Ask Ash: 'How Can I Stand Out Online?'

You don't have to be a douche. ͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­ Forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]() for more [Ask Ash: 'How Can I Stand Out Online?']( Great news, you don't have to be a douche. [Ash Ambirge]( Mar 28   [READ IN APP](   This is my weekly advice column, “Ask Ash,” where I answer reader questions about how to make a damn good living from anywhere in the world. ONWARD! [Upgrade to paid]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Ash, I’m really excited to (finally) be taking the leap and quitting my job and starting a career I’ve secretly wanted to start for a long time: interior design. Ever since the development of e-design, and remote design companies like Havenly, I know I can create a career doing what I love online. (And from Amsterdam! Or Stockholm! Or San Francisco!) The only thing that makes me nervous is the fact that there are soooo many interior designers out there—why would anyone pick me? I’m struggling to wrap my brain around a strategy for how to stand out from the crowd. Do you have any advice?! Signed, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit --------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Your note made me laugh! I’m going to start signing my emails with “Fish Hater Fish Hater Fish Hater.” You know, for extra emphasis. (Even though I still really want to be [one of those chic bitches who gingerly slurp down oysters]( Firstly, HUGE congrats on this big, fat, life-affirming decision. Isn’t it great when you actually start taking your own dreams seriously? How many times do we talk ourselves out of the things we want? There’s always a reason why “it won’t work,” which is usually a bunch of made-up bullshit we’ve decided is true. “Why would anyone pick me???” is a FAMOUS one. It’s like, babe, why wouldn’t they? Someone’s gonna get hired—why wouldn’t it be you??? Of course, that doesn’t negate the need for smart business strategy, which is what you’re asking for here. Because, yes, you are right: there ~are~ plenty of interior designers, and you ~do~ have plenty of competition, and everyone’s out there posting the same Instagram Reel, of the same bookshelf, with the same picture frame hanging in between two shelves, with the same Golden Doodle, and the same French instrumental bistro music, and the same Moroccan-inspired carpet from Ruggable. Eventually, it all blends together. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all. And that does create a problem, because: how does a customer choose? When there’s not any distinction, and everyone’s just coming and going, and all of it is very samey-samey, how can they know that you’re THE ONE? Enter: the need for a backbone. Which I really wish more people in business would get. Most people, when striking it out on their own, make the very fatal mistake of peeking over their competitor’s shoulders to see what they’re doing, and how they’re doing it. They don’t want to seem amateur hour, so they mimic what they see being done. This pricing, this package, this set-up. They figure that if they’ve had success doing it this way, then it’s probably The Way™️ to do it. But— Doing what everyone else is doing doesn’t make you invincible, it makes you invisible. Because hear this— PEOPLE DON’T WANT YOU TO BE PERFECT. THEY WANT YOU TO BE INTERESTING. No one cares if you do everything perfectly, if your packages are priced perfectly, if your website is designed perfectly, if your intake form is sent perfectly, if your entire process is perfect. NOBODY CARES. Everybody thinks people care, but they don’t! What they do care about, however, is being excited. ~This~ is how people decide. The more you can excite someone, the easier it becomes to get the sale. (This is sounding sexual, isn’t it.) That’s because you are no longer competing on “who can do the job,” (lots of people can match wallpaper and paint) but rather, “who can do something wonderful.” We want to work with people doing wonderful things. Interesting things. Fascinating things. Fun things. Case in point: [THIS FRIGGING PHOTOGRAPHER.]( He’s a dude. In Tennessee. Shooting portraits. Which is not unique at all. But, you know what IS unique about him?????? ???? ??????? ?????????????? !!!!!!! The fascinating way he’s offering his services. He’s doing something WILD called “[60-Second Photoshoots]( And, omg, as soon as I saw this, I came. Please click and brace yourself. [promisetangeman]( A post shared by [@promisetangeman]( This is one hell of a concept. And that, my friend, is the secret to standing out in your industry, right here: now, he is no longer “just a photographer.” Now he’s the “60-second photographer.” And do you know how many competitors he’s got in that business? None. And you know how many people are going to remember him for it? All. Wrapping your work into a concept is one of the smartest things you can do for your business in terms of standing out from the crowd, *and* becoming the most memorable person in the room, *and* exciting the hell out of your customers. It’s the three-knuckle punch of marketing! I just made that up, but it sure sounded good. This is how you elevate your work. This is how you get seen. This is how you make a splash and get people to line up with their credit card in hand. This is how you market like crazy without having to market like crazy. You’ve built the word-of-mouth right into your work—and this is a great example. Look at me, right here, telling YOU about this now. I bet this guy books a ton of new business, just from me talking about him in this newsletter. He didn’t have to scream. He didn’t have to shout. He didn’t have to dance. He didn’t have to push himself on people, or do weird desperate things, or lower his prices, or work for pennies. He just needed to make his work interesting. (And take the time, care, and effort to do so.) Make your work interesting, and the money will follow. Excite people, and the money will follow. Make it fun, and the money will follow. Make it memorable, and the money will follow. And then call me when you’re a bazillionaire. Except instead of signing your emails with “Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit…” It’s gonna be “Rich, Rich, Rich, Rich, Rich.” [Upgrade to paid]( You’re currently a free subscriber to The Middle Finger Project with Ash Ambirge. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. [Upgrade to paid](   [Like]( [Comment]( [Restack](   © 2024 Ash Ambirge 177 Huntington Ave Ste 1703, PMB 64502 Boston, Massachusetts 02115 [Unsubscribe]() [Get the app]( writing]()