One of my superpowers is to notice patterns and overarching trends on the horizon. (This doesn’t just mean that I’m semi-familiar with pretty much all of the apps and online tools you could ever want to know as a creative entrepreneur).
More importantly, it means that I notice shifts in the tide of online entrepreneurship.
And one thing that I’ve noticed is this:
We have a tendency to do things that other people are doing without realizing (or reflecting on) if it’s right for us.
Now ––critical question for you:
Do you want to do this, really? Or is it what you think you should do?
Do you really want to get a book published?
Or do you think that’s what you should do because you’ve seen the ladies of Being Boss and Caroline Zook of Made Vibrant and Paul Jarvis doing these things?
Do you really want to do a 5-day challenge?
Or do you just have the idea that you need to do this because you’ve seen so many other people doing challenges?
Do you really want to launch a big-ticket signature course?
Or are you pursuing this because you’ve seen other “successful” entrepreneurs doing this?
One thing I know for sure, after enrolling in north of 200 courses, is this:
Their success is not related to your success. The framework that worked for them, may not work for you, and definitely won’t have the exact same results.
So does that mean that all frameworks, formulas, and step-by-step systems are bogus? What about my own 9-part Standout Website Checklist?
Well… yes and no.
The thing is: you need to be aware of the “best practices” of digital marketing, copywriting, website design, etc.
And then you need to think about how you can deliver on those “best practice” expectations in an unexpected way.
For example:
If you answered my question above with, “Fuck yeah, Meghan, I really DO want to write a book and get it published.” Then you’re doing it for the right reasons and not just because the current is currently going that way.
Congrats! That’s step one.
Step two, then, is to think about your unique superpowers or “zone-of-genius” or perspectives that you bring to this. How can you do this differently? (My friend Jason is a prime example of the “do it differently” ethos with his own book publishing experiment).
But it’s important to think about what your unique flavor of “different” tastes like. Because you don’t want to stand out by doing something oddball or over-the-top that’s just going to lead to some measure of “flash-in-the-pan” virality. (Yay for culinary metaphors!)
- You want to make your mark in your market.
- You want to be known as the go-to expert for your thing.
- You want to stand out from the sea of sameness in a way that makes people think, “YESSSS!!! Her message resonates with me so much and I can’t wait to follow her #alltheplaces!”
So when you’re brainstorming how to do something that everyone else is doing in a way that’s different, don’t just list out unusual ways to do that thing. (Doing a 5-day challenge where I send the challenge prompts via carrier pigeon, for example.)
Instead, filter your perspective from your zone-of-genius:
- How can YOU, specifically, do this thing differently?
- And how will that ADD VALUE for your people?
That’s why I call this method of “do it differently”, finding your “zone of contrast”.
It’s your standout statement, the way you do things in a way that brings forward your natural gifts, resonates your right people, and brings value to the world in a way that only you can.
👉 So that you’re adding and not distracting.
👉🏽 So that you find your groove instead of falling into a rut.
👉🏿 So that you become a leader in your industry and stand out in the saturated market.
And now for my super not-scientific, subjective industry trend report.
What’s in right now:
- Templates (like Google Docs, Trello Boards, etc) > PDF downloads
- Highly produced Instagram stories (with graphics, gifs, sound effects, etc) > talking to the camera about your day on Insta stories
- Writing 1–2 newsletters per month with really valuable content (read: ideas not being shared elsewhere, like this one hopefully) > sending out a weekly email because you feel like you have to
What’s out (and should stay out):
- 3-part video series for launches (with that motivation background music on loop — just no).
- Webinars that talk about your journey for the first 15 minutes, pitch your product for the last 15 minutes, and only give a few generic tips in between.
- Cold emailing me to link to your website from my blog (What’s up with this?).
love + liberty,
Megh
IMPORTANT PS: I’m hosting a FREE “office hours” with a twist #SummerWebsiteSeries every other Tuesday through June and July. We start Tuesday, June 12th at 5pm EST with “Conceptualizing your Website Rebrand”. Get all the deets and sign up to attend here: https://craftingcreative.com/summer
