DIFFERENTIATION AS A KEY TO YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS

To attract global attention and searchlight, you must create your own path. By that I mean being unique and showing that you’re not like others…the crowd. You need to be outstanding and a non-conformist.

Truth is if you do what every other person is doing, you become a non issue…you’re not somebody to be discussed. Because there is plenty of competition, you’re just like a plaque…the consequence of monotony.

In business, as is with humans, what sets you apart and puts you atop is “Differentiation.”…uniqueness.

What Are You Known For?

Think about Bill Gates, Ray Kroc, Robert Allen, Tiger Woods etc. They have their uniqueness… what sets them apart.

Differentiation therefore is mandatory to the success of any business in any industry. But more so in network marketing industry as everyone is programmed to act the same, look the same and say the same things as everyone else.

The point I’m trying to make is that, rather than trying to be all things to all people, pick one group of people or one very specific need and focus in on it.
Focusing on a specific need and producing high quality content increases your “credibility ranking” and also forms a greater bond between you and your prospect. And credibility is the only real currency. It is everything. And it’s very difficult to influence anyone without it.

And all these is meant to attract prospects to your biz. You’ll begin to look at the types of Lead-generation content to deliver.
Here is a list of some different types of content you can create:
Ads/sales letters.
Your own physical newsletter or magazine
Websites
Emails
Articles
Interviews
Blogs
TV appearances/infomercials
Books
Physical seminars
Coaching
Videos
Audios
Special reports
Home study courses
Public speaking events
Teleseminars etc.
This is not an exhaustive list.

All these list generation content should target a specific niche market or sub-niches.
Note that you don’t have to do all the above…not even 90% of it. So don’t let these intimidate you. It’s just to give some ideas and show you the possibilities are endless with educational style marketing.

To differentiate yourself, you have to create a targeted, laser-focused message to teach something or solve a specific problem.
There are thousands of sub-niches within the Home-Based Business/Network Marketing industry:

1. TRAFIC GENERATION/ADVERTISING METHODS. Within this niche we have sub-niches like: Article Marketing, Press Releases, Search Engine Optimization, Magazine Advertising, Ezine Advertising, Newspaper Advertising, Forum Marketing, Blogging, Banner Ads, Viral Marketing, Online Classified, RSS, Traffic Exchanges etc
2. SOCIAL NETWORKING: We have: Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Linkedin, etc
3. SOCIAL BOOKMARKING: We have: Delicious, Digg, Furl, StumbleUpon etc
4. PAY-PER-CLICK: We have: Google, Yahoo, MSN, Amazon
5. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: We have: Goal setting, Mindset, Public Speaking, Time management, Personal Communication Skills, Leadership
6. SALES AND MARKETING: We have: One-to-one sales Skills, Market Research, Keyword Research, Phone Skills, Email Marketing, Copywriting
7. OTHERS: Testimonial gathering, Computer Skills, Tracking, Split Testing, Bonuses, Team Building, Choosing The Right Business, Contact management, Outsourcing, Monetization, Tax Help, backend products/Repeat customers etc

Again, don’t be intimidated that you have to learn all these to make money online. No.
That’s why I was emphasizing on differentiation/uniqueness. They are all different aspects of building a biz you can teach others about and position yourself as an expert. You don’t have to know anything about them now.

Being an ‘expert’ in this case means knowing slightly more about the topic than the customer. To gain this expertise, just buy a book on any of these topics and you’ll have all the content-material to use to start attracting information-starved prospects that are desperately looking for help.

You want to be known as the “Blogging guy.”
Or the “Email Marketing gal.”

The main thing here is differentiation/uniqueness, remember!
All the topics forms a hungry market to make you an expert.

The idea of trying to be focus and specific could post a form of argument in the minds of some people. It may seem like you’ll miss out on customers this way. It’s rather the opposite. You’ll miss out on a whole lot more by having your offer swallowed by a barrage of competing offers.

Since most people are afraid to narrow their niche like this, is exactly the reason why it works so well. There is far less competition for those who do.

If you’re in the health and nutrition industry, you could begin to think of common health issues like: stroke, common cold, kidney stones, osteoporosis, arthritis, insomnia, acne, high cholesterol, hernia, hepatitis A/B/C, allergies, heart attack, flu, fibromyalgia, dry skin, heart burn, diabetes, strep throat, injuries, asthma, carpal tunnel, cataracts, stress, chronic pain, cancer, etc.

This is to show that there is endless possibility.

If you’re not in the health and nutrition industry, all the same principles apply.
Specialize in an area and feed the prospects with what they want…lead them through.

Your first job as a marketer is to position yourself against competition.
And these can only be achieved by differentiating yourself.