How Creators Can Outshine Their Competition With 1 Simple “Trick”
What a comic book taught me about standing out
Last week I bought my first comic book. I never read one before, so I didn’t know what I was looking for. I skimmed through the comic shelf full of colourful titles. They had Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, vampire heroes and other Japanese fictions. Nothing piqued my interest.
Then I saw it: “ROOSTER FIGHTER.”
“What’s that?” The cover featured a drawing of a large, mad rooster’s face glowing in red. I grabbed the book, read a few pages, and bought it 10 seconds later.
The allure of the unexpected
The reason “ROOSTER FIGHTER” caught my attention is simple- It blended elements of unpredictability:
1) The combination of words was odd. What does a rooster have to do with fighting. Lol.
2) The context was perfect. “ROOSTER FIGHTER” doesn’t fit in with your usual Supa Heroz comics.
3) The visual was intriguing. A mad rooster painted in glowing red isn’t something you see every day.
All the above served as the ultimate pattern interrupt. The human brain is wired to notice things that deviate from the norm. It’s a survival mechanism that helps us quickly identify potential environmental threats or changes.
When something “sticks out like a sore thumb”, it snags our attention.
Attractive raw honesty
Years ago, I stumbled upon Jon Buchan’s “charming” method for cold emails. It’s characterized by unusual honesty, extreme statements, and even self-effacing lines.
For example, he’d write to prospects, “I got your details from a list” or “I wanted to introduce myself in a way that shows I’m interesting.” You wouldn’t expect a salesperson to admit those things, and that’s why they elicit a response.
I see those types of hooks on Linkedin all the time:
- “At 17, I was depressed and scraped parking lots for change.”
- “Anyone else gets irritated by people’s certainty? 🤬”
These lines are too honest to scroll past. The beauty about it is you can mimic these hooks by asking yourself, “What am I worried others will judge me for?” and then saying those things out loud.
Conclusion
The unexpected catches people’s attention and serves as the perfect pattern interrupt. Consider the usual context in which people consume your product or content and build something that sticks out. One way to apply that method to organic content is through raw honesty
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