You are NOT Important

Do You Know The Two Most Important Words In Blogging?
"It's not about you."  That's the first sentence in Robert Warren's best-seller A Purpose-Driven Life.  However, when it comes to writing purposeful blogs, it is about you.

Today we will pass along the two most important words in blogging (according to Brian Clark, CEO of Copyblogger).  Hint: we already told you the first word.

The Most Important Word is "You"
It's certainly ironic that a medium often used as a self-absorbed jounaling platform would now need to be overwhelmingly focused on teh reader in order to be effective.  But if you're blogging for marketing or public relations purposes every post should be purposefully aimed at the needs and wants of others.

You only benefit when readers benefit first.
When it comes to writing engaging content, "you" is the most powerful word in the English language because people are ultimately interested in fulfilling their own needs.  It may sound harsh, but the fact is your readers won't start to actually care about you at all until you've repeatedly offered them exceptional value with your blog.

But once they do start to care about you, look out because wonderful things can start happening, things like viral buzz and customer evangelism.

The same substantive content will be more effetive with the focus shifted toward the reader.  One of the easiest ways to do that is to maximize the use of the word "you," while minimizing or eliminating words "I" and "me."

Every time you finish writing a blog post check the focus.  How many times does the word "you" and its derivations appear?  What about "I" and "me?" 

Try it, and you'll be amazed at the results

We Give Good Service

Are you better than your competition?  You might think so, but in reality, it depends on who you ask.  Yesterday and today we are focusing on effective marketing strategies that highlight your differentiation.

Principle No. 3 Outside -In Strategy Development
If it's true that effective marketing techniques create a perception of difference between you and your competition, then you must first know how your competition is perceived.  This requires an "outside-in" approach: looking outward at the competition and the market in order to identify what strategic opportunities are open to you.

For example, trying to open a new hamburger restaurant chain with a perception of being the "happy, family place to go for a meal" is a recipe for disaster since McDonald's already holds this perception in the minds of consumers.

Unfortunately, most businesses try to identify their strategy by looking inward to determine why their own product or service is better.  As we discussed, your strategy lies not in claiming you're better, but in creating a perception of difference.

Always remember, your opportunities for effective marketing campaigns lie in what your competition isn't doing.

Principle No. 4 Why Service Is A Bad Word
Obviously, it's important to give good service, but saying you give good service is not as effective as a brand strategy.  Why?  Because your competition is saying the same thing about itself.  Plus, as consumers, we've heard claims about good service so often, and been disappointed so often, that we just don't believe them anymore.  For the same reasons, other words that are ineffective as differentiating strategies include: quality, honesty, integrity, value, experience and the list goes on.

As we've said, the most effective marketing techniques involve understanding how your competition is perceived.  That's crucial because once your market holds a perception about a competitor, then you cannot create the same perception.

Determine the perception you want your customer to have of your business that's different from your competitors.  And when your marketing begins to help you make money (instead of cost you money), then you can feel like you're ahead of your competition.

You're Ineffective

Everyone wants to know the key to effective marketing techniques.  The truth is that for most business owners, marketing is costing them money rather than making them money.  Today and tomorrow we will be sharing some key principles to implementing effective marketing techniques.

Principle No. 1 Backward Marketing
Every business has tactics.  Few businesses have a brand strategy.

Tactics are the things you put in place, or the actions you take, in order to bring your product or service to market, including: product development and packaging, distribution channels and sales teams, your logo and website design and everything in between.  These are teh tactics of a business.

The problem most businesses have when it comes to effective marketing techniques is that they don't base their decisions about tactics on any underlying strategy.  The practice of implementing tactics before strategy is what we call backward marketing.  It is the primary reason most companies find their marketing efforts costing them money rather than making them money.

Principle No. 2 Being Better Is One Thing, Being Different Is Everything
Most business owners think a successful brand strategy lies in the idea that their product or service is better than the products or services of their competitors.  Nope.  The key to a successful brand strategy lies in creating the perception that your product or service is different from your competition.

Want proof?  Just take a look at the following top brands and the perceptions they've created.  Notice that none have built their brand strategy around the concept of "better".  McDonald's (family/happy); Nike (athletic spirit); Coke (real thing/American)' Levi's (classic/American); Volvo (safety); Apple (innovation)" Subway (fresh/healthy).

What differentiating perception does your product or service hold?  If you want your marketing to make you money rather than cost you money, you must first discover how your competition is perceived, then you can develop a differentiating brand strategy of your own.