Good morning to everyone except the people who text 'K' instead of 'OK' – are you saving time or making me nervous? ☠️

"#1 Newsletter of the Year" 🏆️ -Andy’s Wife

😱 ANDY REACTS

The Great Taco War of 2023: Taco Bell Fights for our Right to Taco Tuesday

Alright, alright, let's get into it. Have you all heard about this? Taco Bell is trying to wage a war on Taco John's over the phrase "Taco Tuesday". I mean, we've got global warming, economic crises, and now... the great Taco War of 2023. Truly, what a time to be alive!

Taco Bell has gone to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and they're like, "We're here to liberate Taco Tuesday!" And I’m thinking, "Wow, I didn't know we were living under the oppressive regime of... Taco Tuesday?"

• It's like saying Starbucks is suing a mom-and-pop coffee shop for using the phrase "Coffee Monday". And you know what? Maybe they will. But only after they've trademarked "Pumpkin Spice Season".

As GTM professionals, I'm sure we all can appreciate a good branding strategy. I mean, I once tried to sell a vacuum cleaner by calling it "The Dust Annihilator." It didn't quite catch on, but hey, you win some, you lose some, right?

• Now, we've got Taco Bell arguing that too many businesses are using the term "Taco Tuesday", so it can't possibly belong to Taco John’s alone. It's like they've suddenly become the Robin Hood of the fast-food world, fighting for the rights of all those other taco joints out there.

But here's the kicker, the filing was made on a Tuesday! You can't make this stuff up. It's like me declaring "Joke Friday" and only telling jokes on Fridays... which, by the way, I don't recommend. Especially not in sales. Because let me tell you, no one appreciates a punchline when they're trying to close a deal.

• I can already see the courtroom drama now. A lawyer, probably named something like Chalupa Supreme, standing up and declaring, "Your Honor, we the people demand the freedom to enjoy our tacos on any given Tuesday without the fear of trademark infringement!"

• And across the room, the Taco John's lawyer, probably called Queso Grande, retorts, "Your Honor, my client has been using this phrase since the invention of the soft shell. We will not stand for this taco tyranny!"

In the end, who knows who will win the great Taco War. But one thing's for sure, no matter how it turns out, I'll still be over here, enjoying my Taco Tuesdays, and maybe even inventing "Burrito Wednesdays" while I'm at it. After all, isn't variety the salsa of life?

☠️ ANDY’S DEADLY DOODLES

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💀 Issue #100-and-something 💀

Why Everyone Should Have A Personal Brand (even if you think it's a popularity contest):

Personal branding has always been unappreciated as a mechanism to drive:

• Career growth

• Business growth

• And everything in between

It's a spoken secret to success in the digital age.

Here's why...

Personal branding improves your skills.

And it gives you a platform to:

• Share your thoughts

• Share your ideas

• Share your opinions

• Condense your ideas

• Provide value at scale

Here’s what I mean:

When I started writing online it took me 3 hours to write 1 post.

A few years later I can write 10 pieces of content in 1 hour.

Now here’s where it gets interesting:

Personal branding cascades into other parts of your professional life.

Your ideas can now be clearly communicated:

• On stage

• The boardroom

• When pitching a client

And there’s a hugely important lesson here...

When people think of personal branding they think of it as a popularity contest.

But the reality?

It's a personal development pursuit.

This is the part people don't talk about.

So... what can we learn?

Business is about buying from other people.

You know how the old saying goes:

"People buy from people"

And...

The other psychological factor that's in play with personal branding is the idea of social proofing.

Here's what I mean:

Personal branding online allows people to clap for you in the digital world with likes, comments, and shares.

The world and conversation is revolving around YOU.

There's social validation that's reinforcing to the reader that you know what you're talking about.

Let's dig in..

People are wrong to look at personal branding like a popularity contest.

You should be looking at it as:

• A social proofing validation

• A reputation building exercise

And here's where it gets fun:

Social media platforms have made reputation scalable.

Once upon a time the only platforms to extend your voice were owned by big businesses.

You had to get in the newspaper.

You had to get on radio.

And now we have this democratized media platform.

Here's what I mean...

We are all publishers.

Whether we want to admit it or not.

And every person reading this has a personal brand even if they think they don't.

0 followers ≠ 0 personal brand.

Let's dig in:

Your LinkedIn bio is a personal brand.

The way you conduct yourself on Instagram, your Facebook page, on LinkedIn is all part of your digital reputation.

That's what personal branding is...

Digital Reputation.

And here's the funny part:

If I asked you how important reputation was you would tell me it's incredibly important for:

• Personal relationships

• Business relationships

• Sales

You'd say it was everything because people buy from people.

And there’s a hugely important lesson here:

Personal branding is digital reputation.

One that you have control over.

One that you can curate.

One that you can design.

And...

One that you can scale to millions of people.

Now, you can apply this mindset to any platform.

It doesn't matter if it's Twitter, LinkedIn, or TikTok.

It's all about being able to scale your reputation online.

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That’s a wrap for today amigos. Eat your tacos and see you tomorrow! If you want more, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@andymewborn) or LinkedIn.

What did you think of today’s edition? (anonymous)

• 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ So f**cking fuego

• 🌶️🌶️🌶️ Meh, keep digging

• 🌶️ Snoozefest

A RECENT REVIEW