The newsletter which rips words from scripts and songs to help you craft standout copy.

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Copy Cues Club #18

Hey Reader,

There are a lot of copywriters out there.

Like, a LOT.

You just need to look at a LinkedIn job post to see that.

And if you work in pretty much any established industry, I’m guessing the same is true for you.

So how do you convince someone that you’re better than every other option?

You don’t.

Because that’s not really the point of positioning.

This month's lesson comes from Grease.

You’re the One That I Want, Grease

🎧 Listen to it on the Copy Cues Club playlist

Why does it work?

Danny and Sandy aren’t singing You’re Objectively the Best Person Available Based on a Comprehensive Review of the Market.

(Which, admittedly, would be less catchy.)

It’s you’re the one that I want.

And there’s a pretty useful positioning lesson hiding in there.

Good positioning isn’t about proving you’re the best business in your industry.

It’s about helping the right person understand why you’re the one they want.

There might be hundreds of people who technically do the same thing as you. Copywriters. Designers. Accountants. Coaches. Photographers.

Trying to stand out by shouting “I’m better!” isn’t particularly helpful.

Better at what? For whom? Compared with what?

Instead, your positioning should give the right person a reason to think:

Oh. They’re for businesses like mine.

They understand the problem I’m dealing with.

I like the way they approach this.

Yep. That’s who I want.

That’s the goal.

Not to be everyone’s first choice.

To make it easier for the right people to choose you.

Make it work for you

To give your audience the same feeling think about...

✨Give people a reason to choose you

“High-quality.”
“Bespoke.”
“Friendly.”
“Professional.”

Lovely.

Also applicable to approximately 97% of your competitors.

Being distinctive doesn’t necessarily mean inventing a product or service nobody else offers.

Sometimes it starts with noticing what everyone else in your industry has decided is just the way things are.

Take Snag.

They didn’t invent tights.

Instead, they looked at an established category and a problem plenty of people had simply learned to put up with: tights that didn’t properly fit the range of bodies wearing them.

So they built their approach around doing things differently, with inclusive sizing at the heart of the brand.

You don’t have to invent something completely new.

But you do need to give people a reason to choose your version of it.

💭Ask yourself: What do I do, believe or approach differently enough that someone might actively choose me because of it?

🙅 Be willing to make some people say "not for me"

Liquid Death sells water.

Water.

And yet, rather than another bottle covered in mountains promising purity + refreshment, you get a tall can, a skull + the instruction to Murder Your Thirst.

Some people will think that’s brilliant.

Some people will think it’s absolutely ridiculous.

And that’s kind of the point.

Liquid Death has made choices about who it wants to appeal to + how it wants to show up.

If your messaging is designed to appeal to absolutely everyone who could conceivably buy from you, you can end up sanding off the very things that would make the right person really want you.

💭Ask yourself: Is there anything about my brand that the wrong person might dislike — but the right person will absolutely love?

❤️Don’t forget how you make people feel

Then there’s Surreal.

Fundamentally, it sells cereal.

High-protein, low-sugar cereal, yes. But still: cereal.

Its marketing could quite easily focus entirely on protein content, carbs + nutritional benefits.

Instead, Surreal has built a brand that’s genuinely funny.

Its ads are silly. Its copy is self-aware. Its campaigns make you want to see what they’ve come up with next.

Of course the product still matters.

But sometimes the reason someone chooses you isn’t something they can neatly put into a comparison table.

Sometimes they just really like your vibe.

We notice whose worldview we agree with. Whose language makes us laugh. Whose approach makes us feel understood. Who seems like they’d be good to work with.

Your personality won’t make everyone like you.

It gives the right people another reason to choose you.

💭Ask yourself: If someone compared me with three businesses offering roughly the same thing, what would they remember about how my brand made them feel?

You don’t need to be the only one

You don’t need to invent the world’s first [insert whatever you do here].

You don’t need to be the only person offering it.

And you definitely don’t need to prove that you’re objectively better than everyone else.

You need to give the right people enough reasons to think:

You’re the one that I want.

💺Want to find the seat at the table only you can fill?

This is exactly what we dig into inside the Positioning unit of Honest Brand Communications.

You’ll work through your audience, competitors and differentiators to get clearer on the space you want your business to occupy + give the right people a reason to choose you.

And you don’t have to take my word for it. You can try one of the Positioning lessons for free before deciding whether Honest Brand Communications is for you.

Get a sneak peek

🎵 On my playlist:

💻 Working on brand guidelines + web copy for two lovely new clients

📺 Celebrity Traitors + Bake Off

Is there any better autumnal TV watching?

📚 The Silent Appeal by Janice Hallett

The follow up to the Appeal. Compelling reading + love the mixed media format.

Thanks for being part of the gang. I'll be back in your inbox on ,

✨ Bex ✨

💌P.S. I'd love you to send me your favourite song or movie so I can use some copy from it in a future newsletter and give you a shout out. Just hit reply and let me know. I promise I'll read and reply to every email.