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How to help your startup stand out

How to help your startup stand out

What makes you impossible to scroll past? What words make your personal brand feel like that first bite of freshly baked cheesecake? Why do people decide that your combination of experience and personality is what they’ve been looking for?

If you don’t know how to answer those questions, or you’re unsure what those things are … keep reading.

As a creative copywriter with a strategic edge, I’ve spent the past 13-plus years helping startups and big businesses, from personal leadership brands, to develop their positioning through compelling messaging.

If you’re a startup and you want a message that’s impossible to ignore, it starts with uncovering who you are and what you stand for. Then it’s what you sound like, how you show up online and how you connect with your desired audience.

The ingredients to your secret sauce

Here’s the thing about positioning – it’s not just about being different. It’s about being meaningfully different in a way that matters to your audience. Think of it like finding your startup’s fingerprint. Nobody else has yours, and that’s exactly the point.

DEFINE YOUR ‘ONLY YOU’ FACTOR

Try these questions (and be brutally honest):

1. What problem do you solve in a way nobody else does?

2. What drives you crazy about how others in your industry operate?

3. What personal story led you to create your solution?

The intersection of these answers? If you can conceptualize that into messaging – that’s your golden ticket.

AMP

It’s about being meaningfully different in a way that matters to your audience.

THE POSITIONING PITFALLS

Let’s talk about what not to do (because I’ve seen these mistakes sink too many promising startups):

1. The ‘Everything to Everyone’ trap: You know that friend who tries to please everyone and ends up pleasing no-one? Don’t let your brand be that friend. Narrow your focus until it hurts a little.

2. The ‘Copycat’ mentality: Yes, your competitors are successful. No, you shouldn’t copy them. Your customers can smell an impersonator from miles away.

3. The ‘Features First’ fallacy: Stop leading with your tech specs or service features. Lead with the transformation you provide. Nobody bought an iPhone because it had four gigabytes of RAM.

CRAFTING YOUR MESSAGE: WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD

Now for the fun part – turning your positioning into words that sing. Here’s my tried-and-tested formula. Three Cs of compelling messaging:

1. Clear: Suppose your 97-year-old grandmother squints her eyes and tilts up her left ear to hear it again. It’s not clear enough. If she can’t understand it, simplify it.

2. Consistent: Your message should be a continuous conversation across all platforms. LinkedIn, Twitter and your website have the same voice and story.

3. Compelling: This is where emotion meets logic. Share the data that proves you’re great, but wrap it in a story that makes people feel something.

Your startup’s positioning is your brand’s DNA – it should influence every business decision you make.

MESSAGING THAT MAKES THEM ACT

Ready to put this into practice? Here’s your homework (yes, there’s homework – success doesn’t happen by accident):

1. Write your position statement

Fill in this template:

For [your specific audience] who [their specific problem], [your brand name] is the [your category] that [your unique benefit]. Unlike [main competitor], we [your key differentiator].

2. Test it with real humans

Share your positioning with five potential customers. If they don’t get excited, go back to step one.

3. Write your brand copy

Your positioning isn’t just words – it’s messaging that acts as your 24/7 billboard. Your messaging is what makes someone hit the brakes when they discover your brand.

Clients want to learn more, know more and eventually (if not immediately) buy from you. Your website, sales pages, email newsletters, LinkedIn profile – all of it –must win hearts.

And if you adopt the three Cs, it most likely will.

In a world where everyone’s shouting for attention, the brands that win aren’t necessarily the loudest – they’re the clearest.

The bottom line

Your startup’s positioning is your brand’s DNA – it should influence every business decision you make. Get it right, and you’ll build a magnetic brand that attracts the right customers and repels the wrong ones (yes, repelling the wrong ones is just as important).

Remember: In a world where everyone’s shouting for attention, the brands that win aren’t necessarily the loudest – they’re the clearest about who they are and who they serve.

Opinions expressed by The CEO Magazine contributors are their own.
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