If your content feels stale… read this

Try Robin Sharma’s unorthodox approach

Author

Paige Peterson
August 02, 2024

Are you a member of the 5 am club? I consider myself a part-time member… come on, working on it 😉

Paige back with the B2B Growth Newsletter, where we break down what one of the internet’s favorite creators is doing right so you can use their strategies to build raving fans for your company.

With over 20 million copies of his best-selling books on leadership and peak performance sold across 96+ nations, Robin Sharma has established himself as one of the top five leadership experts in the world.

But he’s doing something a little different than the other leadership experts out there — he’s looking outside of business and leadership to draw inspiration and share his stories. 

And it’s working. It can work for you, too. Let’s go…

I picked up the 5 AM Club with the expectation that it would look like most books in the personal and professional development category. So I was surprised to meet the Spellbinder, Artist, Entrepreneur and Billionaire among other characters. 

While the content of the book still fits well within its intended category, the style sets it apart. Readers learn Sharma’s methods by following these characters through a journey lined with mini-lessons. 

The 5 AM Club includes several unique lessons from Sharma, but it also draws heavily from others. All in all, the lessons aren’t that unique (we’ve all seen the research on the benefits of getting up early and the 20/20/20 rule). 

But by pulling from fables, allegory and tales and weaving his own purpose into a unique format, Sharma created a piece that resonated with millions. 

So how can marketers take a bit of this strategy to create more relatable content that really sticks? 

Simple answer: Look outside of your niche for inspiration. 

Another business leader, Shaan Puri, looks to comedians to inform his writing — and he’s damn good at it (take a quick look at Milk Road). 

When your inspiration relies solely on people in your space, you start to look and sound just like everyone else. This is where outside inspiration comes in. 

We use the Dream 10 Model 10 system shared by our good friend Jake Thomas at Creator Hooks to make sure we keep a competitive edge while still standing out. Ready to give it a try? Here’s a breakdown: 

Dream 10: 

  • Make a list of 10 accounts on your preferred platform that are currently reaching the audience you would like to reach

  • Note patterns, topics, and systems that are already resonating with your ICP

  • Create a list of things you can adapt to your own strategy, i.e., thumbnail styling, titling practices, hot topics — the list goes on.

Model 10: 

  • Make a list of 10 accounts you admire outside of your niche and ideal audience. 

  • These accounts should be successful in their own areas with evidence of audience-building skill and high affinity (hint: look at subscribers/followers, engagement, and growth)

  • Create a list of things you can borrow from these accounts for inspiration — maybe it’s writing style, production level, intros/outros, content structure, etc. 

The key to utilizing the Dream 10, Model 10 system is finding the balance between drawing inspiration from successful creators inside and outside your niche and ideal audience. Lean too heavily one way and you risk blending in. Lean too heavily on the other, and you might miss your audience entirely. Strike the balance and you tap into audience growth gold.

The takeaway: When you can pair inspiration from your niche and outside it with your own differentiator, you can truly stand out. Stop limiting yourself, start testing, and watch your audience grow 🌱

That’s it, ya’ll. Happy creating!

Paige Peterson
Newsletter Aficionado, Sweet Fish

In case you missed it…

When I’m not writing about your fav creators or crafting stories, you can catch me with my kids or trying to revive the plant I forgot to water… again🪴