11 Ways for Thought Leaders to Stand Out

Time for some real talk. Here’s the question. On a scale of one to 10…er…11…

How are you doing at getting attention and engagement with your marketing and content right now? Whatever number you’re at right now is fine.

But you know what to do: commit to doing it.

Most online marketers and content creators show up at 4 or 5, perhaps a 7 at best. That’s why they are stuck in a cycle of sameness.

That’s not you.

You didn’t start your business just to fizzle out and fade away.

It doesn’t matter if there are marketers and content creators who are smarter, more qualified, better at writing, funnier, or even better looking.

There are people in this world who want to listen to, learn from, and buy from you because of who you are. But for that to happen, you have to unabashedly show them who you are. Do not hold back. Out of 7.5 billion people on Earth, you only need a few thousand of them to resonate with you to have a big impact and a successful business.

They are waiting for you to turn it up to eleven! And that is what you are going to do. To help you, I’ve put together a list of eleven ways you can turn it up to eleven.

11 Ways to Turn it Up to Eleven

1. 1. Emit Passion & Energy: Only create content and sales offers about things that you have really strong feelings, motivations, and opinions about. Let that energy shine through.
   2. Share Your Interests: Talk about your interests (e.g. tv shows, hobbies, philanthropic pursuits, etc.) in your content. Use these interests to create analogies that are relevant to your content or just drop the occasional reference to them. Find ways to use talents like drawing, playing guitar, knitting, or whatever in your content. Quote your favorite movies.
   3. Use Humor: You don’t have to be a comedian (but if you are go for it). You can be punny. You can use self-deprecating humor. If you have a silly or goofy streak, let it shine! Try to make yourself laugh when you create content.
   4. Bring Them Behind the Scenes: Share your process. Let them see the messy origins of your new ideas and projects. People love to be a fly on the wall. Or just share parts of your personal life that your audience will relate with and enjoy seeing.
   5. Have Conviction: Share what you believe with certainty and courage (no matter the response it might get). Be clear about where you stand. But when appropriate, also show a willingness to learn and change but explain why you are doing so. Don’t change because it’s popular or convenient.
   6. Be An Example: Exemplify the values that are most important to your audience. Show extreme dedication to those values (e.g. discipline, creativity, spontaneity, family, etc.).
   7. Do Fascinating Stuff: Do things that people will find interesting. Then share your experiences in your content. Want to be interesting? Do interesting stuff regularly.
   8. Speak Truth: This goes beyond integrity. This is also about saying what others are not willing to say, bringing new truth to light, or restoring truth that has been lost. The secret to Howard Stern’s success is not just controversy. His interviews focus on revealing what is real and true under the surface — stuff that doesn’t get shared elsewhere.
   9. Be Adventurous: Take people on a journey with you. This might be travel like when I lived in Paris or when Chris Guillebeau set a goal to travel to every nation on earth. Or it could be a personal growth journey or the process of reaching for a big audacious goal.
   10. Be Rebellious: Challenge the conventional wisdom. Do things differently. Say something controversial (but mean it and embrace it).
   11. Use Aesthetics: Adopt a distinct look or brand. Use the highest quality, beauty, and design in everything you do. Set a new bar.

Let’s take fast action to get results…

Choose one of the methods in the list above (or another one that you come up with) that feels natural for you to use, and decide one simple way you can use that method in your content over the next 7 days.

And I’d love to hear from you: who is as thought leader, writer, creator, etc. you think is excellent at turning it up to 11? Let me know in the comments!