I mentioned in my last email that when it comes down to it, marketing is really all about getting and maintaining the attention of your ideal clients and then using that attention to influence what they think about you.

It really can be as simple as that.

So how do you get the attention you need to get your message across? And how do you keep that attention so that you can follow up regularly and be top of mind when your ideal clients are ready to buy?

Well there are two ways to do it.

One is through tactics.

Clever headlines on articles or subject lines in emails. Telling intriguing stories with cliffhangers and harnessing curiosity. Big, bold images in ads. Using video. Asking questions. Using scary statistics. Being omnipresent.

Nothing wrong with any of these. They're all useful in their place. They all work.

But once you start layering tactics on top of tactics on top of tactics to get the attention you need, you end up with complex and time-consuming marketing. 

And when the tactics stop working because your audience has just seen them used too many times, then you lose the attention you've worked so hard to get.

A better way to get attention is to communicate something your audience actually finds inherently interesting. Something they care about.

In a way, it's a bit like making a film or TV show. You can get the attention of your viewers through expensive special effects. Explosions and CGI.

Or you can get it by having a great story. Or doing a documentary about a hugely interesting topic.

If you're a consultant or coach or “expert for hire”, communicating something your audience finds interesting means having a big idea or “distinctive point of view”.

Something to say they'll find valuable, new and different.

Valuable, because we care about and pay attention to things that can benefit us. 

New, because if you're telling me something I already know – even if it's true – I immediately begin to switch off.

Different, because if you're saying the same thing as everyone else then why should I listen to you rather than them?

Your distinctive point of view is your take on how your clients can succeed in your particular field.

For example, Value-Based Marketing is my distinctive point of view on the best way professionals can win clients.

Back in the 90s, Re-engineering was Michael Hammer and CSC Index's distinctive point of view on how businesses could harness technology to make huge cost savings and cut time to market.

The 7-habits was Steven Covey's distinctive point of view on how individuals can live a fulfilled and effective life.

Each of those points of view is valuable to potential clients because they show them a route-map to success. They're different to what others (at the time) were saying. And (at the time) they were new and not something their audience or clients were already doing.

If someone offers to tell you about a new way of solving your biggest problems that no one else is talking about and you haven't heard before – would you pay attention?

I certainly would.

I wouldn't need it to be delivered in a beautiful video or have a clever headline. Or a 17-step quiz funnel.

I'd pay attention because the point of view is attention-worthy.

And that's the key to getting your attention of your ideal clients without having to rely on layer after layer of tactics. Have a distinctive point of view they find attention-worthy.

One that's valuable to them, is new, and different to what others are saying.

I'm going to look at the psychology of attention in the next few emails and you'll be able to see why a distinctive point of view works so well.

But for now, spend a few minutes thinking about what your distinctive point of view is that your ideal clients would find attention-worthy.

Because if you're not saying anything new. If you're not saying anything different. If you're not saying anything valuable…

…then no matter how well you say it. No matter how entertaining or shocking or clever your communications are…ultimately, your clients will lose interest.