POVs: The 4Ps of Brand Messaging
I won’t bury the lead– as a business owner, it can feel impossible to set yourself apart.
Let me guess. Your industry is saturated. (I’m a copywriter, so you’re preachin’ to the choir).
You’ve got an amazing offer, but it’s not landing the way you want it to. I’m betting you’ve got the skills, the passion, and the dedication. The problem isn’t you. It’s probably your messaging.
I’m a broken record about this (intentionally), but messaging is the what stuff – the go-to gameplan that drives everything. Your offers, your services, your brand as a whole – you should always a plan for what you’re saying and who you’re saying it to.
Messaging guides can have a million different elements, but one that I always recommend is a special lil section for your offer’s Points of View (POVs).
If you’re not quite sure how to wrangle up meaningful messaging points (including POVs!), that’s where the 4Ps come in.
When your messaging hits the mark, it’s the difference between a “meh” response and a “shut up and take my money” moment. And today, we’re diving deep into one of those 4Ps: POVs.
Lil Key Takeaways: This Blog at a Glance
POVs = Unique Selling Points: What makes your offer different and compelling?
Why You Need POVs: Clarify what makes your offer special and tackle objections to improve conversions.
How to Find Your POVs: Use tests like the Whole Chest Test, the Shout From a Rooftop Test, and the 30 Seconds Flat Test to identify what sets you apart.
The Gut Check: Ensure your POVs are truly unique and not just overused buzzwords in your industry.
Mini Messaging Marker: a 12-min training that walks you through the POVs and the rest of the 4Ps to give you a hot jolt of inspo on what to say to sell or share your latest & greatest thing.
The Ins & Outs of the 4Ps of Messaging: POVs
The 4Ps Breakdown: A 101 on this Messaging Trick
Before we dive into the deep end of figuring out our POVs (it’s fun, trust me), just know that I’ve got a whole blog dedicated to the 4Ps of messaging right here.
It’s your go-to guide for breaking free from any brand messaging ruts. Take a peek at it if you want a real 101 discussion, then come back and start on your POV journey.
Don’t wanna click around? No prob – here’s the short version: The 4Ps are a game-changing trick to shake up your approach to crafting a messaging guide when you’re especially stuck on what to say about your stuff.
It’s all about four core elements that help you get clear on who you’re talking to and what really matters in your messaging:
People: Who's your offer for? (Be blunt).
Problems: What’s keeping your people up at night?
Promises: What’s the reward of your offer?
POVs: What makes your thing stand out from the crowd?
POVs: Figuring Out What Makes Your Offer Unique
What is a POV?
Points of View are sometimes referred to as unique selling points or key differentiators. There’s a lot of marketing jargon out there, but essentially, unique POVs are the things that make your brand and your offer different and compelling.
They’re the little elements that make your offer intriguing. They don’t just pique interest; they hook into your people’s brains like velcro – stickin’ around long after they browse away from your sales page.
Simple enough, right? In theory, sure.
The thing is, POVs have this magical ability to get even the best marketers twisted up in knots. It’s hard to put ourselves and our offers on the center stage and ask, “OK! What’s completely unique and compelling about you, eh?”
POVs can feel tough to pinpoint for a lot of reasons, but mostly because:
We’re way too close to our own stuff.
We feel just like the other pros in our industry
We haven’t clarified our purpose or position.
We don’t want to be too bold or too niche.
We’d rather appeal to everyone.
We don’t know how to find our POVs.
Why You Need to Know Your POVs for Your Brand Messaging
Looking at that bulleted list, you’re probably saying, “Come to think of it…POVs are pretty tough. Why bother figuring them out in the first place?”
The short answer: They’re pretty dang invaluable for brand and offer messaging.
Outlining, understanding, and talking about your POVs can help you with messaging in a lot of ways, but these two are super important:
Clarify what makes your offer special (and worth investing in). POVs are your secret weapon, the thing that makes you pop against a background of similar stuff. If you can present something truly unique, that’s your ticket to talk about “what sets you apart” with confidence.
Improve conversions (you know, when people buy your stuff). Knowing what sets you apart helps you tackle objections head-on. Your unique POVs can help flip your audiences’ doubts on their heads. When they groan, “Ugh, not another XYZ offer like the 100s of others,” you can confidently say, “But it’s not like XZY offer – and here’s why.” That’s the stuff that matters.
Figuring Out Your POVs – Quick Tips for Better Brand Messaging
Like I mentioned, it’s not hard to understand why POVs are so important for your offer’s messaging. But that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily easy to brainstorm compelling POVs.
Sitting down to map out a list of your POVs starts with a no-judgement brainstorm. Start thinking about your offer. Ask yourself, “What’s actually different about it?” or “What’s actually unique about this offer?”
Maybe it’s in the format. Maybe it’s in the delivery. Maybe it’s in how you deal with root problems.
The cool thing about POVs is that there’s no real rule about what applies – except they should tackle what’s unique and compelling.
Here are a few questions to help you start brainstorming your own unique and compelling offer POVs:
What’s something this offer does that is completely different than others in the industry?
What’s something this offer doesn’t do that others do?
What’s something you full-stop don’t agree with in your industry – and why is it NOT a part of this offer?
What sets you (the creator!) apart from others who created similar offers?
What’s this offer bring to the table that other offers don’t, can’t, or wont?
Quick Tests to Idenitfy Your POV
If that list of starter questions didn’t give you the whole hot jolt of inspo you needed to lay your POVs on the line, try any (or all) of these three tests to get your POV juices flowing.
The Whole Chest Test
One of the best ways to figure out unique POVs that are worth a damn is to ask yourself – what abotu this offer would I say with my whole chest?
What would make you bow up about this offer? Puff out your chest and talk about it loud and proud? What’s something so unique or compelling about your offer that you’d say with your whole chest to even your biggest critic?
That’s probably a POV.
(Am I trademarking the name for this test? Maybe).
The Shout From a Rooftop Test
Alright, similar question here – but from a different perspective.
You’re standing on top of a rooftop. You’re elated. You’re the king (or queen) of the world. You’ve never felt more alive than in this moment.
Now, think about your offer – all the wonderful, wildly good things about it. The stuff that lights you up about it.
Quick: What are you shouting out loud about your offer from the rooftop?
That’s probably a POV.
The 30 Seconds Flat Test
You step into an elevator on the fifth floor of a building with the dreamiest client you’ve ever seen. Everything about them screams ideal candidate for your offer.
They hit the button to head down to the lobby.
Shoot. You’re pressed for time.
You’ve got 30 seconds flat to shout about the POVs that make your offer different, compelling, and a must invest.
What are you blabbing out in 30 seconds?
That’s probably a POV.
Final Step: The POV Gut Check
Once you’ve got a full list of POVs brainstormed, it’s time to put them all to the test. Sometimes, we think a POV of ours is compelling and unique – then we do a little noodling around and we realize that, um, well, it’s actually not.
One of my favorite examples of this happened when I had the privilege of working with a ton of web designers in a row in 2024. (I’m not picking on anyone, I promise).
I had four meetings over the course of two weeks with supremely talented designers who wanted copy help. They were all unique in their style, experience, ideal client, etc.
On the surface, they had barely any tangible overlap.
On all four calls, we’d inevitably get to the POV of their messaging. I’d ask them, “What sort of unique POVs do you bring to the industry?” and without daily, they’d all say, “Well, unlike other designers, I really prioritize strategy.”
This isn’t a bad answer. Prioritizing strategy in design is a fabulous thing. The problem is that the industry was (and is) saturated by designers who count that as a unique POV.
And to be honest, it’s just not.
I could throw a rock and hit a designer who says the same thing to me – that’s not a POV that tells me *immediately* that that designer brings something truly unique and compelling to the table.
That’s why it’s so important to examine your list of POVs and do a gut check, then a gentle nudge and ask:
Is this really, truly a unique POV in my industry?
Are there, like, a dozen other people in my industry saying this exact thing
Is this just a hot take and not a true tell of my unique expertise?
Like all those designers I worked with, you might find some of your POVs aren’t actually POVs at all!
Your POVs are MUSTS for Your Messaging Strategy – Let’s Find ‘Em
Got your list of compelling POVs going?
If you’re feeling stuck or want some 1:1 help, I’ve got a fun (and quick) little resource to shake up your messaging strategy and give you the hot jolt of inspo you need to start saying compelling things about your offer.
In Mini Messaging Marker, I’ll walk with you through the 4Ps (POVs included), share examples as we go through, and help you create powerful messaging points to sell or share your offer.
