Sorry I Missed You

If you’ve ever felt comforted by proof that someone else has been here before, this voicemail is for you. I’m thinking about dirt paths, memory, and the quiet traces people leave behind that help us find our way. We’ll talk about how those small signs of shared humanity can bring us back to ourselves, and why the best creative work helps people feel a little less alone. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

If you’ve ever felt “included” but still not fully at home, this voicemail is for you. I’m unpacking the difference between being welcomed and being expected, and why that subtle shift can change how we show up in friendships, rooms, and even the experiences we build through marketing. We’ll talk about belonging as something you can practice (not something you accidentally earn), how to stop auditioning for a role nobody’s hiring for, and what it looks like to create moments people actually want to return to. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

What makes tiny wins so addictive? I’ve been thinking about how low-effort side quests create momentum, fulfillment, and repeatable joy. From conveyor belt sushi and surprise capsule toys to habit streaks and everyday rituals, this voicemail explores why small wins work—and how a little progress, story, and reward turns ordinary moments into something we actually want to return to. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Why does your brain love things you don’t have to choose? In this voicemail, I get into why background TV, old cartoons, and even the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade feel so comforting right now. We talk about algorithm fatigue, shared attention, curiosity, and how everything somehow started feeling like homework.From Pretty Little Liars nights in high school to texting my mom during Santa’s big entrance, this is a soft little rant about connection, low-stakes discovery, and the quiet joy of unoptimized fun.If this reminds you of your own comfort-watch rituals, tell me!! I love hearing what everyone’s version of unoptimized fun looks like. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Amy Poehler recently said, “Enthusiasm is a risk.” This voicemail explores why that risk is worth taking — from the professor who told me I had too much enthusiasm to the creator behind K-Pop Demon Hunters, whose joy made the world’s most-watched movie. In this voicemail we talk about how excitement turns nerves into connection, why joy is a creative advantage, and how protecting our spark makes our work (and our lives) way more watch-worthy. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

The smartest people I know are also the dumbest—on purpose. This voicemail reveals how low-stakes humor builds trust, sparks belonging, and makes ideas unforgettable. From spontaneous party bits and Step Brothers quotes to playful B2B campaigns, you’ll see how embracing silliness fuels creativity, strengthens your brand, and drives results that last. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

What do Snoop Dogg mugs, velvet track suits, and brand strategy have in common? A weirdly specific point of view. In this voicemail, we talk about how to make your voice so you it’s instantly recognizable and why that’s the secret to trust, connection, and creative work that sticks. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Did you know bees play for fun? We explore what those little wooden-ball-rolling bees can teach us about perfectionism, creativity, and the power of play. Talk about why bad ideas matter (and why we should collect them), how daydreaming fuels insight, and what Amy Poehler’s Good Hang gets right about collaboration and curiosity.Play isn’t just a reward—it’s a requirement. So if you’re feeling stuck, burnt out, or waiting for permission to have fun again, this one’s your wooden ball. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

TL;DL: Your audience’s brain is following a script. If your content doesn’t break that pattern in a memorable way, it gets forgotten. Here's how to make them remember you—and want to share it with a friend.I’m digging into the neuroscience behind why some content sticks and some slides into the void. We’ll talk about “event scripts”—the mental templates our brains use to process stories—and how to break them in the best possible way.We'll think about how to turn bland webinars, emails, and videos into content worth quoting in the group chat. With examples and a 4-step scripting checklist, this one’s a quick hit of creative strategy and marketing science you can use right away.📌 Highlights:🧠 How our brains use “event scripts” to process content💡 Ways to break the expected script in your brand storytelling✅ A checklist for scripting memorable moments💬 Try this today:Grab one piece of content—past or future—and ask yourself⭕ What’s the expected script for this?⭕ How can I thoughtfully break it?⭕ What’s the one moment I want people to remember three days later?Then just rewrite your opening line and your takeaway. That’s it! Let me know how it goes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Ever wondered why your brain loves filling in song lyrics more than remembering your own to-do list? In this voicemail we dive into the neuroscience behind our love for filling in blanks, what marketers can learn from Spotify Wrapped (and Netflix’s autoplay fails), and why our content should empower our audience instead of instructing them. Also included: catchy songs, psychic friends, questionable horror movies, and cats disguised as chicken drumsticks. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Does more actually mean better? Or does it just feel that way?Jerry Springer’s show ran for 27 seasons, thriving on shock, chaos, and controversy—until it all collapsed under the weight of too much. And honestly? The same thing happens in content marketing.Everyone’s obsessed with more—more posts, more videos, more channels. But just like in cooking, more butter doesn’t always make the dish better.In this episode, we’re talking about:🎬 What The Jerry Springer Show teaches us about content overload📉 When “more” actually hurts your brand (and what to do instead)🍽️ How to butter up your content without drowning in it🚀 Why choosing where to show up is more important than showing up everywhereBefore you hit publish, ask yourself: Are you creating value—or just creating more?📩 Subscribe for more creative chaos This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

One second, I’m enjoying a normal shower. The next? A mysterious man’s voice is coming from my living room, and I’m mentally preparing to defend myself with a bottle of shampoo.Turns out, the culprit wasn’t an intruder—it was my possessed alarm clock radio. A clock radio I’ve had since 2008, you know, the last time you used a radio. A clock I suddenly realized I was way too loyal to.And that got me thinking: Why do we stay loyal to brands long after they’ve stopped serving us?In this voicemail:💡 How businesses build (or break) brand affinity🛒 Why customers don’t just buy products—they buy belonging⏳ The lifecycle of brand loyalty & what keeps people coming back🚩 Signs a brand is losing trust (and how to fix it)The best brands don’t just sell—they make people want to belong. So how do we build trust without forcing it?📩 Subscribe for more creative chaos This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Ever almost not done something—then realized you’d regret it forever?That was me in Tennessee, debating whether to ride a mechanical bull as our Uber got closer. My friend looked me in the eye and said:“CORE MEMORY.”It got me thinking—how do we actually make memories? And why do some moments stick forever while others fade (or even change)?In this episode:🎬 Why “flashbulb memories” aren’t as accurate as we think🔁 How remembering actually rewrites memories🧠 Social media’s impact on what we remember💡 Why making more memories beats chasing one big oneWhat’s a small moment that became a core memory for you? Tell me!📩 Subscribe for more This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Ever been vibing to a happy song and thought, "This would be perfect for a horror movie"? No? Just me?In this episode, I’m diving into the power of contrast—in horror, in creativity, in work, and in life. From Us and Devil’s Rejects to satire writing and Six Flags free-fall rides, contrast makes things memorable.🎬 Why upbeat songs in horror movies feel so unsettling (and why it works)💡 How contrast fuels great storytelling, comedy, and creativity📉 Why failure is necessary for success (and why winning all the time holds you back)🎨 How balancing work and life makes both more powerfulContrast keeps things interesting. So where do you see contrast working best? Let me know!📩 Subscribe for more creative chaos This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Seven months after absolutely exploding my ankle (yes, that’s the technical term), I finally got the all-clear to skate again. But...What if I wasn’t ready? What if I wiped out in front of an entire park full of strangers? What if Brad, my physical therapist, was secretly testing me and I failed spectacularly??But here’s the thing: Play always comes with a little risk. And not just in roller skating—marketing, relationships, life… it’s all a game of curiosity, trust, and hoping you don’t eat pavement.In this voicemail:🛼 Why risk and play go hand in hand (and why that’s a good thing)⚡ How brands can invite people to play without making them the punchline🎯 What it actually takes to get someone to take a leap (or stand up on eight wheels)And yes, I did stand up. And yes, it blew my f*****g mind.Whether it’s launching a campaign, trying something new, or just putting on your skates—it's almost always worth it.Hit play, and let’s roll.Subscribe for more creative chaos. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Some memories stick with us forever—but what if we had the power to reshape them?In this episode, I share a story from my friend Mariya Delano about a day that could have been the saddest of her childhood… but wasn’t. Thanks to a caring father and a little imagination, what started as a painful moment transformed into a lifelong core memory of wonder, adventure, and dinosaurs.We talk about how our perception of the past shapes us, why memory is more flexible than we think, and how we all have the power to redirect tough moments into something meaningful.What’s a memory that’s stuck with you? Have you ever intentionally rewritten a moment for yourself or someone else? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

After getting contacts for the first time, I had a full-blown existential crisis over my eyebrows (shoutout to my glasses for shielding me from this for years). But this got me thinking… what actually makes something belong?Connection and belonging aren’t the same thing—just because something fits doesn’t mean it feels right. That applies to eyebrows, friendships, brands, and communities alike.In this voicemail:👀 Why my math teacher’s missing eyebrows live rent-free in my head📌 The key difference between connection vs. belonging in marketing (and life)🎯 How to create something people want to be part of—not just something they stumble intoAlso, promise I won’t shave my eyebrows off. Probably. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Getting laid off? 0/10, would not recommend. But if life has taught me anything, it’s that the best moments usually come after the absolute worst ones. High peaks don’t exist without deep valleys, and right now, I’m somewhere in between—figuring it out as I go.Turns out, our brains hate ambiguity (like, full-on existential crisis mode). They crave patterns, predictability, and knowing what’s next. But what if not knowing is actually a good thing?In this voicemail:🧠 Why uncertainty makes my brain short-circuit (and probably yours too)🏔️ How contrast makes life richer—even when it sucks in the moment🛒 Why I’m fully embracing my post-layoff era… and justifying the fancy butterIf you’ve ever felt lost, jobless, or just like you’re wandering the aisles of life looking for direction (or cereal), this one’s for you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Marketing has a trust problem. And the solution? It’s not more ads, more content, or more lead gen forms. It’s play.Think about it—when was the last time you really connected with someone? It probably wasn’t during a forced networking event or while filling out a 7-field gated form. It was during a shared moment, a laugh, an inside joke, a game.Play is the fastest way to build trust. It’s the difference between “This brand gets me” and “Ugh, another generic CTA.” And right now, most B2B marketing feels like the opposite of play:❌ BUY NOW!❌ DOWNLOAD OUR EBOOK!❌ NEED HELP?(Side note: why do so many CTAs sound vaguely threatening?)In this voicemail:🍳 Why play is the missing ingredient in most marketing strategies, 🎢 How different types of play build trust in different ways (slides vs. swings vs. seesaws, stay with me), 💓 How brands can use play to create connections that actually last.Because at the end of the day, people don’t trust logos. They trust people. And people connect through play.Okay, that’s enough marketing philosophy for one day. Byeeee! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Look, I wasn’t sure I wanted to call you today. Nothing personal, just been in a mood. One of those ugh-everything-is-terrible-but-also-I-should-probably-fold-my-laundry kinda moods.Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes something (or someone) memorable. And my brain keeps circling back to the day I shattered my ankle—a day that started off suspiciously too perfect before everything flipped upside down.At first, I thought my entire world was over. (Dramatic? Maybe. Accurate? Also yes.) But now, months later, I realize something: that moment changed me in ways I never saw coming. It forced me to redefine what "productivity" even means, to stop overloading myself, and to actually appreciate the little things—like taking a damn shower.So, here’s what I want to figure out: How do we make moments worth remembering? And what does that mean for how we tell stories, build relationships, or hell, just make it through the day?This one’s personal. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

I’ve been a loser my entire life. And honestly? I’m proud of it.Winning has never been my motivator—give me failure, feedback, and a good underdog story any day. In this episode, I’m diving into why losers actually have the advantage (especially in marketing), how getting comfortable with failure breeds innovation, and why the best connections aren’t built from a pedestal.Also, did I once cheerlead for a football team that never won a single game? Absolutely. Did that make me the perfect person to talk about embracing the L? 1000%.Oh, and stick around for the time I actually did win something—because even losers have their moments.Okay, later loser. 😉 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Breaking my ankle in three places? Not exactly the kind of play I had in mind for 2023, but here we are.This week, I’m thinking about play—why we need it, when we lost it, and why two of my best friends swinging like kids on a summer night made me want to cry (in a good way). I'm wondering:How play helps our brains, Why movie remakes don’t actually bring back the magicHow core memories come in all shapes and sizes. Also, if anyone at Hasbro is looking for a Nerf movie director, I’m ready to bring the vision.Big life moment or tiny nostalgic joy—what’s a core memory you didn’t realize was a core memory until later? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Some memories just stick. No photos, no documentation—just a feeling so strong it imprints itself forever. Like the day I got my license, blasting Avicii with the windows down, screaming CORE MEMORY!!! at the top of our lungs.Lately, I’ve been thinking about why certain moments stay with us while others disappear. Is it the people? The place? The emotions? And with how easy it is to document everything now, are we actually remembering less?I’ve spent years obsessively capturing life, afraid of forgetting. But I’m starting to realize that the best memories aren’t just the ones we record—they’re the ones we live. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Memories are human's real currency. And lately, I’ve been feeling rich (and also kinda old??) because my little brother Kyle just graduated high school. HIGH SCHOOL. I remember changing his diapers, and now he’s a full-grown human heading to college. Make it make sense.Between that and realizing it’s been ten years since we lost Papa, I’ve been thinking a lot about how memories shape us. Some moments stick forever, like late-night Frosty runs we used to do together before he went work. Other memories fade, and that’s the scary part.Memories are basically the closest thing we have to time travel, and I don’t know about you, but I want to keep investing in the good ones. Speaking of which, I’m off to Olympia Lake with James and some friends, so I’ll check back in later. Hopefully with some new core memories worth keeping.Okay, I gotta go before I get too sappy. Talk soon! Byeee! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Marketing has a reputation problem. It’s seen as manipulative, salesy, and—let’s be real—kind of gross. But does it have to be? In this episode, I’m unpacking why marketing gives us the ick and how we can approach it in a way that actually feels good. No slimy tactics, no weird persuasion hacks, just real human connection.In this voicemail:Scaling vulnerability (without making it cringe)Why marketing is like that unexpected slug in my kitchen (ew) How the best teachers and creators "manipulate" us (but in a good way)Plus, a side quest into personal branding and why it’s not about dulling yourself down to fit a mold, but amplifying what actually resonates.If you’ve ever wrestled with feeling too much or not enough in your work, or wondered how to share without feeling like a villain in a sci-fi movie, this one's for you.Also, RIP to that poor slug. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

If I hear the word “authenticity” used as a buzzword one more time I’m going to flip a table.I’m not voting to banish the word but I am saying we need to change how we talk about it in the working world. Because everything I see on LinkedIn lately is giving me the ick 🤢“7 AUTHENTIC HOOKS TO TRICK LINKEDIN’S ALGORITHM”“THE SECRET TO THIS CEO’S 50 MILLION DOLLAR STARTUP: AUTHENTICITY”Do I need to make up a third example or do you get the point?The problemThe way people talk about authenticity today (admittedly even myself) is we act like it’s some universal playbook. “Just be authentic!” we say as if “being authentic” means the same thing for everyone, all the time, in every community.In reality, we all know it’s more than just “being yourself”.Authenticity = trust that someone’s intentions will match their actions.Authenticity is about:* Making people feel seen* Making people feel heard* Making people feel understoodFrom a marketing lens, all good marketing is authentic. Like design, most people only notice it when it’s bad. Making people feel seen (Top of funnel)Being clear with your intentions is key. Reminder that being clear isn’t the same as being demanding. No one likes being told what to do and that’s not how you make friends. People should see themselves in your communications and think… “This is for me”. Make people feel heard (Middle of funnel)Whether that’s messaging, visuals, platform placement or a combination of all the above, there are multiple opportunities to be transparent with your intentions to attract the most relevant community. They should see people engaging in your community and think… “This makes me feel like I belong here.”Make people feel understood (Bottom of funnel)This is your shining moment. To show them that you can deliver on your intention to provide value to them. Whether that be a product to solve a relevant pain point or simply a delightful moment they can tell their friends about, after interacting with you they should feel like… “This was made for me.”Example of authentic marketing in actionThe most effective YouTube ad I’ve ever seen was this 15 second Mountain Dew ad with Charlie Day from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It opens with Charlie holding a Mountain Dew and when he says his line the captions are completely wrong. Charlie looks down at the captions then back to the you in confusion 😳He keeps talking and the captions get even more wrong leaving both you and Charlie thinking “wait…what’s going on?”This ad was effective for a few reasons:Social proof Charlie Day is someone whose intentions I trust because he has brought me value before by making me laugh. We have a shared sense of humor which already has me thinking “I’m a big fan of the Day Man, so I must belong here.” Immediately Charlie’s brand recognition brings back good memories, setting a positive stage for the interaction before he even speaks. This is why building brand affinity is a long game. Having done the work to build a positive relationship with his community prior to this ad, just the sight of Charlie put me at the middle of the funnel, closer to feeling understood. Timing The Mountain Dew ad knows they have mere seconds to catch your attention and they don’t waste a moment. The biggest goof YouTube ads make is making them too long. There’s this one awful ad I see all the time that even acknowledges the fact that the ad is too long by saying “Or you can just skip the ad” and you bet I fucking do, every👏single👏time👏. UGH it’s like what are they thinking?!PlatformThe ad was clearly made for YouTube, a platform where 50% of people watch on their mobile device (likely with captions). Giving a nod to the platform you’re using breaks down the 4th wall between the you and the viewer while building a sense of comradery like an inside joke. This is where I actually laughed out loud and thought“Wow, this was made for me.”One TV sitcom (of many) known for this tactic of breaking the 4th wall is Malcolm in the Middle. Mid-scene Frankie Muniz’s character will pause and address the audience being like “Can you believe this?”It makes the spectator feel involved in the plot while showing a more honest side of the main character that only the viewer gets to see. Building trust between main character and the audience.But before choosing any platform/medium you need to do some soul searching on what it means to be authentic for you, right now, in your community.So…how to be “authentic”Well no, not really. There is no how-to guide but I’ve learned that the closer you can get to enabling the stakeholder’s creativity naturally the more successful you will be at building a sustainable community.I always start by asking these 3 questions:What are your short term/long term goals?It’s important to have both so you understand what motivates a person and what you’re both striving for as a North Star. People need to see some quick wins to keep up momentum. Try using that positioning statement template I told you about.Do you normally think in bullet points or paragraph style narrative? Knowing how someone thinks can help you unblock them when they feel stuck. For me, I think in bullet points, so starting to write full sentences from a blank page is especially challenging for me. Think SpongeBob in that one episode with the word “The” written on the page for days on end… that’s me 😅It was actually through leaving you these voicemails that I realized I get my ideas out of my head easiest by talking. When I feel stuck I know it’s time for me to give you a call.How do you like to communicate?This is for both you and the community you want to engage with, is it…* On the phone? Try a podcast.* On Zoom? Try a video.* Via Slack or email? Try Twitter, Substack, or text group chat.* Not sure what the community wants? Ask them.Oh! That reminds me…Beware of stale Slack communitiesMany companies think that large Slack groups are a low-lift way to engage their community when really it’s where content goes to die. More often than not, these groups are oversaturated with self-promotions or even worse there’s 15 different channels and complete crickets 🦗 Slack communities only work when they’re manageable, intentional and have a sense of shared vulnerability between the members. An active group chat of 20-50 people will provide much more value to you than a silent Slack channel with 20,000 members (which marketers love to boast about on their website).Think about it, if you were at a party with 200 people it’s unlikely you’ll make several deep connections or be vulnerable with any of them. If you’re like me you’ll probably just post up near the cocktail shrimp with the people you came with. It’s too many people to know who to talk to and why they’d want to talk to you. (Sorry, my imposter syndrome is showing 🍸😅🍤)On the other hand, at a smaller, more intimate dinner party of 10 people you’re far more likely to get to know everyone’s name and what they like to talk about to form a genuine connection.BasicallyI’m tired of brands treating authenticity like the new marketing playbook when they don’t even know how to engage the people who make up their fanciest vanity metric. Good marketing is authentic marketing.And when people ask me “what should a company’s video strategy be?” my answer will always be “it depends.”There is no one-size-fits-all authentic short cut to maximum profits, no matter what the damn LinkedIn carousel says.Now that you got me all riled up I gotta go touch some grass or something to chill out.TTYL!I’ve been bringing that sign off back into rotation recently, brings me back to my T9 texting days 😂lolOkay byeee! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Between James and I getting COVID and the weather being as cold and disappointing as freezer burnt ice cream, we’ve seen better months.A silver lining to isolation was that once I exhausted every Netflix dating show (and TikTok hashtag associated with said Netflix dating shows) I had plenty of time read more of that book I told you about.One of the interviews from the book told this story that reminded me of that emotional grid we talked about recently.The storywas about a local live improv show.The cast worked together for months, having good nights, bad nights, and some great nights. But this one was…exceptionally bad.They open the show with a room full of jolly-faced people giddy to giggle along with their shenanigans for the next 90 minutes.One member of the improv troop steps out on to stage into the spotlight. The crowd claps and gives a few supportive “woohoo!”s.The person on stage wears a worried look on their face and motions the crowd to quiet down so they can start the show — but in a more somber way than most were expecting.Once the welcome claps calmed down there’s a dense silence that flooded the room. The man on stage looks down to his feet, then teary-eyed back to the crowd and said“I regret to inform you all, but that the president has been killed.”*The audience gasps*In rolls a TV on to the stage, seemingly going to play informative news footage until the rest of the bit unfolds as the cast members are flipping between channels, sports, news, drama “change it back to sports!” one of the improv members calls from the crowd where they strategically placed themselves.Too bad at this point most of the audience had left and the few that were still there didn’t stay long, definitely not until the end of the show.The storyteller admits that they should have let the audience know what they saw was staged much sooner.(That the president was indeed alive)My takeaway from this story: They kept the audience in the emotional roller coaster dip for too long. The skit could've worked if after they dropped into the heavy statement he immediately uplifted the audience by letting them in on the joke, making the emotional dip short and sweet.Timing is everything!It's like that weird feeling when you’re on a rollercoaster and you feel your organs drop 😳 it's cool for a sec (to most) but for too long and you feel sick. Get me off this ride 🤢Emotional rollercoastersI love rollercoasters! Even the emotional type, to an extent.Reality TV and psychological thrillers are my favorite genres but there is a point when the emotional roller coaster of a movie, show or story, is just not good.For instance, if you’re riding a rollercoaster but your head is banging between the seat restraints and you can barely keep your vision straight about what's going on, that’s not good. It may be thrilling at first but soon your head hurts and you get off the ride thinking "Why did I just waste my time and lose brain cells on that”. The absolute last thing you want people to think about your brand.Matching expectationsOr what might be even worse is when the drop doesn't match anticipation. This is how clickbait works but imagine that as an in-real-life experience.They’re on the rollercoaster climbing up and up, anxiety rising only to get the top and be politely asked to get off and wait in a long line for the elevator to get back down.Their nervous system is heightened, then confused making the rider feel stupid and unsure where to put this uncomfortable energy you left them with. Again, the opposite feeling that will inspire someone to take action (AKA buy the thing).All this talk about amusement parks got me thinking, sales-first companies are like the souvenir photo people. You’ve barely walked 2 feet in the door and they're gaslighting you into how much fun you're having; YOU ARE HAVING SO MUCH FUN LOOKING AT OUR WEBSITE LET’S COMMEMORATE THAT WITH A 2 YEAR CONTRACT!! No thanks Donald, I haven’t even gotten in line for the teacups yet.We need to inspire people to act, not just tell them toDo not approach me as soon as I enter an amusement park asking for a commemorative photo, that only works if you're the Disney World✨ of SaaS companies. I’ve always been so inspired by Disney’s ability to curate the experience of each park, how they all have their own visual identity, rides, foods, smells, all distinctly fused into my memory. The thing about amusements parks is that they breed memories. Which if you've gotten my last few messages you know positive memories fuel affinity and build loyalty. When people call upon positive memories they’re inspired to act in your favor instead of you needing to demand they take action.READ THIS!…SUBSCRIBE NOW!…OBEY!Demanding action instead of inspiring it, will work about just as well as it does when telling teenagers what to do (rarely or not at all).Think of your brand like an amusement park, a curation of experiences meant to make someone feel a certain way that they want to remember forever and tell all of their friends about.Content distribution for startupsHow to get started with content distributionI've talked about this concept of a content carousel before on a couple podcasts, where I explain how to get the max amount of content out of every episode. The focus being on prioritizing quantity over quality knowing that not everything will stick, but can teach us more about what our audience wants from us.This strategy is ideal for early stage programs where you're figuring out where your audience lives, how they want to ingest your content and what format/messaging resonates the most.How to level-up your content distributionOnce you know what sorta works, it’s important to continue to refine and amplify one or two specific channels instead of putting all the content on every channel. This allows you to prioritize and invest your resources efficiently for your highest engaged audience while giving yourself space to experiment and pivot to your community needs as you see fit. If all your resources are maxed out building all channels it's a lot harder to pivot or track the impact of experiments to achieve higher quality.For either approach this still rings true:Whether you're experimenting with what channels work or have a more of a focus, the important thing is that wherever your efforts are, they are connected and feed into one another holistically.I’m a big fan of physically mapping out how your programs connect, it sometimes unlocks new ideas!Distribution channels marketers are underutilizing Visualizing your distribution strategy may uncover low lift channels currently being underutilized.Social postsLearning for me recently is that not everything needs to be a blog post to be valuable to your audience. Some things are just not that deep. However making people feel seen in a social post is just as valuable and sometimes more sharable than a blog post of data points. We see this the most true in modern meme culture. In both use cases, you can drive traffic to these assets to build affinity for your people, product or brand.Try this: Instead of linking to blog posts in your newsletter, link to a discussion post on social media highlighting the story you want to feature.Social posts are normally less resources than a blog post and are more easily interacted with.I mean, when was the last time you left a comment on someone’s personal blog website? Sorry, I will not make an account for your obscure WordPress comment plugin.Content swaps/collaborationsA great way to get feedback on your work is to find more people like you. Best way to do that is to guest post or be featured in other newsletters, podcasts or social profiles. This doesn't necessarily mean The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch or Joe Rogan.Try this: Sharing your offer in more intimate settings like newsletters, slack communities, or group chats makes your work vouched for by their community owners. Building social proof from the get go. Making it more likely people are inspired take action due to increased FOMO (fear-of-missing-out).People trust peopleThe more intimate the setting the better, that's why social media works so well as a vehicle for ideas, conversation and networking. It immediately connects that value to a person you can hold accountable, not just a corporate entity whose chatbot probably sucks.Okay I’ve rambled at you for long enough now, I gotta go. The new episodes of Love is Blind just dropped and I need to melt my brain for while.Chat soon, byeee! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Dude you will not believe what just happened to me.Checking out at Target, getting some deodorant, soap, electric toothbrush heads, a vacuum sealer — James and I are on a sous vide kick, but you know, the essentials. And as the cashier is ringing me out she asks“Do you want a protection plan for $3?”I’m like oh yeah sure, totally. For $3 how could I not protect this $100+ sous vid supporting purchase. That $3 would’ve just been spent on steak anyways. She adds the protection plan and continues ringing me up.She holds up the vacuum sealer box and asks:“Do you want a protection plan for this too?”And I’m like…But I reply:“Yes, isn’t that what the $3 protection plan is for?”I feel like an idiot even asking this question because I instantly know the answer and am still equally baffled.“No, that protection plan was for the toothbrush replacement heads.”TOOTHBRUSHREPLACEMENTHEADS🙃Can you BELIEVE THAT ABSOLUTE NONSENSE?!WHY ON PLANT EARTH would ANYONE need to financially insure any item that will be entering someone’s body orifice?!My mind was doing soul cycle trying to think of how that insurance policy could possibly work.This is America.But while I was on the way home I was listening to the radio — I know, how 90s kid of me 😏 truthfully my phone was dead so it was between the radio and the disco mix CD but I wasn’t in the mood to groove tonight. Anyways I was scanning through the channels and thought to myself like “Wow, when was the last time I even did this?”I remember as a kid I was always begging my mom to let me scan through the radio channels during commercial breaks but she wanted to keep it on her favorite channel 98.1 Cat Country. I still listen to 90s Country when I feel sad/homesick. Did I tell you I surprised my mom with Shania Twain tickets for her birthday?! It’s going to be EPIC. I need to find a red cowgirl hat like I used to wear as a kid (yes, even on Christmas😂). Sorry for the unsolicited baby pic but I’ve been obsessed with making and sharing photos and videos my entire life. Something about the way photography encapsulates nostalgia has always resonated with me. The way it can bottle up a series of sights, smells and sounds all into a distilled media that uncorks those emotions at the pure sight of it. It’s powerful.As a kid I would always flip through photo albums again and again to see if I could put the story together from that day. Remembering always held me in that safe space when things around me didn’t feel worth remembering.I do however vividly remember watching the VHS tapes of Shania Twain music videos on repeat because they were so dramatic and fun. I can’t wait to finally see her with my Mom, my heart might actually explode from pure joy. Emotions are such a funny thing. So taboo to talk about in the workplace but they fuel our very existence and reason for being. You’re like great, here she goes again with the feelings, but stick with me here. Emotions are what make impactful marketing and build influential businesses. The other day I saw this awesome grid on LinkedIn about emotional marketing activation (I’ll send you a link to the post, but I’ll show you the grid I made. I just changed the word to “activation” because the word “arousal” gives me the ick) 🤢There’s two columns, “Low Activation” and “High Activation”. Think of those as your engagement metrics (more on that later). Then there’s two rows, “Positive” and “Negative”. Now like most things in business (besides churn) you want to focus on going up and to the right📈. Aiming for that high activation, positive emotion. These emotions (awe, excitement, amusement, and humor) are viral high activation touchpoints because they make people feel good when they interact and share them with others. Everyone loves to share a good meme they found with a friend.On the bottom of the grid are the negative emotions you should try to avoid (sadness, confusion, anger, anxiety, disgust) because even if they are “High Activation” it would be for the wrong reasons which could hurt your brand more than grow it.The last quadrant is the upper left, where most “good” content falls (contentment, delight). It’s good but nothing to write home about or share.Why isn’t good good enough? One word: Robots 🤖As content marketers compete with artificial intelligence for their jobs and livelihood we have to lean on our superpower as humans: EMOTIONS. AI will soon over populate “good” content making your “good” content less effective. Meaning we need to strive for high activation now more than ever.I’m getting ahead of myself, enough about emotions and AI. Back to the radio thing…What type of radio listener were you?Flipping between commercials?Loyal to one station through and through?Music only?Talk show only?Headphones vs. speakersAlone vs. usually with othersIt’s funny how everyone has their preferences on how they listen even after having a preference of what they listen to. Like me and Yoga with Adriene, people have a preference of how content fits into their lifestyle which got me thinking…Podcasting is just well-distributed radio. Think about it, before YouTube there was, TV, and before TV there was radio.In that comedy writing book I’m reading I learned that in 1944 only 100 people owned televisions in NYC. 100 people! Imagine how easy it was to track the success and failures of programs when you only have to please those 100 people.Now think about the amount of people with a smartphone with access to any streaming service. We’ve come pretty far. And as with everything that evolves, the game has gotten harder. It makes me wonder how these listener types translate to content today 🤔 What do you think?What I do know is that there are a million and five ways to try to quantify success of a brand or creative project but I’ve found the key is brand affinity > brand awareness.Metrics creators should be tracking: Brand Affinity > Brand AwarenessAlways choose brand affinity over brand awareness. First off…BRAND AWARENESS ≠ BRAND AFFINITYWHAT’S THE DIFFERENCEBRAND AWARENESSTracking by awareness assumes that everyone who sees your brand would recommended it. This simply is not true and can be misleading.BRAND AFFINITYTracking affinity focuses less on reach and more on engagement and retention with the target audience. Basically, is your brand resonating with the people you want to connect with not just with any Joe Shmo who comes across and has no use for it.HERE’S HOW ARE THEY ARE TRACKEDBrand Awareness MetricsIMPRESSIONSHow many people saw your post in their feed, regardless of if they interacted with it.VIEWSSome platforms count views as 3 seconds of an auto-play video which is not a true measurement of engagement. That’s like someone writing a review for a movie based on the trailer.Brand Affinity MetricsVIEWSOn the other hand if the platform counts a view as watching at least 30 seconds of the video, it’s safer to assume someone actually watched your content vs scrolled by it.COMPLETION %You want over 50% of episode/post consumed to show true engagement. Translate this to minutes (depending on the content) and this is how long they are spending with your brand touchpoint. Building a relationship takes time. SUBSCRIBER/FOLLOWER GROWTHThe more time people spend with your brand the more likely they are to become brand champions. People who are subscribed or follow you show that they have an allegiance toward you and are likely recommend you over another person or brand they don’t subscribe/follow.NOTIFICATIONS ON (YOUTUBE SPECIFIC)The highest intent audience will want to be alerted every time you post by turning on notifications or “clicking that bell” as the YouTubers say. This is an extra step subscribers can take to ensure they never miss a video or post. People who do this should be considered brand champions. Like your Myspace top 8.Interacting with you and your brand should feel like a relationship, like a friendship. Focus on the activities that build real friends, not make you the most popular girl in school. I mean you saw they did to Regina George!At the end of the day you can’t please everyone (even Beyoncé can’t do that) so stop trying to. My advice for all creators is to focus on making what matters and you’ll find your people. It’s better to have a small strong niche community than viral brand awareness that quickly fades. Trends and virality come and go but being yourself never goes out of style. We’re seeing this with the rise of “de-influencers”. With more than 200 million views on TikTok alone this trend can be summed up by creators going against trendy (and often expensive) products promoted or recommended by influencers. Some creators will go a step further and tell people what they shouldn’t buy. This flips the paid influencer marketing strategy on its head but completely makes sense. People don’t need more lifestyle recommendations from their celebrity idols (sorry Shania), they need people they trust to make their lives easier and better. De-influencers are building trust quickly with their audiences by saving them money (clear value with no extra action needed). Basically acting like that friend you text while shopping and they respond with “do you remember how annoying it is to pee in a leotard?”. That’s a good friend.*Distant dramatic meowing*Okay that’s Noodle letting me know it’s his dinner time. Let me know what you think, I want to know what type of radio listener you were! Talk to you soon. Byee! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Can you believe it’s actually 2023? I mean, we’re already a month into the new year but it still feels fresh ya know?The new year always hits me in two phases:* Phase 1: I’m motivated, energized, reorganized and full of hope. Usually during this time I’ll set a bunch of over ambitious goals, personally my favorite way to self-sabotage.* Phase 2: My brain is in overdrive trying to maximize every part of my waking life to be the best version of me. This results in decision paralysis around what it is I “should be” doing in order to achieve maximum-Meg-capacity.This year I’m skipping both phases, or at least trying to.You probably saw on Instagram that I’m committing to 365 days of skating this year which YES is an over ambitious goal but it’s exactly what I need to keep me out of Phase 2. Because skating forces me to be present. There’s something about falling on your ass that reminds you why it’s so great to be alive. That, and all of the b******t thoughts/to-dos swirling through your head can be put on pause for your mind and body to team up to do something badass.This daily practice forces me to make a mental shift between work, to skating, then to life, that leaves less room for decision paralysis. Instead I’m listening to what my mind/body need in that moment, not optimizing for maximum-Meg 5 years from now.Last thing I’ll say and then I’ll shut up about skating, but I have to go into every skate sesh prepared to fall. You have to know and expect this possibility of falling but can’t let that scare you from trying something new. I like to bring this concept into other areas of my life, relationships, art, work by asking myself these 3 questions:* What are you scared of trying?* Are you prepared to fall?* What do you need to be prepared to fall? Moral support? Butt-pads?Not to mention, I love watching myself fall. Other than it being hilarious, seeing precisely how I fucked up on camera is the most direct way to make sure I learn from my mistakes. So yeah, right now I’m actually calling you from my garage where I’ve been rolling around every day for 25 days in a row and it feels good! I’ve also made a few friends at the skatepark which is MUCH needed considering how that pottery class went. Can you believe I went to 4 weeks of classes and not a single person joined?! At least I got a planter out of it.A professional highlight lately is that more people have started coming to me for branding, podcasting, and video advice which is awesome for building my confidence as a creative consultant. One of the things people always ask me is…Where do I get inspiration and how do I make B2B content entertaining?And they’re oddly shocked when I say look literally anywhere but B2B content.Maybe it’s just because my real dream is to be someone like Amy Poehler or Tina Fey, writing for SNL or making the next pop culture shaping movie/tv show of the 2020s—but at the end of the day I just want to make something that I’m excited to show my friends. If I can’t make myself laugh or enjoy what I’m watching, why am I making it in the first place?You know that my downfall is that I can be a bit too silly at times for the corporate world sometimes, but being a maximalist to my core I try to throw everything at the wall then peel back the wackiness to achieve balance. And when I think about it, I like to work like this probably because ever since I was a kid I loved to make people laugh.It’s something I always saw my mom was great at, but I never considered it something I was good at. Not until I MC’d a variety show in high school anyways. It was no SNL but writing the skits for that with fellow classmates and seeing it make an auditorium of people laugh made my heart sparkle💖Then last month when I was leaving you that voicemail I realized this is the dream I’ve been too afraid to tell anyone about. Because who thinks I’m funny or wants to listen to me and how exactly do you jump from VC to Netflix? But in true 2023 fashion I said F**K THAT and started doing something about the work that makes my heart sparkle. So to start, I began reading this book on comedy writing, Poking a Dead Fog by Mike Sacks, it features interviews with some of the best people in comedy (minus Tina Fey).A concept that resonated with me early on was this idea of “clapter”.“Clapter is that earnest applause, with a few “whoops” thrown in, that lets you know that the audience agrees with you, but what you said wasn’t funny enough to actually make them laugh.”Now clapter isn’t bad necessarily, but it won’t differentiate you from the noise or make the most impact.As we make anything, video, podcast, painting, social media or blog post etc, we should be asking ourselves “Does this really matter or is it just for clapter?” Not that we are always looking to make people laugh, but rather are we saying something meaningful or just to feel validated. One of those is clearly more self-serving.Businesses don’t need more B2B “content” they need art. Real, human, emotional art. Just earlier today I saw this stat on LinkedIn:69% agree that B2B purchasing decisions are just as emotionally driven as B2C (source)All touchy-feely feelings aside, business leaders historically agree that brands needs to be memorable, and the first step to being memorable is resonating. The first step to resonating is creating resonance (AKA art, an idea, a vision, a story, a solution based off a shared experience or feeling).Businesses need brands that resonate with their target audience. Remember your customers? Those people you claim to be sooo “customer obsessed” about. They’re people, and they usually have a way better time working with humans than with an ambiguous corporate logo no matter how cool that logo is.People care about people, not your brand.Authenticity is the only way to sustainably grow as a brand and as a person. This led me to thinking about what is authenticity and how do you scale that in a business sense?Authenticity > Trust > IntentWhat is authenticity but trust that the person is coming across as they intend. Their intentions are clear. No b******t. No ego.Scaling authenticity is like a product’s viral loop—and the solution is different for every personal brand just like every product (because everyone's intentions are different). You need to show value by staying true to your intentions.I like to use that show positioning statement template from Wistia that I showed you. It helps align all parties on goals and intentions for a project, highlighting the common pain point, experience or memory tying you to your community/audience ensuring that each asset you make is providing clear true value, not just content for clapter.An example of an authentic personal brand at scaleYoga with Adriene. She’s not another one of those Pilates/yoga robots in your hot-yoga class who appears to physically not be able to sweat. She’s just human.Side note: Hot yoga is basically a sweaty speed run of Simon says. Like how the hell am I supposed to relax and find my Zen when Jessica is 3 poses ahead of me by the time I’ve picked my wedgie. No hate on Jessica, but that is just not for me. Anyways… Adriene is super smart in her marketing strategy, she creates this carousel of content that is genius💡Content carousel breakdown* YouTube: I originally followed Adriene on YouTube for her free yoga videos* Instagram: Then after getting to know her and her cute dog Benji.* Newsletter: After that I subscribed to her newsletter to stay up to date with new video releases.* Mobile App: Now I pay $10 per month for her mobile app to get an even more curated experience and have #noregrets.It sounds silly (silly not-fun, not silly ha-ha) but the biggest blocker to me doing my daily yoga practice is the decision paralysis (clearly a common theme in my life) of picking out what video to do and then physically taking out my mat. Both of which take less than 3 minutes to achieve. Yet I’m willing to spend $10 a month to have Adriene help me keep this routine because it feels like she’s supporting me, like a friend or personal trainer who doesn’t mind if I show up in PJs before I’ve brushed my teeth.I start my day with her every morning. It’s all of her free videos but specifically curated to the routine experience that makes it easier to integrate into my lifestyle.This flywheel of brand touchpoints builds a sense of routine, trust and community on the app with people I have never, and will never meet. It’s magic.And most importantly every time I interact with Adriene’s brand I feel good after. Every time I interact with her community I feel good after. And that brought me back to what I was saying to you a while ago about personal brands: Everyone has a personal brand, it’s just about how someone leaves you feeling after you’ve interacted with them.Something that Adriene says that I say to myself a lot is…“Progress is not linear”“Keep Struggling” was the best advice I ever got in art school.So as I head into this new year I’m trying to remind myself of that. Going through a lot of changes and evaluating where we are today/how to most impactfully get to where we want to be and figuring out how to do more of the work that makes my heart sparkle. Sometimes that feels like taking a step back to get a better step forward.Alright I’ll stop rambling now, but I swear this month has felt like a year in itself. Any who, it’s always great to hear from you! I’ll check back in with you soon, byeee! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Maybe it’s the holidays but life has just been moving too fast for me to keep up lately! Especially after traveling for work last week, my head has been a whirlwind.James and I weren’t able to come home for the holidays this year but last week while I was in Boston I got to see both of our moms which was so nice. I went to the ICA with Dianne and then got Tasty Burger with my mom. Finding parking near Fenway is atrocious. $40 for ONE HOUR?! No thanks I’ll buy a barrel of cheeseballs and use the Shaw’s parking lot thank you very much.Spending time with both mine and James’ mom, I didn’t realize how much I needed a mom hug. I mean, I really needed it.My mom went to drop me off at Val’s (where I stayed the last 2 nights of my trip), I hug my mom goodbye, and I just started sobbing… uncontrollably.I was like a faucet, no, a fire hose! Water flushing through my face at a million miles per hour as I hugged her tighter to hold my balance.I really didn’t want to let go.Once I fought through the snot, I look up to see a wobbly version of my mom through my tears smiling back at me, the way she always does to let me know everything will be okay.“We can do hard things.”She reminds me. I take a few deep breaths, give her one more hug and then watched her drive off as I made my way towards my friends porch.Now picture this: My mom drops me off at Val’s house with my barrel of cheeseballs while they’re hosting a 30th birthday party with the entire extended family. Think aunts, uncles, cousins, babies, finger foods the whole shebang.I think “Okay Meg, just sneak into your room or bathroom to collect yourself.”Of course as if on a 90s sitcom, I slowly, quietly, open the door and instantly realize I’m interrupting the birthday speech.The entire room looks at me, mascara pouring down my face, holding a barrel of cheese balls like it’s my first born child. As if this living nightmare couldn’t get worse, what felt like slow-motion, Val’s future-mother-in-law PAUSES THE SPEECH to introduce me to the room of 12 people all staring with worried half-smiles on their faces.Absolutely mortified, I say a quick “Nice to meet you”, apologize, and laugh awkwardly as I shuffled to the office turned bedroom where my suitcase was to shame spiral.At this point I knew I had two options:Hide under my friend’s desk for the next 4 hours until everyone leftEmbrace my vulnerability and put myself back out into the worldAfter I stuffed my shame into the deepest cabinet of my brain (to be unpacked at a more reasonable time — like when I’m trying to fall asleep) I made my way out to the family party.To my surprise, everyone just wanted to know where the cheeseballs were. As soon as I opened myself up to connection, even in my most vulnerable red-puffy-eyed-state, people wanted to let me in. Which made me realize…Vulnerability is the fast-track to connection and resonance.Now I’m not recommending you join every party ugly crying but I will say the cheeseballs were the hit of the Yankee Swap.Other than what will now be referenced to as “the cheeseballs incident”, my trip to Boston was awesome but exhausting. I spent most of it in in-person meetings for work which went well. I had my yearly performance review and it was fine but as I’m trying to carve out my own career path I had an eye opening moment where I realized I don't actually know what anyone on my team is striving for in their personal lives, or careers (aspirations, not compensation). Even announcing a promotion has this weird secrecy about it that I’ve yet to understand.After marinating on that for a bit I realized the lack of knowledge isn’t because I’m a selfish a*****e (hopefully), but because saying you want something is scary, and embarrassing if you don't get it, but it shouldn't be that way. Really it should be the opposite of scary, it should be exciting!Vulnerability is needed for growth yet incredibly difficult to do, especially in a professional working environment. But when people are vulnerable you build trust and trust leads to influence.Think about your closest or most influential relationships, they all have had a shared sense of vulnerability.Building a sense of community that embraces vulnerability would help people support each other in their advancement and surface opportunities for growth. But instead we keep our dreams, our tries and our failures to ourselves in order to be perceived as “perfect” or at least “enough”.F**k that.Community-led learning is the only way businesses, teams and individuals will grow. You ever hear that quote“Growth and comfort cannot coexist”.It’s so true. Those who isolate and silo themselves into what’s comfortable are just putting horse blinders on. Limiting their world view, unaware of what could be possible which is only stunting their true potential.Companies need to invest in building a sense of community around learning. You need an environment to grow personally and professionally, not just tools to track box checking.Failure is an option, why don’t we talk about that?More broadly, your brand is a relationship you have with each person who interacts with it, employees included. If they don’t feel like they can be vulnerable and be their true selves, are you really providing them an career growth opportunity or just a paycheck?Another instance where businesses need vulnerability is in cross-team goal setting. The #1 question I get asked recently in regards to marketing is how to get leadership to buy-in to marketing and this is what I tell people.Here’s how marketing teams get buy-in from leadership:Make sure you’re speaking the same languageCombine the sales and marketing funnel so the entire team has shared language and understanding at what we are all trying to achieve. Without this each team is working in a silo running at separate goals, diluting their impact on the primary objective for the company. Shared language is 🔑Attribute ROI however/wherever possibleGet creative, and be specific. There's no 1 magic product or way to do so. Jay Acunzo had a great quote on this "Is there a best practice, or just a best approach for you". I believe the latter but here are some examples:Map brand marketing touchpoints like podcast listens, website visits, product triggers or content consumption to the prospect journey. Show that you understand where your marketing tools (content, website conversion, email marketing) are most impactful FOR THE USER. That’s right, this isn’t about what’s most convenient for you or what’s easiest to scale. Taking out even the right tool at the wrong time can cost you more customers than it acquires. Not to mention leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.If you’re not sure where to start, ask your engaged users how they found out about your brand. Try a pop up on your most viewed blog post or landing page.Balance expectations with stakeholders and align on the long game vision continuouslyProving the ROI of brand is a long game but people’s expectations are short sighted. Be sure that you’re aligned on both the short term and long term goals.Be vulnerable, patient and don’t get defensiveWhen we're vulnerable our intentions are clear which makes aligning perspectives more achievable.A communication tactic my mentor and previous manager shared with me: When phased with a misunderstanding or feeling like you're climbing an uphill battle of communication… pause… take a breath and start the conversation over with the highest level of understanding you both share and work down from there. If you have to start with agreeing the sky and blue, then the grass and green and work down from there it's still working (hence being patient).TL;DR: Companies that embrace vulnerability and provide value with clear intentions will achieve an authentic brand that not only resonates but will scale sustainably from the inside out.Word of mouth is the best way to grow any brand. Start with making sure your employees are champions.Be intentional and curated with your offer, sustainability of a brand comes from clear value add.Oo I should write a LinkedIn post about this. Something like:“Brand Marketing - Vulnerability, Intent, Value.Infinitely scalable strategy for B2B business growth”Meh, who the f**k wants to read that.Oop! Gotta go, getting in line at the checkout. Chat soon! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

Headed to the grocery store but wanted to call you to ask you about that date and how it went last weekend?!👀Remind me, was this the guy holding up the big fish in his profile pic? Or guy-with-guitar? Anything is better than that guy who took you tandem mountain biking for your first date…what a weirdo! Wouldn’t be surprised if we see a serial killer Netflix special about that guy in 10 years.*sigh of relief*I’m so glad I have James. You know we’ve been together pre-Tinder and as I watch people try to date in the 21st century it looks absolutely exhausting. It’s like every aspect of your living existence must be curated online for a work, social and love life audience. You basically have to run your own personal art gallery and PR agency just to find someone to watch YouTube videos with.*sheesh*It got me thinking though, other than the obvious social media influencers, dating apps like Tinder/Hinge are making personal branding more important than ever. Something that used to be for corporations is suddenly relevant to your Chad next door. Personal branding is not just broadcasting yourself.I believe everyone has a personal brand whether they realize it or not – how you leave someone feeling after you interact with them is your personal brand.Other than the video series and podcast I do with that guy Blake, lately at OpenView (that VC I work at) I’ve been meeting more with people who don’t want to be “influencers”, but want to improve their personal brands for one reason or another:Build confidence in their area of expertiseConnect to other people with their interestsDifferentiate themselves against other VCs etc.A common misconception is that broadcasting yourself is the only way to grow your personal brand, when really there are other ways that feel authentic to the 1 to 1 experience (as an introvert, I would know). You can focus on things like…How you follow-up with someoneFollow-up with a personalized note. Showing you value someone’s time and that you *actually* listened to them is an easy first step to building trust. In a world of distractions and transactional conversations, people are delighted when you remember things about them and provide genuine value to their day.Make yourself approachable and accessible. Embrace vulnerability in whatever ways you’re comfortable with. It’s often embarrassing stories that resonate the most. And make sure they know how to get back in touch with you. You’re not the main character in their day, week or life, don’t expect them to have your number on speed dial.How you choose to present yourself with them:Don’t boring-yourself. Stop trying to fit yourself into the version of you that you think they want. Whether it’s the Patagonia vest VC uniform or feeling like you have to straighten your hair for it to be perceived as “professional”, I promise the best (and only) way to build your personal brand is to be true to who you really are and what you value. And I know that advice is given through a lens of my privilege as a white Latina woman and not everyone is in an environment to safely be exactly who they are in their professional lives, because people suck, but here’s to hoping for more progressive change 🤞Oh! That reminds me, thanks for that book recommendation, Just Work by Kim Scott and Trier Bryant. I’m still reading through it because I’m the slowest reader on the face of the planet ha! But did I ever tell you I got to produce a podcast episode with Trier and was lucky enough to meet her a couple of years ago? It was just via Zoom but she was brilliant and so damn cool. Anyways… what was I saying? Oh yeah, don’t boring-yourself…I used to catch myself doing this all the time, especially when I first started working in VC. When I started at OpenView I filled my closet of clothes I bought for “fancy business office Meg” and now when I try to wear any of it, it makes me feel like I’m cosplaying as a rich white person. Who did I think I was 😂 Nevertheless, here I am years later taking the pledge to never boring-myself for anyone ever again.And when I think about it these 1-to-1 tactics can then be implemented at scale using things like your email signature, chat bots and other experience overlay tools that curate that experience and build that relationship based on value and trust. You build enough 1-to-1 trusted relationships and then soon you have a community of people who’ve got your back.All that is to say I’m calling it now, personal branding will be one of the most impactful levers to scale your business authentically and sustainably over the next 5—10 years.There was that study I sent you on LinkedIn that said “people are 8x more likely to share something from a personal social account versus a corporate page account” (source).And before social media, even now, most brands try to achieve a sense of uniform throughout their brand (consistent colors, fonts, etc) which is a necessary part of the design system to uphold the integrity of the brand BUT…Branding is about unifying, not uniform.What I hate to see are these blanket uniform brands draped over each employee, where everyone looks like a copy and paste clone. All wearing the same color, on the same backdrop, with the same, capitalism-dead-in-the-eyes smile. These brands are assuming every employee experiences your brand in the same way.THIS IS A HUGE MISSED OPPORTUNITY!!!Everyone's experience is different, and it’s human nature people need social proof from varying perspectives to trust your brand.You ever go on a website and see that all of the testimonials look like they were given by NPCs? One of those characters in a video game who has a single line of dialogue they’re allowed to say every time you walk by. What is up with that? Like you’re not fooling anyone into buying your product with John Smith voting it the best thing he’s ever seen since sliced bread.This got me thinking about how people purchase or commit to anything nowadays. Just the other day I found myself looking up reviews before going to restaurants while simultaneously looking up the most sustainable cat litter.Noodle doesn’t care…but I do. And my point is that we as humans need to survey different authentic opinions before committing to anything, even something as small cat-poop-sand.The missed opportunity is that these blanket brands treat all of their customers/employees the same. Serving up the same brand messaging and format to each audience for the sake of maintaining a consistent brand. When in reality, it’s only pushing them farther away from truly resonating with their audience.Instead I wish brands (and people in general) would embrace individuality to showcase how you/your team/product connects to the shared memory, experience or pain that brings these people together. Understanding that your target audience isn’t one singular type of person, but a community of people struggling with the same problems is the key unlock for any brand today, why don’t people get it?!🙃We need to stop building brands based on demographics, and start creating brands led by people for people.Look at me, I sound like Obama over here. Talking about this stuff just gets me so amped!Anyways… gotta go, just pulled into the WinCo parking lot. Chat soon, bye! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com

I swear, sometimes my life feels like an episode of Seinfeld.I'm in the car on the way home from that pottery class I told you about. It was fun but not as productive as I had hoped. You know, James bought me the pack of 4 classes to help me make new friends since we moved (super sweet).But I show up to this class all bright hair and ready to make some new friends, only to find out I am literally the only person in the class. Which I mean ~cool personal pottery class~ but not exactly what I was going for.Anyways… the teacher is really nice and I’m still happy to be taking the class. There’s something so satisfying about making something with your hands, taking a big lumpy ball of clay or dough and turning it into something useful (like an ashtray or bagels).Whether you label yourself as creative or not...I think everybody on earth is creative, regardless of your occupation or self doubt. This misconception of creative people vs. non-creative people is created because we all want an easy one-size-fits-all answer. To fit ourselves into a category so we can look to others and be like “hey do you have any idea wtf is going on?”.And when I think about it, like most things in life, that one-size-fits-all approach might get you things like the world-wide blanket sensation we know as the Snuggy, but it won’t come in that handy all year round.But really I believe the approach to unlocking creativity in anyone is dependent on their interests, skill set, learning and communication styles which are all different and evolve for each individual (for real, thank god I’m not the same person I was in high school).Remember our 10th grade art teacher and his obsession with puppets? Nice guy, strange hobbies, but I remember him always gesturing broadly to the room and saying s**t like “creativity is everywhere.” Until I went to MassArt I was like “okay puppet-man just tell me how to draw better” but after leaving art school and now working in tech I see what he meant.I’ve seen spreadsheets that are just as beautiful as masterpiece at the Louvre. I mean, have you seen how small the Mona Lisa is in real life?Any who…Work is okay. I love what I do, really!But there’s something about being in a marketing role that can be so lonely (and no it’s not just because I’m isolated on the other side of the country away from all my friends and family). Honestly, it’s weird to say but most days I feel like big bird. You’ve seen that meme of big bird right?Sitting there around a conference table of white dudes with my big yellow feathers, squeezing myself into one of those dumb office chairs that squeak no matter how damn expensive they are, sitting around a table of super smart people who have a way more impressive backgrounds than me — my art degree looks like Sesame Street compared to their ivy league degrees (aka Coolsville).But for the same reason I squirm my feathers in my squeaky office chair, I think this impostor syndrome could maybe work to my advantage.I like to think of myself as a communicator or translator. Highlighting and communicating varying perspectives in order to achieve a mission or vision. And it made me realize that bringing new perspectives to light is not only something I’m passionate about, but my superpower. Sensitivity is my superpower.Saying that reminded me of this quote I saw on one of those cringe Homegoods signs your mom would buy:“Beware of artists. They mix with all classes of society and are therefore most dangerous. — Queen Victoria"Replace the word “artists” with creative, marketer, creator or whatever, and you’ll realize that it’s not that the “artist” truly fits every class of society, but that they are able to create work and communicate a message that resonates broadly. This is because they look to understand and empathize with each group of people, understand their pain and represent it, which at the core is sensitivity in action. I wonder why people say the phrase social butterfly when really you want to be like a social chameleon, ha!Had to call you before these thoughts escaped me. Wish me better luck at my next pottery class and let me know what you think; am I on to something or have I been watching too much of The Crown? Gotta go, pulling into the driveway now. Chat soon, bye! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sorryimissedyou.substack.com