Creating Standout Marketing 
Before talking about creating standout marketing, I want to clear one thing up.
I know that zebras have stripes, not spots.
And that is precisely my point.
When writing copy for your marketing strategy, you must create something different if you want to stand out from the background noise.
Which is why you need to be a spotty zebra.
How do you decide on the approach for your standout marketing?
The thing you must never do is study the ‘general’ approach used by other companies in your industry and then copy them.
There is no such thing as a style that your customers expect.
You see, customers don’t want to read the same old stuff time and time again. If that’s all they get, how can they differentiate between businesses? How will they know which firm suits them best?
That’s why you must always start by looking at your company’s ‘personality’, the way you want to be viewed by your customers.
Being different is good
At school, the last thing you wanted to do was stand out.
Those days are well and truly behind you, so now you must think about how you can be different.
Let’s look at your website copywriting as an example.
You’ve done your homework and found the right copywriter for you, and you’re now putting together the creative brief for them.
Rather than following the questions they have asked, you’ve spent the day browsing competitor websites and made a list of what you want – mainly stuff that’s already been done.
But you’re not worried about that. After all, it must be working for them.
If you take this approach, you’re just looking like a sheep, following what everyone else is doing.
That is not going to get you noticed.
Time to get your spots on
If your website echoes what every other company is saying, you’re merely going to blend into the noise.
Consumers are a savvy bunch and will do plenty of homework before buying. That means trawling numerous sites.
If your site says the same and takes the same approach as all the others, what will distinguish you from them?
Your content and approach must be unique – so how do you achieve that?
Be unique and authentic
The first stage is to develop your voice. Your copywriter will be able to help you with this.
Take a good look at your company and ask yourself how you want to be viewed by your customers – professional, friendly etc.
Then think about the personality of your company. That might sound odd, but it relates to how you deal with customers and how you make them feel.
One of my past projects offers the perfect illustration of this. The client in question is in the intelligence industry. Their work is highly complex and technical, and their customer base varies from large corporates to government departments.
The voice needed to use echoed their professionalism, quality and attention to detail. Still, the standout comment from past clients was how impressed they were with the calibre of their staff and the personal approach they took.
That was our hook; the people within the company made the difference.
What’s your hook?
To find your hook ask your customers what it was about the company that made them buy from you, and then use that as the focus of your voice and approach.
One of the best ways to make you stand out is to take a different approach from everyone else.
This could be your website design, but your content must also be unique.
Why follow the same outline as everyone else?
If you think you’re best represented by something that’s not the ‘norm’, go for it – it will differentiate you from the crowd.
You want your website to be the one that makes the consumer stop and think, “Hey, that’s different; I wonder what these guys offer?”
Achieve that response, and you’re halfway home.
Why?
Because you’re offering something different, and people like different.
Generating the same old same old isn’t going to cut it. If you want your business to stand out, it’s crucial to develop your own style.
Don’t be afraid to be different because that’s what’s going to get you noticed.
Sally Ormond, a freelance copywriter, may not be spotty, but she knows how to create standout copywriting. Get in touch to turn your marketing around.