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Phil Tanny
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 10:33 am
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| Perry Marshall wrote: | | You need to have a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that clearly shows why people should do business with you over anyone and everyone else. And your USP needs to be based on a combination of things that are, collectively, difficult for others to quickly and easily replicate. |
OK, I like the theory, let's see if we can flesh it out with some real examples and ideas.
The first thing that comes to my mind is having your own customers. The relationship of trust you have with people who are spending money is a USP of sorts.
Ken Evoy always comes to mind here. Ken's a big leader in the text content biz. But if that niche were to somehow go poof, thousands of Ken's customers would turn to him and ask, "Now what do I do?" Assuming Ken had an answer to that question, he'd be back in business the next day. We might all be wise to pay a bit more attention to the business model Ken uses for himself.
I've invested an awful lot of time over the last year in to advancing my tech skills in video and CGI. Having these skills doesn't make one unique, but at least fewer folks know these skills compared to those who know how to write or rewrite an article (tho it could certainly be argued that truly effective preselling is not a common talent).
I'm currently working on software that will make it easy for anyone to set up their own blog or site network. Maybe that will have some measure of uniqueness for a few months at least.
I'm unclear how one gets and keeps a USP in text content given the number of people who are capable of rewriting your content in a few days, however original your text content might be. Not saying it can't be done, just that I don't get how to do it really.
Yes, your prediction of a TV/Net merge makes sense, and it seems likely that video will elbow text aside on the Net. One need only look at the success of TV over the last 50 years to see the appeal of video.
A text to video shift will challenge many of us, but it will empower others of us. Stringing words together is a skill folks are either born with or not, by and large. But anyone can point a video camera at a subject and hit record. The technology will get easier and easier, and there are plenty of jobs for non-techs to do, as the heart of good video is in the planning, concept design etc, not in the technology. And entertaining talking heads will always be valued. Lots of folks who can't blowhard in print will be great at it in person.... 
Any good USP brainstorms out there?
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Phil Tanny
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 9:22 pm
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Hi Charlie,
| Charlie wrote: | | I think it depends on the fundamental optimism in people, too. Without this, the unhappiness wouldn't yield the right results. |
Yes, fundamental optimism, well said. One way to look at this might be that we lack sufficient optimism to address happiness directly, in the one and only place it ever exists, in our brains. Thus we approach the goal indirectly, via external objects and circumstances, a route that is perhaps less ambitious and less efficient?
| Quote: | | They prioritise "a desire for materialistic self improvement" at the expense of "a reluctance to appreciate how good things already are". |
Yes, we can and do approach the bottom line of happiness from either direction, or both.
Let's imagine there was a meter that measured our enjoyment of each of our possessions and circumstances. We take readings off every item, and then add them all up for our total "Consumer Happiness Index".
What's the most efficient way to boost my CHI?
I can work, earn and buy more objects, and boost my CHI total that way, one item/circumstance at a time.
What's interesting about increasing appreciation is that it tends to be a multiplier that is applied to all my objects/circumstances. So if I can boost my appreciation ability by 5%, that's 5% times every object/circumstance I own. Those looking for points of leverage may find this appealing.
What's further interesting about appreciation is that it happens in between my ears, a quite specific location that belongs to me alone. So boosting my appreciation tends to insure my happiness against market changes, bad luck, and other external forces beyond my control. Those looking for personal freedom may find this appealing.
As you might guess, I feel this topic is a great match for the kind of pragmatic, rational, bottom line focused mindset that business people are so good at.
If you agree, perhaps we might work at translating such discussions in to the kind of language business people are familiar and comfortable with.
It's the most universal of topics, but each of the many cultures across the world discusses it with their own familiar lingo.
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Declan OReilly
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2005 12:20 am
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| Charlie wrote: | | Declan OReilly wrote: | | Marketing is like a conversation. |
So what exactly are you saying...
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What I am saying is that eventually the majority of people will see through the hype of a sales page no matter how carefully worded. It is too one-way and doesn't really allow for the participation of the buyer apart from clicking on the "Buy Now" button.
According to Ken Evoy the top 5P affiliate is using the "Question?" feature with great success suggesting that people want to interact more and actually speak with someone before making a purchasing decision.
Think of what it is like when you are about to make a major purchase. How off putting is it when a sales representitive circles you like a vulture then goes in for the kill leaving you standing there dumbfounded?
People feel much smarter after they have particpated in the buying decision by asking clever questions instead of being bombarded with features.
| Charlie wrote: | | Paper books still sell like crazy (with the right review and the right cover)... |
Apparently the majority of people only read the first few pages of a book before putting the book on a shelf with the rest of their unread books. At least real books look good lined up on the book shelf unlike all those unread ebooks taking up space on my hard-drive!
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Jeremy
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 4:17 am
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| Quote: | | What I am saying is that eventually the majority of people will see through the hype of a sales page no matter how carefully worded |
I disagree, how about the continued success of those 4 page
direct mail pieces, or the one page ads in magazines.
Good ad copy works and will always work. IMHO
Jeremy |
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Declan OReilly
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 4:43 am
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| Quote: | | Good ad copy works and will always work. IMHO |
How refreshing to see one so innocent!
Take most successful sales pages. They don't convert merely because their ad copy is good. They use a whole host of 'hidden persuaders' such as font color, quotation marks in the headline, artificial timers and a whole range of psychological tricks and techniques designed to lure people into buying.
I worked in newspapers for many years. My father was also an editor of a major daily newspaper before it fell victim to the 'tabloidization' of the press. What it taught me is that a majority of people do not care about the quality of writing but are easily swayed by hype and misinformation. It goes for sales pages as it does for newspapers.
Go ask Joe Vitale. He'll tell ya...
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Jeremy
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 5:02 am
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| Or how about Melvin Powers. |
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Declan OReilly
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 5:17 am
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Joe Vitale no doubt gives credit to Powers for his Book Hypnotism Revealed.
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Charlie
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 11:22 am
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Playing catch-up, I'm afraid...
| Phil Tanny wrote: | | Ken Evoy always comes to mind here. Ken's a big leader in the text content biz. But if that niche were to somehow go poof, thousands of Ken's customers would turn to him and ask, "Now what do I do?" |
I think it's fair to say Ken's version of the content site model relies on the fact that people will always want quality information, decently presented. That's about as good at future-proofing as it gets, however he spins it.
| Quote: | | We might all be wise to pay a bit more attention to the business model Ken uses for himself. |
Anyone wanting to get going in a competitive niche, certainly. "Do what they do, not what they say" as someone once said.
| Quote: | | I'm unclear how one gets and keeps a USP in text content given the number of people who are capable of rewriting your content in a few days, however original your text content might be. Not saying it can't be done, just that I don't get how to do it really. |
It's a matter of voice. The test is, if you wrote under another name, would your fans still recognise you. I hope so.
You don't have to be weird or sensationalist, just unique.
| Quote: | | Stringing words together is a skill folks are either born with or not, by and large. |
I totally disagree. At school, I used to struggle to with words. I could write well enough to pass exams, but there was no passion or spirit in there. It was work.
These days it just flows effortlessly. Quality (like beauty) is in the eye of the beholder, but the point I am making is that wordcraft was not something I was born with...
I've had to torture a lot of people (maybe you know some) to get even this far. If you think you can't write, just keep practising. No pain no gain. 
| Quote: | | What's the most efficient way to boost my CHI? |
I'm no expert - but yoga maybe?
| Quote: | | What's further interesting about appreciation is that it happens in between my ears, a quite specific location that belongs to me alone. |
Oh you're a much better host than that. Besides, if you're anything like me, there's more than enough room for everybody. A sort of "insiders' tete-a-tete" (accents excepted).
| Declan OReilly wrote: | | People feel much smarter after they have particpated in the buying decision by asking clever questions instead of being bombarded with features. |
This reminds me of the time I once asked to be able to write my own sales letter. The chap missed the point and set me up a special blank page with an order button.
| Quote: | | Apparently the majority of people only read the first few pages of a book before putting the book on a shelf with the rest of their unread books. At least real books look good lined up on the book shelf unlike all those unread ebooks taking up space on my hard-drive! |
I think I've identified what the problem is here. You really must start printing them out.
| Quote: | | I worked in newspapers for many years. My father was also an editor of a major daily newspaper before it fell victim to the 'tabloidization' of the press. What it taught me is that a majority of people do not care about the quality of writing but are easily swayed by hype and misinformation. It goes for sales pages as it does for newspapers. |
Yes, but who wants to write for the majority of people?
The majority of people never do anything you want them to. Build your own tribe of followers who appreciate how you do things. Then maybe you will get away with a blank sales page.
| Quote: | | Joe Vitale no doubt gives credit to Powers for his Book Hypnotism Revealed. |
Well if so, I hope he gave him a testimonial. (I bet he did.)
All the best,
Charlie.
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