There are lots of business tools that are useful for writers of business books, and this one is particularly helpful towards the end of the strategic thinking piece, as you prepare to move over into content marketing and more specifically into writing your book.
A positioning statement is the pure distilled essence of your strategy – who you serve, what makes you different and why it matters – from which all your marketing content will flow. It’s deceptively simple, only one or two sentences, but done right it has two benefits: it forces you to get crystal clear on what makes your business distinctive, and then it helps you communicate that to the world. Ideally it will link directly to the title and message of your book, making it part of a broader consistent content marketing strategy.
So how do you create a positioning statement? Start by brainstorming answers to these questions:
· Who are you?
· What is your business?
· Who is your ideal customer?
· What are the needs of your ideal customer?
· Who are your competitors?
· What is the key benefit of your company over your competitors?
· What is the unique benefit you offer?
Then spend some time ruthlessly chopping and honing until you’ve distilled it into the simplest, most powerful expression of your business that you can.
If it helps, you can use a template such as this:
For (target customers) who (have the following problem) I offer (describe the solution) that provides (describe the key benefit). Unlike (cite the competition), I (describe the key point of competitive differentiation).
Once you’re happy with your positioning statement, use it in your marketing and your networking, and review it regularly to make sure it still reflects your business appropriately as you evolve. Test your book against it as you write: does it have the same focus and clarity, and does it fit your ambitions as a business, not just as an author?