Difference breeds success 

One guru utters a statement, and his followers parrot his words. Soon the message is everywhere.

But repeating words doesn’t make them true. 

It’s the same in marketing. We have marketing funnels. The first contact makes prospects aware of an issue. Parents want the best toy for their child, Pensioners want the best home for their savings.

The funnel seeks to lure people downwards. With luck, they get interested in a particular plaything or investment package.

With even more luck, they develop a desire to buy.

And the trouble is this can work.

Well, a rusty manual lawn mower works. But you can do better than a rusty manual lawn mower. 

Avoid the crowds

Sometimes people need telling about the problem.

But some already know the problem. Tell them again and you’ll bore them.

Aim for the funnel’s bottom. Aim for prospects who are already aware and interested and have the desire.

And there’s another reason to avoid the funnel’s top.

Imagine you’re writing a post for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.

Add terms like ‘CRM tool’ to your blog posts and you’ll appear in lots of search results.

But lots of CRM providers will use that phrase. You’ll be a small fish in a vast pool, and you’ll struggle to get noticed. Many of your competitors will splash money around and keeping up with them will cost you.

So how can you stand out without spending a fortune?

Chase the wise

The internet is massive. 

Some prospects know the score. They’ll know why you shouldn’t use Excel as a database, why you shouldn’t write down passwords, and why copywriting brings success.

Let them bypass the funnel’s top.

Sit in these people’s minds. What pain points do they experience? Which problems must they solve? What benefits do they seek?

How will they use search engines? If they want CRM software which books Zoom calls with clients, think what terms they would use.

Specific search terms let you avoid that expensive scramble at the funnel’s top. 

People disagree, and say people need guiding. They’ll say blogs should drive people to a funnel’s top. But these posts often look identical. 

Aim at the bottom

A thousand articles talking about the benefits of mowing your lawn, when people after a lawnmower already know the benefits.

Another thousand saying why children benefit from play, when parents want to know which toy will suit their particular child.

And hundreds describing ISAs mechanics, when investors only need to know which ISA suits them best.

Even worse, these articles are often dashed off by freelancers given a sketchy brief – freelancers with little real-world knowledge.

You’ll see bland and regurgitated content with nothing to lure prospects into purchasing.

Be different. Aim for the bottom. Your customers will search for the problems they want to solve, not to relearn what they already know.

Replace SEO terms like ‘10 secrets for a pristine lawn’ with ‘10 ways to pick the best lawn mower for poor soils.’ 

Get rid of broad SEO expressions like ‘Why playtime is schooltime,’ and use ‘Toys to get your daughter thinking.’

Ditch ‘The tax advantages of ISAs,’ and say, ‘The best ISA for pensioners with spare cash.’

You’ll see a boost in engagement. Your clients will see more visits. And more customers will ask you to write their blog posts.