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The Weekly Drop In

i'm back, and taking YOU behind the brand

Published about 1 month ago • 3 min read

2ND EDITION | ISSUE #148

The final scene of the movie. Giant waves crashing. A beach full of spectators hanging on every moment. And then it happened. The perfect wave. The perfect set.

From inside the tunnel of water emerges Kate Bosworth. Surfing history is made - and they all live happily ever after.

And yes - if you were wondering this is the ending of Blue Crush.

Meanwhile, all I could think about was how wild that must have been on set. Like, how did they even film all that? I wonder how long it took. If it was part of an actual competition. How they managed their time and knew when the waves were going to be that big.

That is one thing I miss about owning DVDs & VHS - the bonus section, the behind-the-scenes look at how they created this thing in the first place.

If you couldn’t already tell by the new name of this newsletter. I love knowing how things work behind the scenes. The stratgey and execution of it all.

And after 148 issues of “the weekly drop in” I decided to double down on the idea of “behind the brand” and all of the ideas that came with it.

Welcome to issue 149 of my weekly newsletter, following a little rebrand.

Some things remain unchanged, such as my love for spinning stories and providing you with valuable content, branding, and marketing resources.

But I wanted to create a space to share more examples of other brands - not to mention more of the personal side of my own - so feel free to keep scrolling and explore the new sections.

P.S.

I mapped out the first 6 months of 2025, all the goals I set for my brand, and what I’ve been working on behind the scenes of my own brand (like this newsletter rebrand) over on Substack.

​You can click here to read more about that.​

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The newsletter introduction was inspired by a personal brand that uses a themed approach to make her brand more memorable. Her messaging, naming, and overall brand are personal and fun.

Meet Maria John, she's a copywriter with a love for the movies, a love that's carried forward to become part of her professional story; starting with her first internship with Paramount Pictures and injecting that same love into her copywriting business.

On the personal side, her movie reviews make a regular showing on her Instagram stories. But a click over to her website will show you that it's not just ingrained in the visuals of her brand, but movie-making and production references are an inherent part of her offer names and brand voice.

Maria's brand is the perfect example of how you can build a professional brand for your business while still leaning into a personal theme.

If I am being honest — I remembered the name of her offer "Lights Copy Action" but had to look up the name of her actual brand in my email inbox. That's how you know that your brand is starting to live freely inside someone else's brand.

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Maria is currently running a FREE sales page copy audit called The Sales Page Closeup, you can check it out here!​

It’s 2025, and having fun with it can & should be part of your strategy.

I wasn’t having fun with The Weekly Drop In anymore, so I changed it.

Maria’s brand theme is fun, memorable, and creative. It doesn’t have to be that serious to still be you & on brand.

A visual theme is more fun to design with.

Here I go saying “fun” again. But in reality, if you want your brand to be something you like, and something that is different from what people expect in your industry.

Your ability to have fun with it is what is going to help people remember & connect with you instead of someone else who gets recommended to them on an Instagram thread.

Doubling down on a theme is where storytelling comes in.

You can learn a lot about your brand and refine your messaging by creating more content.

If you're a total newbie to thinking about your marketing in terms of storytelling, grab this free Notion template.

And if you don't already, start sharing more of your personal interests in a short-form, easy-to-test format like threads or stories, and see what sticks.

Watching

Just finished “We Were Liars”and really really liked it. I can always tell when something was a book first, and once I realized that was the case, I wished I’d read it first. I have yet to read a fiction book in 2025, but maybe the sequel is going to be it? Also, one of the actors in this show was cast in the new Hunger Games movie, which I 100% need to read the book for ahead of time.

Listening

Going through a moment of pushing the dial in my car's sound system, windows down on my millennial emo playlist, also this song is on repeat - and I’ve been bingeing this marketing podcast.

And how could I not mention that I got to see one of my favorite artists, Charles Wesley Godwin, for the first time, front row - and only for $65 😍.

Promoting

The beta spots in my 60-minute brand consulting offer, The Studio Session, are $59 off right now while I finalize the new format. The Studio Session is the perfect way to get a second set of eyes on your brand, whether you’re just starting out and need some feedback on what you’ve DIYed, or you're navigating the next steps of your brand's pivot.

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The Weekly Drop In

Where strategy meets storytelling – your Monday morning dose of brand foundations that grow with your vision.

I'm a Brand strategist & designer helping multi-passionate entrepreneurs build brands that look like them while being strategic enough to scale. Fine arts background, eldest daughter energy, and a firm believer that brands take way longer than a week to build.

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