Compete With Yourself
One of the best pieces of advice my dad ever gave me, I think, was "compete with yourself." While it's counter-intuitive to focus solely on yourself vs looking at how other people are doing and trying to top them, it's generally a better method for getting ahead.
I say this because I've done both and my method with this blog has generally been to keep to myself. I've noticed that once I start looking at what other people are doing here and there, I tend to want to gravitate toward what they're doing. You might even steal an idea once in a while and that is exactly where the problem comes in.
Whether you know it or not, you steal information. Be it in the form of ideas or content, stealing is happening. The more you focus on what other people are doing, the more you do the deed in a more noticeable way. In an effort to avoid this, I recommend that you focus more on carving out your own path.
Now don't get me wrong, I know there are several details about this site that are obviously taken from other, more successful sites. But those are a given. In order for your site to generate more visibility for certain aspects (recent posts, ads, referral links, etc.), you want them front and center. It's the meat of the site I'm talking about -- the content. That's where originality comes into play. Remember that extra something I wrote about? Make it your own. Sure, people are bound to copy what you do, but that's inevitable. People sense originality really well and that will stand out in their minds when you provide something that they can't get anywhere else.
This applies to your websites, your blogs, your landing pages, your ad text, everything. Be different (within reason) and not only will people appreciate it but it will draw their attention. For instance, I remember when I read the Rich Jerk e-book on money making back when I was getting started and it talked about writing ads. It said something to the effect of "insult the customer." If you're selling anything. Say you're selling carpets, tell them that their carpet sucks:
Your Carpet is Ugly
Our rugs are awesome and
cheap. Don't be ugly.
www.DontBeUglyRugs.com
Dumb but you get the idea. Once I read that, I started to get a much firmer grasp on what great marketing is compared to good marketing. But again, this ties back into stealing. Don't steal Rich Jerk's idea, steal the notion that you should be different and it will be less detectable and therefore, you will stand out more. This is just one idea, but I wanted to convey how adding your own little twist to things will make you more interesting.
I am in no way saying that you shouldn't keep an eye on your competition. You definitely should or you will fail. Sun Tzu said something along the lines of - know yourself AND know your enemy, you will win every battle. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will lose every battle. So it's imperative to keep a watchful eye but just don't get too wrapped up in what they're doing. In the end, people will respect you more if you are unique and they will recognize those who copy you as a flattering imitation.
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February 19th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I have noticed topics come in waves with a few bloggers all talking about them at the same time. With current affairs this is obviously going to happen (ie MS and Yahoo!). The other thing is hot topics of the moment like Twitter.
We should all put effort into developing new and unique ideas and viewpoints. It can only benefit the world.
February 19th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
@Tom: Exactly. We are still standing on the shoulders of giants, but we are putting in the effort to create something worthwhile and that is what it’s all about.