Welcome to the final video of the Positioning!

You made it!!

Here’s a recap of the most important assignments and one final task before we move to Product Strategy.

Your Quest Handouts & Workbook:

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Don’t be obsessed with personal branding.

People put too much importance on it. During my research, I’ve seen bestsellers with tens of thousands of paid subscribers with zero branding, so it’s not a big deal.

Yet, the decision-making process is an emotional process, full of hesitation and confirmation moments, that work on an unconscious level - a level you can’t touch with your words. But with a proper brand positioning you can.

In this video I cover how to turn hesitation moments into confirmation moments and the only three brand elements you need to master (and forget about the rest).

PLUS: I guide you through the Canva setup I use.

Your Quest Handouts:

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Don’t be scared of saturated markets.

Markets with no competition might be your blue ocean but might also turn out that you’re too early.

There are many business examples. In my 9-5 job - we have a Bank, the one bank that introduced mobile payments 25 years ago. It was the first to introduce this technology in Europe (if not in the world). And this died. Because the market wasn’t ready. It was too early. NOW? Mobile payments are a necessity. But this bank? No one knows about it.

Markets with competition are actually a good sign. Where there’s a supply, there’s also a demand. You want to have competition. It keeps you and your business alive.

It’s good, especially if the competition is fragmented.

If there’s no big fish, you can become the big fish. Fragmented markets are the best. You can more easily stand out.

Consolidated markets are tough. That’s a red flag. The problem comes when you’re alone against corporations with huge advertisement or investment budgets - this is what happened to the image banks and the stock photography business. Now it’s impossible to compete against huge studios that produce hundreds of thousands of images per month. Not if you’re solo.

In this video I break down my approach to competition and the templates I use for analysis (they’re super simple).

PLUS: I have some homework in the workbook for you ;)

VIPs: Share this with me, please!

Your Quest Handouts & Workbook:

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Before you write a single word, before you obsess over formatting, Notes or which day is best to hit publish, ask yourself this:

How big can this actually get?

That’s what I break down in this section of the QUEST. Not the dreamy, motivational, “believe in yourself!” potential, but the actual, strategic limits of your niche, your audience, and your own resources (mostly mental).

Because the truth is:

Most newsletters don’t fail because the creator isn’t smart enough, but because of unrealistic expectations.

In this video I walk you through how to gut-check your chosen direction, how to spot warning signs early, and why “just follow your passion” can be dangerous advice if you skip one critical step.

Plus, I break down the three topic types—and why only one of them will keep your business alive if platforms change or trends die.

PLUS: I have some homework for you ;)

VIPs: Share this with me, please!

Your Quest Handouts & Workbook:

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If You Don’t Know Who You’re Selling To, You’re Not Selling at All

Let’s get this out of the way:
“Anyone who…” is not an audience.

If your content feels like

• it’s falling into the void

• if engagement is low

• offers are getting ghosted

• or you feel like you’re talking to everyone and reaching no one

It’s not because you’re not good at writing.

It’s because you don’t have enough clarity about WHO your “buyer” is.

And until you fix that, nothing you create will consistently convert.

Want your content to sell? Speak your buyer’s language.

In this part of the QUEST, I’m gonna show you the ONLY framework you need in order to achieve that.

PLUS: I have some homework for you ;)

VIPs: Share this with me, please!

Here’s your handouts & workbook.

Your Quest Handouts & Workbook:

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Do you feel confident that you create content that sells by itself, without having to put any sales efforts?

In this part of the QUEST journey, I’m gonna show you the ONLY framework you need in order to achieve that.

PLUS: I have some homework for you ;)

Now time to define your PROBLEMS and how you solve them & talk about them with your sparring partner.

VIPs: Share this with me, please!

Here’s your handouts & workbook.

Your Quest Handouts & Workbook:

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Let’s continue with the four must-have qualities of your topics. You need to make sure you have these so that your newsletter growth is secured.

I promise you it will become crystal clear in this episode of the Quest.

Now time to define your topics & talk about them with your sparring partner.

Here’s your handouts & workbook.

Your Quest Handouts & Workbook:

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The billion-dollar question: WHAT to write about?

And what if you don’t have experience or expertise? And how can this actually be your advantage (and not weakness)?

Also:

• Which topics can give you faster growth?

• And which topics can give you a larger growth?

• How to combine more than one topic without overwhelming your audience?

I promise you it will become…

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How to define your MOAT?

That’s another fun part of this Quest.

I’m gonna ask you now to do an exercise in 3 simple steps…

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So, what is your MOAT?

Your online business is your castle. The moat around it is designed to protect it you’re your competition. If your MOAT is weak, your castle is in danger. Because let’s face it: once you start doing something great, your competition will be the first to sign up. And replicate in their own way and style. And guess what? If they have a bigger audience, your MOAT is gone. You’re no longer unique, you’re a copycat.

So, let me ask you something, What’s the ONE THING which you have or you can do and no one on Planet Earth can easily replicate?

Why should people pay YOU and not anyone else?

The answer to that question is your unique selling proposition. Your MOAT.

But Yana, I don’t have anything unique. I heart that a lot…

The fact that you don’t know it, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t’ exist.

You just have to find it.

Let me show you how.

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To niche or not to niche?

That is the question.

I’ve tried both and everything in between.

In this video I cover this question as well as:

• What to do when a niche is saturated?

• What if you don’t grow in your niche?

Plus, you have the usual homework with an awesome Positioning Canvas template to fill in.

What you need to do:

• Watch the videos

• Fill in your positioning canvas

• Discuss it with your sparring partner

VIP members: Please share your canvas with me.

Here’s your handout:

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“Positioning is not what you do to a product. Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect. That is, you position the product in the mind of the prospect.”

― Al Ries (Marketing Hall of Fame)

I’ve identified 6 core elements of positioning you have to nail down before launching your Substack.

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Before we deep dive into the growth strategies and tactics, you need to set this thing right.

Positioning.

Only after you can start working on growth.

Because otherwise, you'll hardly convert your gained subscribers. People won't start paying if they subscribed because of your great inspirational story without having a clue what you have to offer.

I know a lot of creators who do this the other way around. They start working to gain subscribers with the idea they'll figure out their offers later.

They even start free newsletters and invest tons of time and effort but the gains don't come.

This only makes their learning curve steeper and more painful.

It's one of the reasons most writers quit.

In this video I cover exactly why this happens (and how to fix it).

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