Creating the Different!

February 9, 2014

There’s a sad story about failed marketing campaigns that maybe you’re familiar with.
Perhaps this has happened to you.
The story goes something like this:
Upon launching your product, or presenting a new offer, you do all the right things.

… You create useful and valuable pre-launch content that builds all sorts of interest and attention.
… You carefully craft your messaging based on tested and scientific copywriting methods.
… You have your audience keenly dialed in and channel their interest and desires through all of your marketing.
… You couldn’t be more convinced that your product or service is what they want.

Then you open the doors for a grand opening, AND…
Sales are dismal. You make a few here and there, but it’s certainly not the flood youexpected.
So where did you go wrong?
You followed the rules and listened to the experts. Why aren’t things working?

Therein lies your problem

You played it safe.
You thought you could get away with merely doing what works, what’s tested, proven, safe.
The reality is: what’s proven has already been done. As priceless as those lessons are, the standard way of executing them is yesterday’s news.
The more audiences become exposed to online marketing, the more blind they become to the latest tactics and techniques. What used to be captivating and novel soon becomes
old hat. Just as people get ad-blindness over time, they also get a sort of “marketing tactic blindness” as those campaigns become more and more routine.

Here are some examples of tactics that used to be effective, but are now merely mundane:

– The three-video hype-machine launch. They used to be rare, exciting, and useful. Now they’re just noise.
– Transparency. It used to be unexpected and disarming. Now it’s merely a baseline for not seeming like a complete douche bag.
– Webinars. They used to be novel and scarce. Now they’re common place.

It’s not that launch videos, transparency, or webinars are bad. But they’re not enough. They won’t make you remarkable. You need to add something more.
The problem is this: what was once an innovation quickly becomes a template that other people follow. And as soon as something starts to become adopted by the masses, it
immediately begins to lose its effectiveness. If you’re doing what’s been proven to work and you’re not experiencing the results you want, something needs to change>

Doing what no one wants to do

There are good reasons why there are only a few at the top of any industry or niche. Sure, those folks work harder than anyone else, but that’s only part of the reason they’re so successful.
The true reason they’re number one is because they aren’t afraid to be first. They aren’t afraid to venture out and do what no one else has done.
Want some examples of this kind of trailblazing marketing?

– Nintendo Wii. Instead of trying to compete for the male-dominated gaming market, they targeted families and made video games fun and accessible for all ages.
– Cirque du Soleil. They could have followed the template of predictable musical entertainment, but instead they combined music, acrobatics, and circus performance into a high-class, memorable experience.
– Curves. Rather than the same boring gym, they created a fitness center specifically.

What it takes to be number one

I know what you’re probably thinking: “I can’t afford to take those kinds of risks and not have things work out.”
I get it. Becoming the best is not an easy road.
Being a pioneer can mean a lonely road, and it’s scary to not have data and charts to back up your theories. And when you need things to work, it’s hard to take risks.
That’s why I recommend that you work incredibly hard at building an audience and getting  one offer working — something that you can repeat, that just works for you. Maybe it’s a  group coaching program or a membership site (bonus points if it supplies recurring revenue).
Whatever your offer is, the goal is to get it to a point of stability and a place where it’s fairly predictable.
Once you do that, getting risky gets a lot easier. I’m talking about crazy, wild ideas that  could change everything or fall completely flat. Writing a book or creating a TV pilot.
Something no one has seen yet.

A final word on breaking the rules

It’s easy to get all romantic and starry-eyed talking about breaking the rules and creating  marketing campaigns that have never existed before. You might think that I’m telling you
that you need to ditch all traditional education and throw out your entire library of marketing training.
Of course you could do that, but it would be incredibly dumb.
Any great trailblazer needs to first know the terrain before they start going off the path. You need to have the right training — from the right teachers — before you can become a
wilderness warrior and survive without a compass or a map.
So I’m not saying that you should ditch the classics and time-tested marketing advice. Of course not. By all means, master them. Be able to recite them from memory.
But please, don’t stop there. That’s only the beginning.
After you’ve done that, you’ll be well equipped to go off the path. To venture where no one has gone before, and start creating templates that others will follow.
That is, after all, where the true rewards lie.

Don’t give up!

February 5, 2014

Wrestling with a puzzle, a project or a problem, the likeliest reason to give up is the belief that it can’t be done. What’s
the point of persevering if it’s actually impossible to succeed?
“It can’t be done,” we say, throwing up our hands. Not “I can’t do it,” or “It’s not worth my time,” but “It can’t be done.”
In the year after Roger Bannister broke the 4 minute mile, the record was broken again and again. Once people
realized it could be done, it wasn’t an impossible task any longer. And that’s why there’s a flood of tablets on the
market, many from companies that had what they needed to build the first one, but didn’t until Apple showed them the
way.
Two things you might take away from this: First, there’s solace in finding someone who has done it before, whatever
“it” is you’re trying to do. Knowing that it’s possible and studying how it was done can’t help but increase the chances
you’ll stick it out.
Second: huge value accrues to the few able to actually do a thing for the very first time.

The Entrepreneur Profile

January 29, 2014

Entrepreneurs are more than just ordinary business people.

Anyone could start a business but only a select few will be entrepreneurs. These individuals aim to

achieve a lot of things and other than earning a fortune, they dream of changing the world and changing  the lives of many. They exist in the business to be of service to people and to extend a helping hand.

1. Self Confidence

Confidence is very important in business because you will be surrounded by different forces that are
bigger and more powerful than you, so you need to have the right confidence to move forward and push against the current. You need to believe in the impossible and most importantly, you need to believe in yourself and your ability to achieve everything you put your heart and mind to.

2. Emotional Stability

The journey that you take is not going to be a simple one. There will be roadblocks and struggles that you  will encounter and if you aren’t careful, these things will keep you from achieving your goals. People will  put you down and they will attack you. If you are weak, you will falter to the point of not knowing how to  move forward. Emotional stability is important because you have to know how to keep your emotions at bay.

3. Love for the Challenge

It is important for you to be some kind of risk taker because entrepreneurs should be ready to go out of  their comfort zones and to take on new challenges. They should not be easily overcome by fear and more  importantly, they should have a great affinity for challenges and risks.

4. Patience

As the journey to the top is not easy and simple, patience is a very good trait to have. You should not be  quick to give up and quick to get frustrated and angry. The journey is not going to be an easy one, so you  have to be prepared for difficulties to arise.

5. Meticulous taste

Being meticulous is just a nice way of saying that you should be a perfectionist. You should not be easily  content. You should demand more and demand for great things. You should set high standards for  yourself and you should not be quick to fold and give up your ideals and principles.

6. Innovation

You should be creative and have a creative mind. Instead of being someone who follows trends, you should be the one that starts trends. Entrepreneurs are regarded for their amazing ideas, and if you want  to be good entrepreneur, you should have your own ideas, as well.

7. Flexibility and Adoptability

Change is inevitable. The world is evolving too fast and you should be prepared to handle change. You
should be prepared not to be overwhelmed and be prepared to cope with all sorts of changes along the
way.
These are just some of the many characteristics that help make you the entrepreneur that you ought to  become. Before you could even dream of becoming successful, you should first seek to develop these qualities.

The Success Mindset

January 23, 2014

Ok, you know what you want from life. You know what you want to do. It is something that you really love and where you’re good at. Also people need what you would offer. You have made your plans and have set your goals. You invested your time and started taking action. But somehow …, something is still not working out. Have you been in this situation? I know I certainly have.

Answer the following question for yourself:

The reason I’m not as successful as I might be is ________________.

My Boss, My Family, My Environment, Other People, Competition, Google? No Money, No Time, No Knowledge, No Drive, No Courage?

This may all be very true, but I’m telling you that this is not the REAL reason.

The Mindset of Successful People

“I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.” Kobe Bryant

The real cause of why success might not yet have knocked at your door is that you haven’t said to yourself:

“I will do whatever it takes!”

What does that mean? This is a mindset you have to develop. It is the mindset of the winner. The winner figures out what he has to do to get it, and then does that, whatever it takes.

A Shift in Thinking

When you say that you’ll do whatever it takes, that NOTHING will get in your way, something changes. It is a shift in thinking.

1. Now it is not so much about how to get there exactly, because that becomes a flexible construct then. You will figure it out and find a way. So the mindset of “I’ll do whatever it takes” gives you more flexibility.

2. The other aspect is that it takes you to the real of absolute certainty that you will succeed. Success is not in question anymore. You will do whatever is needed to make is a success. That’s why it is a very uplifting and motivating state in itself.

3. The next advantage of that kind of thinking is that this mindset also helps you to get more resourceful. It raises your energy level and gets you excited and energetic, because you feel that you will need that energy.

4. When you say to yourself “I’ll do whatever it takes” it opens up all kind of new possibilities: new ideas come, you don’t feel as boxed in anymore as before. Maybe you start looking at areas for help that before just weren’t on your radar screen. This also gives you more freedom. Freedom in thinking and freedom in acting.

5. It also creates the urge to act. You just can’t wait to get going and make the positive changes that came from your new thinking.

Applying the Success Mindset

Basically this mindset is giving you a new way to look at your situation and challenges you in a very positive way to grow. Are there any practical exercises you can take to train your mind for success? I would simply start to internalize the idea that “I will do whatever it takes” and condition myself with this new mindset. Then see where this takes you from there.