Dare to be Different
Posted On: 2007-12-04
These days, out there in the real world, the pressure is on to conform. We're expected to fit within a rigid set of guidelines that are usually defined by people that we don't even know. Fashion designers tell us how to dress, politicians set the rules and laws that we have to abide by and our family and friends help set the social guidelines that we have to abide by if we want to be accepted.
Of course the end result of all this is that we become one of the crowd; just a nameless faceless entity within a mob or a herd that no one really notices. Politicians take us for granted, marketers see us only as dollar signs and there is simply no individuality for us if we want to be accepted.
But what about those who don't want to conform? What about those who want to be different? Sure they're going to have trouble fitting in and life can be a little difficult for them from time to time but one thing is for sure - they get noticed!
People see them, they stand out from the crowd, they're different so people spend time looking at them. They get noticed and they get talked about and if they are really very different then they get talked about a lot and lots of people get to hear about them.
Those people who dare to be different ... the ones who stand out from the crowd ... have something to teach us if we're prepared to listen to them.
Think about your marketing for just a few moments. Whether you build free sites or galleries you are required to conform to a set of rules that have been set by others. If we want to be part of the crowd and enjoy the benefits that come with being part of the crowd then we have to conform to the rules set down by the TGP owners and the link list owners. We have to do things exactly as they say or we won't get any of the traffic that they control.
So we build our sites to conform to their rules ... as we and others understand them. In fact quite often we don't even stop to think about how we perceive those rules, we simply copy what other people have done so in the end all our sites and galleries look like everyone else's sites and galleries.
Our marketing efforts are just like every other Webmasters marketing efforts; our ads appear in the same places, the rest of every site and gallery we build is set out just as everyone else does ... and we wonder why our sites don't convert.
Let's face it, they don't convert because there's nothing different or original about them that might excite some interest in those who are surfing our sites. They come looking for porn and, because our sites all look the same, they're not going to even notice anything else but the hardcore images that they're looking for.
Just like the individuals who stand out from the crowds ... those individuals that get noticed and get talked about ... our sites and galleries have got to stand out from the crowd or our marketing message is never going to have any impact.
So what can you do to be different? What can you do to design a site or a gallery that is so different that people actually notice it? Obviously if we rely on others for our traffic then we've got to comply with their rules but is there any room to move within those rules?
Have you ever stopped to consider what those rules actually say or have you gone on blindly copying someone else? When you take a moment to consider the rules set out by the TGP owners and the link list owners you might be surprised to find that there is plenty of room to move on page layout and overall site and gallery design.
You might find that, instead of blindly copying what others do, you've got a real chance to be different and produce a site or gallery that really does stand out from the crowd. Just how different you dare to be is entirely up to you and I'm not going to impose my thoughts on you for one single moment.
Instead of making suggestions on what you might try I'm simply going to say that you need to be bold and dare to be different because when you're different people will notice and people will talk about you and when they're talking about you then you're getting your marketing message across to them.
And being different can make you money!