Are You In Search of the Unique
Are You In Search of the Unique
“I really need to find a unique product to sell by mail or on the Internet” - or -
“My product doesn't have anything unique about it” - or -
“How can I make my product more unique.”
The first thing I tell them is to ‘go back and read the book,’ again. — Not my book, Dan Kennedy's book (or newsletter).
Dan Kennedy, as you should know, is the chief proponent of using a “Unique Selling Point” ... or “Unique Selling Proposition” (either way, I’ll use USP from now on) ... to market your products or services. But, Dan does not say you have to have a ‘unique’ product, or find something ‘unique’ about your product, or make your product more ‘unique.’
It is the “selling point” (or “selling proposition”) itself that has to be “unique” ... which may, or may not, have to do with your product or service being unique.
As an example: Coffee is pretty much coffee ... isn't it? But, Folgers is “Mountain Grown” coffee; while Maxwell House coffee is “Good To The Last Drop.”
Whoa! You say “Mountain Grown” coffee is unique.
Wrong ... caffeine breathe. All coffee is grown in the mountains ... even Folgers ... because that's the only place coffee plants grow.
Folgers used “Mountain Grown” as its USP for their coffee back before most people knew coffee was only grown in the mountains. — Beyond that, once Folgers used that USP, no other coffee company would dare say their coffee was grown in the mountains, too. It would sound too much like they were trying to copy Folgers.
Back when I was in the banking business, the USP I used for our bank was “We Never Forget What Gives Money Its Value ... Somebody Exchanged Work For It!”
When you begin creating a marketing program for your products (or services), before you do anything else, you need to make two lists.
The first list is your Fact List. — In that list, you annotate everything about the properties of your product ... what it’s made of ... where it comes from ... what it does ... what it doesn't do ... how it does what it does (Sometimes, I go so far as to take a product apart and separately list every component in it.)
Once you have your Fact List, you need to make a Benefits List. — I usually make two Benefits Lists. One is labeled “Tangible Benefits” and the other list is “Intangible Benefits.” — The “Tangible” list may include the words ‘light weight,’ while the “Intangible” list may say, ‘you can lift it with one finger.’ — I try to write at least one benefit ... preferably more ... for every item on the Fact List.— Get the idea?
When you have all your Facts and Benefits written down, read those lists over and over until something ‘unique’ hits you between the eyes. It might be a phrase from your Benefits List ... like “Good To The Last Drop” ... or a descriptive from your Fact List ... like “Mountain Grown.”
Remember, it is the “selling point” that has to be ‘unique’ ... not necessarily your product or service. — But, you might not want to carry it too far.
Although I have wracked my feeble brain ... squeezed my little grey cells until they cried ... I can't for the life of me remember who it was who commented on an ad they had read. I can't remember whether it was in one of Johnny Carson's monologues; or some stand-up comic's routine, or if the ad being commented on was even real but, the punch line; supposedly from the ad itself, was ...
"Made From Real Plastic!"
That might be carrying the concept of the USP just a step too far. Then again, it might just be ‘unique’ enough to grab the reader's attention and get them to read the rest of the ad.
---
Are You In Search of the Unique - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Straw's Website.
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Here lately, I've had a number of calls saying ...
“I really need to find a unique product to sell by mail or on the Internet” - or -
“My product doesn't have anything unique about it” - or -
“How can I make my product more unique.”
The first thing I tell them is to ‘go back and read the book,’ again. — Not my book, Dan Kennedy's book (or newsletter).
Dan Kennedy, as you should know, is the chief proponent of using a “Unique Selling Point” ... or “Unique Selling Proposition” (either way, I’ll use USP from now on) ... to market your products or services. But, Dan does not say you have to have a ‘unique’ product, or find something ‘unique’ about your product, or make your product more ‘unique.’
It is the “selling point” (or “selling proposition”) itself that has to be “unique” ... which may, or may not, have to do with your product or service being unique.
As an example: Coffee is pretty much coffee ... isn't it? But, Folgers is “Mountain Grown” coffee; while Maxwell House coffee is “Good To The Last Drop.”
Whoa! You say “Mountain Grown” coffee is unique.
Wrong ... caffeine breathe. All coffee is grown in the mountains ... even Folgers ... because that's the only place coffee plants grow.
Folgers used “Mountain Grown” as its USP for their coffee back before most people knew coffee was only grown in the mountains. — Beyond that, once Folgers used that USP, no other coffee company would dare say their coffee was grown in the mountains, too. It would sound too much like they were trying to copy Folgers.
Back when I was in the banking business, the USP I used for our bank was “We Never Forget What Gives Money Its Value ... Somebody Exchanged Work For It!”
When you begin creating a marketing program for your products (or services), before you do anything else, you need to make two lists.
The first list is your Fact List. — In that list, you annotate everything about the properties of your product ... what it’s made of ... where it comes from ... what it does ... what it doesn't do ... how it does what it does (Sometimes, I go so far as to take a product apart and separately list every component in it.)
Once you have your Fact List, you need to make a Benefits List. — I usually make two Benefits Lists. One is labeled “Tangible Benefits” and the other list is “Intangible Benefits.” — The “Tangible” list may include the words ‘light weight,’ while the “Intangible” list may say, ‘you can lift it with one finger.’ — I try to write at least one benefit ... preferably more ... for every item on the Fact List.— Get the idea?
When you have all your Facts and Benefits written down, read those lists over and over until something ‘unique’ hits you between the eyes. It might be a phrase from your Benefits List ... like “Good To The Last Drop” ... or a descriptive from your Fact List ... like “Mountain Grown.”
Remember, it is the “selling point” that has to be ‘unique’ ... not necessarily your product or service. — But, you might not want to carry it too far.
Although I have wracked my feeble brain ... squeezed my little grey cells until they cried ... I can't for the life of me remember who it was who commented on an ad they had read. I can't remember whether it was in one of Johnny Carson's monologues; or some stand-up comic's routine, or if the ad being commented on was even real but, the punch line; supposedly from the ad itself, was ...
"Made From Real Plastic!"
That might be carrying the concept of the USP just a step too far. Then again, it might just be ‘unique’ enough to grab the reader's attention and get them to read the rest of the ad.
---
Are You In Search of the Unique - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Straw's Website.
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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