Hi there. It's Sue. And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day. These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business. If you'd like to submit a topic, DME over on Instagram at gift biz unwrapped, before we get into the show today, I want to make sure that you know about the newest thing happening over here. It's called the gift biz bash a zoom party that turns into a podcast episode.
Several weeks later, the party consists of a short training with Q and a from yours truly. And then an opportunity for you to give a shout out about your business. You can tell us about a promotion you currently have going on or share a collaboration that you're considering so that you can find a perfect partner for the event. A little bit of learning and visibility for your business. What could be better? There is a catch though spots are limited to keep the party to about 45 minutes or so.
That means you should grab your spot right away. It's totally free to make sure you're included. Why not do that right now? Pause this episode, go to gift biz, unwrapped.com forward slash bash to sign up and then come back and listen to the show. I'll see you at the bash. I know for a fact that you have special powers you aren't using. If you tap into them, they'll make you and your business more personable, memorable, and shareable.
The best thing about these powers of yours is that you don't need to act like someone you're not. You don't need to invent scenarios. You think your customers will like, or project anything that feels uncomfortable or staged. Doesn't that sound freeing and almost too good to be true. Well, guess what? It's not, you already have these powers, but you don't see them as such and since you don't recognize them, you're letting them lie dormant with untapped potential. That changes right now.
The opportunity that's in front of you is so valuable. I've given it a special name. These are your unique, special powers USP. For short, if you've had any marketing exposure from the past, this will sound familiar to you. Old marketing lingo defined a USP as your unique selling proposition.
Remember the days when selling was one way only a company pushed it to product on you in newspapers or the three TV channels that existed showing you only what they wanted you to see and telling you all the reasons why you must have an need their product. It roots back to the still ingrained sleaziness stigma of sales. I bet this feeling still affects your behavior today. We don't want to come across as too salesy.
That's the beautiful thing with the about face available through today's marketing technology, with your unique, special powers. You're not aggressively forcing people to see you. Hey, look at me, buy for me, you know, get to attract people who are the right ones for your product and your brand, and invite them to have your products for their very own such a huge difference. So what are unique, special powers.
These are characteristics of you and your product that make up a very individual subset of your brand. The magic of your unique special powers is that they set you apart from everyone else and they provide stories which make it easy for people to talk about you and spread the word about your company.
USP's can be product focused through either a unique feature or the fact that the product itself is one of a kind, my mind goes to the cookie joints, cookie fries, their cookies are shaped like French fries and come in recognizably shaped fry containers complete with dips just like up would be to fries. Then there's Lily Poulter whose fabric is specifically identifiable and related back to the brand product USP's can exist in shapes, sizes applications. So many things.
The only downside with these is that they are easily copied unless you go through the hoops of legal protection, that is which of course won't apply to most of us makers. Do you have something out of the norm with your product that you can highlight more? Is it a special size or shape? Is your product made for a different application than others address? Even though you're in the same product line, do you offer non-traditional colors, patterns, clasps that don't show up anywhere else?
How about sense or flavors that are outside of the regular standard offerings? Someone started the now popular sea salt chocolate, everyone loves, or the bacon chocolate. Remember when that first came on the scene, maybe you've created a custom stitch that you can call your own or a method of creating your product, that steers away from what others do and brings a very special result to your finished product.
If any of these already exist for you, call them out, start highlighting them as special. Talk about it, pointed out people aren't good at connecting the dots. You absolutely have to show them so that they recognize them. You have to tell people, do you source your materials from somewhere unexpected that ed does spin to your product or supports a cause in some way, that adds another layer to our understanding of your products.
When we know that HumanOS from underline, his designs dies her own yarn for an exclusive line of her weave to shawls. She shares behind the scenes of her process at every stage of production on Instagram. Of course, these shells are rare pieces. You can be proud to own and PS, they command a higher price point too. Okay? Okay. So you're saying you don't have a unique, special power as part of your product. Why not create one consider a Piras cards?
They include a hummingbird sticker inside each card with an inspirational message relating to the meaning of these cute speedy little flyers. A hummingbird has absolutely no connection to a greeting card, but piracy has linked the two. If you're familiar with the brand, you know all about the hummingbirds and if you're not, but you get a card from them, you learn about it and can share the fun story or fact about the connection.
This same idea can be applied for your product, integrate something into your brand that has meaning and brings with it a story that can be shared. Let's now get to even more powerful USP's that can be found right inside yourself. These are even more valuable because they can't be copied. I know we worry all the time about being knocked off. Here's part of the solution, a personal USP.
What are things that you love and that people associate with you, people meaning part of your normal life, your friends, your family, what is there in your background or what are you passionate about that you can talk about with your potential and current customers? You don't deliver it in a resume type format. It comes gradually over time. And as I said before, deepens the connection between you and those who follow you. They know a lot more about you over and above that you sell soap.
A perfect example. Here is my mother. She was a branding genius, and she didn't even know it. Her favorite color was red and you could find her wearing it every single day. She loved classical music and dark chocolate. And as long as these things were part of her life, besides her family, of course all was right with the world. Everyone knew this about her. Everyone with these personal interests and passions do is make you into a personality unlike any other.
And most importantly, it gives people a story to tell about you and your business and having this information prompts reminders of you when they encounter something in their life. That brings up a thought of you. By way of example of this, I'll use myself. If you hang around with me for even a short amount of time, you'll find out I love the color yellow, M a huge candle fan and obsessed with the snow. None of this has anything to do with either of my companies, really.
I mean, yellow is one of the gift biz brand colors, but I don't make candles or work with or in the snow. But I get messages about these all the time. Someone walks by a field of yellow flowers and sends me a picture. And when a blizzard is headed to Chicago, I get emails, messages, and calls from all over the world. Seriously, even international saying, Sue, you must be so happy. Some come from people. I don't even know, which is really fun, but they know me because they've been following me.
I have to say, it's very exciting to learn that someone thought of me at a random moment because of a trigger in their day. And you see where this goes. When they think of me, they may think of the podcast and go listen to the latest show, or they may have wanted to invest in a program. They heard me talking about or something else related to things that I offer. Think of what it would be like.
If you found out that someone remembered they needed to buy a birthday gift and your product would be just the right fit, or they want a new knitted scarf for themselves or a baby quilt for a friend, these reminders of you initiate sales for those who have the need for your product at that time, or maybe they want to just buy something because it's from you and they want to support you. How amazing would that be? All because you've placed personal information in their mind.
So when they encounter it throughout the day, it triggers a thought of you. Other examples of personal unique, special powers. Scott, open burger from twice baked pottery. He quit his full-time super stressful law career for a maker life. Julie Scags of the mad scientist, she and her husband are science teachers with a candle company. Sharita Lucas of dosa. Naturals is in business with her sisters and named the company after her. Great, great grandmother.
Jeanette king has been a color street associate as she works on her professional music career. You can watch the video of her first released single on YouTube, called kiss N towel. All of these examples bring a richness that could never exist if they didn't share this part of their story with us. And I wouldn't be sharing it here with you. If we had more time, I could go into detail about each of these people. I you'd feel closer to them too. And you've just met them.
I'm not saying you have to be a complete open book here. Share only things that you feel comfortable with, but by integrating more of who you are into your business, you're attracting people to you in a way just promoting your products, never will. As a handmade product business owner, highlighting your unique, special powers enhances your brand. Even more. Here are your takeaway action steps.
There are only two, one, identify three things about you that can be classified as unique, special powers, make them authentic and genuine. Number two, start sharing them from time to time, integrate them into social posts, emails, and keep them top of mind to bring up when appropriate. And this should be easily natural because they're genuinely you unique, special powers at a socially appropriate intimate layer of personality and even friendship to what you do.
You're letting people into your world and letting them get to know you feel trust and a closeness to you. And that is reciprocated with support for your business. That's a wrap. I'm a get to the point kind of girl. And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream of yours. Share your handmade products with us. We want them, and they bring us both so much happiness.