Verdict*: Buy at full price

I was at a MicroConf meetup last fall and they had a few copies of Stand The F*ck Out from an earlier event. With a title like that, how could I not pick it up. Love me some subversive marketing.

I think the overall thesis of the book is that in order to stand out in the middle of a sea of AI slop, you need to be intentional about standing the fuck out. (And then, fine. Feed it to the slop generators. But keep a human in the loop.)

Is there any ground breaking insights in the book? Maybe if you haven’t been thinking about marketing and branding for years and have two degrees in entrepeneurship. However, my marketing classes woulda been way more exciting if this book was used. And it absolutely could have been. Follow the framework and final assignment is the completed canvas with all the information filled in…

That still sounds a bit ‘meh’ there Adam, why the ‘Buy at full price’ verdict? It’s tone and style were incredibly fun. And it did give me a bunch of homework to do on Events In Plain Site. And there is a bonus if you get the bundled edition direct from him – access to a bunch of super useful templates and such.

Here’s some random underlines I made – because I am ‘that guy’ with resource books.

  • Methodology
    • Stage 1: Insight Foraging – actually, real foraging, not AI-driven foraging.
    • Stage 2: Unique Positioning – why would people choose you?
    • Stage 3: Distinctive Brand – increase the odds of being discovered
    • Stage 4: Continuous Reach: – reach the right people, at the right time with the right stuff
  • If we’re being honest, I skipped Stage 1 and started to build as I scratched an itch. Which means figuring out my positioning is hard. I have differenciation nailed, but that is subtly different than positioning.
  • Positioning is subcategorized to Job, Alternatives, Struggles, Segment and Category
  • The job is about the segment’s goals, not your own. (Oops.)
  • Find out who you are actually competing against. (At Contractor Compliance we actually competed against A) the Status Quo and B) Excel and not ‘other companies in our space’. Knowing that shaped everything else.)
  • Frame struggles through the SOS framework; Stop Obstacle Situation
  • Don’t confuse struggles with jobs.
  • A segment is a group of people you can serve using your distinct advange against the alternatives
  • Use the RAGE framework to measure a segment; Revenue Access Growth Enjoyment
  • Does this segment make you happy and bring you joy? If not, find another one.
  • There is a fine line between being Disruptive and being Distinctive
  • Stage 3 has 4 subcategories; Monster, POV, Spices, Assets
  • Monster in this case is ‘a semi-fictional enemy representing some of the problems the segment faces’. Underlines-per-section ratio is highest here. I want to say the Events In Plain Site is Gatekeepers. Be that internal to a community or Facebook or Meetup or other walled garden.
  • You can’t stay in your shell and stand the fuck out
  • [AI] makes spicy food less spicy – paraphrased from Seth Godin
  • Brands that stand out have almost no difference between what they say, how they’re percieved and what they do. (I say gatekeepers are the monster, but do provide gatekeeping tools under the guise of safety.)

Also, bonjour, bonjour.

* Scale is ‘Buy at full price’, ‘Buy on sale’, ‘Buy if it basically drops in your lap’, ‘Don’t buy’. Which, incidentally is the scale I use for shoe purchases. Though shoes have a scarcity metric applied to them as well.