You’re a creator looking to make it.
So you sit down and follow all of the great advice that you find on LinkedIn and Twitter.
You create lots of content that you think has value. You even have a paid workshop that helps people get their own websites set up. And while you are getting followers and the odd purchase here and there, you expected more.
You’re told that you need to be patient and that slow and steady growth is the way to go, but what is the timeline for patience?
3 months? 6 months? 2 years?!
There could be a number of issues but chances are you aren’t designing for extremes. Instead, you’re trying to attack the middle.
What does this mean?
Before I answer that we need to look at the Ignored Few.
The Ignored Few
In every niche/industry, there is a group of people that are ignored.
To make this concrete we need an example.
Let’s go with Creators with 2 kids or more (that’s me).
A lot of the advice given by the gurus is that you need to go into Monk Mode and spend 4 hours of focused time working on your craft.
But how does that work when you have young kids that are running around and banging on your door?
Do you wake up at 2 am to get those 4 hours in before they wake up at 6? Or maybe you work from 9 pm – 1 am after they go to bed.
If that sounds ridiculous it’s because it is.
So they see all of this advice that doesn’t pertain to them at all.
They are the Ignored Few.
Every time they see a piece of advice they’re thinking, “But what about me?“
One day, a very handsome fella (*cough*) shows up on their Twitter feed.
They would have you believe you need to go into Monk Mode to succeed. But you have kids.
You’re closer to Drunk Mode than Monk Mode.
I have 3 kids (all under 6!) and here is how I manage to make 7 figures a year while keeping my sanity and being there for my children.
What do you think happens to the Ignored Few?
They perk up. They begin to pay attention.
Some may even smile because someone is talking to them. It’s about time!
They follow the handsome man. They subscribe to his newsletter. They read his site.
And then, they buy his offers.
But you might be thinking that this is just a small group of people. How will that help you when you want to catch most of the fish in the sea?
And this is where designing for extremes is beneficial to you and your audience.
Why Designing for Extremes Makes More Money
The offer the devilishly good-looking man made for his audience is built around spending less time creating and more time enjoying freedom.
While the audience in general is being told to go into Monk Mode and always set their alarm for Grind Time, the other fellow is focused on helping those that have a limited amount of time.
Even though he targets Creators with kids, wouldn’t his advice work for all Creators? It would.
But because he’s designing for an extreme his audience is filled with Superfans.
And Superfans like to talk because they want others to find the joy that they found. They believe others should have the same experience.
So they tell their non-parenting friends about the gentleman and their friends see that his advice works for them as well. Now he is no longer talking to the Ignored Few.
He’s talking to a lot more.
He stands out because his message is different.
He chose to take the Contrarian Path to Success.
By choosing to design for the extreme, he was able to design for everyone which sounds counter-intuitive. But if you can make a can opener for someone with only 3 fingers, then you’ve made an amazing tool for most people.
When it comes to marketing, nothing is more extreme than creating a Feel Good Funnel. It flies in the face of what you’re told you need to do to make money.
How to Find the Extreme
A lot of the time, the extreme is you.
So that’s always a good place to start. If you find the advice that’s being given by the Industry Leaders doesn’t apply to you, then you’re part of the Ignored Few.
But what if the advice does apply to you and someone else is really good at giving it? They have a larger audience who listens and buys their offers.
What can you do?
You can look further down the Journey to see if something is missing.
Here are just some random examples to spark ideas:
- TikTok Growth for People Over 40.
- Making Money With a List of 100 People.
- Yoga for People With Extreme Back Pain.
- Knitting for Men.
- Building a Garden in Your 1-Bed Apartment.
The list could go on and on.
There is always some part of the audience that feels like they aren’t being heard. The second you can make them feel heard they will listen to you and only you.
Being You Is Enough
I’ve helped a lot of people in the health niche find success. The challenge is that you always feel as though everything in health has already been talked about unless you come across some new discovery.
But you want to know what one of my successful students does? She helps women over 40 transform their bodies.
Melissa Neill has a bikini body and although she’s not trying to get women over 40 on her level, seeing her makes the Ignored Few listen. And here’s the thing, it’s not that her advice is brand new.
She follows best practices like other health gurus. But because the message is coming from her it’s viewed as unique by some people.
Melissa chose an audience to speak to that others were ignoring and it’s worked to the tune of making over 5 figures a month.
Why Apple Won
There are a ton of different analyses you could provide for why Apple won. And there is no ONE true reason, but a collection of many.
One of them is the fact that they stuck with their Ignored Few, Creatives. While every other computer company was creating computers for the masses, Apple stuck with Creatives.
Because of this they always stood out and more importantly, they kept their Superfans. With the right moves, Apple started to bring on more Superfans outside of the typical Creative crowd.
The moment they start to move away from trying to reach the Creatives will be the moment they lose their status.
Guts & Consistency
This approach is easy to execute but not easy to stick with. Having to reach your Ignored Few can feel like screaming at a person at a concert that is on the other side of the stadium.
That’s why when starting off you have to go over to them. Talk to them. Let them know you exist.
You can’t hope and pray that the algorithm will help you out. The algorithm only becomes your friend when it feels like it can get something out of you.
Better Messaging. Better Offers.
The truth is that in today’s world, I don’t think you have a choice but to design for extremes. Designing for the middle automatically puts you in a losing position.
Find your extreme and serve them. But how do you know if it’s going to work?
If what you do for the extreme is going to level up everyone around them as well, then you’re on to something. But first, make sure the extremes get the help they need along with the results.
Once that happens, you’ll begin to see how quickly things move.