THE MARKETING OF

WEIRDOS

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Content:

1. Foreword ……………………………………................................................. 3

2. Who the Hell are Weirdos ……………………………………………... 4

3. To be or not to be a Weirdo ………………………………………….... 7

4. Welcome to the Core of Weirdos …………………………………….. 10

5. How Weirdos build their personal brand ………………………… 13

6. How Weirdos get the attention they deserve ……………………. 18

7. This is just the beginning ………………………...………………………. 22

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Good day everyone. Wish this day will be another grain in the sand watch that has

successfully passed the tiny gap joining the rest of the sand that make your glorious past. I

have written this white paper not only to make an ordinary day extraordinary (although it is

my daily mission to achieve that with all the strength I have). I have written it because I care. I

care as a marketer because clients are longing for an honest and credible partner that will

address their needs the way they are without keeping the fingers crossed behind. I care as a

human being because many across the world are suffering in the attempts to discover

themselves and to walk an honest path while being surrounded by distractors, illusions and

lack of faith. I care as a person who wants to be taken care of because people who actually

care are less and less, constantly attracted by the gravitational force of the black void full of

false promises that keeps their friends mentors, people they love down. I care because people

refuse to initiate the dawn instead of waiting for it to come.

But at the same time I feel happier today trying to go across the stream, giving the

world something that lies inside me. I hope many will embrace it and create the platform for

the next greater inspiration and words that wait to be written. Remember - Even the heaviest

monsoon starts with a drop.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the excellent author and blogger Seth

Godin, whose thoughts and supreme understanding of marketing kept giving me inspiration

every time a gap appeared.

And thanks to you Jeff Goins, writer and blogger I am regularly following for showing

me how to actually start writing and forget about doubts, auditorium and everything else. He

made it look so easy.

Thank you so much everyone and enjoy your reading

FOREWORD

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“I think everybody's weird. We should all celebrate our individuality

and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it.”

― Johnny Depp

WHO THE HELL

ARE

WEIRDOS!?

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You are starting this small white paper with a question? And a good one. You are

already awesome which makes me even more enthusiastic and eager to write something

that I believe will find its proper place in your self concept. Let’s start seeking the answer.

Some time ago on my blog “We against Us” (http://bit.ly/J2exUF ) I wrote a text

titled: “The story of the Masses and the Weirdos”. As I continued to analyze the

consistency of the message I wanted to convey through that post, I noticed that the content

offers an interesting analogy that can be useful for us the marketers and for everyone else

that follows the principle of differentiation as guideline. That post has actually established

the found for the writing this white paper.

In The story of the Masses and the Weirdos, I have described the time in the past

when Masses appeared. Here it is not certainly a place to jump into serious philosophical

debates about what is mediocrity and what are the characteristics of the mediocrity. We all

want to feel and to be treated as unique, different and to be separated a bit from the crowd

which is characterized with pragmatism and status quo. I mentioned that the Masses

historically appeared during the industrial revolution and bit later in the 1930s. Why

exactly at that time? Because the first technological processes at that time which enabled

the birth of the first massive labor intense production processes which engaged vast

amount of workers who according to the principle of production line had to wok

programmed tasks in identical way, through programmed behavior and zero deviation.

Classical examples for that system were the production facilities of the “King” Henry Ford.

In order for that artificial system (I say artificial because any system where a human being

is treated as programmed entity cannot be sustained for long) to continue its secure

existence, the first universities got opened. Why universities? Because their goal was to

educate and produce new layer of workers that will take the place of the old and wasted

ones, to teach them how to produce the same, to behave same, and to buy the same

products that were advertised the same way by the same mass media.

In other words, the system has established its 3 pillars that were supposed to

guarantee its survival:

1. Mass production

2. Mass education

3. Mass media

This system was functioning smoothly until two decades ago. What happened two

decades ago? Weirdos appeared, individuals who instead of working hard to fit into the

Masses, they stepped out of it and embraced their individuality; they started using it as

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weapon against the assimilators. They were out of the 3 pillars and they have

challenged the whole system.

You must be asking yourself already – What is the analogy between this

development and the world of business? You just cannot stop asking good questions do

you? Hold on, here we go!!

In the war of business, the Weirdos are small entrepreneurial entities which seem to

sprout out of the soil, which only require morning dew to survive and start developing.

Weirdos to some extent existed also during the governance of the Masses but at that time,

they were doing a crucial mistake. What was their mistake? The biggest one. They were

seeing themselves as mini production version of the large enterprises. They were trying to

imitate them and their products, but in meantime they realized that they are battling a lost

war. Why? Because the Big ones have better marketing, better products, more funds for

research and development, better layers, advisors, bankers, bank accounts etc.

What happened afterwards? The small ones realized this and they became Weirdos.

Why as Weirdos they would represent any threat for the Big ones? Because the Big ones

hate Weirdos, they hate their unacceptable behavior, their rudeness, their individuality,

they hate them being out. They cannot understand why someone would make a product

which is targeted only for few people. This doesn’t fit into the The Law of the Economy of

Scale, into their econometrical market models. For the first time in history, this offers the

Weirdos an amazing opportunity for innovation and revolution, a chance to shift market

paradigms.

Precisely! The small ones have become Weirdos and they started challenging the Big

ones in the middle of their playground, the niches, buyers who have also recognized their

individuality and started asking for something different than the default one that is offered

to everyone. Weirdos started making products for small market groups, which were

neglected so far. They connected to them, they became their good friends, and they gained

their loyalty. Weirdos also ignored mass media, because they simply weren’t working

anymore. The old rigid approach of investing in commercials, generating revenue and using

a part of that revenue to invest in even more commercials seized functioning.

Do you think that in the world of business, behaving like a Weirdo would be

suicidal?

Think again!

Owner of a small tourist agency in the USA called Thomas N. noticed the great

attachment that the owners of Harley Davidson motorcycles have towards their 3000

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cubes heavy monsters. For them Harley Davidson is more than just a big two wheeled

machine, its thunderous sound and provocative look was part of them, part of their

identity, it is a way to show the world their rebellion, energy, power of the uniqueness and

to say: “Do not mess with us.” Thomas N decided to organize a special event exclusively

for Harley D. owners – a luxurious cruising through a famous American cruising company.

What was so special about that event? The special part was the opportunity for the tough

guys to bring their thunderous machines, board them on the cruiser and start their dream

crusade. This means that the only place the world where owners of Harley D. were able to

bring their machines on a relaxing water trip was precisely that cruiser. Fares were sold

within 24 hours and Thomas N has managed to satisfy a need of a segment of users that

was neglected by the Big guys.

Is Thomas N a Weirdo?

You can bet He is.

The time comes when all market nerds will finally have to wake up and pick a side.

Neutrality is no longer an option.

The number of Weirdos, especially on the demand side of the line, keeps growing

and that is good news for all marketers and entrepreneurs. Big guys have capital and layers

of fat but that is precisely what prevents them from being able to bend down and around

and see what is happening around them. That is precisely what Weirdos can use in order to

maneuver and to pass between their legs without being noticed.

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Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds

against them.

--Robert Jarvik

TO BE OR NOT

TO BE A

WEIRDO

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Believe that you have managed to realize that being a Weirdo is not such a bad

think, especially if you manage to sell your weirdness to the World. I mean, you

don’t have to go to India for a spiritual journey just to understand this. Hey, I am

here to explain you that come on… More and more people are awakening and they want to

feel and be treated as special, so don’t be surprised if someone soon calls you in order to

benefit the Weirdo inside you, that same Weirdo who knows how to produce what that

person wants even if you have never met each other before. That person would love to see

your deviation, instead of seeing a flattery tuxedo guy who even acts his Welcome

expression from his conservative behavioral script.

In the previous chapter I specified that Weirdos do not use mass media featuring TV

as the Top representative. That is because they simply don’t work anymore. The average

consumer is not an average anymore. He has realized his value, his dignity, and he asks:

Who do you think you are to interrupt the TV content with commercials during

the most interesting moments?

Their dignity has grown so much that they even completely ignore those shows,

revolted by the treatment of manipulation and disrespect that receive by those whose

products they buy. They have understood that seemingly interesting TV soaps are being

broadcasted to keep the lower class calm and distracted by the problems of the everyday

life at least a few hours during the day, using that period of vulnerability to impose

something to them against their will. Well, consumers have become Weirdos and they say

NOT ANYMORE!!

What does this mean? This means that prime times don’t work anymore. The

coefficient of effectiveness of the TV campaigns measured as the relation between the sales

revenue and the cost per unit of advertisement is lower and lower. Consumers avoid

Television and they find alternative modes to utilize their time, the most valuable resource

each one of us possesses.

As expected, most businesses have figured this out and they turned towards the

Internet and social media as the latest alternative, to impose themselves and their offer. But

Weirdos don’t do this either. When I said most of the businesses, I exclude Weirdos from

this category. How can this be? Why Weirdos would not embrace and mass utilize social

media which are considered to be the New revolution in the world of marketing today?

Because again most businesses do that the wrong way.

They think that they can make consumers Re-Tweet their posts or Like them

on Facebook the same way they were able to make them watch their commercials.

I

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Perhaps this worked in the world of TV advertising for some time, because TV

companies have an owner who decides about the content of the media and consumers

decide whether they will follow that media or not. However this is not the case with the

Internet. Internet is free and global media which does not have an owner and is available

to everyone. Who are you to utilize something that is not yours for imposing yourself and

your offer and to bombard the users with your automatized campaigns? Most of

entrepreneurs who still have not yet embraced the Weirdo inside them, are astonished

when they run into free advertising space on Youtybe, without thinking of the saturation of

this media. Their mindset is the following: “

Internet is free and global so let’s be present everywhere possible and

according to the Law of Probability, someone will run into us. “

No one will run because You are not the only one and because the user does not

care. Presence is equal to zero if it is not reinforced with value proposition, something that

the other side fells that gets because of his/hers communication with you during the first

few second of the interaction. That is the whole time you have, no matter that you may

devoted lots of hardworking hours to enable your online presence. It is your punishment

for being average and for misusing something that is not yours.

Weirdos know all this and they force themselves to think different.

They use the Internet to give more than they ask on short term because they

believe in the power of relationship on long term.

Weirdos are not afraid to send a specialized e-book which would be expensive in

traditional book stores as gift. They are not afraid to educate their clients because they

have nothing to hide from them. Weirdos are not afraid to send a gift for their loyal client’s

or his child’s birthday. They do not doubt to ask their loyal clients for dinner in order to

discuss how their offer can help improve their client’s life. Weirdos pay attention to every

small detail. They remember that the client is interested in fishing and they do not forget to

send newly published help book with advices and recommendation for equipment that will

provide unforgettable fishing experience. They remember the anniversary of their

wedding and they bravely send proper gift with handwritten greeting card expressing their

admiration for being able to maintain their marriage community another year in these

turbulent times, with wishes for even brighter future.

Weirdos are not afraid from closure and relationships. They do not look into the

pocket of the clients. They look into their eyes, trying to read any possible problems and to

do something about them. Closure brings value and value makes money flow without

interruptions.

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"Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has

learned in school."

-- Albert Einstein

WELCOME TO

THE CORE OF

WEIRDOS!

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o far I have given my sincere efforts to introduce you with the phenomenon

called Weirdos, to teach you how to recognize the Weirdos that lurks inside

you and to learn to think like one. While discussing this philosophy with my

counterparts and friends, a question kept popping out which definitely must be addressed,

since it might be your question as well.

The question is: Is it required to be PhD in order to be and think as a Weirdo?

Initially, I saw nothing special in this question and in its eventual answer. However,

just a little bit later, I was thinking and I have realized that being a Weirdo is related to

certain state of mind, way of thinking, featured with bravery, and readiness to shift

paradigms, richness of knowledge. Therefore it is natural for these people who know how

to embrace their individuality, who know how to brand themselves and the product they

sell to be featured as highly educated.

The answer is - NO!

What is the problem then?

The problem is that today too many PhDs are sent in the market with enthusiasm,

trust and bravados. Armed heavily with theoretical knowledge associated to latest market,

managerial and marketing concepts, statistical and econometrical models, but no guts. The

problem is that the market will quickly force these PhDs to empty their cup and to get

ready for refilling it with something new. However, this is not a painless process. This

doesn’t happen in the classroom it is not related to time frame and is not being graded. It is

not painless because they are so sure in what they know and think that the world should

also know and accept what they know. This mindset makes the process of refilling

tormenting, frustrating, depressive. Self-facing but also inevitable.

What is the problem – you ask second time...

No one taught them how to have guts... To be ready to lose, to face mistake and

failure. To do all this creatively. To bend when the time is right and to serve more often.

I believe that now you have the answer to the previous question. Characteristics

mentioned above which are part of the mental meal of every Weirdo don’t go hand by hand

with formal education. What is needed is different kind of education that will teach us how

to inflame again when the world freezes the fire inside us, courage to stand firmly and face

first with ourselves and then with the Masses even if the price of that sometimes might be

our own humiliation.

S

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Because humiliation is only temporary condition which very often we take it far

more seriously than the rest of the world…

… And the pride that comes from the knowledge that we had at least once principle

and did everything we could in order to defend it will never leave us, and will be here with

us during crisis of faith and will feed our own self-concept. If you have the right principles,

they will always help you recognize and defend the right idea, the true vision. This is

because the idea is something that really matters today. Especially when it reaches its viral

state and spread across territories.

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“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and

that has made all the difference.”

- Robert Frost

HOW

WEIRDOS

BUILD THEIR

PERSONAL

BRAND

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Have you met the Weirdo in you? I believe that you have. Is it worth to be a Weirdo?

If the only negativity that you might attract by being Weirdo are the comments and

prejudices of the Masses, I believe that you can get along with it. I believe that so far you

have noticed that Weirdos are easy for being notices and distinguished, and that is exactly

what troubles the Masses. However Weirdos enjoy it. Why? Because being noticed today

means capital. In the world of business, visibility and presence are benefits for which

companies invest large amount of their budgets. But not all of them succeed. Weirdos

succeed because they are not afraid to be radical, to be foolish and childish once in a while.

They understand the meaning of Steve Jobs’ mantra: “Stay hungry, Stay

foolish”

Somewhere above I have spoken about the importance of being able to embrace the

Weirdo inside you on organizational level and corporate culture level where an

organization will be stimulated to think different and brave, not to send newsletter to its

most loyal clients but instead adopting an approach where the CEO amongst others stands

up from his leather chair and go for lunch or dinner with his most loyal clients in attempt to

discover how his organization can help improve their lives even more. Today we will talk

how the Weirdo inside you can make miracles in the area of improving your personal

brand and brand perception.

Why is the personal brand that important? We are all attached to a certain product

brand and identify ourselves with it. It is the same case with the personal brand. Have you

ever wondered why are you so attracted by some personalities?

Because of their brand. Because they are just themselves and because they express

their individuality on a special way. Unlike product marketing which was mainly focused

on the product or the producer, personal marketing is exclusively and without exceptions

focused on the other side – people. Hence, Weirdos build their personal brand everyday

through activities that arise from the answers of one simple question:

What can I do for you today?

What is the first think that comes out in your mind when you think of a brand

person? Probably something like: “Hey he is so cool, despite all the crowd, he didn’t forget

to approach me and to wish me welcome. “ or “She/He is so nice, just a few days ago we

were working on an article and She/He asked me for an advice and recommendation

whether to include a certain topic in the text.’ Or “He is really great, I really enjoy his

company. He has just returned from his journey in Egypt and he has brought me a

wonderful souvenir.

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Do you notice the pattern? All people whose company and moments we enjoy are

not focused on themselves but on others. That is the secret of building an attractive and

compelling personal brand. Brands do not forget to ask or do something for others; they do

not forget to express respect, to give credit to others, to involve them in their activities.

Simply said, brands give, they create value without asking in return.

How Weirdos do that? Below you can find some short recommendations about what

you can start doing tomorrow (today sounds too American) in order to build your personal

brand:

Give credit to your team members for the collective effort and achievement.

Even if most of the results are achieved because of your talent, do not forget

to mention others who made the result as it is.

Include others in your activity. If you work on PowerPoint presentation

forward it to another colleague and ask him/her to give an opinion and input.

Trust me, the other person will appreciate your initiative.

Do not start your working day without sending at least a few inspirational

SMS messages to persons you seem to forget these days, or even an email

with an interesting article to someone you know is interested about the

subject.

You use additional literature in your work/project/article? If it is web based,

do not forget to enclose a link to that source, a short comment or small Thank

you note. Emphasize and give credit to other’s work and creativity so that

your effort can be emphasized later. Do not spare the kind words of

appreciation.

Do not be afraid to defend a colleague of yours at office if you think that

he/she is being badly treated. It is not all about being sweet in front of the

boss. Some connections last longer, even a lifetime.

Do not be afraid to interrupt the meeting if the discussion is going the wrong

direction, if the blame is being transferred to a colleague that is not present

to defend himself. Interrupt the senior if necessary. Of course do that with

arguments, not with arrogance.

Do not restrain from giving compliments about the person’s good look.

Do not restrain from making joke on your own expense

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Be the first one to write LinkedIn recommendation for a colleague of yours.

Do not save words and creativity while doing so.

Post links, photos, videos on your Facebook friend’s Wall, Like their photos,

do commenting. Today, Facebook attention is appreciated as much as offline

attention.

Create your own brand message, mantra and use it everywhere you can.

(Business cards, email signatures, every type of formal and informal

communication.) Be brave and make it sound challenging and provocative. I

have used my love for the Rock music to create my brand mantra – Business

development executive and Rock ‘n’ Roll innovator. This is the headline of my

email signature and my LinkedIn profile.

Always give. No matter if you gift for birthday, party, or simply if the motive

is “Because I appreciate you”, always try to give something bigger or smaller

to your first circle of people at least. When you go on vacation, fill your

backpack with souvenirs and divide them among your people. They will love

that.

Be prepared to jump from your bed/leader chair at any time for your friends

when they need you. Forget about the time and money. Relationships are

more valuable than everything.

These are just a few small advices that can make recognizable solid brand out of you

if you implement them with consistency and focus until they become habit. Once

established, your brand will work for your wellbeing in every area of your life – business,

private, job search etc. Every time you ask something from someone, you will be in his

priority list. I hope that further on I will be able to share few more insights regarding this

topic. I advise you to give your own views, opinion and advices about what do you do to

establish your personal brand. Comments are welcomed. Just watch out not to overinflate

your personal brand because you might get migraine.

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It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat

back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.

--Leonardo da Vinci

HOW WEIRDOS

GET THE

ATTENTION

THEY DESERVE

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So far, while being in company with a friend or acquaintance, you must have heard

this: “He (whomsoever he is) always talks so little, he is so Weird”.

Yes, he is weird. He is Weirdo. However Talking less doesn’t necessarily means we

are antisocial freaks. Not at all.

It means that we are getting ready for the moment we actually have something

to say.

Why this preparation?

Because today there is one general problem with people. They talk too much. And

the catch is – The more you talk, the less people will listen you. The more noise you make,

the more people will attempt to avoid that noise. As simple as that. In the economy, this is

called the Law of Diminishing returns. That law is described with polynomial curve. The

more you invest, or the more you talk, greater the effect will be until you reach a certain

peak. After that point, the effect is the opposite – the more we invest the lesser will be the

returns, the more we speak the less we will be given serious attention because of the

saturation effect. From that point onwards words turn into noise, and everyone wants to

avoid noise.

What Weirdos do in order to be listened?

1. They make their message relevant

Talk less and be comfortable with your silence. Make your important message

relevant by speaking only when you have something really good to say, something that will

make the auditorium eager for the moment you will open your mouth. Something that will

make everyone stunned and speechless. And do not get distracted by the reactions of

others. The false ones will always have a shot of sarcasm to every word of yours, it is just

who they are. The real ones will not hide their impression (or their true feedback).

2. They establish themselves.

This means one thing – you need to establish your right to talk. Build your

credibility and be patient. As you grow, people will be more and more ready to listen to

what you really have to say. Once you reach there, do not forget one thing. Speak with

enthusiasm and flare, speak with energy and conviction.

Speak with power

Speak as if you were to speak about your life dream, your vision. Even if you speak

about basic things do that with style and allow yourself to loose in your words. People will

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get astounded by your aura. That is because people also communicate on deeper,

subconscious, level, and they can feel the real energy from the fake one. Speak the same

way you would speak when you explain about your dreams and your message will never be

a noise.

3. Do not lose your humanity

There is one very very very serious problem with all of us today. We lose our

humanity. We forget to communicate from our hearts. We do that mechanically. We value

quantity more that quality. We prefer to devote 3 mechanical minutes for each one of the

20 persons we want to reach rather than devoting 30 empathetic minutes to 2 people and

try to understand them from our heart and soul. The problem is that we do not really care.

Instead, we prefer to remain neutral…To rush throughout the World without stopping and

meditating the gifts around us for a minute.

The bad news here is that people are getting tired of mechanical and programmed

communication; they are tired of protocols and large numbers, they are fed up from the

ignorance of this world. If you want to be listened, do not treat your auditorium just as

auditorium. Instead, treat them as individuals as they are. That is why artist and singers are

so adored. They know how to communicate with large masses at a time but with emotions.

That is why politicians visit so many places during their electoral campaigns, do a lot of

handshakes and hug babies. To persuade the masses that they actually care. To establish

their right to talk.

Weirdos know that and they actually care. They get close, and they share the joy and

furthermore the pain, they embrace it as their own. They will attempt not to lose

themselves, but they will remain next to the other side until the very end.

This means:

Make you message relevant

Establish your self

Speak with power

Do not lose your humanity

… And I just can’t wait to see you becoming a Weirdo…

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THIS IS JUST THE

BEGINNING. IN

MEANWHILE…

LET’S CONNECT