How to make your creations magnetic

Rob Hardy -

Niching down is a great first step for creating true fans. It helps you earn attention by being relevant. But in our noisy world, that’s rarely enough.

Remember, true fandom occurs when you’ve forged an emotional connection with your audience.

So in addition to being relevant, you must also strive for resonance. You want people to feel the warm fuzzies when they consume your work. It should utterly delight them.

That’s where positioning comes in.

At its core, positioning is the art of differentiating yourself from competitors.

Any viable niche will have other creators—all competing for their slice of the same limited attention pie.

The job of positioning is to describe how you’re different or better than the competition. When done right, it’ll be a no-brainer for potential fans to choose you. You want them to shout “hell yes!” when the stumble across your work.

Here are some questions that’ll help you craft unique positioning.

  • Where are other creators in the niche dropping the ball? How can you fill a missing gap and out-serve the competition?
  • Can you niche down within the niche? Is there a certain type of person you most want to serve? Conversely, who do you want to exclude?
  • What can you bring to the table that no one else in your niche can? Do you have insights from a different industry? Or a unique life story?
  • What are your most cherished values and deeply held beliefs? What’s non-negotiable in your life?
  • How can you inject your personality into your work? How can you create a radically different tone than other creators?

Work through these questions. Take your time. Be curious, and explore the many possibilities that arise.

Then, choose a few angles that feel right. The ones that genuinely excite you. And that you think will delight your ideal fans.

From there, inject these angles and perspectives into your creations. Wear your positioning as a badge of honor.

Not only will your work be more unique, more personal, and more fun for you…

But it’ll attract people, turn strangers into superfans, and help you build a thriving creative business.