On Positioning

10X Writer #98

10xWriter is a newsletter for freelance writers and copywriters who want to build a writing practice that actually pays.

1. Positioning is not how you describe yourself. It’s how the market decides where you fit.

2. Most writers think positioning is about standing out. It’s about being placed. In the right category, for the right problem, in the right client’s mind.

3. The market doesn’t choose the best writer. It chooses the writer it can most easily categorize as right for this.

4. If people can’t describe what you do in one sentence, they probably won’t recommend you.

5. Good work gets you repeat clients. It rarely gets you new ones. New clients need a reason to choose you before they’ve seen your work.

6. Without positioning, a writer competes on availability and price. Both are races nobody wins.

7. Most writers are invisible not because their work is weak but because the market has no clear place to put them.

8. Strong positioning makes you the obvious choice for a specific problem. Not a good choice. The obvious one.

9. Being known for one thing creates more opportunities than being able to do ten things quietly.

10. The goal of positioning isn’t to convince everyone you’re the best writer. It’s to make the right client feel like they’ve finally found the right one.

11. The clearer you are about who you’re not for, the clearer the right client is about whether you’re for them.

12. Positioning starts with a decision most writers avoid. Saying no to something specific so they can say yes to something better.