Getting Slightly Famous!: Part II Positioning Your Business for Maximum Impact

Getting Slightly Famous, Part II
What Happened Last Week?

Read Part I here:
http://tinyurl.com/eqclc

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Step Two: What's Your Favorite Position?
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Gee, kind of a personal question, Barry!

A little shy?
OK, I'll tell you mine....in a second.

Ever seen one of those pictures of cute, cuddly
puppies or kittens sleeping on top of one another?

I love the way that sleep overtakes them despite
what they're doing and they collapse right where they are.

The results are pictures of adorable little pets tangled up,
one on top of the other, sleeping their cares away.

It's the picture of bliss.

So, what's cuddly puppies and kittens got to do with
your freelance business? Plenty.

The result of positioning your business can be, well..
pure bliss. If you know how to go about it.

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My Favorite Position
====================
OK, I'm gonna spill the beans.
My favorite position...

...is the one that requires absolutely zero effort
on my part. That's right. Lazy dazy here.

My favorite position is the one that keeps me and my business
top-of-mind in the lives of freelance copywriters worldwide.

What?
You thought I was talking about something else?
;-)

Positioning your freelance or solo business is
Step Two in Getting Slightly Famous.

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What's In a Position?
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What exactly is positioning?
Good question.

Many freelance business owners quickly become
confused about positioning.

It's not marketing, but it's close.

It's not the same as publicity but it might include it.
So, it's easy to see how positioning gets fuzzified.

But...positioning is vitally important.
Here's why according to Steven Van Yoder:

"POSITIONING communicates, in no uncertain terms,
the benefits your brand delivers to your target market."

One way to position your business for maximum
impact is the develop a positioning statement.

A positioning statement is one of value and it definitively
answers the question: "What's in it for me?"

Here's the positioning statement for BarryMorris.com:

"BarryMorris.com helps freelance copywriters who
want to break out of the fee-for-service income trap
and learn to leverage their time and talent to generate
more profit for their business and more free time to enjoy
life."

I wrote this positioning statement for two reasons:

1. It helped me create a public image for my business
so that potential clients will know precisely why
they should do business with me rather than someone
else.

2. By defining who my customers are, I can more effectively
design my marketing efforts to reach them.

A positioning statement isn't necessarily for sharing with clients.
You won't find this phrase cyber-plastered all over my web site.

Instead, it serves as my business compass, always pointing
toward my ultimate destination. If I get lost, or encounter
two roads diverging in a yellow wood, I need only check my
positioning statement for direction.

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The Anatomy of a Positioning Statement
==================================
Crafting your positioning statement is similar
to crafting a Business Mantra (TM) or an elevator
speech.

It takes practice, but an effective positioning
statement will include, at minimum, a target audience,
a problem your target audience experiences, a solution to the
problem, and the ultimate reward for a client.

Anatomy Lesson:
---------------
Let's dissect my positioning statement above:

"BarryMorris.com helps freelance copywriters who
want to break out of the fee-for-service income trap
and learn to leverage their time and talent to generate
more profit for their business and more free time to enjoy
life."

Target Audience: freelance copywriters
Problem: trapped by the fee-for-service model
Solution: leveraging their time and talent
Ultimate Outcome: more profits, more free time

Developing a positioning statement, like a compass,
will keep you moving in the right direction.

Positioning also helps you become more visible.

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Positioning Allows You To Stand Out
====================================
When I was a kid, being highly visible was the last
thing on my mind.

Like most kids, I wanted to blend in. Just be one of the crowd.
Typical middle child syndrome stuff. ;-)

But when I became a business owner, standing out
from the crowd rapidly became a necessity.

Without visibility, I was in-visible.
Not good.

By positioning my business as the solution to my target
audience's problems, I naturally positioned my business
as the solution...the top-of-mind solution.

But...I hear you saying...what if I'm in a business, such
as copywriting or copyediting, and I just do what everybody
else does? How do I stand out?

Wow. Great question.
Almost like I wrote it myself!

Case In Point:
--------------
Bruce Smith - Travel Agent

How does a travel agent stand out from his/her
competition when everybody sells the same
vacation/holiday packages?

Bruce seriously pondered this question and came
up with a creative answer. "I'll sell trips,
but keep the destinations a secret."

Crazy, right?
Bruce started selling "Destination Unknown" packages
to honeymooners and other couples, and found a way to make
his business stand out from the gazillion other travel
agencies that potentially served his target audience.

Bruce found a way to stand out from the competition by
tweaking his formerly cookie-cutter service into something
completely new.

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Other Ways to Position Your Business
====================================
Here's a list to consider as you develop your
unique market position:

You could...

** Offer better service
Do you offer rush jobs? Work weekends and holidays?

** Offer better value
Do you offer a choice of basic and comprehensive services?

** Offer better terms
Do you have flexible payment options? Discounts for
payments in advance?

** Offer a creative guarantee
Is it better-than-money-back? No q*uestions a*sked?

** Offer yourself*
Are giving your heart to your clients?

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The Most Powerful Positioning Tool*
====================================
In this article, we've looked at positioning
as a way of increasing the visibility of your business
within your area of influence - your target market.

But, we haven't talked about the most powerful attractor
of all - You!

Yes, it's important to craft a positioning statement that
guides you like a compass as you begin the process of marketing
to your target audience.

And, yes. It's vital to define your services or products
in a manner that allows you to stand out from the rest
of the businesses out there that offers similar services.

But, without doubt, the most powerful tool you have for
attracting the attention of your target audience is your
own personality.

There is no one on the planet like you.
You're an original. I could clone everything
you do in your business, but I can't replicate
what makes your business truly unique and yours.

You.

Your target audience wants to see and hear you.
Not a marketing version of you, but the real you.

The you who isn't concerned with getting it perfect.
The you who understands that your customers are people;
people with problems, looking for a solid solution.

They aren't perfect and they don't expect you to be
either.

Case In Point:
---------------
Me, Myself, I - Copywriting Quarterback

I love typos. Despite my best efforts, those lovely
little misplaced keystrokes happen.

Some of my many loyal readers occasionally point them
out to me via email or phone, and I love it when they do.
[Hey, it means my readers, swimming in a sea of ezines and
newsletters, are choosing to read mine! :D ]

I've come to look forward to these "love notes" from readers.
They let me know that I'm still coming off as human and fallible.

I love the back section in Mark Silver's book, Unveiling
the Heart of Your Business, where he proclaims in large
font...

"Perfection is a quality of the Divine...
...And I'm only human. Although several maniacal editors
have lovingly poured through this book, bugs, problems,
mistakes, typos, and all sorts of things can slip through
despite my best efforts."

But, you know what? Even though I do what I can to prevent
looking human, I still am. I can't help it.

Like Mark, I know that in the end, my customers will feel more
comforted by my humanity than they might be disappointed by it.

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Final Thoughts
==============
Positioning your business for maximum effectiveness involves
thinking about its organic components. It requires us to objectively
look at the business, determine how to manipulate the components
into an order that still solves our client's problems, but is perceived
with new perspective.

Accompanying this demand for a unique marketing position, is the
responsibility to become as knowledgeable as you can become
about the problems and issues that face your target audience.

Becoming the knowledge-source that your target audience needs
is a powerful way to position your business for greater
effectiveness and become slightly famous in the process.

Positioning your business will futher clarify your niche, allow you
to continually focus your energy on calling them by name and building
a relationship with them that will last for years to come.

Next week, we'll look at Step Three in Getting Slightly Famous,
and find out what Dr. Phil, Michael Jordan, and Emeril Legasse
have in common and how it can help your business.

Until then...
Thanks for reading!

Barry