Do You Have a Copywriting USP?

For a copywriter, differentiation can be as simple as giving yourself (or your business) a catchy name.

Of course it also helps to have a good back-story and tagline.

I just finished writing a free report that includes a section on the subject. I'll be making it available soon.

Alex

Actually, you don't have to.

Once again, the proof is about you.

I'll give you an example to illustrate my point.

I was called in to help a business owner new to web design.

He wasn't skilled in it.
Was in a market which had web design firms with websites loaded with their work,
loaded with well-known brands and loaded with testimonials.

As far as I knew, my client didn't even have a website.

The ad was geared to those that were looking to buy a website but hadn't decided on who.

So we couldn't use samples, testimonials or brand name dropping.

What I did was be the most helpful to a buyer by making sure a buyer
would not make a mistake.

The fear of making a mistake on something you know little about and
not throw-away money was the strongest emotion I anchored the message to.

He closed 25k worth of new business 3 days of that ad going live.
No discounts or trials given.

Once again, being the most helpful when a buyer is most in need trumps
all sorts of normal persuasion and influence norms.

That ad went on to be the most ripped off ad for web design over the internet,
has been running for 4 years as of 1 August.

Best,
Ewen

P.S.That's just one example off the top of my head, I have others.

The first proof comes from proving to yourself that you can undertake the task at hand.

Building your skills and learning your craft usually associated with having a good mentor or employer.

It does help to have a track record but really all most clients care about is what you are going to do for them.

What is in it for them.

There needs to be some assumption that someone has either studied or worked under someone with more experience than them and this would be an unspoken assumption that many people would make of any young new business owner who exudes confidence.

The fact that someone is stepping up and offering their service is often enough to convince many people that the person offering the service has some experience.

There is always a tendency when entering any business niche to look at the competitors or the position as to where you might think you fit and then pick a price point in the average or on the below average side because of some perception you must fit somewhere in the market.

In many cases you don't have to justify your prices but you do have to deliver value that exceeds what the client desires.

Any business, product, service that delivers a perceived value to their market that is greater than what they charge is likely to gain customers.

Once they have customers then they must meet their needs.

The problem with starting low is you then have a long way to climb.

Much better start high and include value added services which can easily be removed if a client wants a simpler outcome than to go low to get the job or the experience.

Maybe I'm wrong but I'd prefer to start halfway up the ladder and possibly slip a few steps than start at the rock bottom.

Now I understand that everyone starts at the bottom or the beginning in any job they decide to
undertake but the fast learners jump a few steps along the way. I'm not saying they miss those steps but rather they grasp a concept or understand things quicker than the strugglers and therefore progress quicker.

I'm thinking there is more to Understanding Sweat and Perspiration and output than just having a USP.

The real proof comes when there is throughput and output of consistent magnitude.

The gauge I consider when employing staff is "how long to reach the payback period?"

If I was employing a copywriter I would think about the same thing.

"How long before what I have paid for starts delivering results?"

The USP an employer of copywriters thinks about is "How long before what you've written starts making me money."

The more experienced copywriters probably never bring up the discussion around justifying their service and don't need a USP to convince a client because they are already talking to the clients they want to work with and those clients know the power they get to leverage by using someone skilled to deliver the outcome.

When new at anything you must resist the urge to undercharge......oopywriting is no different

Best regards,

Ozi

Take a step back and think about this for a moment.

What is the purpose of proof? Answer: to help create believability.

So if you don't have proof, use another way to create believability. Education works well. Create a free report or video that educates your prospects... and they'll quite naturally believe you have what it takes to help them.

Alex