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Almost everyone that’s read a marketing book has encountered the term “USP.”
USP stands for Unique Selling Proposition (or Position, or Point). It’s also your “Elevator Speech” and you need to be able to say it within the time it takes to go 9 floors. In other words, keep it really short. Three or four sentences.
That’s the most recent lesson that I completed for my copywriting course. Writing my USP.
My instructor said, “You nailed it!” Yeah!
Your USP should position yourself uniquely in your market in order to sell — and it’s not about you at all! This is not the place to try to be clever or mysterious. It’s not what you sell. It’s what what you sell does for your customer. It’s how what you sell benefits your customer… and you’ll need to prove it.
Now, this was included in the free preview for everyone interested in the copywriting course, so I’ believe it’s okay to share it with you today. Here’s the formula…
We help [this group of people]… do [this benefit(s)]… [better, quicker, easy, cheaper, etc] than [competitor or common wisdom].
Here’s what I wrote…
I’m the gal that shows small business owners and entrepreneurs how to fire their web developer, take control of their site, and save thousands of dollars in the process. Plus I make it simple and fun because it’s an online, interactive workshop where I hold their hand through each step for 4-weeks. It doesn’t even matter how bad they’re suffering with “technophobia”.
Now it’s your turn. You need to write out your USP and get very clear. This will help you much more than you can imagine. It will be the basis of a lot of writing you will need to do for your business.
Don’t take it lightly! This is an important exercise.
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Twitter: evelynbrooks
says:
Great pitch, Deb – I agree, you nailed it. It’s very useful to have that “cheat sheet” to fill in the blanks. Thanks so much for your post!
Evelyn
(#blog30)
.-= Evelyn Roberts Brooks´s last blog ..What’s your m-m-m-m-m factor? =-.
Twitter: melaniekissell
says:
“TWO THUMBS UP” on your fabulous USP, Deb! It’s concise, clear, and defines all the wonderful benefits you provide to your target audience. Give yourself a humongous pat on the back!
I think you might agree …
Crafting a USP is much more difficult than some small business owners imagine. I was asked, very recently, to write a brief description of my business and guess what? It took me a couple of hours to polish up my rough draft.
Terrific information!
Melanie
(#blog30 partner in crime)
.-= Melanie Kissell´s last blog ..Teachable Moments From Silly Odds & Ends On My Desk =-.
Deb,
Thanks. Good post. It’s always challenging to boil down our gifts into a short succinct statement, then reframe them as beneficial and results-oriented for our clients. Nice job on yours.
Your #blog30 collaborator,
Bobbye Middendorf
The Write Synergies Guru
.-= Bobbye Middendorf´s last blog ..Content Plus Community Blog Challenge Post 15 =-.
Hi Deb,
This blog post is right up my alley. I thought the way you expressed your USP was great, and I’m going to try the exercise myself. Thanks for sharing the information.
Thanks also for sending me the info on how to RT. I’m definitely technophobic and what seems easy to some, can be quite daunting to others.
Barb
#blog30
Awesome post! I worked on my USP at a workshop in Vegas in January, but I keep changing it. I guess I’M still changing.
Maybe I’ll get it nailed soon. Keep up the encouragement.
Jeanne
.-= Jeanne Kolenda´s last blog ..Summer Camp for Marketers, Only Better and Longer =-.