Three Steps to Your Ultimate Marketing Message

Blaise Thibodeau, CEO of Karmaloop.com, presents three steps to your ultimate marketing message that will propel you to stardom and a successful business.

Start with the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) which is the company's main selling point. This should be something they offer that no one else in the industry offers and which makes them stand out from their competitors. For example: "The leaders in hip hop clothing."

Next, include what your product does, how it works and what key benefits this brings so that customers can get a feel for who you are and why they should choose you over your competitors. For example: "We feature the latest in hip hop fashion and footwear with a focus on limited releases, classic sneakers and exclusive collaborations."

Finally, give people who are interested in your business a way to get closer to you--a call to action. Include how they can find out more information about your company and make contact with you. For example: "Check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/Karmaloop! We blog regularly at karmaloop.com/blog. We are Twitter fans at twitter.com/karmaloop. And we have a YouTube channel, though we haven't uploaded anything in a while." 

By doing this, you are giving people something to grab onto and an incentive to buy from you. You are attracting them through your USP and offering them three great reasons why they should buy from you over your competitors. And because this is an incentive, it will lead them to take action in their purchasing decision--to buy from you!

Blaise Thibodeau is the CEO of Karmaloop.com . He's been featured on Forbes' 20 Under 40 List and Newsweek's 30 Under 30 for Hip-Hop . He has also been written about by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and other publications. Blaise is also a frequent contributor to Fast Company's Innovation 50 and Forbes' Startups to Watch List.

Blaise's blog can be found at karmaloop.com/blog .

CJ McClure is an internationally published journalist and award-winning writer who specializes in entrepreneurship and pop culture. CJ is a regular blogger at Fast Company and has written for publications including Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur.com , Essence , Hip Hop Weekly , Karmaloop , Nike outlets such as Slam Magazine , McSweeney's Internet Tendency and more.

Prior to writing, CJ worked in nonprofit fundraising, promoted hip-hop talent at a radio station and live-tweeted the Sydney Olympics.

CJ has a Bachelor's Degree in Communications from Morehouse College.

Follow his blog at cjmcclureblog.com .​

CJ McClure is an internationally published journalist and award-winning writer who specializes in entrepreneurship and pop culture. CJ is a regular blogger at Fast Company and has written for publications including Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur.com , Essence , Hip Hop Weekly , Karmaloop , Nike outlets such as Slam Magazine , McSweeney's Internet Tendency and more.

Prior to writing, CJ worked in nonprofit fundraising, promoted hip-hop talent at a radio station and live-tweeted the Sydney Olympics.

CJ has a Bachelor's Degree in Communications from Morehouse College.

Follow his blog at cjmcclureblog.com .​

Natalie Weiner is Director of Marketing for Karmaloop.com . She oversees Karmaloop's team of creative professionals, continually creating campaigns that attract thousands of brand new customers to the site every month and translate the culture of the company from an underground movement into a highly recognized brand.

In addition to her work with Karmaloop, Natalie is also a freelance writer for several publications. Her writing has appeared in Hip Hop Weekly , Vibe , Rare , BlackBook Magazine and other publications.

Natalie is also a contributor to the blogosphere's leading marketing blog [Link], where she regularly provides insight on how to market brands both effectively and creatively.

Prior to Karmaloop, Natalie served as Account Manager for Brand Integration, and was responsible for making sure companies' products were represented properly in movies and television shows. She did this by finding out who makes the product (e.g., the costume designer) and convincing them that it would look good on film/television (e.g. how, where and how often).

Natalie currently lives in Atlanta and also serves as a UNICEF Ambassador.

Karmaloop Magazine (ISSN 1736-8563) is a bimonthly magazine that focuses on the culture, stories and business of hip-hop fashion, streetwear and lifestyle. The magazine was founded by Karmaloop.com, who created it in order to promote the creativity of young fashion designers from around the world by providing them with a platform to show their work to millions of readers.

For more information about the magazine visit karmaloop.com/magazine . To order an issue or subscription please contact us at 1 (866) 528-0111.

For information about advertising opportunities please contact us at [email protected] .

All material contained within this publication is protected under U.S. and international copyright law, and may not be reproduced, duplicated or distributed without express written permission of Karmaloop Magazine LLC. © 2009 Karmaloop Magazine LLC. All Rights Reserved. Karmaloop Magazine is published by Karmaloop Media Services LLC, a subsidiary of Karmaloop Inc.

Karmaloop Magazine is not affiliated with any company or organization featured in this magazine unless specially stated herein. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners (including but not limited to: Nike).

To achieve circulation goals we will not be making wholesale contributions to trade journals, stock market listings and other publications. We are under no obligation to purchase advertising space or to provide any other service to any company or organization.

Karmaloop Magazine does not accept unsolicited manuscripts or advertisements which require the payment of a fee in exchange for publication. Each submission is subject to review by our editors before being published in the magazine.

Karmaloop Magazine will not be responsible for any errors contained within any submission even if that submission was made on behalf of another entity, such as a business name change, liquidation, acquisition, bankruptcy or other corporate discontinuance. Karmaloop Inc. shall not be liable for any errors or omissions in any submission submitted by or for Karmaloop Inc. or any licensee, unless the error was due to the negligence of Karmaloop Inc.

Karmaloop Inc. will make no guarantees regarding the deadlines imposed by our editors on material it may purchase for purposes of publication in Karmaloop Magazine unless expressly noted by us in writing at the time of purchase.

Karmaloop Inc.

Conclusion

"I like the idea of a portal for young designers to showcase their work, and Karmaloop.com was an equally good news source for me when it first appeared. It's not that I don't get excited about the clothes my peers wear—I do—but I'm not always sure what they're influenced by, or how they will look in five years. That's where Karmaloop is useful because it teaches you to be discerning."

-Anna Wintour, Vogue Editor-in-Chief

"It's impossible to make fun of the way some people dress without also making fun of popular music and pop culture at large.