In this guest post Seth Waite from Blogussion talks about how to think differently in order to develop a Unique blog. Image by Ateo Fiel.
Last night after turning off the lights in my room I staggered and stumbled from the light switch across the room to my soft and cozy bed. On the way over though I made sure to walk slowly, take small steps, and hold my arms out in front of me. You know the zombie walk I am talking about!
Getting closer and closer to the bed I suddenly nailed my face into our very tall bed post. OUCH! Not only did the bed post hurt my face but it really irritated me. I mean I had been doing everything right!
My arms were out in front of me, I was taking baby steps, and I was sure that I had been doing everything right. So how could this happen to me?
Painfully lying in bed, I made a startling realization. I was doing it all wrong. My efforts to block myself by holding my arms out in front of me like some “zombie” had been to guard off unwanted crashes, bangs, and bed posts. But this move totally left my face exposed.
To combat the effects of “smashed face”, I thought up a new way to walk in the dark. Just hold your arms out straight in front of you with your hands locked together. It sort of creates a triangle. This new method not only protects my body but also my face. I now travel in the dark much safer.
In a similar vein, we as bloggers often move through the dark. We try to work online with our blogs, ebooks, social media accounts and stat counters in the same “zombie” like fashion.
We do the same things everyone else does and expect to find success doing them. Bloggers and Web Entrepreneurs that have found success are doing it different. I would suggest that they have “hit their face” long ago and found the smarter way to do things.
Here are some great examples of thinking outside the box to find solutions to your problems. Just look and see how different the ideas are and then imagine the possibilities you have in front of you.
This is why you’re fat. If the name does not intrigue you the multitude of bacon wrapped, humongous sized meals will. The site has the most simple idea ever. Create posts with pictures of crazy, greasy-goodness and maybe write a 10 word description of what’s in it. Their original idea gets them over 64,000 visits and 100,000 pageviews a day! It’s no wonder with a slogan like “where dreams become heart attacks”.
Another example can be seen in the Kansas, USA where local towns are giving away property to help build their populations and economy. The idea is different and pretty original in today’s market. (by the way… if you like the prairie and work online, this could be an awesome way to live inexpensively)
Creating interesting ideas through new means was something that the Crowley Webb team did well. They took only $20,000 and developed one of the most brilliant advertising campaigns ever seen. Ads were placed on billboards all over the city of Buffalo, New York asking to see an “Angel in Red” again, from a man named “William”. The billboards continued as a series of requests culminating in a packed pub waiting for “William” and the “Angel in Red” to meet. Sales sky-rocketed and the advertising story made the small pub famous throughout the city. (background)
You see blogging and working online is the same as these examples. The subjects had a desired goal to achieve and they realized that the ordinary way of doing things just wasn’t going to cut it, so they made something original.
Creating a unique blog is all about finding the elements your blog needs to become a stand-alone example of your expertise and authority on the subject. The resource needs to be useful and different then anything else that is being offered, and the rest is history.
You can try to make this change on your own or eventually be forced into it with a very surprising, and painful, awakening. If that face smooshing experience doesn’t do it you will be destined for more bangs and crashes along the way. The only way to change your blogging future is to think uniquely. Stop being a zombie!
Seth Waite is the writer who still has a bump on his forehead. To read more from Seth’s anti-zombie attack kit or new blog tips, check out Blogussion where he writes regularly. He can also be found avoiding that big whale being carried by very small birds on his twitter account Seth1492
Great analogy! Hope you didn’t hurt yourself too much to get that! ;)