Ever feel you always have 10 tabs open mentally?

It must be gruesome to get through all the tasks without losing your notes (and your mind)

And then comes your second brain: NOTION 💫

A tool that is as malleable as your mind

Your “all-in-one workspace” for everything and anything. 

It bundles all the most important tools you use for docs and productivity into one place, and then makes it super easy for you to customize it so it can work the way you do.

With Covid came remote work, and remote brought in 100 different collaboration tools

and when all hell breaks loose, you feel...

But, Notion always has your back.

It becomes your all-in-one workspace that combines note-taking, database management, project management, and collaboration tools. It allows you to create custom pages with various content blocks including text, databases, kanban boards, calendars, and embedded media.

To help you visualise, here's a whimsical that includes most of Notion's capabilities (there's more)

Honestly the branches can go on and on...

That's what Notion is known for, to be your one man army.

But what about clickup, coda, airtable you might ask... aren't they the same?

Nope.
ClickUp = All-in on project management. None for thoughtful docs.
Coda = Great for builders. Confusing for everyone else.
Airtable = Great for databases. But your brain doesn’t work in rows and columns.

Notion?
Notion is a shape-shifter. It adapts to you.

You don’t work like a spreadsheet.
You don’t think in tickets.
You work in messy, beautiful, interconnected ways.
That’s what Notion gets.

So, when anyone ask you for a tool suggestion, you say: All you need is Notion!

Now, enough of what I think about Notion, what do 100 million users worldwide think of Notion?

To get started I did user research calls and I've compiled the answers below for you

Here's my user research call inputs: check out


Quick summary of what I learn from the user calls:

• Users felt empowered by Notion’s flexibility: they loved how it could adapt to personal and professional needs with infinite use cases.
• They felt creatively in control: the ability to design their own workspace made them feel more organized and less constrained
• They replaced Notion with multiple apps: journaling, task tracking, documentation, and planning all in one place felt like a productivity unlock.
• They got motivated to build systems: the modular nature of blocks and databases encouraged them to think in workflows, not just static docs.
• Notion gave them clarity: when set up well, it became a single source of truth that helped reduce mental clutter and scattered thinking.
  

Here are 5 ICPs that came out during my user calls (we'll boil them down to 2 as we proceed)

ICP Prioritization Framework

Here's how I did my priority scoring:

Here's a quadrant depicting the ICP prioritization framework:

🏆 So winner is ICP2 and ICP3, why?

🧡 ICP3: Process-Obsessed PM = Highest revenue potential. Team-based, collaborative, recurring use. Worth the higher CAC.

🩷 ICP2: Creative Strategist = Mid-to-high revenue, lower CAC, and easier to activate. Ideal for bottoms-up growth and community-led loops.

How can notion help these two ICPs?

🧡 ICP3: Process-Obsessed Product Managers

1. Product teams can leverage Notion AI to streamline their workflows, from drafting documents to summarizing research, thereby enhancing efficiency
2. Notion combats tech bloat by consolidating multiple software tools into a single, this improves productivity of PMs
3. Companies like Duolingo and Ironhack have adopted Notion to keep teams aligned and maintain a single source of truth, highlighting its effectiveness in managing complex product workflows

🩷 ICP2: Creative Strategists

1. Notion's community-led growth strategy has nurtured a creative community that utilizes the platform for content calendars, brand guidelines, client portals etc making it versatile
2. Notion has created global network of users who share templates and workflows, fostering a collaborative environment that benefits creative professionals.
3. Creative professionals have utilized Notion to manage design case studies and creative studio operations, showcasing its adaptability to various creative processes.

Here's a real life testimonial:

"I don't use ten apps. I use one app that's worth ten."

That's Notion for you. Your everything workspace.

It's your notes, your projects, your databases, your calendars - all playing nice together in one sophisticated workspace.

Think of it as the penthouse suite of productivity tools, while everything else is fighting for space in a cramped studio apartment.

What are it's features?

😤 What is the problem being solved?

• Tool overload: Teams juggle 5+ different tools for docs, tasks, wikis, and databases, leading to siloed information and constant context switching.
• Rigid workflows: Most tools force users to adapt to their structure, instead of the other way around.
• Poor knowledge retention: Notes, decisions, and documents are scattered across email, Slack, and random folders.
• Limited customization: Traditional tools offer features, but not flexibility.
  

People want one place to think, write, plan, and build, without the chaos of switching between apps.

Core Value Proposition

Who is Notion for?

Based on my user calls, we'll target two broad personas:

• Creative Strategists: journaling lovers, content creators, marketers
• Process-Obsessed PMs: ex-Asana/Trello/Obsidian users, systems thinkers, startup operators

Common frustrations across users:

• "Many tools have overwhelming interface (including Notion), I didn’t know where to start!!"
• "Feels like most apps are built for tech teams, I just want something simple."
• “Setting up dashboards and templates take too long.”
• “Lack of integrations killed my flow. I dropped off.”
• “Jira felt too rigid, Google Docs too flat, nothing felt right.
  
  
  😮‍💨 Tool-switching fatigue and context fragmentation were recurring themes.

Who are the other players?

Well, there are many (too many infact)

Here’s what the landscape really looks like.

While we’ve got a pretty good sense of how Notion holds its own against tools like Evernote, Google Keep, Trello, and Asana

Now let’s dig deeper and really break it down.

Strategic Overview Matrix

Competitor
Market Position
Revenue (2024)
User Base
Direct Threat Level
Strategic Response Needed
ClickUp
Rising challenger
$100-150M
4M+ users
🔴 HIGH
Feature parity + UX simplification
Coda
Niche builder tool
$30-50M
500K+ users
🟡 MEDIUM
Maintain ease-of-use advantage
Airtable
Data-first leader
$300M+
5M+ users
🔴 HIGH
Strengthen collaboration features
Evernote
Legacy declining
$50-80M
10M+ (declining)
🟢 LOW
Learn from their mistakes
Trello
Simple visual PM
Part of Atlassian
50M+ users
🟡 MEDIUM
Defend simplicity positioning
Obsidian
PKM specialist
$10-20M
1M+ users
🟢 LOW
Monitor knowledge graph trends

Core Value Propositions

Competitor
Primary Value Prop
Secondary Benefits
Weakness to exploit
ClickUp
"Replace all productivity tools"
Feature completeness, customization
Overwhelming complexity, poor UX
Coda
"Docs that think"
Powerful automation, builder-friendly
High learning curve, limited templates
Airtable
"Database made simple"
Data visualization, integration ecosystem
Weak document editing, poor real-time collab
Evernote
"Capture everything"
OCR, web clipper, search
Outdated UX, limited team features
Trello
"Visual simplicity"
Ease of use, quick adoption
Limited functionality depth
Obsidian
"Second brain"
Graph view, offline-first, extensible
Individual-focused, complex setup

Feature Gap Analysis

Feature Category
Market Leader
Notion's Position
Opportunity Score (1-10)
Task Management
ClickUp
6/10
7 - Room for improvement
Database Functionality
Airtable
7/10
8 - Close competitor
Document Editing
Google Docs
8/10
6 - Strong position
Team Collaboration
Slack/Teams
6/10
9 - Major opportunity
Knowledge Management
Obsidian/Roam
7/10
8 - Growing importance
AI Integration
Notion
8/10
9 - Current advantage
Template Ecosystem
Notion
9/10
5 - Maintain leadership

Strategic moves Notion is already making/ should do to keep up with it's competition:

• Notion’s pushing hard on AI agents and for good reason. Microsoft’s coming for their turf with Loop. If Notion wants to stay ahead, it needs to move fast. (Source: https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/15/23959801/microsoft-loop-launch-notion-competitor)
• Notion Mail’s in beta, and it’s actually useful, you can turn emails into tasks, link them to projects, and keep everything connected. It sorts your inbox with AI and syncs with your calendar, so you’re not bouncing between apps all day.
• Offline mode has been one of Notion’s most requested features - soon, users can work without internet and stay productive anywhere. (Source: https://www.thesimple.ink/blog/notion-2025-what-to-expect-exploring-new-features-and-strategic-directions )
• Bring in industry-specific versions (legal, healthcare, etc.)
• Expand beyond English-speaking markets

Market forces that are shaping notion's trajectory

💜 TAILWINDS

• While Microsoft adds AI to 30-year-old software and Google plays catch-up, Notion built AI-native features that actually work. 12-18 month head start isn't bad for a startup
• 73% of companies are tired of managing 47 different apps. Notion's "why use 10 tools when 1 will do" pitch is landing with 50% of Fortune 500
• Remote work = complexity tolerance - Distributed teams will learn complex tools if they work well. No more "just walk over and ask Rohit" this means Notion's flexibility actually becomes an asset

💔 HEADWINDS

• Google (44% share) and Microsoft (30% share) have infinite money and enterprise relationships older than most Notion employees. David vs. Goliath is cute until Goliath shows up
• Too flexible for its own good - Notion's infinite customization intimidates normal humans who just want to write a doc. When your biggest feature is also your biggest barrier to adoption, you have a problem
• It the times of economic pressure, every software purchase needs a dissertation-level ROI justification. "But it's really cool!" doesn't fly in procurement meetings

Coming to the financials of Notion, it has been growing steadily

Key Business Metrics for Notion:

Global productivity management software market size is USD 62.06 billion in 2024 and it's projected to be USD 70.44 billion in 2025 to USD 193.99 billion by 2033

It's growing at a CAGR of 13.5% during the forecast period (2025-2033).

Here's the TAM, SAM and SOM I derived from the table above

​

Quick Analysis:

→ Content Loops take time to build but compound like crazy
→ Paid Ads scale fast but are expensive and less defensible long-term
→ Integrations are sticky, expand accounts, but are slow to activate
→ Referral Programs need constant tuning but have network effects
→ Organic is Notion’s backbone: efficient and scalable.

For Notion, PLG + Community does the heavy lifting 💪🏻 (even the success kid agrees)

Here's the report from Similarweb.

🔥 What’s Working Well

• Direct traffic (80.64%) = Power of PLG
  → strong brand recall
  → active word of mouth
  → deep product embedment in workflows
• Organic search (14.07%) = SEO + template loops are paying off
  → Content-driven discovery (notion templates)
  → Notion’s long tail SEO is doing heavy lifting with zero ad spend.

🌴 Room to Grow

• Paid & Display (0–1%) = Untapped scale levers
  → Notion hasn’t turned on performance marketing yet
  → For a mature-stage product, this is a sleeping giant
  → When activated, CAC-to-LTV could be favorable, especially for high-intent ICPs like teams and enterprises.
  

So, for this assignment, the channels that I'll delve deeper into is Content Loops and Product Integrations.

1. Content Loops (e.g., Public pages, template gallery, YouTube tutorials)

• Every shared Notion page is a mini billboard → viral, SEO-friendly, and personalized
• Templates turn users into creators → helps them create their template, pulling in new users
• Scales organically with zero CAC

Real Examples:

• “Startup OS” templates shared on Twitter & Reddit (https://www.notionstartup.com/)
• Resume templates driving SEO traffic (https://www.notion.com/templates/category/resume)
• Notion creators with 100k+ YouTube subscribers (https://medium.com/creators-playbook/this-youtuber-makes-100k-per-month-selling-notion-templates-ad35e3bcb01c)

Some users are passionate (really, really, passionate.)

For example: this guy called "ben-something"

He has collated insane amount of information and made this into a mini-website

https://bensomething.notion.site/Binging-With-Babish-69004e64191843e4a8561682aafe9c15

https://bensomething.notion.site/Glastopedia-95b8a9109583489096e371aaa6340e8b

You know the show hot ones? He collated ALL the sauces, episodes and made a kick-ass repository

https://bensomething.notion.site/Hot-Ones-8bc5367e6c9d4b52a1c2b6595cfd8181

⬆️ This my friends demonstrates the platform capabilities 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I discovered this video 5 years ago when I was a student:

and many more...

He is a productivity guru and he adopted Notion in his life whole-heartedly and influenced me too.

Like Ali Abdaal there is a growing army of Notion champions: creators, builders, indie hackers who organically promote the tool because it changed how they work.

No sponsorship or affiliate push. It was pure obsession 🤌

Another example of Thomas Frank having an ENTIRE SERIES on how to use Notion

Notion also has a pretty strong following in it's own YouTube channel ~312K subscribers

2. Product Integrations (e.g., Slack, Google Calendar, Zapier, Figma, GitHub)

• Notion wins by becoming the control center → the more tools it connects to, the stickier it gets
• Drives team-level adoption via utility (vs. marketing)
• Triggers expansion loops into other teams (PMs, designers, support, etc.)

Real Examples:

• A startup integrates Notion with Slack → soon the whole org is using it
• Developers embed GitHub PRs into product specs
• Marketing teams pull Airtable data into Notion dashboards

Insight: Value compounds with complexity 📈

• At first, the value is flat → it feels like "just another note-taking app"
• But as users build and layer workflows, the utility explodes
• When users hit that aha! moment → dashboards, linked databases, wikis, they never go back!

Below is the graph depicting the above:

TL;DR:

• Content Loops = Top-of-funnel firestarter (viral + SEO)
• Product Integrations = Mid-to-bottom funnel expander (retention + expansion)

Google Search Analysis

Current Performance (Based on Semrush Data)

• Monthly Organic Traffic: 114.44M visits (April 2025)
• Global Rank: #322 worldwide
• Organic Traffic Growth: +19.69% month-over-month
• Average Session Duration: 13:04 minutes
• Traffic Sources: 81.4% Direct, 7.67% from notion.com

Top Performing Keywords

1. "notion" - Primary brand keyword (Navigational intent)
2. "notion log in" - High-intent user acquisition (Navigational)
3. "notion.so" - Direct brand search (Informational/Navigational)
4. "notion so signup" - Conversion-focused (Navigational)

Keyword Opportunities Identified (High-Volume, Low-Difficulty Keywords)

• "productivity apps" (90K searches/month)
• "note taking app" (74K searches/month)
• "project management software" (60K searches/month)
• "knowledge management" (40K searches/month)
• "team collaboration tools" (45K searches/month)

Long-tail Opportunities:

• "best notion templates for students" (12K searches/month)
• "notion vs obsidian comparison" (8K searches/month)
• "how to organize notion workspace" (15K searches/month)
• "notion database tutorial" (18K searches/month)

YouTube Analysis

• "Notion tutorial for beginners" (45K searches/month)
• "Notion templates" (89K searches/month)
• "Notion productivity setup" (23K searches/month)
• "Notion vs competitors" (various, 5-15K each)

Quora Analysis

High-Engagement Questions:

• "What are the best alternatives to Notion?" (2.3M+ views)
• "How to use Notion effectively?" (1.8M+ views)
• "Is Notion worth it for students?" (890K+ views)
• "Notion vs OneNote comparison" (1.2M+ views)

Reddit Analysis

When you build something that people really want, people will talk about it.

And Notion found the people with organic enthusiasm, built relationships with them, and they became the gas for their organically kindling community fire.

✅ The brand speaks for itself
→ it has dominating brand-related searches and pulling in massive direct traffic (81.4%)

✅ Once they’re in, they stay.
→ The average session duration? 13+ minutes.
→ That’s unheard of in SaaS. They don't just browse, they start building.

✅ Behind the scenes? A solid SEO engine.
→ With 47M+ backlinks and 149K+ referring domains, Notion didn’t just grow from ads or hacks.
→ It grew on the backbone of interest.
→ People link, share, embed, because it’s genuinely useful.

✅ And it’s not just a U.S. story.
→ Japan, South Korea, Brazil, France, Notion has broken into multi-language markets.

But here’s the real kicker:

→ Notion didn’t force community.
→ They found the early believers: the YouTubers, the creators, the template-makers and just built with them.
→They made Notion sticky

Below is an apt representation of Notion's positioning

Link to Notion Ambassador Program: https://www.notion.so/notion/Notion-Ambassador-Program-45448f9b8e704c7bab254bd505c4717c

Content Loop:

Loop Type Chosen: Template Sharing Loop

→ Users create templates
→ Share them publicly
→ Others discover, duplicate, and customize
→ New user acquired
→ They create/share their own
→ Loop continues.

🥶 Right now, Notion is not running any paid ads.

search keywords:

→ content planner
→ resume template
→ startup os
→ productivity template

But it's time to change that 💣🔥

CAC:LTV: 1:20 - that's our superpower, we can certainly put in some money for paid ads

We already have 2 ICPs:

🧡 ICP3: Process-Obsessed PM
Enterprise/Team buyer, deeply values workflows, ops, and integrations. High revenue, high CAC.

🩷 ICP2: Creative Strategist
Solo creators, marketers, content heads. Medium revenue, low CAC, highly viral potential.

Let’s move ahead with 🩷 ICP2: Creative Strategist for our paid campaign:

→ They’re easier to target on platforms like YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram.
→ They are more likely to convert via value-first creative ads (templates, portfolios, creator stacks).
→ They spark content loops by sharing their Notion setups.

Notion has over 1B views on TikTok, this is HUGE for any brand, let alone SaaS

For Reddit we can target ultra-specific interest groups:

→ r/Productivity: 4M members
→ r/Entrepreneur: 4.7M members
→ Why this'll work? Users are already discussing templates, workflows, comparisons
→ Ideal for reaching early adopters, students, indie makers
→ Notion ambassadors can moderate the chat and guide users

Marketing Pitch:

Notion is where your mind breathes.
No folders. No friction.
Just a canvas wide enough for wonder.
Build it messy. Build it wild.
Notion bends beautifully - to how you think.

Here are few ad creatives I've designed for Reddit, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter/X:

Here are some billboard advertisements Notion is doing in large footfall areas:

Advertising in subways:

In bus stands:

Based on my two ICPs that we boiled down to earlier:

🧡 ICP3: Process-Obsessed PM
🩷 ICP2: Creative Strategist

We'll identify complementary products used by them:

🧡 ICP3: Process-Obsessed PM

(Focused on structure, workflows, team coordination)

Tools they likely use:

• Slack → for team communication
• Google Workspace → for docs, sheets, meetings
• Asana / ClickUp / Linear → for task & project management
• GitHub → for dev collaboration
• Zoom → for check-ins and standups
• Calendly → for async scheduling
• Zapier → for automation across platforms

🩷 ICP2: Creative Strategist

(Focused on ideation, storytelling, and visual execution)

Tools they likely use:

• Figma → for design collaboration
• Canva → for quick asset creation
• Google Docs / Slides → for briefs, pitches
• Typeform → for feedback and audience inputs
• Instagram / LinkedIn → for publishing and engagement
• Loom → for async walkthroughs and ideas
• Zapier → to stitch tools together and reduce manual work

Integrations to consider:

Notion's referral program:

"Get paid for sharing the tool you already love"

The Money Part:

• $50 cash for each person who upgrades to a paid plan
• Plus 20% of whatever they pay Notion in their first year
• If someone pays $100/year, you get $50 + $20 = $70 total
• No limit on how many people you can refer

The Time Window:

• 6 months to convert (180 days)
• Person clicks your link today, upgrades in 3 months? You still get paid

Who They Want:

• YouTubers, bloggers, newsletter writers
• People already teaching Notion or productivity
• Template creators and Notion power users
• Anyone with an audience who genuinely uses the product

The Real Hook: Most affiliate programs pay once and done. Notion pays you every time your referral adds more users to their workspace or upgrades their plan in year one.

Detailed Breakdown:

Referral Program is very relevant for Notion:

→ Notion has a huge individual user base (students, freelancers, creators)
→ Referrals tap into existing user enthusiasm and turn them into distribution engines
→ It's low-CAC and perfect for promoting AI features, paid upgrades, or workspace plans
→ It worked for Dropbox, Canva, Notion templates, and even Notion AI waitlist

But Notion also has a Partner Program:

Here's how the workflow of applying to become a notion technology partner look like:

What happens after this?

You Get:

1. Developer Support & API Access
2. • Early or priority access to Notion’s API, documentation, and possibly beta features.
   • Faster feedback cycles and technical assistance from the Notion partnerships or dev team.
3. Distribution via the Notion Ecosystem
4. • Get listed on Notion’s integrations directory, which is visited by millions of active users looking for ways to expand their workspace.
   • Potential exposure in Notion’s newsletters, community showcases, and social media.
5. Co-Marketing Opportunities
6. • Run joint webinars, content pieces, launch announcements, or be featured in blog posts and case studies.
   • This gives your product a brand lift and builds trust with Notion’s loyal audience.
7. Product Stickiness
8. • Your product becomes more essential to Notion users’ workflows. You benefit from Notion’s user base sticking around, which means better retention and lower churn for you.
9. Access to Community & Events
10. • Invitations to hackathons, ambassador meetups, or partner events, which can lead to further visibility and collaboration.

That's all, folks!

You stayed till the end, your second brain would be proud 🧠✨