One website on the Internet that has one of the most unique stand out personalities is The Art of Manliness, and they recently put exclusivity and participation to work. The brainchild of Brett & Kate McKay, The Art of Manliness is a blog dedicated to uncovering the lost art of being a man with the goal of helping men be better husbands, better fathers, and better men.

Participation stimulates engagement

The Art of Manliness has a tight, large community of fans who helped them create a Lessons in Manliness ebook. The community submitted essays on the lessons they’ve learned from a man in their life and to encourage people to submit something to the project, they offered a Box of Manliness as a prize.

We received 46 submissions from men who shared stories about the grandfathers, friends, and mentors who have lived lives that showcase the very best in being an honorable man. I’ve finally put all the submissions into a nicely formatted eBook so that everyone can enjoy and hopefully learn from the lives of ordinary men who have helped pass the art of manliness on to others. At over 100 pages long, it’s pretty substantial for an eBook. And it’s completely free.

Exclusivity creates uniqueness

You see Hollywood do it with the Special Edition Movie Box sets where you get some insider information in a fancy looking package, The Box of Manliness works the same way. First of all it’s a very cool looking box indeed and it comes with some branded manliness arsenal that will make people go ‘what’s that?’:

• Merkur Safety Razor
• Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Cream
• Badger Hair Shaving Brush
• Mustache Handkerchief
• Case Pocket Knife
• An Art of Manliness t-shirt of your choosing
• A signed copy of the Art of Manliness book

Key takeaway:

As you can see exclusivity and participation are powerful word of mouth tools, they can turn your community into rabid fans. When you engage people in a product and make them feel as though it is their product, it translates directly into a desire to talk about it.

Engage your community and empower them to talk about you.

Two ways to get your community to talk about you is a post from: Blu Maya Digital Marketing Agency

Talk about awesome marketing. Zappos prides itself of being a happy place to work at, now you can include a ‘place where people come to get happily married!’.

Even Elvis was there!

Elvis gets couple hitched at Zappos is a post from: Blu Maya Digital Marketing Agency

Well this past weekend I was across the border in Tijuana to visit a prospect and afterwards I went to visit an old stopping ground from my college days: Chabelas.

Chabelas is a little store in a corner of a street that prepares a combination of Michelada with clamato + tabasco sauce + a dash soy sauce and a piece of salted dehydrated plum to-go. This drink is called a Chabela.

Chabela’s always has people coming for a drink, it doesn’t matter what time of day it is and most of these people come from long distances. What Chabelas’s gets right is that they focus on doing one thing only: Serving the best Red Michelada out there, it’s that simple!

This little store was the first of it’s kind in Tijuana and soon other others just like it started sprouting all over the city, they’re no restaurant and no bar, they make Red Micheladas to-go. Others have tried different strategies to unseat them but have failed in doing so because Chabela’s has won a permanent place in people’s minds by maintaining that focus on just serving Micheladas.

The point I want to make is that they’ve conquered their market by being the most at preparing the best Red Micheladas.

What are you doing to be the most at something?

What are you the most at? is a post from: Blu Maya Digital Marketing Agency

Setting your sights on a target gives you power and direction

The web is full of ‘how to’ advice on better blogging and for the most part the recipe goes a little something like this: publish frequently, provide useful content (ideas) and 

I don’t disagree with the recipe, the problem is that for the most part anybody with something relevant to say can do this and so here then lies the problem: If everyone follows the same advice then what is distinctive about your blog? about you?

To counter this, the recipe I follow for my innovation blog is very simple: Declare war on your enemies.

Pick an enemy

An enemy can be a mindset, ideologies, concepts, another blogger or person with whom you don’t agree with, a brand, a competitor, etc you get the picture. For me personally my enemy is my country’s (Mexico) ‘more of the same’ ‘me too’ copycat behavior and fixed mindset. A recent post might provide you some clues into why this is the case…

Have a BIG idea

The key is to have a BIG idea that counters your enemies POV and then present it in a better or different way. The clarity of ‘declaring war on your enemies’ strategy fills you with direction and purpose which feeds your passion because when you have an enemy you have something you are displeased with to shoot at.

An example is Apple’s ‘I’m a Mac/I’m a PC’ ads that paint Microsoft as boring, people took notice because Apple took a stand and it ignited passion in their fans…people love a good fight!

Don’t be afraid to polarize people

Not everyone will agree with what you have to say and when you take opposites you’ll create enemies and as terrifying as this sounds, it’s actually a good thing because you’re making your stand and people take notice. The key here is to arouse yours and others emotions!

Brand yourself or be branded

This strategy is working for me and has resonated with some of my fellow tweeps such that a few weeks ago I was surprised to see @ThinkTank_ (innovation consultancy) tag me with the ‘innovation insurgent’ moniker on a tweet! I was extremely happy to see this as it clearly states what I’m about and soon other tweeps gave me their thumbs up

Although I know I don’t put enough useful information (in my opinion) and could do a better job of presenting actionable ideas, I think my blog presents a distinct and authentic POV as everything I post there is clearly directed at the things I’ve encountered in my young personal as well as professional life.

This strategy can work wonders for you too but there’s a difference between being useful and passionate, being useful can get you going but being passionate can propel you new heights! Any of the (___) for Dummies! books is useful, Leading the Revolution by Gary Hamel on the other hand is passionate; mix the two together and you have Seth Godin! 

Bottom line is be passionate in your blogging!

Action steps:

• Direct your energies towards a frustration you have and declare war on it. As stated above this can be a person, competitor, idea, concept, etc, we all have one.
• Search for people who fit your frustrations and pick a fight. These can be ‘opinion leaders’ who’s egos are getting too big and you might just be the one to give them a wake up call.
• Declare war on yourself and challenge your own assumptions. Keep your mind moving as you’re likely to spur some competition and you need to keep yourself on your heels to counter and learn.

To conclude I leave you with a quote that speaks the truth: Where all think alike, no one thinks very much by Walter Lippman

http://twitter.com/jorgebarba/status/11458881984

What say you?

Unconventional #blogging advice: Pick an enemy is a post from: Blu Maya Digital Marketing Agency

Talk about uniqueness, only Michael Jackson could pull this off! This got me thinking…

If you took any artist (pick any artist that tries to imitate MJ) and replaced him with MJ in his performances, would it be the same? Of course not. Now think about it this way, if you swapped employees with one of your competitors would your business change?

If your answer is yes then you’re on a good path because that means that your culture is unique.

if your answer is no then you’re a ‘me too’ because your people are a commodity (they can easily be replaced) and therefore your product and service also is.

What if you could change this? Start by having a point of view of how you think your product or service could be different and what the benefit to your customers would be. In short think about what makes you irreplaceable? Is it your customer service, how you deliver, how you create?

Takeaway: Inject what’s unique about the way you think into what you sell to make it something no one else can offer.

Where’s YOU in your product or service is a post from: Blu Maya Digital Marketing Agency

I’m a gamer and can value a great game when I play one because a great game produces a craving that I must have it, own it, play it and talk about it. There are lessons we can take and apply in business..

What do you get when you mix a great storyline, great gameplay, great graphics, great game design with greek mythology? You get God of War.

Did you notice I used the word ‘great’ not ‘innovative’ to describe this game? Santa Monica Studios didn’t set out to reinvent the wheel with the recently released God of War 3, they used the same formula that worked before (story + design + lots of action!) and brought in bigger and badder opponents that are simply a joy to look at. Look at the video in HD!

It really is all about the experience

If there’s one word I would use to describe the God of War games is memorable because it truly makes you feel you’re in another world. Everything about these games is from another world! It doesn’t do anything fancy, it’s just great. The experience you feel is what truly sets it apart from other games!

Just like there are only a handful of businesses that I consider memorable, so it is with games. But what then makes them memorable? I think it’s a combination of identity, something otherworldly and authenticity.

Identity because it provokes your feelings and you can empathize with it (think Kiva). Otherworldly because the experience you get is beyond anything you’ve ever imagined (think Disneyland) and authenticity because it just feels real, you can talk to anyone about it and it’s real to them too (think Avatar).

Raise your hand if you know anyone setting out to create a business that’s memorable? A product? A service?

To focus on the overall experience people get when interacting with your business, ask yourself: How are we being memorable?

What makes something memorable? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Don’t do anything fancy. Just be great is a post from: Blu Maya Digital Marketing Agency

If you spend a good amount of time on the internet then I’m sure you’ve heard and watched OK Go’s latest video masterpiece. These guys have built a following by their sheer video producing talents. I didn’t know who OK Go was until a few days ago, when I watched the above video, it was enough for me to do some research and conclude that their music isn’t appealing to me but I have much to say about their dedication to producing pretty damn good videos.

Their videos alone are word of mouth worthy!

The band OK Go is probably more famous for their videos than their songs. That’s more a testament to the greatness of their videos than anything else. When these guys put out a video, you can be sure it’ll make your jaw drop at least once or twice. "How did they do that," is a typical reaction.

And that, is exactly what you want. To be known for something!

Just like Common Craft has built it’s reputation on creating ‘explanation video that anyone can understand’ and own that space in people’s minds, OK Go is doing the same with their music videos.

OK Go probably didn’t set out to differentiate themselves with videos and most likely didn’t have a ‘what do we want to be known for?’ brainstorming session. Most likely they started experimenting with ideas and kept going at it until something stuck and became so good at it that they can do these videos on a single take!

The takeaway here is you want to experiment with ideas with the goal of doing something distinctive that pushes boundaries. Do you think you could produce videos like OK Go? You probably can but have you ever tried?

Ask yourself: What do I want to be known for? And experiment with something that will push your boundaries.

What do you think? What are you experimenting with?

To be known for something push boundaries like OK Go is a post from: Blu Maya Digital Marketing Agency

I’ve always been impressed by the Jordan Brand and how it puts excellence into everything it does and releases. It’s to be expected as that’s what it’s legendary namesake stood for excellence on the basketball court.

Michael Jordan was known as a nightmare opponent, and this characteristic is reflected in it’s ‘Nightmares never sleep’ program for the release of the Air Jordan 2010. The captivating commercial features the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade unleashing his inner monster and terrorizing the court on his way to a dunk.

The shoes are top notch as expected and even the YouTube Channel page has a pleasant introduction that you’ll remember. And for those who just like MJ like to be challenged, there’s the interactive website which features 4 different games that will certainly test your hand eye coordination skills. My test results are below:

The results are also posted to your Facebook news feed if you want to tell your friends what you’re up or just outright challenge them!

The point: The Jordan Brand understands what it takes to stay relevant, it never sleeps.

Groundbreaking commercials, innovative sneakers that combine style and performance, people with respect, quality presentation and rabid fans make the Jordan Brand a powerhouse!

Jordan: a brand that never sleeps is a post from: Blu Maya Digital Marketing Agency

Researchers found that popular stories often inspired a sense of awe by tackling a broad topic and requiring the reader to approach the subject from a fresh angle. Researchers say these articles are popular because they create emotional connections between the person sending the article and its recipient. “Emotion in general leads to transmission, and awe is quite a strong emotion,” the researchers said.

A picture is worth a thousand words and if I could present these findings in visual way I think the picture below speaks for itself, doesn’t it make you go AWE?

Create AWE and your content will spread is a post from: Blu Maya Digital Marketing Agency

Want to know what your natural persuasive way of communicating is? Take the F Score Fascination trigger test from Sally Hogshead and find out, it takes less than 2 minutes! Sally Hogshead is the author of Fascinate where she uncovers the 7 triggers that brands use to persuade or captivate us and the test is designed to tell you which triggers you use to persuade on a consistent basis.

I took the test a few moments ago and found out that my primary fascination is Mystique, which knowing myself isn’t that far off and neither are the rest of the results to tell you the truth! Although there is no detailed action plan after taking the test you do get some insights on where and what you can improve on.

I was fascinated with the ideas from the accompanying Change This ebook that I have the book incoming and can’t wait to read it…the trigger of lust won me over!

Follow Sally on Twitter and let her know your result!

Which triggers are you using to persuade or captivate? is a post from: Blu Maya Digital Marketing Agency