Vanilla marketing is boring

Think back to the last drink you had that wasn't water. Coffee, tea, soda, beer, whatever.

Do you remember the flavor? Was it "normal" for the type of drink or was it out there and different?

Chances are it was kinda bland and safe. It probably didn't taste like the cross between a mango and broccolini right? (that's an actual flavor of a tea)

Safe, boring, vanilla rules the world.

From products we use to flavors to styles.

Vanilla is fine, but vanilla isn't best for everything. Mint chocolate chip ice cream will always beat vanilla in my opinion.

One competitive edge you have as a Shopify store is that you aren't Amazon, Walmart, or Target. Those stores sell a vanilla experience buying vanilla products with vanilla content and vanilla marketing.

Competing with them the same way they operate isn't going to work. You can't out-vanilla vanilla. Especially when vanilla is a billion dollar brand. You have to go your own way (as the song goes).

Finding your way out of vanilla-land can be difficult and scary but it's worth the effort. The fear of getting started and of getting it wrong are the hardest parts.

But here's the secret, you can start your journey with just a single sentence.

Think of how most of your competitors are positioned. They are probably targeting price, style, feature-fullness, flavor, or something similar. They are also all probably saying the same thing but in different ways (so they can't be sued by each other).

Take what they are saying and mint-ify it.

Coffee: Bold flavor becomes, Flavors so unique we guarantee you'll hate some but fall in love with others.

Phone cases: Protection become, Cases you drop on the floor and make your enemy jealous of.

Boots: Durable becomes, Boots that last longer than one rainy day without disintegrating.

A tagline can sound powerful and empowering but it's just the first step. You'll want to use it everywhere you can so that it becomes recognizable. That means use the feeling it invokes in your product descriptions, advertising, content writing, and even your customer service.

You'll know it's working when you see customers parroting your position to other people.

You're your own thing, able to run your store however you want. You can be the mint chocolate chip that everyone raves about, even those that hate mint.