What part of your business doesn’t seem like work to you at all? That’s the stuff you’re good at, isn’t it? That could very well be what makes you special and unique in your business.
In your marketing, you need to have a clearly defined USP, or unique selling proposition. This is a short statement of what you do and what makes you different, special, better than the competition.
In the photo example, if you make spaghetti and you’re a Mexican Chiuahua, you’ve probably got the best Italo-Mexican restaurant in town. There’s no question you’re different from the others, but if you don’t spell it out, it may go unnoticed.
Your statement should roll off your tongue whenever someone asks what you do, or what your company does. It’s equally important to have it clear in your mind each and every time you write content designed to market your business. Especially in your blog posts.
If you’re not frequently reminding your readers how and why you’re good at what you do, you’re missing a chance to influence them to buy from you or hire you. What may seem obvious to the chihuahua who makes great Italian spaghetti, may not be so obvious to visitors… let me elaborate.
For example, I’m working with a client right now who’s an executive coach, speaker, author, and all around smart good guy. He’s hired me to do some blog posts for him, to increase his blog post frequency, to supplement what he’s already posting.
I’m experimenting with this assignment. I’ve got plenty of articles suitable for re-purposing and posting on leadership topics. And, I’m also creating new posts, based on several hot business books, and writing in his voice. I’ve discovered I’m really good at this.
I can quickly read and summarize concepts from books, and compose them into easily scannable and readable nuggets.
I enjoy it because I’m good at it, and my years of experience writing in the field of leadership development makes it fairly straightforward for me to do.
How does this translate into a Unique Selling Proposition? First, I write down what I’m good at:
I’m good at writing and editing business leadership articles and blog posts, but I’m not good at writing about finances or automotive topics or many other topics.
I’m a trained journalist and a psychologist, which makes me insightful about readers. It also helps to understand the topics I’m writing about.
The next step would be to craft a short statement that encapsulates who I am, what I do, and what makes me good/different/unique.
Here’s a stab at a sample USP for myself: “Patsi Krakoff, Psy.D., aka The Blog Squad… I provide results-oriented writing and editing services for online content marketing for coaches and consultants.”
Hmmm, not too catchy, but it gets the job done of describing what I do and who I am. I think I need to work on this to make it better.
What do you think, any suggestions? What about your own USP, have you developed one that works for you?
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