by Time for this month’s Clarity Question to help you create more effective and unique sales messaging for your biz.
I’ll jump straight into this one, as I’m currently wrapping up a busy work-cation in Tel Aviv…
(…where, in addition to my usual writing duties, I’ve also spent some time modelling knitted socks for an ecommerce photoshoot – true story…)
…but I’m also including a link later in this post that I’m 99.9999999% sure will make your day instantly brighter.
It’s kind of a cool gift I found and wanted to share, and it has nothing to do with marketing – but everything to do with a lifetime of unique, rewarding work.
More on that in a moment. But first:
This month’s Clarity Question is something I ask all my clients, regardless of what they’re selling, before writing ANY copy.
It’s a tool you can use to better understand WHY different types of people buy from you, and to help your marketing appeal to your most impatient prospects.
And it’s a question you MUST ask yourself whenever you’re launching a product or creating an offer.
Here ‘tis:
“What alternatives has my ideal prospect tried before they see this sales message?”
Now, this isn’t necessarily about competition per se…
As you know, when you’re truly ‘selling unique’, you don’t really have competitors, because no other business has the same thing as you.
(They don’t have YOU, for one.)
But there are alternatives your audience might have tried, in order to get the same desired result that brought them your way – and you need to consider these when you advertise.
Every. single. time.
Whether you’re creating a short ad, a website, a long-form sales page, whatever.
You always need to ask this ‘Alternatives Question’ first.
Think about it:
Someone who’s already tried and failed to get what your product helps them with will view your message differently to someone who just started experiencing the problem today.
And the landscape of your market affects how aware, how skeptical and how receptive your prospects are too…
Perhaps there are a bunch of DIY options out there, designed to appeal to the frugal or self-sufficient – but that people get tired of when they want something easy or more reliable.
Or at the other end of the scale, there might be fully automated or luxury services that attract the loaded (or lazy) – but perhaps don’t offer great bang for their big bucks.
Think about how your message should appeal to folks who’ve already been burned by experiences like these…
What will get their attention?
What do you need to say or show to win their trust?
How might you create empathy with them, and demonstrate how your service is different?
When you start with the ‘Alternatives Question’, you can use it to find ways to better express your uniqueness, and connect more deeply with the impatient, the skeptical and the jaded.
(If you need help exploring how this question impacts YOUR sales messaging, head over here.)
Ok, time for the fun freebie…
What do the following stone-cold classics have in common:
Bridge Over Troubled Water…
Good Vibrations…
These Boots Were Made For Walking…
Be My Baby (probably the greatest pop song EVER)…
Wichita Lineman…
Mr Tambourine Man…
Then He Kissed Me…
California Dreamin’…
Strangers In The Night…
I Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)…
Can’t Help Falling In Love (Elvis’s version, no less)…
…and even the 1960s Batman TV theme tune?
The answer is a guy called Hal Blaine.
He was the drummer on each of these immortal songs – and also on around 150 US top 10 hits, including SIX CONSECUTIVE Grammy Record Of The Year winners.
The list of hits he played on is ridiculous!
As part of the famous ‘Wrecking Crew’ of crack session players, Blaine drummed on thousands of sessions and singles from the 50s onwards, helping shape the musical world we know and love.
Sadly, Hal Blaine passed away a few days ago at the age of 90, but he leaves as wonderful a recorded legacy as any musician I can think of.
This week I’ve heard and read so many tributes to him that really brought home the scale of his contribution to popular music.
When you hear ‘Be My Baby’ and that distinctive drum sound Phil Spector went on to use on so many records, you’re hearing Hal Blaine create something unique, lasting and joyful which touched millions.
I hope this amazing Hal Blaine playlist inspires you to express your uniqueness through your own work, now and in future.
