A lot can be gained by breaking from the norms to create content that truly stands out.

But not enough businesses take advantage of this and decide to play it safe instead. More often than not, their content falls into the background and fails to have the impact they hoped for.

Just because a leader in your industry publishes content in a certain way doesn’t mean that your business has to immitate and blend in with the rest of the noise. It’s far more powerful to break away from what your competitors are doing to stand out from the crowd and attract the right type of people. Don’t try to beat your competitors at their own game, figure out who you are and then create content that is true to this.

You shouldn’t aim to make everyone happy all of the time. If everyone is happy with your content, this really means that everyone is indifferent. Nobody cares, and this is a problem. Don’t try to attract everyone to your business, instead attract the right kind of people. People who will become long-term, loyal customers who rave about how great you are to anybody who will listen.

Focus on making a tightly defined group of people very happy, even if this means that you lose some people along the way. This can be an especially powerful strategy for young businesses that have the advantage of being small and nimble without the bloat of larger competitors.

Rules and conventions crush creativity and restrict the imagination. Many content marketers who work full-time with big brands would bite your hand off to get more creative freedom. Don’t waste this freedom if you have it. The norms are there to be broken.

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