Whether you’re a national corporation or just creating your brand, standing out in any crowd is a tough thing to do. Especially with so much focus on assaulting the world with millions of names, logos, and products, it can be difficult to wave your hands and scream “pick me”, and be noticed.
A few things to know:
I. Your brand will be viewed subjectively. Everyone has an opinion. Even with this article, some will crinkle their noses and click away from the site. Bye! Others will stay and be drawn by my words (haha), the layout of the site, or the pretty banners at the top. This is where knowing how to find your audience comes in. Don’t walk into a saloon peddling tea and cookies. The same goes with writers and their stories. Standing out can be difficult when pitching your work, especially when you’re competing against dozens or even thousands of others. Know where you’re pitching and who you’re pitching to. Target your audience.
II. Let me tell you why I’m the best. *cough* No. You want to tell someone why they should pick you, be an inspirational speaker. In writing stories and novels, there is a steadfast rule: show don’t tell. The same applies with you, your brand, and how you present yourself to the world. When I wrote my #PitchWars bio a few weeks back, I intentionally never added two things: the pick me line, and fluff about why I should be chosen. Why, you didn’t ask? There’s a lot of reasons, but the main one is I want to stand apart on my own and show mentors (and other mentees) who I am. Telling them I’m a hard worker seems redundant. I want my work ethic to show in my MS, the blog, how I approach my twitter feed, and if all else fails, click on the homepage of this website and read about how I earn food for the table. The same applies with any brand out in the universe. They have to provide a product and earn trust.
III. Not everyone’s a wallflower. You will stand out to someone. Over the last several months I’ve seen two things consistently pop up with agents and editors: 1) ooh, I love dragon stories and 2) ugh, please no more dragons. Hahaha… okay, this makes it easy. I think I’ll go have lunch in room #1. Done. 🙂 Almost… Sometimes finding your audience is black and white, sometimes it isn’t. But at least you’ve thinned out the herd a little, right? In a room full of dragon lovers, how do you make them love your dragons?
IV. Be unique. This feeds back into the first part of this article. When you’re around people who all love the same thing, it can be tough to have them go oooh… now that’s different. I read a dragon story recently, and I’ve seen all types. Let me tell you… this dragon was unique. Unfortunately, I can’t say why because it’s not my story. But, I can tell you that apart from everything else in this tale, her dragon did stand apart.
At times it can be frustrating to feel like you’re just another deer in the herd – same brown fur, same four legs, nothing special. The truth is that everyone holds a gem of uniqueness within. Let it shine in the right crowd, and with a little luck, you will stand apart from your peers and take your work (and brand) to the next level.
