Let's Talk About Brand

I first met today's guest, Jess Zafarris, as a journalist in the marketing and advertising space (she was an editor for Adweek and is now editor at large at Ragan Communications and PR Daily). But what we're really talking about today is Jess's other career–and other personal brand–as an etymologist and etymology author. On her “Useless Etymology” channels, Jess presents word origins and history in an engaging and entertaining way, and is working on her third etymology book. We discuss how she concurrently built her careers as a journalist and a “pop etymologist” and how she’s balanced both.Listen and learn:Jess’s career in journalism Her Adweek chapter, and building a name for herself“How could you be so incurious?...”Why this topic interests me (Christine) so personallyJess’s research background”It's kind of like linguistic anthropology–linguistic sociology, more so…”Useless Etymology blogBuilding TikTok accounts for both Adweek and Useless Etymology“Once Upon A Word”Jess’s brand voice“I didn't want to jeopardize the career that was affiliated with my primary income…”Growing Useless EtymologyContent lessons“Words From Hell”The violent history of the word “decimate”“Offbeat word origins for curious minds…”Jess’s book development process“Useless Etymology: The Book”!“I actually let my audience choose for me…” What lights Jess up about etymology“Have you ever tried to read the OED?”The positive opportunities “Words From Hell” has opened upWords Unraveled podcastThe topic of Jess’s fourth bookFind Jess:BlogPodcast TikTokInstagramUseless Etymology InstagramBooks:Words From HellOnce Upon A Word❤️Get Started on Your Personal Brand Journey with a sampling of Christine's Personal Branding Questions here: https://www.gritmon.com/talkaboutmybrandSubscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out weekly to ensure you don't miss a beat!

Today’s conversation is with a good friend of mine. Paul Ince, a.k.a. BizPaul, is the owner and founder of LikeMind Media, a content marketing agency in Loughborough, UK, as well as the founder of the MarketEd Live conference.We talk about how Paul Ince, regular human, became Biz Paul, content marketing thought leader, back in the early days of social media. We also talk about being in touch with the things that light you up about what you do, and the challenges that can come along with expansion, especially if what your clients are really buying is you.Finally, we get into my favorite thing about a personal brand: no matter what it is that you do, other people do it too, so what really makes you the right person for someone to work with? Because it's not about what you deliver. It's about what you personally bring to the table–and that, of course, is your personal brand.A few of the things we hit in today’s episode:Working for a national technology company How the 2008 Beijing Olympic games indirectly led to @bizpaul Becoming a content creator in the tech space“I had no intention of setting up a business…”Trying to sell an app people weren’t ready for……and deciding to focus on closing that knowledge gap insteadPaul’s first cringey business cardPaul’s first cringey pitch deck (it worked!)Not the footballerHow events changed the gameMarketEd LiveStarting to take on helpBalancing BizPaul and LikeMind Media“I don't really want to be known as the funky-shirted marketing guy…”What keeps him in the gameWhat he truly deliversWhat makes someone a fit—or not a fit⏤or LikeMind MediaWhat people are really buying into when it comes to BizPaul“Maybe it's a Gen X thing. I suspect it might be…”Find Paul:BizPaul.comPaulInce.comLikeMind.MediaLinkedInInstagram❤️Get Started on Your Personal Brand Journey with a sampling of Christine's Personal Branding Questions here: https://www.gritmon.com/talkaboutmybrandSubscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out weekly to ensure you don't miss a beat!

Brooke Sellas of B Squared Media was on previously talking about the thing that she is known for: customer care. This time we’re digging into how she got known for it, what it really means to her, and her motivations behind it. This is an especially relatable conversation because despite owning a successful marketing agency, appearing on massive stages such as Social Media Marketing World and Inbound, co-hosting a few prominent podcasts, and writing a book on her topic of expertise, Brooke initially struggled to put herself out there in each of those situations. In all cases, it was a nudge from someone else who believed in her that helped Brooke get to those next levels of visibility and thought leadership. As you'll hear today, she is starting to take the reins a little bit more herself, and recognizing after all these years of all of this external validation showing that, yes, actually she is an expert, she does have something to say that people need to hear from her specifically, she's finally recognizing that these people may be onto something. She’s ready to start not just accepting these opportunities, but creating these opportunities and guiding where she wants her personal brand to go. I hope Brooke takes a listen to this episode and says, “Wow, I sound pretty smart.” (Because she does.)Here’s some of what we get into in today’s conversation:How Brooke came to start B Squared MediaHow she got started in social media to begin withExpanding the agency beyond herselfHer professional point of difference“Think Conversation, Not CampaignTM”Why customer conversations are so vitalStepping into her personal brandGetting on stagesCo-hosting podcastsWriting her book, “Conversations That Connect”The future of Brooke’s personal brandBrooke’s true (professional) loveThe need Brooke truly solves for her clientsThe power of goofinessFind Brooke:LinkedInB Squared MediaBook:Conversations That Connect: How to Connect, Converse, and Convert Through Social Media Listening and Social-Led Customer Care❤️Get Started on Your Personal Brand Journey with a sampling of Christine's Personal Branding Questions here: https://www.gritmon.com/talkaboutmybrandSubscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out weekly to ensure you don't miss a beat!

When I first got to know Mario Marchese, aka Mario the Maker Magician, nearly a decade ago, he had already achieved some success as a children's birthday party magician (including performing for many NYC celebrities). Mario now has a full stage show, selling out theatres and festivals in NYC, London, Edinburgh, and Adelaide. He's won awards from the Magic Castle and has appeared on Sesame Street, Blue Peter, and The Tonight Show. Here’s a bit of what we cover in today’s entertaining, inspiring conversation between friends:How Mario went from teaching elementary school, to performing as a weekend magician, to running his own business (alongside his brilliant, visionary wife, Katie Marchese);Learning how to bring more of his genuine self (and his personal style) to his shows;An overheard comment that changed his life; Building his own show, quite literally;The celebrity moment that helped his dad finally understand;Shifting gears from living rooms to theatres (and learning how to fill them!);The four minutes of every show that make it all worthwhile;What it all means to Mario (and, hopefully, to his audiences);Why less is sometimes more.Find Mario at:https://www.mariothemagician.https://www.instagram.com/mariothemagician Books:The Maker Magician's Handbook: A Beginner's Guide to Magic + MakingRobot Magic: Beginner Robotics for the Maker and Magician❤️Get Started on Your Personal Brand Journey with a sampling of Christine's Personal Branding Questions here: https://www.gritmon.com/talkaboutmybrandSubscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out weekly to ensure you don't miss a beat!

Welcome back to “Let’s Talk About Brand”! My 2023 was a little bit hectic; I did manage to get some incredible episodes released in autumn 2023…and then I didn't pick it back up. But I’ve finally got my feet under me again. And I'm back with a brand new format—one that I’m debuting today with myself as guest!On this season’s episodes, my guests will first lead us through their own personal brand development. Then, I’m going to take them through a few of the deeper questions I go through with my clients to get to the heart of their genuine personal brand: their motivations, the value they bring, all that good stuff.Let's get to it.My career journey before I built my own personal brandTwo life-changing things that happened when I became a full-time journalistHow I leveraged my personal brand to launch a new careerHow Christine Gritmon Inc. has changed since May 20162020: amazing; 2021: awful; 2022: employed; 2023: laid offRe-embracing my personal brand in 2024Why I do what I doThe deeper needs people who work with me haveWhat I truly deliverBringing more personal elements into your personal brandI’m so excited to start the season. Let's go!https://www.gritmon.com/ltab/s5e1cgritmon❤️ Get Started on Your Personal Brand Journey with a sampling of Christine's Personal Branding Questions here: https://www.gritmon.com/talkaboutmybrandSubscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out weekly to ensure you don't miss a beat!

Some brand journeys are worth taking a look at to see what we can take away from them to build our own brands. And no one is a better example of that than this week’s guest, Michael Stelzner.He is the reason that many people have gotten into social media marketing as he is the ring leader behind all of the education that Social Media Examiner brings! However, his personal brand started well before he stepped into the social media industry.In today’s episode, Mike is going to walk us through the development of his brand journey from being the white paper guy to the social media guy and into his newest mission. So many great lessons to be learned!Tune in as we talk about: [00:00] Welcome Michael Stelzner[04:28] How white papers launched Mike Stelzner's personal brand[10:25] How did Mike pivot from being "The white paper guy" to social media?[14:30] How did Mike build up his contacts in an industry he was relatively new to?[16:45] How did Social Media Examiner Start?[18:47] How did Mike move people from online content to an in-person conference?[22:42] How does Mike balance three brands?[25:37] How does Mike find up-and-coming industry voices?[29:33] What should you do if you are asked to be on stage?[30:25] What characteristic does Mike think makes someone successful?[32:00] What is Mike's current mission?[34:11] How to connect with MikeGet Started on Your Personal Brand Journey with my Prework Workbook here: https://www.gritmon.com/preworkFollow Christine Gritmon on Twitter: @cgritmon and join her each Tuesday for the #ChatAboutBrand Twitter chat.Subscribe to the Let's Talk About Brand Newsletter that goes out every Monday to ensure you don't miss a beat!