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Hi Reader,
One Arizona morning in 2018, I sat in my car, one year postpartum, and had a full-blown identity crisis.
"Who even am I? What do I even like?"
All I could come up with was Pokémon, Diet Coke, and the Midwest. 😂
At the time, I had a home renovation blog... but deep down, it didn’t feel like me. My husband did most of the projects, and my idea of "decorating" was hoping Hobby Lobby had something cute in their weekly ad. 🤷♀️
Turns out, it wasn’t just postpartum fog. I’d spent years shaping myself around what I thought I should be and what would make other people happy.
Fast forward to last week. I was listening to an episode of Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness about people-pleasing, and something hit me HARD:
People pleasers often struggle with their own identity because they’re always molding themselves to meet everyone else’s needs.
Cue Mirrorball by Taylor Swift. 🎶
Here’s the thing... people pleasers make terrible marketers.
When you try to appeal to everyone, your message gets watered down. You blend in. You become forgettable.
The best brands? They’re clear. They’re confident. They have personality. They know exactly what they stand for—and what they don’t.
Rediscovering myself took time (and therapy 🙌), but once I did, everything changed.
When I started building CopyClick, it actually felt like me.
I embraced my love for email marketing, quirky analogies, and storytelling (thanks, Building a StoryBrand). And guess what? The more me I became, the more my business grew.
So, let’s make this about you.
- 👉 Does your brand actually feel like you?
- 👉 Are you saying what you think people want to hear… or what you truly believe?
- 👉 If someone removed your logo from your emails, would people still recognize your voice?
Your people will connect with you, not some watered-down, trying-to-please-everyone version.
If that last one stings a little, don’t panic. Let’s fix it:
- ✅ Ask AI to help: Open ChatGPT and type, “What unique qualities or perspectives do I bring to my brand based on [your niche, values, interests]?”
- ✅ Mine your past content: Look at your most engaging emails or social posts—what themes, topics, or phrases keep showing up? That’s you.
- ✅ Phone a friend: Ask a biz friend, “What’s something about my brand that’s so me?” Sometimes others see it before we do.
Your brand’s magic isn’t something you create, it’s something you uncover. And when you lean into it? Your business becomes impossible to ignore. ❤️
🧡 Hayley
💡 Weekly AI Spark 💡
If you're an avid ChatGPT user, try popping this into a chat:
I would like to refine my brand and incorporate more of my personality, but I'm having a hard time putting my finger on what that is. Based on our past conversations, what are some things that are unequivocally *me?* Or if you're not an avid user, try this one:
What unique qualities or perspectives do I bring to my brand based on [your niche, values, interests; even if this is vague, you may be surprised at its insights!]?
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