In the last installment I wrote about strategic alliances. The way to make strong alliances is to fully understand your Unique Selling Proposition.
“Your what?” I hear you ask.
Well, your products fill a niche. Maybe not exclusively, but never the less you are connected to people who want your product or need your service.
You compete for their attention with others that offer similar products.
Other players in your market are looking to out perform you and keep you at bay so that they have a larger slice of the pie.
Your Unique Selling Proposition is the thing that sets you apart from your competition.
Copywriters look to exploit this point about your product so that you appear to be the best and/or the only option.
Let’s explore this for a moment. A way of creating this USP is to try to explain to another person what it is that you do in a very short and concise sentence. It’s sort of a compelling definition.
This definition needs to encapsulate as many of the features as you can without becoming complicated and still leave the person without a doubt as to what you sell.
“Don’t be fooled, this is not a slogan”. As John Carlton puts it, “You are taking all of the vast details of your product or service or offer, and aiming to winnow it all down to ONE PITHY SENTENCE (two at the most) that is clear, concise, and has the force of salesmanship fused into every word.”
So succinctly put John. I personally cannot describe a USP any better than this.
Once you have created the definition, look it over and see if there is anything which sets you apart from your competition. If there’s not, try to figure out how you can rephrase your definition so that you are perceived to be exclusive and individual.
Follow this line of thinking until you can clearly see what sets you apart and then re-create your definition.
Your copywriter is the perfect person to help you with this as he/she will have done this many times for their previous clients. Their experience will be an invaluable resource to you at this point.
OK, so far I have outlined the things that a copywriter can do for your business to get greater results.
As you can see a copywriter will provide you with much of the oomph and zing you need to be heard above the noise which constitutes your market place.
In the following installments I outline a number of things which will make your experience of using a copywriter more pleasant and less stressful. These things relate to the expectations which both parties should have before they enter into a working relationship.
