Friday, October 11

Let’s cut to the chase.

Most people can’t make the money they want online because they're lost in the crowd.

Why?

Because their positioning is off.

They've got a cheap personal brand that blends in, not stands out.

In online writing and social media, how you position yourself is everything.

A cheap brand:

• Generic

• Forgettable

• Speaks to everyone and no one

A premium brand:

• Distinct

• Memorable

• Attracts the right people effortlessly

No one wants to build a cheap brand. But unfortunately that’s the cost of people chasing tactics over fundamentals.

They learned to get impressions.

They learned to get followers.

But didn’t know what they were building into.

That’s why on X you have accounts at 200, 300, 400k followers selling retweets for $10.

The formula for Premium Branding

It’s not about working harder—it’s about being seen differently.

In a saturated online space, a premium brand is your ticket to recognition and opportunities.

Everything comes back to 3 things. The SVE framework:

• Your story

• Your value

• End game (your call to action)

Let’s talk about each.

Your story:

What is your story?

Everyone has a journey, a set of experiences that have shaped who they are and how they approach their niche.

Sharing these moments makes you relatable and allows others to see a reflection of themselves in your content.

And this is where a lot of ‘expert’ writers fail.

They’re so good about they’re so good at grabbing attention. But they lead attention away from themselves.

A guy I really respect put this into better words than I in this moment:

There’s a place for borrowed authority.

I’ll get into that in a second, but ask yourself:

What’s the benefit of me talking about Elon musk’s morning routine when you do Google ads for eCom?

It’s tough to quantify.

When people know your story, they’re more likely to trust and follow you.

Premium brands have their story nailed down to a tee.

Here’s a few questions you can probably answer from your favorite creators or mentors:

• What pivotal moments led you to where you are today?

• What challenges have you overcome in your industry?

• Why did you choose to help this specific audience?

Your story doesn’t need to be dramatic or groundbreaking—it just needs to be real.

People don’t follow personal brands for perfection; they follow them because they see a real person with flaws, lessons learned, and a journey that mirrors their own struggles and aspirations.

The more genuine you are in sharing your story, the stronger your connection with your audience will be.

Examples of stories to consider:

• A major turning point in your career that shifted your perspective.

• A personal challenge or failure that taught you something critical.

• How you discovered your passion or niche.

You can easily tie these into your ultimate goals, whether that’s to sell a course or find likeminded individuals to connect with.

Does that mean I hate borrowed authority. No.

There’s a place for it.

Here are a few examples of effective borrowed authority:

The keywords in the hook of each of these is “I.”

Authority bias only works through association.

If you can’t establish how you could possibly connect to Elon, it doesn’t do anything for your brand.

It just boosts his.

Remember, you can easily weave your story into these.

So from a tactical perspective if there’s a framework or some crucial piece of advice that lit a moment in your head - you can make it into a post that gains LOTS of traction.

No matter how insignificant you might think it is, someone 5-10 steps behind you might also get that lightbulb moment you had.

Now let’s pivot to the second thing.

Value-based positioning

Once you have your story, you need to anchor it with values.

Your personal story reflects your core values—what do you stand for, and what do you stand against?

This is where the idea of the “common enemy” comes into play.

Let’s revisit what I said on a previous newsletter.

Andrew Tate has the Matrix.

Trump has dying-mediocre America.

Personal brands grow when they’re clear about the problem or misconception they’re here to solve.

Your story, combined with the values that drive you, is what gives you a unique positioning.

For example, if you’re a creator who believes that too many influencers rely on superficial “quick-win” strategies, your story might be about how you used authentic, value-driven content to build a lasting brand.

Your common enemy in this case could be quick-fix growth hacks or content that lacks depth.

Before you can even think of this, a question comes to mind:

Who do you want to help?

Your personal brand must also be clear about whom you are serving.

The more specific you can get, the better.

• Who are the people who need your expertise?

• What are their biggest challenges?

Instead of focusing on a wide audience, aim for a narrow target—your ideal audience should feel like you’re speaking directly to them.

Examples of posts with a common enemy

Look at these posts for a minute or two and you can probably see elements of the 2 we mentioned so far.

Now we won’t go too deep into tactics here. But understand that this foundation is critical for everyone.

I’ll go into content writing in another segment.

But now I want to talk about the last part of the SVC framework:

Your End game

Positioning isn’t complete without a strong call-to-action, CTA.

Your story and values set the stage for connection, but your CTA is what prompts your audience to take the next step.

Every piece of content should move your audience closer to engaging more deeply with your brand.

Whether you’re asking them to:

• Subscribe to your newsletter

• Follow you for more

• Download a resource

Your CTA should always reflect your values and story.

Because everything you do or say online is a transaction of some sort.

• Money

• Time

• Attention

This is the currency that we all deal in online.

Even if you’re new in the space you have to have some idea of what you want to push people towards.

Traffic needs to go somewhere.

And what you do to attract the right traffic is heavily influenced by the type of traffic you want.

Think Burger King, they aren’t marketing to health nuts, come on.

If you’re on social media for connections - maybe you want to push for DMs.

If you’re on social media for leads - maybe you want to push people into your value ladder.

If you want more followers - you want to be entertaining or useful.

You have to have an idea of your end game.

I know this was a long one.

Would love to know what you guys think of this breakdown.

Just reply to this email, let’s chat.

See you soon.

Ephraim

Founder of TLGhost

How I can help:

📣 Partner with me to build your personal brand here