Brewing Your Brand: The July Edition

There’s something about July that makes people either go very quiet or get very loud.

Maybe it’s the heat, maybe it’s the halfway mark for the year. Or maybe it’s the caffeine kicking in for us coffee drinkers while everyone else is winding down.

My personal opinion is now is the ideal time to get clearer, bolder, and more intentional: about your brand, your message, and your digital presence. Plenty of people will take the summer off and dial down their visibility. The result? Now is the perfect time to stand out.

Because showing up consistently with integrity? That’s the iced confidence part.
And this month, I’ve got a “hot take” (tongue fully in cheek - you know how I feel about that term) that I need to share.

The Hot Take
Everyone's suddenly a coach. But not everyone is credible.

I wish that line were just a clever soundbite. But it's coming from a real and disappointing experience. Someone recently lifted my client testimonials directly from LinkedIn and pasted them on their own website as if they were theirs.

My clients’ names in place, words about my work untouched.

If you know me you know that I believe in generosity. I believe in sharing what we know, teaching as we go, and not gatekeeping growth. But I also believe in doing the work, not stealing from others.

If you want to build a brand that people trust, you can’t just mimic someone else’s voice (or lift someone’s recommendations). You have to earn your own.

That means:
✔️ Consistency
✔️ Alignment of values
✔️ Sharing your knowledge
✔️ Owning your story
✔️ Not copy-pasting your way into someone else’s lane

When it comes to choosing a coach, or any service provider, choose wisely. Trust your instincts, and don’t be pressured by a hard sell and icky sales tactics. And if something feels off, dig deeper.

The Iced Confidence
Here’s what I know for certain: your work will speak for you, if you keep showing up with clarity and intention, not just noise.

In my five years of building intentionally on LinkedIn, I’ve learned that flashy and fake don’t last. Real impact comes from doing the (sometimes hard) work, building community, and creating and engaging with purpose. That last one is key. If you just post, you’re not maximizing your time on LinkedIn. And you’re missing out on the best part - engaging with others and having conversations.

That’s why I will never use AI to generate my comments, and I will never copy/paste content from AI. I see it (and read it) all the time. I was halfway through the newsletter of someone I admire when I had to close and delete it. I could tell it wasn’t written by them. The tone was off, the content felt forced. And the telltale signs were there (the dreaded “no fluff” jumped off the page at me). If you sound just like everyone else, well….. you sound just like everyone else.

So if you’re tired of performative, templated content and you’re ready to share your knowledge and build engagement with insight and heart, let’s talk.

A Quintessential NYC Moment
Over the weekend, I watched a woman carry an iced coffee, a bouquet of bodega flowers, and balance a toddler on her hip… all while taking a call via their AirPods. And I thought to myself: “that’s so New York.” Messy, magical, multitasking, and somehow still moving forward. Kind of like building your brand.

A LinkedIn Tip for Those Summer Vacations

If you have LinkedIn Premium, you have access to a feature that you should definitely be using: the Away Message. If you have Premium, you can turn on the Away Message feature in your DMs. Two tips:

1. You don’t actually have to be away to use it. You can use it any time (and all the time).

2. Don’t just use it to say your responses will be delayed. Use it to highlight something you want people to know about: an upcoming webinar, a cohort you’re launching, your newsletter. (And if you don’t have a newsletter, this next point is for you).

Thinking of Starting a Newsletter?
If you’ve been thinking about launching your own newsletter, my advice is simple. Do it. It's one of the best ways to deepen connection with your audience, without relying on an algorithm. My only regret? That I didn’t do it sooner. I was intimidated, afraid that I had no idea how to put a newsletter or an email list together.

I use Beehiiv to write and send Brewing Your Brand, and I love how simple and powerful it is. If you’re considering doing the same, please check out my affiliate link https://www.beehiiv.com?via=Melissa-Cohen

You’ll receive a 30-day trial + 20% OFF for 3 months. (Yes, this is an affiliate link, but I’d recommend it either way. A tech novice like me was able to set up my newsletter in minutes, not hours.)

And with that, this edition of Brewing Your Brand comes to a close. Thank you for reading and for subscribing. I genuinely appreciate it. My emails are always open for your feedback and what you’d like to see me talk about here. Enjoy the rest of July!