, business, and want to buy your products and services.
I’ve created a straight-forward guide to help you get clear on your best ideas to get started with an online business. Enter your email to get instant access.
Original article and pictures take www.thequietsage.com site
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