This is a preview with random pages from my visual branding guide "Outstander". It's about helping you differentiate your online presence and getting the attention you deserve.

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2. When you’re NOT TRYING TO FIT IN
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you’re free to stand out
STAND OUT or DON’T BOTHER.
The web world doesn’t need
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another samey samey copycat.
What the world truly needs are
HUNGRY people like you
that want to create outstanding
work that blows people away.
It’s time to start this ruckus >>>
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3. www.marsdorian.com
THIS GUIDE WILL HELP YOU STAND OUT & SPREAD YOUR INFLUENCE ONLINE.
I’m Mars Dorian, a design/brand consultant, and I have worked my face off to
create this visual guide with endless luv inside. For years, I have helped biz
individuals and brands to differentiate themselves, and I have finally taken all
DON’T BE ONE OF the lessons and jammed ‘em into this guide. Booya.
THESE PITIFUL
CREATURES
Every single one of those tactics work, but you have to adjust them to your
personal style.
Hey, if I can do it, you can do it. And you can do it BETTER.
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Once you know how to play the game, you won’t be an overlooked
zombie that gets lost in the crowd. Time for some action >>>
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5. That’s where branding comes in.
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THE GRRREATEST ADVANTAGE OF BRANDING IS THAT IT HELPS
YOU TO STAND OUT AND BECOME MORE MEMORABLE.
And if you run a successful brand, you even stand out in an overcrowded market with
kick-ass competitors.
DON’T GET HUNG UP ON
THE WORD “BRAND”.
IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT,
BECAUSE IT SOUNDS
TOO CORPORATE-ISH,
CHOOSE W
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HATEVER FITS YOUR
STYLE.
I TOTALLY MADE UP THE
ROBOT “PRODUCT” TO
THE RIGHT.
EVEN THOUGH I DON’T
MENTION THE NAME OF
THE COMPANY, YOU CAN
PROBABLY GUESS IT.
THAT’S THE POWER OF
GOOOD BRANDING.
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7. 3 Major advantages of branding:
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1) You can charge higher prices.
When you build a strong brand, you can demand high(er) prices. There’s no one like you in the field,
and that makes you rare. Rarity results in lots of moolah.
2) Enjoy more trust in tough times.
When the economy is tanking and money’s tight, people prefer to give their hard-earned money to
the trusted & known brand rather than to average no-name. After all, you want the best for the money
you can spare.
3) Gain access to grrreat opportunities.
When you rock the market with your brand, the world pays attention.
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People will approach you with the most diverse offers: joint ventures, biz deals, collaborations and
invitations to events - seriously, space’s the limit here.
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8. www.marsdorian.com
A COOL NAME = Mars Dorian is not my real name. Well, it
FREE
ALMOST is - let’s say about 85 %. The
“rest” is changed to make it easier to
pronounce and cooler to sound. Yesss,
baby.
MARKETING Brand-wise, it has helped me stand out
from other online entrepreneurs and
bloggers.
I still get comments and messages
every week telling me how cool my
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name is.
Besides the ego boost, it’s also
enhancing the perception of my brand -
especially since I’m a creative
entrepreneur.
It cost me nothing to create, and it
needs no maintenance. Better yet - it
will help me differentiate myself until the
day I die.
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9. THE ONLY FORMULA YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER :
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CREATE
OUTSTANDING
VALUE
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IN THE MOST
UNIQUE WAY
POSSIBLE
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10. www.marsdorian.com
BIZ CARDS. Wha-at ? I thought this was about online. Yesss, but listen.
When I started my site, I didn’t have ANY business card. So whenever
YOUR STAND-OUT someone in the real world asked me for my contact data and website name,
I had to jot it down on some crappy crinkled paper.
TOOL IN THE OFFLINE When I handed it over, the person usually frowned at me and I knew -
WORLD. s/he was neither going to contact me nor check out my site.
Fail.
Fast forward today. I have finally created my biz card, and it’s rocking
HELLO, MY CARD’S NAME IS...
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my socks off. I now look professional and get people to make the WOW face.
Hell, I even practiced the movement of taking it out from my shiny metal
slipcase by watching James Bond movies. Booya.
More importantly - I actually get clients, new friends and
recommendations because of that shiny little thing.
And when I created it I remembered the most important function of the
card - the number one reason you have to keep in mind:
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11. FRONT
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Granted, it’s not the most amazing card
you have ever seen, but it does its job
and gets people’s full attention.
It’s fairly simple but looks unique -
I aimed for a little giggle by taking the
“stand out” literally. Humor always helps.
Also - it shows a cartoonish pic.
The same style they will see on my site.
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Your card and site should be consistent.
1) Make it look so different it breaks people’s half-asleep-autopilot.
You want to aim for that WTF effect on their faces. When you accomplish that,
they will put FULL attention on your card to see what it is actually about. For your FRONT:
2) Include your VALUE OFFER. It doesn’t have to be long, a simple line like
BE CLEAR &
mine will do the job. Just make sure that people KNOW what to get from you.
3) Use your brand colors. The red you see is the same on my website
(this red is a special print profile, so it looks slightly different). You want your
design to be visually identical with your website. CLEVER
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12. GET INSPIRED BY MY TRADEMARKS :
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ALWAYS BE BE ON A USE EDGY BE VISUAL LIKE
CREATIVE MISSION AND HUMOR HELL
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LEAD PEOPLE
BRAND MYSELF CREATE MY CONSTANTLY USE CURSE AND
WITH A FUNKY OWN RED, BLACK AND BE RAW
COMIC STYLE LANGUAGE WHITE
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13. WHY A
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MISSION
It’s the 21st century. Booya.
People are not satisified with facts & features anymore.
That’s too dull now.
Basic needs are met, at least in the western world, and
MATTERS (AND HOW TO
CRAFT YOURS)
we crave higher purposes. We want to belong and bring
sense to our lifes.
Think about it:
The brands we luv the most are the ones that emotionally
connect with us.
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And one reason of a strong connection is a mission, a
purpose that CONNECTS with us.
BTW - this is no kumbayo let’s hug the crap out of each
other. This is powerful stuff that can make a biiig impact.
MOVE ON >>>
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14. JOIN THE CAUSE
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Find your why - the true purpose behind what you do, is a powerful way to deeply
connect with your audience & clients.
“I SEE A GLORIOUS FUTURE for
makers that want to live & work This is my “why” - “using my (art)work to inspire people build epic shit online”
on their own terms by CREATING This revelation changed the way I treated my biz and my clients.
coool shit. “
Having a clearly defined purpose
attracts like-minded people that
want to work with you.
Most of the people I work with
approached me because of how
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my “mission” really connected
with them.
Now let’s help you
clarify your why.
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15. WHY DO ?
DO YOU
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The goal’s to have an aspiring purpose that’s bigger than yourself >
WHAT YOU DO a statement about human potential that EXCITES us.
1) Check out your past. What made you the person. Which belief was
always evident throughout your actions ? What’s the underlying “theme”
you have based your past actions on ? Clarify those vital moments of your
life and extract your “why” from that.
2) Turn it into a kick-ass line. For me, inspiring others was always a big
motivator in my life. I took that basic line and turned it into “using my art to
inspire people live and work on their own terms.”
Think about how you can turn your purpose into a single, clear line that
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shows what you stand for !
3) Base your philosophy around that line.
This line is both your “condensed” mission statement and your brand line
that acts as an attractor for like-minded people.
Everything you do & create from now on will be under the umbrella of your
BECAUSE belief. You will exactly know what you have to create & whom you will
i WANT TO attract with your core principle !
INSPIRE
THE HECK
OUT OF
PEOPLE...
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16. THE POWER OF
STORY (AND HOW TO TELL
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A GOOD ONE)
Storytelling is - and always will be - mankind’s favorite way of sharing
experiences & information. We told stories when we were smelly cavemen
hunting mammoths, and we’ll tell stories when we’re traveling with Google
Galactic to planet Mars. Heh.
Good stories emotionally connect and influence us. They’re the fairy
dust that bring magic into our mundane lives.
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Everything we buy is based on a story - when I’m buying an Apple
product, I’m buying into a stylish, creative lifestyle. When I’m getting
Puma shoes, I’m bringing funk and sporty trendiness into my life.
Like it or not, we’re suckers for stories, and if you get good at telling
YOURS, you can emotionally impact the right people.
Let’s clarify personal storytelling with an example >>
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17. www.marsdorian.com
Whether you’re an artist, internet marketer or fitness & health freak chances
SHOOTING FOR YA are your passion lies within an overcrowded market that’s stormed with
MARKET
INSANE competition.
You know it would make more sense to build a biz in another, less-crowded
market, but you DIE for your passion, and it’s really what you luv to do.
So what can you do ? Is it hopeless ? Should you pull the trigger ?
(AND HOW TO THRIVE IN A
OF COURSE NOT !
POPULAR ONE)
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There’s hope for ya.
It’s called shooting for the submarket.
READ ON >>
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18. AIM FOR THIS
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MAIN MARKET SUBMARKET
CROWDED LIKE HELL
ENDLESS POTENTIAL
Let’s say you want build a thriving online biz
in the fitness market. It’s overcrowded like
hell, and there’s not enough demand
anymore. Or is there ?
Enter Steve Kamb, the founder of
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nerdfitness.com
Instead of building another boring-ass me-
too fitness brand, he went for smaller
segment of the huuuge fitness market - the
nerd crowd, and catered his whole approach
towards them. Let’s have a look:
Tagline: Level up your life, every single day.
Style: Geeky with comicstyle images.
Topics that mix comics, James Bond and
Transformers with health obsession and
fitness is truly remarkable.
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You can have a funky & unique style
and still get ignored,
if the people in your group/market
share that style.
That’s why you have to
conquer the context in order
to stand out !
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WHY CONTEXT AND
With so much insane competition going on
worldwide, it seems that every niche and
market is overcrowded like a Star Wars pre-
miere.
NOT CONTENT IS THE NEW
Right ? WRONG.
Similar to the “shoot for the submarket”
TRUE KING
method, crafting a killer context is your
gateway in succeeding in an overcrowded
niche. Let’s get to it >>>
K
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20. CHECK OUT THE FULL
www.marsdorian.com
OUTSTANDER GUIDE @
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MARSDORIAN.COM
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