If you’ve never heard of Gypsy Rose Lee, she was a burlesque dancer. Let’s get that right out front. I was watching the movie Gypsy recently, and there was a scene where the experienced dancers were showing her the ropes and what really mattered to get more attention (and more work).

Use your gimmick to stand out

What made the difference?  Was it talent? Nah. That’s not what counts. “You gotta get a gimmick.” For example, one had blinking lights attached to her costume.  Another woman had a bugle. A third did ballet steps in between bumps and grinds (so mild by today’s standards).

The point? Not that I’m recommending you walk around with a bugle, or decorate your web site with blinking lights.

Marketing gimmick example

Do something that nobody else in your field can match. Something, that gets people talking about you, or makes you recognizable wherever you are on the web or in real life.

Sonia Simone has pink hair. Pat Ferdinandi has a parrot. Other people take pictures of themselves wearing ornithopter glasses (ahem).

Or, it could be something about how you interact with your customers.  I buy barrettes from France Luxe (great for thick hair).  If you buy three at once, they send you a fourth one for free. Everything is also beautifully wrapped in tissue paper.

Warby Parker donates a pair of eyeglasses for each pair they sell. Tom’s Shoes does the same thing with footwear.

I know of a web developer who adds a free favicon URLlogo image to every website he creates.

What’s your gimmick?