Words Made Easy

That sounds like a scarily giant under-taking doesn’t it? No mean feat? A gargantuan task? Ridiculous really? And yet that’s what they suggest should strive for.

As genius online scribe, Sonia Simone describes though, this needn’t be as scary as it first sounds…

Does “best in the world” sound scary? Remember that “the world” probably means the micro-world you and your customers happen to swim in (the Internet; mid-sized ad agencies in your zip code; barbecue joints in Duluth).

Once you know the size of your world, keep narrowing your focus. Divide and refine what you do until you hit the point where no one can outclass you.

In other words: clarity.

The AIM here folks, is to figure out that one tiny, teensy, spectacular thing that makes you YOU.

In marketing speak they call it your USP – unique selling point. The one thing that you have, that no-one else does.

At this moment, most people generally panic. Don’t. No-one expects you to be Superman. Your USP doesn’t have to be cryptonite. 

Your USP, your personal USP is one tiny little, perhaps annoying, but uniquely identifiably YOU characteristic. Its your quirk.

For the average Jo this could actually be something really annoying. Like always writing in short sentences. Yes. Like this.

Or never being seen without the $2 moth-eaten beanie you picked up from Vinnies in 3rd year Uni which you still think makes you look cool (but guess what – it doesn’t).

Or always eating your toast in a pattern that looks like a half moon, which-ever way you turn it.

Or being kind to cats.

Or hating cats.

What-ever it is though, it is definitely NOT, not caring either way about cats. 

The thing that makes you different has to be clear and obvious. Ideally, if the YOU we’re talking about here is a business, then it should be something that people actually want to connect with. If the YOU we’re talking about is lil’ole you then I guess it’s your choice whether you want to be in favour or not. If you’re really rich and/or successful then I guess you don’t really care. But if you do, please read on…

This USP of yours doesn’t have to be sacchrine sweet, or nice, but hopefully it will make people smile.

For example… Sonia Simone’s good mate and part-time business buddy Naomi Dunford has a quirk. It’s swearing. It’s not nice. It’s certainly not sacchrine sweet. But it is funny. And she declares it right up front, so no-one has a chance or a right to get offended. If swearing is not their thing, they’re told right up front to find another advice-dispenser.

The thing is, Naomi knows that those who then stick around to read her writing are doing so because they want to. Because she’s given them a taste, right up front, about what makes her word-style uniquely hers.

In posh writer’s schools they call it your writer’s voice. In business we call that your USP.

Many brand agencies have been advocating a special kind of USP that comes in the esoteric nature of one’s ‘brand essence.’ Yes, it should also exist there. But to bring a brand to life, a company must live and breathe their brand. And that means doing stuff. Quirky stuff. Your stuff. The stuff that makes you uniquely you and your brand uniquely it.

At the big end of town, for Virgin that means being irreverent in communication. Always challenging the current ‘way of doing things’. Not giving in to the establishment and finding the common man an alternative. Whether that is through cheaper air travel, competitive mobile phone usage, or gyms, Virgin’s voice and approach is quite singular. You see it, hear it and taste it in everything they do.

So what does that mean for you or your business? It’s tough to answer isn’t it… But if you had to summarise the core essence of your business in one sentence what would it say?

I bet Naomi’s reads something like: shit-hot advice to help small businesses make heaps of money doing what they love.

Virgin’s is: A passion for value

And here at Jabbermouth it’s: provoking hearty conversation around stuff that really matters.

Now it’s your turn to tell us yours. Think of it as a free plug. Come on. Don’t be shy… The one thing that makes you YOU. What is it? And if you don’t think you or your business really have one just yet, then what could it be? What do you want it to be? What is the reason you get up in the morning?

Let’s get this conversation started,
Charlotte 

This entry was posted on Friday, June 12th, 2009 @ 1:23 pm on the category Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.