This is a guest post by Kathleen Gage of KathleenGage.com.
Why in the world would someone pay you for your knowledge?
Recently I received an email from a woman who has been in her industry for over 20 years. She is definitely an expert, extremely accomplished and highly respected in her industry.Her inquiry was about who to offer membership programs to. Initially she thought of her market; her customers, but said it just doesn’t feel like this is the answer. I didn’t hesitate to agree with her.
Who’s the best fit
The fact is, your current customers may not be the best fit for your membership program. Rather, it could be others in your industry who view you as an expert and are willing to pay to learn from you.
Let’s say you are an extremely successful artist. Your art clients may not be a good fit for a membership program, but other artists are.
Perhaps you never considered this side of membership programs – training your peers. This is actually one of the best choices for a membership program.
Do you know what you know?
However, before people are willing to part with their money they have to know you know what you know. This is where your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) comes in.
In a nutshell, a USP is what makes you stand out from the crowd. Regardless of what industry you are in there are likely others who do what you do. In the consumer’s mind you are one among many unless you can effectively clarify what makes you different.
Lots of competition out there
In my field there are thousands upon thousands of people who do what I do – authors, speakers, consultants, Internet marketers. However, only I have the experience and background I have. My job is to articulate this in a way that makes others want to pay me for my knowledge.
It is the same for you. Rather than thinking, “There’s nothing unique about me or in what I offer,” switch that to “What makes me different?”
There are likely lots of people in your industry who are nowhere near your level of knowledge, success and experience. They want to succeed, but don’t have all the information they need to do so. What do you know that they need to know and would be willing to pay to learn?
To find out carry a notepad with you for the next seven days and keep the focus on these two questions:
“What makes me different?”“What do (fill in with the group you would work with) absolutely need to know to become successful?”
No matter what comes up (how trivial it may seem) write it down. At the end of seven days you will likely be amazed with what you have written down. However, you must be very open minded and not discount anything.
You never know when the gems of uniqueness appear. The very gems others are willing to pay for.
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Kathleen Gage is an internationally recognized Internet Marketing advisor who works with socially conscious entrepreneurs, speakers, authors, and consultants who are ready to turn their knowledge into money-making products and services. She does this by teaching them eProduct development, Internet marketing, multi media program development, self-publishing skills, webinar development and developing mentoring courses that they can offer their clients. 
The comments are spot on. It is about building trust and injecting “you” into your programs. Thanks for sharing.
People usually pay people who they trust and can relate to. When people trust you, then they will pay you money for your knowledge..just that simple.
“Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”
I agree, your USP is something that also communicates your story and the underlying threads of connection people find in listening to you and what you have to say. If people are willing to pay you for your knowledge at a membership level, it seems like you’d want to inject a lot of personal philosophy and ideals into the curriculum. Because that’s partially why people came to you.