If someone told you that they saw me arguing with a stranger on the street, what would you immediately assume that I was arguing about?

I asked my sister and she said, “Soup. or lifting, because bros need to be told off sometimes“

All the sudden it was 7:02 AM and I FELT SEEN.

Let me explain…

You know those conversation card games? The ones that ask you questions to ponder?

I get LOTS of ads for those. The algorithm knows that I’m a curious girl. 

And we know that I love an excuse to be nosy.

I saw an Instagram reel yesterday, and immediately sent it to my sister.

Since I am a junkie for validation… asked a few more pals. My close friends list to be exact.

Amanda said: Unseasoned food

Lisa said: Linktree

Tasha said: How to properly make beans

Susie said: Misogyny

Steffany said: Why leg days are obviously better than any other day

Kellie said: Linktrees

Jon said: Web design

Oliver said: Lack of consistency or plants

Kailey asked: What part of town are you in? Are you by yourself? Headphones on like usual or no? Does the stranger have a dog with them?

These are so real. Down to the “don’t talk to me” over the ear headphones.

The key takeaway we can take from this is;

YOU ARE the essential part of YOUR BRAND.

If what you’re writing doesn’t FEEL like you, it’s not resonating with anyone else.

If you’re managing a brand that doesn’t feel like it has a whole-ass personality, consider these prompts to help:
1. Share something extremely specific about yourself, your values or your story
2. Talk about what you love in your field AKA what you stand for
3. Be upfront about the problems that you solve

“But Erin, I’m not a brand. I’m me.”

Yes, AND;* In a sense, brands are just reputations, how we’re perceived.

Yuck.

[*Yes AND responses usually precede something somewhat infuriating]

Let me explain…

Last week I received a DM from someone who complimented my website copy (*hair flip*) and told me that she ALSO loves cinnamon in her coffee.

General ‘about me’ paragraphs are OUT.

I want to know your coffee order, your late night craving, what size popcorn you get at the movie theater (hint: they’re all unreasonably large for CORN), and if you also mop your floors to The Pinkprint Deluxe Edition while pretending to be mad about things that never happened to you.

Somehow, after deciding to share big, deep, vulnerable things to the internet…I found a community. I got to be on two podcasts this summer, talking about personal branding, as if I was an expert.

I get that you might not think you’re a brand; but here are some reasons why you might want to start oversharing, too:

1. We (humans) crave deep connections: There are two great mechanisms in the brain (and one alright one) that we can utilize when we present ourselves in specific detail
   • We can either offer a specific detail that the other person connects with, and commits to memory, “oh they’re like me”
   • You can be the WOW factor, maybe the reader has never considered cinnamon in coffee, and I go down in their life’s memory as the person that showed them the light.
   • It allows people to place you into a category; a tricky part of how our brains work. But if brains are going to do it anyways, wouldn’t you rather be able to provide some detail?
      
2. Clear feedback: When we exist with clarity, we can learn about the people around us based on their reactions. If you don’t tell me that I have something in my teeth, I assume you don’t actually care about me. The end. Errr… I prefer to be around people who will tell you that there is something in my teeth, honesty = care in my book.
    
3. There are thousands of you: Have you ever googled your name? There’s a lot of yous out there, okay First name / friend. If you want to be known for YOU, you are in charge of putting your (true) self out there.
    
4. My favorite reason: By putting yourself out there, you’re workshopping your values and what you stand for. It allows you to dive in deeper and understand what your own stance is on subjects that we otherwise don’t talk about. It helps you learn and define you.
   It tells people what to expect: Oliver said it great, I value consistency. And lifting legs, well spiced food, I LOVE soup, and am on a crusade to end Linktree… Because I’m out here sharing my thoughts, telling my things, people know what to expect.
   Note: If you are above the age of 40, you probably do this one enough already.

This is where I plug my stuff:
If you need a solution to get more comfy writing about yourself I have great news!

1) We can hop on a strategy session and do some work around your brand messaging.
This is actually one of my favorite things, you get to brain dumb with me and I’ll do my thing; infuse it with proven strategies and serve you up a plan that is digestible and actionable. It’s low commitment too, incase you’re one of those.

2) Stay tuned! I’m launching a DIY Website Copy Template that teaches you how to write your own website copy with videos and tools to assist you so that you never have to sit and stare at a blank, shame-inducing screen, ever again.