ABC of Product Marketing: Positioning, Messaging, and Copy Explained

5 min readApr 2, 2023

Are you looking to deep dive into product marketing but finding the concepts of positioning, messaging, and copy confusing? Look no further! In this blog post, we’ll explain the ABCs of product marketing and provide actionable tips for creating robust positioning, developing effective messaging, and writing persuasive copy that drives action.

By the end of this post, you’ll have a clear understanding of how positioning, messaging, and copy work together to get your product in front of the right audience and drive results. Whether you’re launching a new product or looking to improve your existing marketing strategy, these tips and examples will help you to unlock the secrets of product marketing success!

Table of contents
· What is positioning?
  ∘ Tips for robust positioning
· What is messaging?
  ∘ Tips for effective messaging
· What is copy?
  ∘ Tips for persuasive copy
· Bringing it all together
· Final thoughts

What is positioning?

Positioning refers to the unique place that your product occupies in the market. This includes factors such as your target audience, competition, and key differentiators. A robust positioning helps differentiate your product from others in the market and establish your brand as a leader in your industry.

Tips for robust positioning

Conduct thorough market research: Market research is critical for identifying your target audience’s needs, pain points, and preferences. It will help you understand what your customers are looking for, how they perceive your brand, and what sets you apart from your competitors.
Analyze your competition: Competitor analysis is essential for identifying gaps in the market that you can fill. It will help you understand your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and develop a unique value proposition that sets you apart from them.
Identify your key differentiators: Your key differentiators are what make your product unique and set you apart from your competitors. Identifying these unique selling points will help you craft a positioning strategy that resonates with your ideal customers.
Create a concise positioning statement: Your positioning statement should summarize your brand’s unique selling proposition and convey your value proposition in a way that is memorable and easy to understand.

What is messaging?

Messaging is the way you communicate your positioning to your target audience. It’s the language and tone you use to convey the benefits of your product and make an emotional connection with your audience.

Tips for effective messaging

Use language and tone that resonates with your target audience: To develop effective messaging, it’s important to understand your target audience’s language, tone, and communication style. You need to use language and tone that resonates with them and creates an emotional connection.
Focus on the benefits of your product, not just its features: Your messaging should focus on how your product solves your customers’ problems and addresses their pain points. It should convey the benefits of your product in a way that creates an emotional connection with your audience.
Create messaging that is clear, concise, and memorable: Your messaging should be easy to understand, memorable, and resonate with your audience. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that might confuse your customers.
Tailor your messaging to different channels and audiences: Your messaging should be tailored to the specific channels and audiences that you’re targeting. For example, your messaging for social media might be different from your messaging for email marketing.

What is copy?

Copy refers to the written content used to convey your messaging, which can include website copy, blog posts, social media posts, and advertising copy. The primary objective of copy is to persuade your audience to take action, whether that’s making a purchase, signing up for a free trial, or sharing your content with their network.

Tips for persuasive copy

Use persuasive language that highlights the benefits of your product: When writing copy, it’s crucial to focus on the benefits of your product, rather than just its features. Benefits are the positive outcomes that your customers will experience by using your product, while features are the specific characteristics or functions that your product offers. By emphasizing benefits, you’re more likely to connect with your audience on an emotional level and persuade them to take action.
Include social proof, such as customer reviews and testimonials: Social proof is a powerful tool for building trust and credibility with your audience. By incorporating customer reviews and testimonials into your copy, you can demonstrate the effectiveness of your product and provide evidence that it delivers on its promises. This can help overcome any doubts or objections your audience may have and persuade them to take action.
Use clear and compelling calls to action: Calls to action (CTAs) are specific instructions you give to your audience to encourage them to take action, such as “Buy now” or “Sign up for our newsletter.” To be effective, your CTAs should be clear, compelling, and aligned with your overall messaging and positioning. They should also be placed prominently in your copy so that they’re easily visible and accessible to your audience.

Bringing it all together

Imagine you’re a traveler planning a road trip to a beautiful beach town. There are many roads that can take you there, and each one has its own unique features and benefits. These roads represent your positioning options.

Once you’ve chosen your road, you need to figure out how to get there. You pull out your map and start plotting your route. This is where messaging comes in. Your messaging provides specific directions that tell you which turns to make and what landmarks to look out for. It’s the roadmap that guides your journey.

But even with the best directions, you still need to communicate effectively with the people you encounter along the way. This is where copy comes in. Your copy is the language you use to communicate your message to others. It’s the signs you put up on the side of the road, the brochures you hand out at rest stops, and the words you use when talking to locals. It’s the voice of your journey.

Just like on a road trip, your positioning, messaging, and copy all work together to get you to your destination. Your positioning is the starting point, your messaging is the roadmap, and your copy is the language you use to navigate your way there. Each one is tightly related to the others and essential for a successful journey. Without good positioning, you won’t know which road to take. Without clear messaging, you’ll get lost along the way. And without an effective copy, you won’t be able to communicate your message to others.

Final thoughts

In this blog post, we have covered the fundamental components of successful product marketing: positioning, messaging, and copy. I hope that the tips and examples provided have given you a better understanding of these elements and how they relate to one another.

By taking a strategic approach to your positioning, messaging, and copy, you can connect with your target audience on a deeper level. Understanding their needs and desires will allow you to create a unique and meaningful position for your brand in the market. Crafting messaging that resonates with them will help you effectively communicate your value proposition and capture their attention.

Remember, mastering the elements of positioning, messaging, and copy takes time and practice. Continuously evaluate and iterate your approach to ensure it aligns with your target audience’s evolving needs and market trends.

By implementing these practices, you’ll be able to cut through the noise and capture your audience’s attention, ultimately driving engagement and increasing your bottom line.

Photo by Rubaitul Azad on Unsplash