If you’re a blogger, or you’re on a mission to build your own lifestyle business you can run from your laptop anywhere in the world, you might sometimes feel like it’s hard to compete.
Ever feel like everyone’s trying to do the same thing, and it’s near impossible to break away from the pack and distinguish yourself?
I sure know from experience—as someone who’s been labelled a “lifestyle design blogger” especially—it frequently feels like we’re all in one big echo chamber together and everybody’s competing for the same things… everybody’s doing things the same way.
We got into this to break away from conformity. We didn’t get into this to start a new “norm”.
Read on for seven actionable insights that will help you set yourself, your business, and your blog, apart… to shine… and to rise above the rest. Today’s incredible guest post is from Logan Marshall, creator of the upcoming blog Free Life Project (Check out his video trailer) and offers 7 in-depth insights you can glean from one of the most innovative social entrepreneurs out there.
(And if you’re into social entrepreneurship, or if you want to try and sneak a cheap seat into my Digital Nomad Academy program so you can get a head start building your lifestyle business, remember to make a donation to In Search of Sanuk for my Birthday Gamble and you just might be a lucky full-ride scholarship recipient. Help me raise $1,000 for refugees and underprivileged kids in Bangkok! See the details here, and check out what DNA student Tim has to say about how crazy you’d be to pass up this opportunity.)
But I digress. Enter Logan:
Deep in the heart of the Central African Republic, hundreds of people wait anxiously as the drill lurches to life, thrusting into the red African earth.
After five failed attempts and weeks of waiting… this is the final shot. The last stand.
The machine roars, echoing through the rainforest as it plunges deeper and deeper underground, desperately searching for water.
As the drilling progresses, time seems to slow. The once enthralled villagers now look on with disappointment and skepticism.
One hour passes… two hours.
And just when all hope appears to be lost… it happens.
Crystal clear water erupts from the ground like a fountain, blasting from the earth and glistening in the afternoon sun. Children leap from their mother’s laps and sprint into the water, dancing and laughing as the clear liquid rains from the sky.
In an instant… their lives are changed forever.
This is the work of charity: water, one of the coolest non-profits on the planet.
If you haven’t heard of charity: water, go watch this video. It’s SO FREAKING AWESOME! (Sorry, it makes me excited).
Not only are they helping millions of people get access to clean and safe drinking water… they are also marketing geniuses. Seriously. They’ve taught me so much.
In this post I’m going to dissect their “business” strategy and give you 7 key lessons that you can apply to your own online ventures.
Regardless of your goals (philanthropic or otherwise), these lessons will help you ignite a firestorm of support, stand out from the crowd, and change thousands of lives for the better.
Let’s dive in.
Lesson #1: People Want To CARE About Something
Over the past few years I’ve noticed that there’s an “epidemic” ravaging the western world.
No, it’s not obesity or technological addiction..although these are both equally dangerous.
It’s a lack of meaning.
A “fulfillment deficit” that is leaving people tired and depressed… deprived of one of our most basic human needs: purpose.
To take this a step further, I believe that deep down all people want to make a difference. To change the world. To make their lives amount to something worthwhile.
This is why charity:water can attract such raving support so fast. This is why they can get almost 1.5 MILLION Twitter followers. They are a “meaning vehicle.” They give people the satisfaction of knowing that they are (even is a small way) making a difference. And that is powerful.
You see, everyone wants to be a part of something great.
A movement.
A community.
People want to CARE.
With this in mind, here’s my question to you:
Why should people care about YOUR business?
If you don’t have a clear answer, take the time to formulate one. If YOU don’t care about your business… you can’t expect others to either.
How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business
Okay so you understand that people are hungry for meaning… and will jump at the chance to fill this emotional void.
But how can you apply this knowledge to your own lifestyle business?
Well, the answer is simple.
You give people something to care about.
How?
I’ve identified two main ways:
1) Incorporate GIVING into the CORE of your business model.
Make helping others the primary focus of your existence. Connect your readers to a meaningful vision that is bigger than any of you. Something worthwhile. Something worth caring about.
If you can be a medium through which people can solve their pressing problems AND make a positive difference in the world, attracting a community of raving fans will be considerably easier. Instead of fighting through the tangle of look-alike blogs, do something that fundamentally contradicts your business intuition: give.
Read that last paragraph again. This is incredibly important.
While few online businesses are embracing this “giving based model,” here are a few offline businesses that are making a difference (and a killing) right now:
Toms Shoes
Feed Projects
Method Products
2) Create a “superstar story.”
This is a term I made up. All by myself 
What’s a superstar story?
Well… In essence, a “superstar story” is a unique, remarkable and easy to remember STORY that differentiates you from your competition and sparks frenzied interest and support from your audience.
It’s a goal, mission or objective that people naturally want to rally behind and share with everyone they know.
Chris Guillebeau uses this by “visiting every country in the world.” So does Steve Kamb with his “Epic Quest of Awesome.” So does Scott H. Young with his “MIT Challenge.”
Base your existence around a (near impossible) goal that you’re trying to reach, a ridiculous experiment that people will CARE about… and watch your business skyrocket.
Lesson #2: Stories Are The Key To Connection And Engagement
If you didn’t watch the video at the beginning of this post, watch it now.
Pretty incredible right?
Besides the beautiful footage and professional editing, why was that video so engaging? Why was it so powerful?
The answer is simple: Because it was a story.
It took you directly into the lives of the Bayaka people and made you FEEL their pain… and their hope for a better future.
You see, the human brain is hardwired to seek out and appreciate good storytelling. It’s human nature. As Robert McKee puts it, “Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact.”
Stories are the key to spreading your message.
Here’s how to use them…
How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business
You understand the power of stories. Now let’s get practical.
Before we dive into the “nitty gritty” of incorporating stories into your business, there’s something I want to share with you. It’s from an article I recently read by the infamous John Carlton.
In the article he writes…
“So the main rule for writer/marketers is this: Learn what kind of story appeals to your audience. If you don’t know, you’re taking a risk with anything other than a paragraph-long tale.
Don’t pretend to know how to weave a story that gets listened to. Instead, learn the craft. (Just as you would never pretend to be able to play guitar if you wanted to impress real musicians.)
There are no shortcuts… but you can get hip to good storytelling fairly quickly if you apply yourself.”
He goes on to say…
“You gotta tailor your tale to your audience. That’s the primary lesson. A story that bores the bejesus out of one person, may dazzle the hell out of someone else.
And you should get good at knowing whether you’re bombing or scoring quickly (so you can change course if necessary).”
Such great advice.
Storytelling is one of the most important skills you can develop as an entrepreneur. And the only way you’re going to get better at it is to practice. To sit your BUTT in a chair and write like a writing fiend.
Storytelling is an art. Take the time to master it.
Okay… back to the matter at hand. How to incorporate stories into your marketing.
Here are my top 2 ways:
1) Center your business around a story.
At the heart of all great businesses is a remarkable story.
As Blake MyCoskie (founder of Toms Shoes) writes in his phenomenal book Start Something That Matters, “A good story transcends boundaries, breaks barriers, and opens doors. It is a key not only to starting a business but also to clarifying your own personal identity and choices.”
So true.
Regardless of how big your business is… you need a story. A story about how you got started, what you’re about and where you’re going.
Make it short. Make it inspirational. Make it easy to remember.
Here are a few examples:
charity: water: “We’re a new kind of charity dedicated to bringing clean and safe drinking water to every person on the planet.”
Toms shoes: “With every pair you purchase, Toms will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for one.”
What’s your story?
If you don’t have one. Find one.
2) Infuse storytelling into your marketing
Go back to the beginning of this post and read my introduction. See what I did there? I used a story to suck you in to the post and get you to keep reading.
Stories aren’t just for all-encompassing mission statements. They’re a TOOL to be wielded daily when communicating with your audience. A tool you can use to break through noise and capture attention.
Use them in your blog posts.
Use them in your follow-up sequence.
Use them to make people CARE.
Lesson #3: Video is the MOST Effective Medium
If you don’t know already… video kicks ass.
It’s the most engaging, valuable and effective content medium out there. No question. Hands down.
YouTube rivals Google in traffic-driving power, videos are shared more than any other form of content… and video sales letters can literally TRIPLE your conversion rate overnight.
Jon Morrow used video to gain 1,740 email subscribers in seven days. The Invisible Children KONY 2012 video has been viewed over 80 MILLION times in less than two weeks! No blog post in history has ever come close to this.
Yet, despite this mountain of evidence… very few people are utilizing the power of video in their business.
But Charity Water does… and they’re experts at it.
Charity: water introduces each of their projects and promotions with a specially created video. Videos like this and this. Inspiring videos. Videos that give viewers an intimate connection to the organization.
And as their thriving YouTube channel and MASSIVE impact illustrates… it’s working wonders for them.
How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business
While video can literally be incorporated in all aspects of your business, here are three high-impact areas you can address
1) Create a killer homepage with a trailer or welcome video.
My guess is that your BLOG is on your homepage. Am I right?
Personally, I think this is a BIG problem.
Here’s why:
By leaving visitor experience to chance and not strategically crafting a homepage that is proven to convert… you are leaving SO many opt-ins on the table. An absurd amount of subscribers.
Here’s the deal:
The average conversion rate on a well crafted “squeeze page” is around 35%. But most blogs convert at less than 5%. With this in mind, wouldn’t it make sense to OPTIMIZE your homepage in order to maximize conversions?
Yeah, I think so too.
Want some examples of this strategy in action?
Clay Collins and Brendon Burchard know what’s up.
2) Drive Traffic With an “Army” of YouTube Videos
Not only is video a killer conversion and sales strategy… it’s also a great way to drive automated traffic. All year round. Like a boss.
By creating video content and syndicating it around the web you slowly build up an “army” of videos that can be leveraged to build your list.
People watch your videos, enjoy your content, then follow your call to action and join your list. Simple.
3) Trade out the long-copy sales letter
I recently heard an interview with Jon Benson, the creator of the “Ugly Video Sales letter.” You know the ones with nothing but plain text…
… .yeah, I thought they sucked too.
But here’s the thing:
In a series of rigorous split tests (Both from Jon Benson and Ryan Deis)… it’s been proven that these bland, “ugly” sales letters actually convert 3X better than the conventional long form sales letter. THREE TIMES!
Crazy cool stuff.
If you’re selling any kind of product and aren’t getting the conversions you want… I HIGHLY recommend you switch to video.
At least try it out. See how it goes. You can always switch back.
For more info on how to create killer video sales letters I recommend you check out Lewis Howes’ interviews with James Wedmore.
Lesson #4: People Will Follow a Leader With a Vision
Scott Harrison (founder of charity: water) is an inspiration.
In 2004, after spending years promoting top nightclubs and fashion events… living selfishly and arrogantly by his own admission… Scott decided to make a change.
He signed up for volunteer service aboard a floating hospital called Mercy Ships and embarked on a new journey that he hasn’t looked back from since.
Today he has a mission. A vision for a better future: To bring clean and safe drinking water to every person of the planet.
When you watch his videos you can hear the authenticity in his voice. The passion bubbling through the computer screen.
Scott is a leader.
Over the past few years, I’ve had a realization:
People are hungry to be led. They WANT to follow someone who has a bigger vision than they do.
As Seth Godin puts it:
“Human beings can’t help it: we need to belong. One of the most powerful of our survival mechanisms is to be part of a tribe, to contribute to (and take from) a group of like-minded people. We are drawn to leaders and to their ideas, and we can’t resist the rush of belonging and the thrill of the new. … We want to belong not to just one tribe, it turns out, but to many. And if you give us tools and make it easy, we’ll keep joining. Tribes make our lives better. And leading a tribe is the best life of all.”
Do you have what it takes to lead a tribe?
If so, here’s how.
How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business
There isn’t much to say for this one. If you want to gain a loyal “tribe” of followers… you must be a leader. You must highlight YOURSELF in your business, be upfront with your objective and passionately convey your vision for the future.
Where is your movement going? How can people help? Who is the enemy?
Steve Kamb does a great job of this. So does David Siteman Garland. So does Pat Flynn.
To quote Seth Godin one more time, “Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead.”
Lesson #5: Design Matters
Charity: water’s website is a work of art. It’s beautiful. It’s clean. It’s sophisticated.
Just check out the animation and graphics on this page.
Whether you like it or not, you will be judged based on how your business “looks.” While content is king… design is a strong and equally formidable queen. Especially in today’s blogosphere.
Yes… you can succeed with a “hack job” design. Some do.
But as the competition online continues to increase, your chances of “making it” with an out-of-the-box design are getting smaller and smaller.
This doesn’t cut it anymore. This does.
Scott Harrison’s original (and current) objective is this: Bring clean drinking water to 1 billion people, make sure 100% of public donations go directly to funding projects, prove to donors where their donations are spent, and in his own words, “not suck at design!”
Design matters. Don’t neglect it.
How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business
Again, this lesson is pretty self-explanatory. If you want a killer design, get a killer designer. Learn web design or invest in a custom site, get an “eye popping” logo, focus on first impressions, keep it clean.
Want a few examples?
I’m glad you asked. Here you go:
Nerd Fitness
Word Lens
Serene-Naturist
…Okay, the last one is a joke. You caught me.
Lesson #6: Innovation is Critical
Let me introduce you to Water Forward. It’s Charity Water’s brilliant new idea for how to raise money by harnessing the power of social media. And it’s brilliant.
Watch this video to see how it works.
Pretty cool huh?
Charity Water is harnessing social media, reciprocity, and social proof (three key marketing tools) to raise thousands of dollars for clean drinking water.
Personally, I think it’s genius.
But not only have they created this completely automated way of raising money… they’ve also built My Charity Water, a free interface where you can start your own fundraising campaign and track your results in real time.
So cool.
If you hope to stand a chance online, you have to be different. All that “basic” stuff has been covered. People have heard it all… ten gazilion times.
In order to break out of this tangled web of conformity, you gotta innovate. You gotta sit down, get creative and “rethink” long held assumptions.
As Milan Kundera puts it, “business has only two functions: marketing and innovation.”
How To Apply This Lesson In Your Business
As you know, innovation is CRITICAL to your online success. It’s the key to standing out. It’s the secret to rising fast and avoiding pitfalls.
Understanding this, here are three ways to replicate Charity Water’s ingenuity.
1) Nail down your “Motif.”
You’ve probably heard the common advice: “You must find a killer Unique Selling Proposition.” And while I agree that this is important, I’ve recently realized that you can achieve the same effect with what’s called a “motif.”
In essence, a “motif” is a unique and intriguing “experience” that sets you apart from your competition. This “experience” can be based on your personality, a common theme, an intriguing story, or even a simple idea.
For example, Naomi Dunford’s “motif” is her personality and “colorful” language. D Bnonn Tennant’s is a cowboy theme.
To get a better understanding of what I’m talking about, check out this article.
2) Create the “Ultimate Experience”
Imagine for a second that you’re surfing the web when you see an interesting link. Intrigued, you click it and are instantly directed to a website on YOUR topic. A website very similar to yours.
In order to capture your full attention and get you to take action, what would that website have to do? What would it say, what would it offer, how would it look?
What would the ULTIMATE experience look like?
Take the time to nail this down. Then go create it.
3) Break all the rules
My final tip is this:
In every niche, people EXPECT to be treated in a certain way. There are a set of “Industry Norms” for how things are sold, priced, delivered, marketed etc.
For example, in the blogging/lifestyle design niche people have come to “expect” good content, a free e-book for subscribing and little or no free advice. With this in mind, I have consciously positioned my business AGAINST this raging river of conformity.
I have purposefully created something different than what people expect.
In charity: water’s case, the used their 5th anniversary as a way to try something new. Over the course of one week, their entire staff made 250 personal video thank your messages for donors large and small. The videos were customized for each individual donor and they were made with enthusiasm and fun. Check them out and think of ways you can break the mold as well.
Bottom Line
I know I’ve given you a ton of information in this post… but hopefully you’ve gotten at least a few key takeaways.
In all of this, there’s one thing I want you to understand.
And that’s this:
There are lots of organizations raising money to build wells. People have been doing it for years. But no one has done it better, smarter, or more creatively than charity: water. They’ve taken an unoriginal idea and built a new and REVOLUTIONARY movement around it.
Scour their site, fundraise for them, see how it’s done and then… go do it too.
The world needs us all.
So what are we waiting for?
Logan Marshall is on a mission to help aspiring entrepreneurs change the world with their message. If you’re one of them, check out the cinematic trailer to his upcoming blog.
Read the original article on Thrilling Heroics here: 6 Key Lessons Charity Water Can Teach You About Building a Thriving Lifestyle Business