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Hi Reader,

How often have you heard someone say, “I hate the term ‘personal brand’?”

Maybe it’s because we’ve helped 100s of entrepreneurs build theirs, but we hear it all the time.

And you know what? We agree.

The term was coined in 1997 for f*ck’s sake, in an essay called "The Brand Called You." The first social media platform you’ve never heard of launched the same year.

Back then, we weren’t nearly as interconnected. So it makes sense that the term “personal brand” was born with business brands in mind.

Every metaphor in the article relates to a business because the creator economy was in its infancy, and entrepreneurship wasn’t as accessible.

“We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You…You’re every bit as much a brand as Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop.”

Yuck, we’re not trying to be a brand like Coke or Pepsi. We’re trying to be ourselves.

In 1997, this was eye-opening. People felt empowered in a whole new way. They were given permission to show up and show off beyond their job titles or work projects. We get why it was so attractive.

But it’s been 26 years, and the landscape has changed.

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves and our mission:

The personal brand is out. The personal platform is in.

From now on, we’re growing our personal platforms, not brands.

In 2023, it’s less about being your own Head of Marketing and more about authentically connecting with people to further your business and make an impact on the world.

“Marketing yourself” evokes images of pretending to be someone you’re not. It invites you to create a character you project to audiences, just like businesses do.

Yes, we must advocate for ourselves and proudly show the world what we can do, how it helps people, and why we’re worth working with. There is absolutely a marketing component to that.

But when you approach your “personal brand” as a marketing function rather than an authentic relationship-building function, you risk stripping your personality from the process.

That’s not the kind of experience you deserve, and it won’t help you reach the business growth goals you’re looking for. It just doesn’t work.

Romantic relationships are the best metaphor here.

When you date the wrong person, it’s all too common to let that experience dim your shine. You put yourself in a box to try to “make it work,” only to later realize it’s impossible to thrive in a box, and WTF was I thinking?!

When you finally reconnect with yourself, you feel so damn good. You’re YOU again. Your friends and family can feel a shift, and all the broken pieces seem to fall back into place.

Showing up as a character online dims your light in the same way.

You put yourself in a box because it’s what you think the platform and "professionals," aka your peers and audience, demand.

Fuck. That.

We’ve both made this mistake and trust us, coming out the other side not only felt amazing, it’s grown our engagement, catalyzed meaningful connections, and helped us make way more money.

The future is showing up as you, not a “brand of you.”

You can be professional while being completely yourself.

You can meet professionals while being completely yourself.

YOU get to define what showing up online means, not some 1997 essay.

Here are the main differences we see between a personal brand and a personal platform:

The best part of building a personal platform is its flexibility. Because you’re being yourself, it’s expected that you’ll evolve. People grow and change, and so do personal platforms. You can shift who you serve and how you serve them with ease.

Authenticity and humanity are integral to the very foundation of your personal platform. It changes as you do, providing a safe space to play, innovate, and evolve.

But because personal brands are more manufactured, rebrands can be just as jarring as when the big companies do it.

People are used to “you the brand” as the public persona you’ve created for yourself. So shifting your strategy is a bitch.

We’re so excited to help you embrace your beautiful uniqueness and show up online as authentically you. So you never have to deal with the discomfort of creating a character of yourself to grow your business.

A new home for Unf*ck Your Social

Unf*ck Your Social isn’t going anywhere. We’re simply making it a part of our newsletter rather than the star of the show.

We genuinely believe most social advice is fucked up. Template bros are reinvigorated by AI (wee 🙄), so yeah, we still plan to bring awareness to why copying someone else’s strategy and templates is the worst way to build your personal platform.

Every time we see something that we know will fuck up your growth, we’ll call it out in the Unf*ck Your Social corner. And explain why it’s bad news and what to do instead.

Did someone say...consulting call?!

We've got a new cohort in the works, but we can't wait that long to talk to you.

Starting next week, 10 people can snag a call with us.

We've got 20+ years of brand, marketing, and growth strategy expertise under our belts.

We know you're ready to make serious cash from your online efforts. Let us dig into our experience and help.

If interested, just hit reply to claim your spot while they're still available.

You can ask us any questions, we can learn more about you, and together decide if it’s a mutual fit.

In love and growth,

Erica and Kasey

P.S. Follow us on Social :)

• Erica — Linkedin, Twitter, and Threads​
• Kasey — Linkedin, Twitter, and Tiktok ​

651 N. Broad St. Ste 201, Middletown, DE 19709
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