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
Really nice post Seth. Unique content gets backlinks all over the place. Thanks.
I think Unique post is very important for any blog. its make people more curious.
Shajib
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Thanks… This is give me some inspiration about be truly unique…
Thanks… This is give me some inspiration about become real unique…
Sorry my comments is double… I get some error at internet connection…
Powerful post. I like how you were able to draw an important blogging lesson from smashing your face into the bedpost the other night. It’s true that we can learn from every area of our lives.
I think you said it right when you said that successful people are those who have been hit in the face with their online efforts and then stood back up and devised a better plan to walk in the dark. I’m convinced after reading this that most bloggers get smacked in the face and then get up and walk right back into the bedpost again..and again…and again.
We got to be continually learning, growing, adapting and changing the way that we approach blogging. If we do the same as everyone else then we will only get the same as everyone else. If we want to excel then we have to create some way of standing out from the crowd in a positive way.
Seth,
This post is an amazing breath of fresh air. Many people will say that you need to be unique but fail to give comparisons of what it actually means to be unique!
I am a BIG advocate of doing things different and not following the status quo. While there is some benefit to doing things along certain guidelines, being original will grab people’s attention and as Ben said, “gets backlinks all over the place”.
It is important to remember that you should be unique for a specific purpose rather than just to be different for the sake of being different. Great post! Really enjoyed it!
I believe that blogging should be intuitive. A blog should cover philosophical and practical aspects of blogging. Therefore, a good blogger has the following qualities.
1. He is mindful to write about topics with insight
2. He should make sure he notices his niche is every thing he gets in touch with (almost)
3. He should be precise as to his writings about creative thinking and development of idea.
Good point, Seth. I’ve seen so many blogs and blog posts that are just cookie cutter forms of another. It’s sad. I believe if the blogger sat down, he could think of original content, or even an original idea for a blog.
krissy knox
follow me on twitter:
http://sometimesithink-krissy.blogspot.com
Every Kind of Blogging Works, You do need to think Differently.
There are no Shortcut for Success.
Excellent advice, I may take some of it on board ;-) I stopped listening and following all the gurus, now I just listen and then make my mind up what is good for me and for my blog. So I am now walking my own walk, not the walk of another Zombie ;-) SY
This post was definitely and eye opener.
I guess people will have their own spin on what is unique to them compated to others, but is it truely unique?
I always thought saying what you need to say in your own words carries a lot of weight in my opinion. I have always liked reading different posts and comments to see what spin people put on that topic.
Being Unique means something different to everyone, but finding what will help brand you is important. The key is not doing the same old blogging habits and expecting to make it big!
I agree completely, everyone need to make unique posts and think differently. There is so many blogs that are simply a “copy & paste” from other great blogs.
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ummmm, was this photo really necessary?
you must be a boomer who liked child devil movies.
otherwise, great post.
ha!
Actually not a boomer… but I thought out of all the zombie photo’s I found, it was the least gross! At least its only a little zombie!
It’s all true. There are so many blogs out there unless you can come up with some new and interesting content, you don’t have much of a chance of succeeding. It’s certainly not impossible, though. It just takes some creativity and “out of the box” thinking.
Great post! And I LOVE the little girl zombie. She rocks!
Interesting post with a great title. Gave me some good things to think about.
Think we need a balance of being original and creative, but at the same time respecting what has worked for others. We are all standing on the shoulders of those who have come before in some form or fashion. So, maybe not re-invent the wheel, just make it your own! (and better)
The process of unique content consumes time and energy and therefore a low post frequency, yet the reward is high as Problogger proves.
Thanks so much for an entertaining post…even though you had to endure possible head trauma for it.
I actually kinda stumbled on a non-zombie post style this weekend that’s got more hits in my brief 3 months online…
Taking a walk with me & Maggie Moo (my dog) through the Korean neighborhood we’re currently living in.
Everyone wants to know more about the area & more details.
I think I’m going to have to make these kind of “trip” posts more often.
Thanks again!
Much love from an overseas Army wife,
Jennifer
Thanks for the tip. I just started blogging and will try to find my uniqueness.
Thanks for the inspiring post. I’m just beginning to really get into blogging, and this will help me figure out ways to create unique content that attracts more visitors!
I don’t know who to attribute the quote to… but it goes like this: “You can not expect a different result if you keep doing the same thing”. I see this over and over in the “online marketing” (And I’m using that term loosely here) world. People continually looking for the “cookie cutter” method that they can do to make money easily. And even if there were one most people would be too lazy to follow through because it might be hard.
Great article. We all need to step back to evaluate our processes occasionally. It can only make you better.
Great tip.
Making your blog unique and keeping current, unique content is key to a successful blog. Thanks for another great post.
Awesome post Seth! I’m always trying to be different in that I try to come up with blog post ideas that are innovative and useful, and I attempt to add as much personality to my own writing as possible.
There are many times when I get into full-on arguments with my fellow webmaster friends about my marketing, writing, and promotional methods, but I always hold steadfast to my own thoughts and attempt to pursue my ideas in my own way.
You only grow through experimenting. Following the status quo will only lead you off a cliff.
Good post. I find it very difficult to find that diffrent way of doing things I try to mimic great bloggers though have not even seen a fraction of the success they have. Perhaps it is me bumping my face on the bed post over and over and over.
Kris,
That’s a scary pic.
I try to be different all the time. But the next question is how do I know that my different idea works out? And to follow it, how long do I have to test the idea?
Sometimes you run across those “why didn’t I think of that” blogs. The “This is Why Your Fat” blog is a brilliant example.
But how to learn these things if you are not blogging?
Blogging is a journey and we can learn on the way.
The road is hard or easy or what are the requirements in the journey.These are the basic parts of our blogging journey but you are absolutely right about some good directions and basic tools can make our blogging journey easily…..
Great post. Scary pic :) I agree that blogging is all about the content and creating “good” content is by no means an easy thing to do. Darren’s tips are excellent for helping with it :) And no, he didn’t pay me to say that!! :)
Unique content: I always see this as one of the top criteria to stand among the rest. But why is it hard to come up with unique contents and why is it hard to implement?
Ok, the truth is some people are not being true to themselves. Instead of being unique in their own way they conform to the mainstream way of thinking. You don’t have to think differenly. You’re already unique and different. Follow your heart, don’t be afraid of what others will say.
When you apply this principle you will definitely stand among the rest becuase you embody your uniqueness, and apply it to your works.
Discover this for yourself and you know what I mean. :-)
The issue about thinking differently is, after covering a certain distance, we form a new strategy altogether! Its definitely a part of the learning curve, but wish we had that insight earlier!!
excITingIP.com
Great style in writing. Personally one reason why I think my blog gets some good number of comments w/o promoting that much is because of the way I speak. I think most bloggers are so concerned about speaking like a robot in their blog that it makes their blog unfriendly in some ways…
Just do a headbanging or a headstand or some crazy stunt that will make your head bucked, and you will think different.
it is always good to stir things up a little, the picture was a little much though.
good post
Love it…hope it’s OK to backlink your blog in mine…you say some important things that bloggers need to consider…love the comments!! All in all, thanks!
Well I did learn how towalk in the dark … lol
But cant figure out how to b different … cud u help?
Why everyone is talking about this blog?
Click on my name here and you can see it.
Great post, I see way too many newbies just parroting stuff they’ve read on another blog/book/etc and wonder why they’re not getting anywhere. Sometimes we have to do this before we can get to the next level, but ultimately we all need to come up with something unique to get noticed.
Sean
Oh, I so want to write a post titled ‘This Is Why You’re Fat’! Love the idea of a whole site dedicated to the concept!
Its really an important thing for any good website that it having an good readable content for its readers. As most of the new bloggers like me will definetly find useful from this.Its really having an
good stuff to refer and implement these things.
I am also from one of them who is looking for an good traffic on my blog i.e http://www.clickblogging.blogspot.com.
man thats a scary picture!
Whoa, good analogy there! Every blogger, been in this exploding blogosphere for about an year or so, should be able to relate to your points. I guess only 2-3% of the bloggers think differently and come out successful, while the others are still beating around the bush!
Nobody wins by playing it safe. You must really step out of your comfort zone in order to get those anticipated results.
Blogging is a growing trend. More and more people are starting to realize its potential, so there is going to be both more competition and more opportunities. If you can find the right opportunities!
This is a great insight. Thanks for sharing. I believe that being unique and extraordinary put us in a position where other can’t reach. I am saying that these qualities put us in success which common people cannot reach.