Creating a Trend to Effectively Stand Out

A guest post by Derek JensenView other posts

Creating a Trend to Effectively Stand Out

What does it mean to create a trend? A trend is really a specific direction that something or someone develops over a given amount of time that begins to spread to many others. In the case of blogging we, bloggers, should think about starting a trend for our blogs. Creating a trend will allow us to effectively stand out from the immense blogosphere. I strongly feel if we don’t have that urge to create a trend, why even blog, so let’s get started and spread our passions!

We can adapt many known practices to blogging

This thought initially came from hearing my professor lecturing one day in my advertising class. It had stricken me that if we push for creating a trend then followers and competition will increase. This is a thought process that has been practiced in our markets all across the world, so why not adapt that to blogging.

I am pushing for you to really dig deep into your passion, thought process, and overall vision. You, your content, and your community will all be affected. The post itself is a long read, but I hope you enjoy and looking forward to your feedback.

We all should be standing out in the blogosphere or the web if are striving for that ultimate success or happiness. I know that we each have a different definition or scope for our success or happiness, but we need to stand out.

Why should someone see, visit, or even care about you versus “them” or someone else? This comes down to your “unique selling point” and your overall marketing strategies. Our marketing strategies seem to all be very similar today, but many are brainstorming how to “twist” these proven and practiced strategies around in strictly benefiting them, their blog, and their community. So what’s this twist?

It’s setting a trend. They are creating a trend to promote them and their content in ways that will directly and indirectly positively affect them. Time to stand out.

Let’s now break this “creating a trend” concept down.

1. Bond to Your Passion

Your passion should be the reason you are blogging, creating quality content, and striving to be happy and having others feel the same way. I really want to emphasize that this needs to be your passion and not something that you thought would be great to do because you saw potential, etc.

Conversations with people may present more insight than you thought

For instance, while having a casual conversation with Daniel Delaney from Vendr.TV the other day, I asked him if he started Vendr.TV because he saw it as a potential or untapped niche or if he did it because it was his passion? His response was that it was his true passion and he wanted to make sure he rocked it out.

Once, we have our true passion we can then begin bonding to it. Bonding to it? Yes, act as if this passion is your child and strive to make it grow the best and healthiest ways possible. Don’t like the analogy, then bond to your passion by staying close with it and always checking whether whatever steps (big or small) you’re taking that they actually fit.

Allow time for your passion to truly find you and be ready to roll with it if you aren’t already.

2. Push for Originality & Creativity

Here are where things get interesting, messy, and filled with many ideas while brainstorming. Even while you might see this as “not for me” because this is not how you role with things, you should think about these general ideas:

Showing Your Voice
Quality & Unique Content
Word-of-Mouth

These are some general ideas of how we make our blogs different than others, whether they be in the same niche or not as us. Digging deeper, we must go beyond these ideas and begin to think about making that trend I’ve been talking about.

For a quick example you can use already established tools like Twitter, Facebook, Skype, related blogs, people, and Google to help integrate in this “digging deeper action”.

Missing the necessary “funk” could lead to a slow death for you and your blog

Now, originality and creativity are terms that have to come from the inner part of you. And to get to the point of starting a trend, think about the ways and methods you will put into immediate effect in order for people to make an immediate realization or generalization. This could be very simple or very complex depending on the level of creativity, originality, and needed hustle.

We’re now in a spotlight and waiting for everyone to come piling through the doors to see and hear what you have for them.

We all have some sort of originality and creativity to help us and our blogs stand out from the typical crowd into our very own spotlight.

3. Influence on Auto-Pilot

Things are on auto-pilot when you have everything programed in, figured out, and it’s just a matter of being along for the ride. Additionally, you are able to spend time focusing on more specific things such as reaching closer to your community.

Now, that you are closer to your community and your community feels this relationship the term “influence” starts to take shape. You now begin influencing your community, which influence other people all seeing what you have just done. What you have done meaning your original passion that you’re bonded to. This intial reaction from the infleuence is really inspiration that leads to a trend.

People are inspired by you and what you have merely done with your passion or finding out that their passion relates to yours to go out and “compete”. So many are aspiring to be like you and this influence will be on auto-pilot to continue that trend you either intended or not on starting.

While your influence continues to grow the trend, how do you make sure you stand out?

4. Being the Leader-of-the-Pack

Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.

Now, you are at the point of being what I call the “leader-of-the-pack” where you are at the top of this trend/movement.

A quote by the honorable George S. Patton is highlighted directly above (to the right) and raises a terrific point while you are the leader-of-the-pack.

Since we have have built this trend we now have the responsibility of maintaining it. We must treat everyone who has been influenced to be apart of the trend as competition. But, we must not fear of this competition. We should only fear of us losing our touch. But, we are really at the point to effectively stand out in whatever niche or area we feel we are in. It’s really all up to you though.

Finally, we are back to square one in bonding to our passion. No, this is not simply a repeat.

5. Spreading Your Passion

Bond to your passion by staying close with it and always checking whether whatever steps (big or small) you’re taking that they actually fit.

Sticking to your passion will only continue to spread this trend. This will then most likely spread your passion, which goes back to my first point of that this should be the main reason we all blog.

What will be your trend and how will you stand out?

Let’s go starting make our very own trend and spread our true passions!

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audience, Blog Marketing, blog promotion, content, creation, influence, inspiration, passion, readership, standing out, strategy

Published: July 12, 2010
Filed in: Blog Marketing
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Article by Derek Jensen

Visit Derek's blog

Derek is a 21-year-old student that is full of ideas and can't help it. He uses this great ability to help others truly stand out from the crowd. You will also find him spreading ideas worth advertising to the world. Connect with him on Facebook and Twitter.

Summary

A trend is really a specific direction that something or someone develops over a given amount of time that begins to spread to many others. We need to take advantage of this "marketing strategy" to standout. We do this through 5 points I make with bonding to your passion be the first one and spreading that passion being the fifth. If we don't have that urge to create a trend, why even blog, so let's get started and spread our passions!
Key Points
- We must blog about our true passion and be able to spread this and help people along the way. This is why creating a trend is in order.
- Reaching the point of "Leader-of-the-Pack" is where trends have already been created.
- The biggest battle is bonding with your passion and pushing for originality and creativity, which will effectively market your blog and make it stand out.

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33 Discussions

Nabeel | Create Your First Website July 12, 2010 at 4:08 am

Hey good point you raise there.

I think the big blogs like copyblogger and problogger already do this.

Also, I think it is important to be in a niche which you are passionate about, in order to create trends. I do not think that you will be able to create a trend if you are not passionate enough about your niche.

Kindest,
Nabeel

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Creating a Trend to Effectively Stand Out

1. Bond to Your Passion

2. Push for Orig­i­nal­ity & Creativity

3. Influ­ence on Auto-Pilot

4. Being the Leader-of-the-Pack

5. Spread­ing Your Passion

Article by Derek Jensen

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2. Push for Originality & Creativity

3. Influence on Auto-Pilot

5. Spreading Your Passion