You Are a Brand

If you were to ask about my favorite brand of clothing, I’d say whatever is hanging on the New Arrival rack at TJ Maxx. If you were to ask about my brand, the one I present to you, I wouldn’t be as quick to respond.

Recently, I read about branding ourselves, which I thought might be a slimy way of sprucing up and packaging together who we are. The author talked about labeling individuals as you would label a can of soda (by the way, I’d totally be Vernors pop), and he almost lost me there because although I like Vernors, I don’t want to be a can of Vernors, you know?

Then, the author went on to say no one responds to our efforts to be someone other than who we are. Regardless of our spinning and weaving, people see through it, and ta-da. Branding made sense.

An author’s brand is what you are known for, and therefore, I am the brand of me.

I can’t pretend I live in Canada, make lunchbox printables, and write things like this: "I have never mothered a girl into a woman before and you can’t build Rome in a day or even in a whole lifetime and the largest a mother ever is, is just before the swollen birthing, and after that she spends the rest of her life small, so very small."

This is not me because although I lived in Sault St. Marie, which is sort of like Canada, it's not Canada. I don't make lunchbox printables because I struggle with just making a lunch, our printer has been out of color ink for a long, long time, and wow, lunchbox printables are so sweet and creative. Oh, and the insight about the mother/daughter relationship bleeds brilliance. 

I can’t attempt to take photographs that resemble art and teach women about grace.

This is 1/3 due to the fact that our family camera broke, 1/3 because I dropped my daughter’s underwater camera in the river, and although it is an underwater camera, I’m pretty sure that means you still have to find it and press the shutter button, and 1/3 because I don’t have “the eye". Oh, and I'm not good with grace.

I can’t arrive here in this space and tell you how our family lives to love people even the hard ones because lately we feel like hibernating. 

Enough said.

So, if I'm not all of the above, what can I tell you about the brand of me?

I believe in the underdog. I laugh too hard. I love a well-placed curse word. Sometimes I lose my temper and say, “Don’t ask me to polish your nails again!” I ramble on and on except for the times when I decide not to speak. God surprises me every day, and here’s a biggie (yep, here’s the meat of my brand): John 13:34 says, I give you a command. Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. I think this actually means we are supposed to love each other as He has loved us. You know, that last part is just a guess.

PS Please add sarcasm to my brand.

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If you are looking for more articles on branding, check these out:

Do I need to have a writing brand?

Branding for Writers: An Essential Step to Building Your Author Platform

Build Your Author Brand in 5 Easy Steps

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Now you go. What are you known for? Are you the mom who throws fab parties? The family that takes in stray animals? Do you write to encourage others? What’s your brand? Oh, and if you don’t like this question, fine. Tell me what kind of pop you would be. Vernors, anyone?

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