End the Cycle of Same

"Paul, you gotta check this new album out!"

I hear this statement all the time from various friends, invariably followed with some kind of comparison like: 

"It sounds like early Darkthrone meets Bathory- you'll love it!!!"

But they're wrong- I probably won't love it. I probably won't even like it. 

And it's not just because I'm a hopeless old school black metal elitist prick (guilty). 

It's because the value statement they've made on the band's behalf, if true, has eliminated my desire or need to hear them. 

See- I already have every early Darkthrone and Bathory album. I listen to them all the time, along with a large handful of other early bands who were trying to copy their sound all the way back then. 

Imitation may be the highest form of flattery, and there's nothing new under the sun, but bland imitation is also the highest form of lazy art, and the same thing holds true for branding. 

I see it constantly. 

Some new Instagram page that has obviously taken cues and attempted to look just look Dan Bilzerian's, or Gary Vee, or Wes Watson- but those guys already have that market, that distinct branding, and so the imitation comes across as exactly that. 

If, in the original example, my friend had said, "they sound like early Darkthrone and Bathory, but the drumming is really crazy, and they have this really unique lyrical style," maybe that would've gotten my interest. 

You have to do something that is uniquely you, even if there's nothing truly new out there- a general rule is, don't directly rip off someone who is in the same industry/niche as you are. 

One way to come up with something that feels fresh is to take something from another niche or industry and ask, "what would this look like reimagined for my niche?"

I often engage in this thought experiment, and have used my imagination in this way to build brands and businesses that don't really feel like anything else...or at least, anything else in their niche. 

Kind of like how hallucinogens bond with certain chemicals, and allow them to go to receptors in your brain they normally wouldn't, or couldn't, this kind of thinking really allows you to go outside the box. 

What would your favorite death metal band look like as a restaurant? 

How would it feel to take the exclusivity and insane packaging and presentation of an occult book publisher and apply that to financial marketing and newsletters? 

How much more success could be generated by taking Wall Street financial promos and applying their writing style and strategy to your tattoo shop? 
Really, the great sin in branding and marketing is being boring- and blatant imitation is boring. 

Surely, you can use your imagination to come up with something better than just another knock-off, and surely your pride wants you to be more than a shitty Great Value brand xerox of another Instagram "influencer."

How many more selfie videos can be shot from a moving car to show people how busy and important you are while selling beard oil or supplements? 

Take ownership over yourself as a brand- explore the things that you like that make you unique, or interesting things that have happened in your life. 

Unplug from Instagram and the internet for a while and stop looking so much at what other people are doing as an example of what you should be doing. 

Do you. 

Be authentic. 

It'll shine through.