How to Write USP (Unique Sales Proposition)

USP, or "Unique Sales Proposition" is the heart and soul of all sales copy in general, and direct mail copy in particular.

Unless you establish the USP of your product or service beyond any doubt, your copy will not help sell anything.

Here are the key questions you have to answer to establish a powerful USP:

1) How different is your offer from that of other competitors? Which FEATURES does it have that are not shared by the competing offers?

Does it absorb water four times better than all other paper towels?

Does it resist temperatures up to 150 F before it starts to melt?

Does it increase your child’s SAT score by and average of 100 points over 3 months of study?

Does it have the most fuel efficient engine in its weight class?

Is it the only DVD series to learn fluent Aramaic in the market today?

Does it chop wood twice as fast as any other competing chopper?

2) What are the obvious and clear BENEFITS that these features will provide to the buyer?

Is it going to help him win the love of his wife back?

Is it going to cure her bad breath and thus make her more comfortable in business meetings?

Is it going to make him more confident of his English and thus win the respect of his children?

Is it going to earn her $745,000 in 7 weeks and help her pay all her debts?

Is it going to help him run the Boston marathon in under 4 hours and thus help him achieve a life-time goal of self-actualization?

3) How superior is this offer in terms of customer support and client service?

Is there an unconditional money-back guarantee for 30 or 90 days?

Who pays the shipping and handling, and how much?

How long does it take for the product to arrive?

If there’s a bonus that the customer also gets as a gift?

Is there a 24x7 800 line that the customers can call for complaints or questions?

Is there a national or industry award that your customer service department has won for excellence?

4) How dependable and trustworthy is the offer?

What is the track record of your company?

Any official awards or recognitions?

Any positive media reviews printed or published on Internet?

Any celebrities and VIPs endorsing your product or service? Any testimonials?



What are the exact steps involved in manufacturing your product?

For how long the product is being manufactured?

Is there an exclusive patent involved with your offer that you can explain its technical merits?

5) What’s the risk that the potential-customer is taking by not buying your product or service right now? What is he or she going to lose by not buying now?

Will the price jump after the specified deadline?

Are there just a limited number of products available, offered on a first-come first-served basis?

Will they miss the novelty effect if they wait too long for everybody else to get the same product?

Is the offer available on a very limited basis because the professor who is going to hold the workshop

will retire after this one last seminar?

Will the medical condition become really worse if they wait too long to purchase your product?

Is the bonus available for only the first 100 customers, or for orders received until June 10th?

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