Valchanova.me

Started as a personal blog, focused on marketing, growth and digital strategy, Valchanova.me was born out of the passion for sharing my knowledge and experience with digital professionals.

Now it's the hub for my consulting practice. I work with brands on markets all over the globe and I help them build meaningful relationships with stakeholders and scale them through digital channels.

Marketing, Growth, and Digital Strategy Consulting:
- Working with brands in industries from e-commerce to SaaS, from fitness to luxury design.
- Building digital strategies through hands-on customer research, data-driven persona building, and competitive auditing.
- Content marketing planning - building roadmaps and day-to-day team consulting about content production, distribution, and measurement.
- Performance marketing - creating strategies and managing budgets in paid channels from Google Ads and Facebook Ads to Quora and Reddit.
- Copywriting, landing page optimization, and CRO.
- Growth marketing - going beyond customer acquisition to activation, retention, and more.

Public Speaking & Training:
- An accredited lecturer at New Bulgarian University and Software University, guest speaker at Sofia University, having taught more than 2,000 students on Content Marketing, Marketing Analytics, and Gamification.
- Participated in more than 10 international events as a speaker on topics including measurement, content marketing, growth, and more.

Publishing:
- 300,000 readers accumulated through 10 years of content publishing.
- One of the top 20 blogs in Bulgaria, second most authoritative marketing blog (2010).
- Featured as a 'Must Read' on GrowthHackers.com.

Digital Marketing Strategist, Trainer, and Public Speaker

Ratio.bg

Responsible for all communication-related issues, including social media management, blogger relations, media relations, promotion of events, sponsorship proposals, etc.

Bragging rights:
- Led the full development of the event brand from 180 to 750 guests per conference
- Organized more than 50 events in different formats
- Overdelivered on guest expectations with an event NPS of 85 for the latest Ratio Science Forum
- Secured partnerships and sponsorships with national and international companies

Founder and Communications Manager

GrowthMentor

I'm dedicating some of my time to mentor founders, growth, and marketing leads through GrowthMentor, a curated platform of invite-only startup and growth marketing mentors.

I've so far had more than a 350 insightful discussions with companies in varied industries and sizes. Looking forward to talking with many more.

Check out my profile at the link below 👇

Mentor

Hypergrowth

I work to bring expert-led content to growth marketers and startup founders who can benefit from it. If you're curious about my work, check out the Hypergrowth Blog and our interview series Hypergrowth Talks.

Head Of Content

Enhancv

Enhancv helps you highlight your achievements, attitude, and personality to stand out and feel proud. The company has been featured at Forbes, Business Insider, Inc. Magazine, Lifehacker, The Hill.

Bragging rights:
- Optimized performance advertising efficiency and brought down CAC 3-fold in 6 months.
- Led the implementation of a full measurement strategy and implementing the data-driven approach for the whole team.
- Set up and led the first growth experimentation process in the company.
- Planned and executed an extensive customer research project through the Jobs-to-be-done methodology and implemented the findings in a product repositioning at the end of 2017 (team effort together with Enhancv's CMO and Art Director).

Digital Strategist

New Bulgarian University

Lecturer of Gamification in the Master's Department of New Bulgarian University.
Gaming elements, gamification strategy, and tactics, gamification mechanics, successful gamification implementation.

Already taught 3 years of students, undergoing a Master's Degree in New Media and Communications.

Lecturer - Gamification

Wishio

Creating and optimising the overall marketing strategy of the Wishio brand, including choice of channels, setting KPIs and conducting ongoing performance measurement. Managing an internal marketing and design team, as well as third parties for SEO, PPC and social media marketing. Keeping an active role in creating marketing campaigns, content marketing, promotion set-up and co-marketing campaign discussions with suppliers.

- Led the first marketing campaigns establishing the brand and reached some 150 000 targeted users through paid and organic channels.
- For 4 months served as project manager for the whole Wishio team of 8 people, analyzing company performance and keeping track of all major projects within the organization.

Marketing and Project Manager

Innologica Ltd.

Worked on the communication and marketing strategy of the content reader Inoreader. Developed an overall strategy with different consumer engagement and community building activities, including email marketing automation flows, media outreach to leading tech bloggers, content marketing and advertising management.

Product Marketing Manager

Ozone.bg

Developed the overall marketing strategy, marketing actions and programs for the company brand and specific product lines. Created the social media presence strategy and social media communications policy, determining the use of social media tactics so as strategic goals are met. Advertising planning and management, PR and blogger relations.

Managed all marketing budgets and did general oversight of a team of 5 content managers and 1 designer.

Bragging rights:
- developed the largest expansion of the site's target audience in overall history
- oversaw the transformation from a niche gaming brand to an entertainment and leisure brand with broader appeal
- created marketing campaigns leading the expansion of the company portfolio from 3 to 14 product categories with much larger and diverse target audience
- organized more than 20 events, such as gaming launches, product promotions and festival participations, including the largest gaming launch party in Bulgaria to date with 600+ guests

Head of Marketing

ASBIS

Worked for leading world tech brands like Dell, Razer and ASUS, developed locally the presence of ASBIS' private brands Canyon and Prestigio.

Bragging rights:
- led the establishment of Canyon as a lifestyle tech brand for teens and tweens, including the launch of 5 limited edition series
- introduced a local collaboration between Prestigio e-readers and famous Bulgarian authors
- created partnerships with off-road and drift stars to promote Prestigio GPS
- worked on community building activities with gamers for Razer, including many gaming competitions, product launch events and blogger outreach activities
- managed full year marketing budgets for Dell and ASUS and led all retailer co-campaigns

Marketing Coordinator

Content Strategist & Brand Messaging Craftswoman 💡 I help brands build meaningful relationships with the people who matter. ✨ Sharing strategic ways to create value-packed content and stellar brand messaging.

As a digital marketing strategist, I help brands build meaningful relationships with stakeholders and scale them through digital channels. I run Valchanova.me, a hub for my consulting practice and a blog on marketing, digital strategy, and growth.

My core competencies include strategic research and planning, content marketing, brand messaging, and copywriting. I have worked with brands in various industries, from e-commerce to SaaS, from business services to luxury design. I have also trained more than 2,000 students and spoken at conferences across Europe. In my spare time, I organize popular science events with Ratio, fueling the passion for science in those who don't know they have it yet.

I aim to share my knowledge and experience with digital professionals and inspire them to create impactful and engaging marketing campaigns. I am passionate about words which is the building block of both content marketing, brand messaging, and copywriting. You can easily get in touch by contacting me at v@valchanova.me. Read more at https://valchanova.me.

Vassilena Valchanova

Counting down the days to Friday for a great event! Just like last year, I'll be meeting fellow peers at Hyperscience's office in Sofia for the mini-conference of Women in Marketing - Bulgaria 🇧🇬.

If you're into events that provide practical value, you can check out the program below. If you're into events for the networking, you can check out the photos below.

If you can't come and join us live, there are virtual tickets available.

If you're based in Bulgaria and looking for a community you can feel at home in, apply – it's totally free and totally worth it.

You know the "there are two wolves" parable? Well, turns out it's valid in brand design, too 😅

Sarah Hart ✤ shared the interesting push and pull between:
👉 the von Restorff effect, thanks to which a distinctive visual brand stands out and gets etched in your customer's mind,
and
👉 the Bandwagon effect that makes us subconsciously crave to blend in with the pack and just drown in the sea of sameness of our industry.

In our live session this week, she shared practical ways to leverage von Restorff and fight against your subconscious conformist when designing for your brand. 

If you missed it, don't fret—check out below ⬇️

Hart & Co.

Founder | Creative Director

R&G Stategic

Creative Director

Headspace Design

Website Designer

Norex Web

Designer

Build a brand that stands out | Personal branding design | ☞ Follow to learn how top brands use design to outgrow the competition | #ceasefirenow #freepalestine 🇵🇸

Leading brands aren’t just polished-
they’re designed to be a glitch you can't ignore

Because attention in 2025 is currency.
And the ones breaking patterns are the ones cashing in.

So, if you want to be remembered as the leader,
you’ve got to show up differently.

That’s where I come in.
I design psychology‑driven visual identities
that break patterns and stick in people’s minds—
so your brand leads the industry instead of fading into it.

1. Work with me 1:1
I take on a handful of new branding clients each year.
👉 learn more here: https://hartcocreative.com/visual-signature/

2. Brand You: The Visual Sales Funnel System
Course launching soon.
👉 Join the waitlist here: https://hartcocreative.com/vsf/

✤

"Sarah’s a strategic partner who knows how to create gorgeous brands that drive leads and sales.”
–  Katelyn Bourgoin

Sarah Hart ✤

Pantone just announced 'Cloud White' as the colour of the year…

🤔🤔🤔

the official colour of:
…templated brands
…LinkedIn carousels that look like HR manuals
…AI-generated “Great post!” comments 
…quote graphics that give “Live, Laugh, Love”
…stock-photo Chad who’s “thrilled” about your cloud-based workflow platform.
…webinars titled “Revolutionizing the Future of Digital Transformation”

Seriously, 2026 is begging you to be weird again! 
𝐒𝐨, 𝐁𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡. 

PSA:  Being the glitch doesn’t mean colourful. You just need a visual signature that doesn’t blend in like skim milk. 🤷‍♀️

PS. what else is 'Cloud White' the offical colour of? lemme know in the comments

Sarah Hart ✤ 

Visual Brand for Industry Leaders | Follow to learn how top brands use visual psychology to outgrow the competition

Don’t Be The ‘Sad Beige’ Brand

there’s a sneaky science behind the Zohran campaign visuals that no one’s really talking about…

those vintage style graphics are basically hitting your brain’s reward button.

studies on nostalgia show that it triggers the neural pathways that create comfort, motivation, and trust.

and i’m unpacking how it works (and how to use it in your brand visuals) tomorrow.

Subscribe for the full breakdown: https://lnkd.in/eji8_rHj

The human brain hoards the strange stuff…

it’s the von restorff effect in action - the bias that pushes something different to the front of your audience’s mind when they’re making a decision.

and that’s why one instantly recognizable visual cue will take your brand further than the most polished guidelines ever will.

- like Clay's clay graphics
- Stripe's gradient
- Katelyn Bourgoin's burn-your-eyes-out yellow
- Zohran Mamdani campaign's vintage aesthetic

You don’t get remembered by being “professional”… 
you get remembered by being 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩.

Every standout brand has a visual edge… a distinctive cue that burns itself into your audience’s mind.

Here are 15 cool examples of visually sticky founder-led brands 👇

PS. quick heads up…  Brand you: The Visual Sales Funnel System is dropping soon. Hop on the update list here.: https://lnkd.in/ePsKmPXz

How do I Design my Brand so it Actually Stands Out?

The B2B buying journey has changed… and so has the job of your visual brand.

There was a time when most buyers came through a referral, had one high-trust moment, and jumped straight in after seeing your deck or website…

and your visuals just had to look polished enough not to embarrass anyone 😅

𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐁2𝐁 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 = 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲.
Calm, curated, neutral… designed to reassure, not to stand out.

But buyers don’t follow that playbook anymore.

They self-educate across multiple channels… form opinions long before sales… and remember the brands that stick in their mind.

Which is why the new landscape looks more like this:

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐁2𝐁 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 = 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐟.
Crowded, noisy, cutthroat.

Every product fighting to get noticed, recognized, and remembered.

Shelf designers don’t make packaging pretty… they make it impossible to ignore in the most competitive brand environment on earth.

like..
the colour that doesn’t belong (Liquid Death’s black can)
the shape that breaks the lineup (One trick pony’s upside-down jar)
the illustrated style that shouts from the shelf (Oatly’s hand-drawn type vibes)
the pattern you can spot from ten feet away (LaCroix wild brushstrokes)

they know they need to grab attention and then hit you with a visual cues you can’t forget.

That’s the new job of your B2B visual brand too.

The purpose of your visuals used to be “look polished enough not to ruin the sale.”

Now its to stick in their head and own their attention, so you’re the first name they think of when they’re ready to buy.

𝐒𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡…. 
not the forgettable hotel art no one notices on the way to the elevator 🥱

your brain’s kinda a traitor sometimes

I was listening to an interview on the science of attention yesterday, and i absolutely loved this quote: "the brain synchronizes better with complexity than simplicity."

everyone says “keep it simple,” but in design that advice backfires fast. if your visuals are too stripped down, too minimal, too tidy… the brain gets bored and wanders off. it 

that’s why infographics and visual analogies stick so well.

and why having a distinctive visual brand is so important.l

If a rebrand or visual upgrade is on your radar for 2026, i’m hosting something that’ll help you get ahead of it instead of scrambling in january.

The game changed a lot in the last few years… B2B brands are fighting for attention in a way we’ve never really seen before, and the whole “sleek and polished = good brand” era doesn’t hold up anymore. 

Brands need to be distinctive, memorable, and visually built to lead, not just blend in.

So i put together a free workshop where i’ll walk through:

1. How to use visual psychology principles to get more attention in the feed, stay memorable at the moment of purchase, and increase buyer intent.

2. The 3 visual mistakes that will quietly sink your brand in 2026

3. Live brand reviews - where I’ll give you specific feedback and small, high-impact tweaks that position you as an industry leader.

If you’re planning to scale, launch something new, or step into new markets next year, this will help you make way smarter design decisions before you spend a dollar.

Grab your spot here: https://luma.com/0mgisof3

Rebrand 2026 kicks off in less than 10 minutes… 

we’ve got 248 people signed up 🥳 🥳🥳

i’m excited to dive in, this one’s gonna be fuun!

https://luma.com/0mgisof3

when your friend tells you to 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 copy and paste your post into a carousel 😂🤣🥲

A little while ago i put this post out thinking it was gonna totally flop: https://lnkd.in/e_72-hz6

and when it blew up i remember sitting there like, wait… okay wow… there’s definitely something here 🤔

and since then i’ve had people hit me up nonstop saying how much they love this idea, which honestly just shows the power of content… you get to test ideas in real time and see what actually sticks. 

PS. my secret mat leave dream is to turn "be the glitch" into a book…  a deep dive into using visual psychology to build a brand that sticks in people’s brains and positions you as an industry leader..... even when everyone’s scrolling a million miles a minute. 

Moms, do you think I can do in between newborn naps or am I just delulu? lol

The Buyer Psychologist | Sell more using science (not guru B.S.) | 63,000+ marketing geeks read my free newsletter

My friend Sarah Hart ✤ casually dropped “Be the Glitch” in a LinkedIn post. She had no idea what she’d just said...

I DM’d her immediately: “THAT’S IT. That’s your ownable idea. Repeat that, again and again.”

An ownable idea isn’t just a catchy phrase. It’s your entire strategic positioning compressed into something so sticky that people repeat it, remember it, and refer you because of it.

Most people confuse a tagline with an ownable idea. They’re not the same.

Want to know if YOUR idea is actually ownable?

Run it through this 6-point checklist:

—
REVELATORY
Does it spark an “aha!” moment that reframes how people see the world?

DIRECTIVE
Does it direct people to DO something, BELIEVE something, or BECOME something?

STICKY
Is it simple, repeatable, and easy to spread?

ASPIRATIONAL
Does it offer a future identity people want to step into?

CREDIBLE
Can you defend it with proof, results, or lived expertise?

BUYABLE
Does it tie directly to your business and create revenue opportunities?

—
“Be the Glitch” checks every box.

✅ It speaks to her rebel POV and challenges the idea that brands should follow design trends (revelatory).

✅ It’s a clear directive—you know exactly what to do.

✅ It’s three memorable words (sticky).

✅ It makes you feel like a rebel. (Think: Apple’s aspirational “Think Different”—the ownable idea behind a $4T brand.)

✅ Sarah can defend her argument with behavioral science (credible).

✅ And it makes Sarah’s brilliance buyable—it elevates her services from decorative to strategic, something every designer wants but few ever accomplish.

That’s what a strong ownable idea looks like.

But here’s what made it work:

Sarah had designed her personal brand strategy through the Unignorable Challenge first. She'd done the deep positioning work. She’d clarified who she served, what problems she solved, and what made her different.

Her content was connecting and clients started chasing her.

“Be the Glitch” crystallized her strategic positioning into three words—giving everything she’d built a memorable anchor point.

—
That's the difference between a slogan and an ownable idea.

You can't just manufacture one in a brainstorming session. It emerges from doing the in-depth strategic work first—then testing different phrasing to see what sticks.

So if you're stuck? Stop brainstorming phrases. Start with positioning.

The words will come.

—
Who else do you know that has a banger ownable idea? I may feature them next…


P.S. Want help finding your first ownable idea? It all starts with building the right strategic foundation. We're currently accepting applicants for the beta of Unignorable 2.0. Hop on the waitlist to get first dibs: beunignorable.com

ok wait… my last workshop was over a year and a half ago and next week’s might be the last one i run for a while…

so if you’ve been wanting the real behind-the-scenes on how i design memorable, credibility-boosting visual brands…you’re going to want to be in this one.

(170+ people are already in and i’m bringing all my best stuff!)

Join here: https://luma.com/0mgisof3

People love to build brands around mission, values, and purpose…

but when it comes to visual brand, you have to clear three tests first:

1️⃣ Memorable
your visuals should imprint themselves in your audience’s mind…
this is the Von Restorff effect making sure you don’t blend in with a thousand near-identical brands.

2️⃣ Attention-holding
every touchpoint should use design psychology to grab attention and keep it long enough for the message to land.

3️⃣ Polished
a credible, high-end execution that raises the perceived value of everything you publish.

And then - once these three are in place -
build visuals that reflect your actual brand strategy and unique message, not just mission or values.

otherwise your brand isn’t keeping pace with where attention is heading in 2026.

taplio

The Battle

Vassilena Valchanova

Sarah Hart ✤

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taplio

The Battle

Vassilena Valchanova

Sarah Hart ✤

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Vassilena Valchanova's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreSarah Hart ✤'s LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreVassilena Valchanova's LinkedIn Performance