Hey Matt,

I think it reads really well and is very well written. The only thing I think it could do a bit better is drive home a little more of the USP and or a narrative.

What I get from this is that you are from Canada, and you have a reverence for music. Those are cool things and the story is told well so it resonates. I guess my question would be, what is your USP and does this serve you in driving that home. I may very well but I just am not clear what it is from reading this alone.

If I read this I probably would want to continue engaging because it's heartfelt. But if I was to walk away and describe to a friend I would basically say, He's a Canadian musician. Is there any USP that this compliments? It doesn't have to be overt. It may just be that you are a sort of sensitive Canadian songwriter (which is the feeling I get reading this). If you are something else you want to make sure that is represented in the post. If that is your USP then I think the post is great.

Sorry, if that;s a bit of a rambly answer. Hope it makes sense.

Hey Matt,

I think those descriptors sound a bit to creative and full of prose rather than being language that real people would actually use. Those could possibly make good headlines more than USPs, which are ultimately just for you to help with brand development.

I wrote this article for MMM members because I had so many people doing the same thing after going through the branding lessons. Let me know if this doesn't help: http://www.musicmarketingmanif.....-any-good/

Hey Matt,

Yeah, I think that's a lot better. While it doesn't spell out any one element that is overly unique, it does do a good job of setting up some basic parameters for your brand. But all in all I think you're doing an impressive job of taking the feedback on board and making appropriate changes.

Hey Matt,

It wasn't just an offhand remark, the idea here is that you define your USP for you, so you know what it is that you are actually selling. Because in order for this stuff to work you need to create that shortcut to the mind, so that if a person comes across your content they very quickly "get it" and become able to not only communicate what is special about you to themselves, but also to others. My feeling is that if that doesn't exist, then the marketing will be a challenge. Once you are able to wrap up what you do into a nice little package, the marketing becomes just a matter of shining a spotlight on your act and driving traffic through a buying process. 

When I said I didn't really feel that the USP was clear, I meant I simply didn't walk away from that thinking, "this guy is special in this way". In fact, as you pointed out, my assumption was somewhat wrong, in that I assumed you were a sensitive singer songwriter type. If I like sensitive singer songwriters I'd continue to engage and then possibly be let down when I hear more of the music. If I like darker stuff (like what you actually make) I might be turned off and miss out. I'm over simplifying it, but that's the reasoning behind the remarks.

The USP is simply the Unique Selling Proposition. It's the thing that makes you different from the millions of other artists out there and it's the reason I should pay attention. Sometimes it's profound. IE, Steve Vai is one of the best guitar players in the world. And sometimes it's more quaint, IE Jewel is a female Alaskan singer songwriter who lived out of her van.

Other examples might be (and these are my words, not necessarily something the world would agree on):

Bob Dylan is a folk/rock artist who introduced Intellect to rock and roll.

Beck is an eclectic modern Dylan who made music with a leaf blower.

The Velvet Underground is to music what Andy Warhol is to art.

The New York Dolls play with gender and mix punk rock with a trashy drag exterior.

Those artists all have very strong USPs (things that make them unique) and so it's easy.  Sometimes it could be as bland and simple as "sensitive singer songwriter". But let's say your USP was "sensitive singer songwriter", by knowing that you know what needs to be expressed in your content, imagery, production, etc. I want to look at that album cover and see some cross-processed washed out photo of you playing your guitar. I want your blog post to make reference to being a singer songwriter, and your commentary to be deep and sensitive. Does that all make sense? 

The USP concept is not some big massive idea. It's just the "rule of your universe" and everything you do should be consistent with the USP, at least from a marketing standpoint. For many this will be intuitive, but I think it's an important exercise. 

Awesome. And yep, you got it. You may say it point blank in your headline (but you may not), but being conscious of your USP is important because it helps you make the right choices with everything you do, from targeting, to album artwork, to the subject matter of your blog posts. It's basically a more precise way of defining your brand. "Brand" can be a bit airy fairy, where as a unique selling proposition is a precise statement.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Just a heads up that I moved this post to "general discussion" forum. It had been originally added to the "forum rules" forum. Just letting you know so you get the email alert and can find it again if looking for it.

No worries at all 🙂