What's Your USP?
Posted On: 2008-04-29
No that's not a typo I just made in the title, it's something that you must have if you really do want to make money. It's a legitimate question about the product ... whether it be adult or mainstream ... that you're marketing and it's a question you really must answer if you want to make sales.
Without a USP your product won't stand out from the crowd and if you're not selling something that stands out and looks attractive then how do you propose to generate sales and make money?
So what does that acronym stand for and why is it so important? A USP ... or unique selling proposition is the thing that makes whatever you're selling so different ... and so much more desirable ... than all those other products in the market place that look so much like yours. Without a unique selling proposition your product just blends into the background noise and it's not going to be noticed. And when people don't notice your product then the sales you want it to generate just aren't going to happen.
Here in adult getting whatever it is that you're selling noticed is one of the biggest problems you will face. It seems that regardless of which niche you are pushing there are plenty of paysites for surfers to choose from and it's hard to get prospective members to choose the paysite you're pushing when there are so many others that look just as good.
So you need to find a unique selling proposition to push so that your surfers will notice the site you're promoting ... but sadly you're unlikely to find that your sponsor is going to give you much help in that regard. No matter what your niche might be, take a wander around all the sites that are available for surfers to join and look at them from the point of view of a surfer. Do you really see anything unique that makes one stand out from all the others?
Unless things have changed dramatically it's unlikely that you'll see anything that makes any site really stand out. All the Milf sites tend to look quite similar; teen sites, mature sites, anal sites, hardcore sites ... they all look very similar to every other site in the same niche so what will make any one of them stand out from the crowd?
Perhaps the sponsors who run those sites are hoping that it's the models they use that will make the sites stand out to individual surfers because there's not much else that changes from one update to the next ... or from one site to the next if we want to be totally honest. Our sponsors seem to be as much in the dark as most affiliates are when it comes to the importance of having a unique selling proposition.
If the sponsors are in the dark about unique selling propositions then it really does come down to us to go looking for that secret sauce ourselves and use it to increase our sales. So where do we find that unique selling proposition?
I wish I could say that finding a unique selling proposition for a sponsor was simply a matter of looking more deeply at the tour ... or even taking a wander around in the members' area ... but it's not that simple. Quite often the unique selling proposition for anything we sell is found not in what we're selling but what's going on inside our head.
By all means spend some time looking at the site you're trying to promote but then spend some time inside your head looking out at the site through the eyes of a surfer. Why is he looking at the site? What's motivating him to spend a little time looking at the site? What's the driving force behind his need to look at the niche porn that your sponsor provides?
Think of that driving force; that need; that burning desire and then think of how the site you're trying to promote will meet that need. Once you have that need nailed down then put the two together in a short sentence and there is your unrefined unique selling proposition.
Note that I said 'unrefined' because it's unlikely that your attempt will be as hard-hitting or as focused as it really needs to be. Spend some time working on it; cut out unnecessary words; add in words that increase the focus and that speak directly to the surfer that you're trying to turn into a member ... and then go away and think about it for a couple of hours. If you do that you're sure to come up with something even better than your first attempts.
If you're still having trouble coming up with a unique selling proposition ... or you're even still having trouble grasping the concept of a unique selling proposition then think of Fedex. Can you remember their slogan? If you can then you're also remembering their unique selling proposition.
'When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight'
And if you need another example then think of the unique selling proposition used by Dominos Pizza ... I'm sure that's something that every self-respecting webmaster has deeply etched in their memory so I'm not going to repeat it here.
You find a unique selling proposition for the product you're selling and etch it in the memories of your surfers and you'll make some very serious coin from it.