Your Unique Selling Proposition is all about standing out.
And I will be transparent and say it’s one of many things I didn’t fully understand about business until I dug beneath the surface.
Because the theory of it is a little different from the practicality of it.
Theoretically, it’s about positioning. How do you make your business look different than anyone else’s? What do you offer that’s different and why is that good?
And that all sounds good and well. But then you’re still left with the abstraction of the concept. A confused mind does nothing, so I would imagine that’s where a lot of artists landed on this. They know it’s a good idea. They understand the concept. But they’re missing the steps. They don’t know what to do next.
So, from a practical standpoint, we need to go and look at what our competition is doing. Not just stare at their website, but listen to their music, buy their merch, join their email list, study how they’re talking to their audience, and more. The more successful they are, the more you have reason to examine what they’re up to.
You’ve built your Dream 100 list, haven’t you? If you haven’t, now would be a good time for that, but the point is you should already have multiple artists in your crosshairs who you’re building a relationship with, because they have access to your audience.
Regardless, what you want to do here is look at several artists in your market and figure out what they might be missing. Because that’s where you can bring something new, something different, something revolutionary and innovative to the table.
And remember that music isn’t the only way to differentiate. You can differentiate yourself in your marketing, and most likely, that’s where the greatest opportunity lies. The niche war is overrated, and if it isn’t over already, it will be soon.
Once you know what your USP is, you want to hit it hard. Make it a part of your brand and everything you do. Iterate and adjust if it doesn’t work.
