Countering Concentration

I'm writing to you from Nashville, minutes before a viola recital given by a colleague of mine at Vanderbilt University, where she's a professor. As I wait, my mind turns to concentration.

Not the kind you might expect. (And I must say this is all in jest).

Several months ago now, I wrote a few posts about the great copywriter Gene Schwartz. If you don't know who that is, I will only say at some point you must pick up a copy of his book Breakthrough Advertising. In it, he coins a term: 'concentration.' In this case he means attacking your competition in your copy.

It's related to the concept of positioning, as in positioning yourself against. You may do so explicitly or implicitly. Usually the latter, unless you enjoy lawsuits and risk of offending your customers. But that's not the point.

The question tonight is (and this has nothing to do with the recital), what to do when your competition takes up arms against you.

Let's face it. You never can cover all fronts. If you've been reading long term, you know we've discussed the importance of anticipating objections, revealing damaging admissions. And obviously emphasizing your benefits.

Now before I go further, a quick note about thinking abundantly. I think you should. But don't forget that it's a limited market place. There are only so many billion people. Only so many hundreds of millions are online. And only so many thousand are prospects for your blue widgets. And perhaps no more than a tiny percentage at any time. Of whom, a fraction will find your site, and a smaller fraction will buy from you. Even with the best laid marketing funnel.

So when new competition comes on the scene, learn from them. Keep tabs. Spy. Of course, you shouldn't go poking around for industrial secrets, or try to plant moles in their company. But believe me, if you're any kind of player in your market, they're looking at you.

So when some contender shows up, and finds a toe-hold in your SEO campaign--say a handful of keywords you never got around to, or didn't think would convert--it's time to move. As soon as you catch them climbing the rankings (if SEO is the battlefield), put your resources into strengthening those positions for yourself.

Abundance? Let them go after another market. Believe me, there's room for more internet marketers. No one has time to long tail optimize a page for every widget out there. Just don't let anyone horn in on your territory.

As for the copy, keywords (for now) are copy. They form the trunk of your marketing tree. The roots are the mass desire, the branches are your larger sales argument, the fruit is your product. How enticing for your prospects. Beware of separating marketing from copywriting.

We're about to start this recital. Best of luck out there.