Aliza Licht, ON BRAND: Shape Your Narrative. Share Your Vision. Shift Their Perception.
[0:02]Hi, I'm Zippy Owens, and you're listening to moms don't have time to read books.
[0:06]This 30-minute podcast features a new author interviewed by me every single day, 365 days
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[0:31]That's at zippymag.com.
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[0:49]But this here podcast is the basis of all of it and started in 2018.
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[0:57]Enjoy.
[1:03]A Liza Licht is the author of On Brand, Shape Your Narrative, Share Your Vision, Shift
[1:08]Their Perception.
[1:09]She is an award-winning marketer, best-selling author, podcaster, personal branding expert,
[1:14]and the founder of Leave Your Mark, a multimedia brand and consultancy.
[1:18]She advises businesses and mentors, individuals on brand-building and career development,
[1:22]which we talk about on the show.
[1:24]A Liza leverages over two decades of expertise in branding, marketing, communications,
[1:28]digital strategy in the fashion industry.
[1:30]She was named one of America's next top mentors by The New York Times, and business
[1:34]insiders top 20 most innovative career coaches.
[1:38]On Brand is a comprehensive guide to building your personal brand online and in real life.
[1:43]Hi, A Liza.
[1:44]Thank you so much for coming on momstone of time to read books, to talk about On Brand,
[1:49]Shape Your Narrative, Share Your Vision, Shift Their Perception.
[1:53]I am so honored to be here, Zippy.
[1:55]Thank you for having me.
[1:56]I can't wait to discuss.
[1:57]There are so many tips, strategies, ideas, and more in this book, but also your own story,
[2:04]and I want you to tell that first because it's so interesting how you built a massive
[2:09]following and did so secret and then were revealed and this whole, I mean, it's amazing
[2:16]the story.
[2:17]So talk all about basically how you came into all this, your role in fashion and how you've
[2:21]taken branding and just exploded it and made a user guide for everyone else.
[2:26]Okay.
[2:27]So first of all, thanks for the great question.
[2:30]So I grew up in fashion working in corporate PR, spending 17 years working for Donna
[2:35]Karen, normal corporate PR job, and in 2009, we were faced with this new-ish platform
[2:41]called Twitter, and we were like, maybe we should get on it.
[2:44]And sitting around marketing meeting one day, we were debating how we would get on it.
[2:49]And my big fear working in PR was that people would think Donna Karen the person was tweeting.
[2:55]And obviously that has a whole host of problems because it's like who's writing that copy,
[2:59]who's responding.
[3:01]So it was the time when like gossip girl season two or something was like the rage.
[3:08]And I was like, well, why can't we just do it like gossip girl and create an anonymous
[3:12]character that can be the voice of the brand?
[3:16]And no one has to know who it is.
[3:18]So that was the idea and I was like, we can call her DQIPR girl.
[3:23]And when we pitched to our legal team, they were like, great, only one person can do
[3:27]this, Eliza, because you're the SVP of gold communications, it's going to be you.
[3:32]So honestly, Zippy, I was like, okay, sure, I had no idea what I was signing up for.
[3:37]Didn't know what Twitter was.
[3:39]And then started to tweet and I think the biggest lesson here in the early days was
[3:44]it was all about and it still is telling a great story, right?
[3:48]And you can relate to that, telling a great story, not selling anything.
[3:53]And I learned that by doing and I was anonymous for two years as this person behind
[3:59]the Twitter handle, which is crazy in our world where no one keeps a secret or says like,
[4:04]don't tell anyone but.
[4:06]And finally came out in 2011 as the person behind the Twitter handle, but what I was doing
[4:11]the whole time on Twitter in addition to sharing like my escapades with celebrity dressing
[4:17]or fashion week was actually giving out career advice.
[4:21]So one day an editor called me cold and was like, I think you should write a book.
[4:27]And that is what led to leave your mark, which was my first book.
[4:31]And cut to, you know, I come out as this person, there's like 230 million media impressions
[4:37]of this news, which was wild.
[4:40]I have this book now, leave your mark and it's 2015 and all of a sudden it becomes very
[4:47]clear.
[4:48]The company is changing, they're getting a new CEO, they're getting new creative directors
[4:52]and I'm like, it's time for me to go.
[4:54]And this is where on brand picks up.
[4:57]So this is, so leave your mark ends that book ends and leave your mark is very much like
[5:01]the devil or his product meets career advice and on brand picks up right from the height
[5:07]of my career at Donna Karen, where I have created a personal brand for something I don't
[5:12]own.
[5:13]And I think that's really, really important because I had all these millions of followers
[5:17]like you mentioned, but they were not mine.
[5:20]And then I'm faced with, okay, now I'm going to leave this company.
[5:23]I don't have this lofty title anymore.
[5:26]I'm not part of LVM H. Yes, I have a book, but now what.
[5:32]So on brand starts with my rebrand from corporate PR person to entrepreneur, want to be
[5:40]entrepreneur and author.
[5:42]Unreal.
[5:43]This whole thing is so cool.
[5:46]Wait, tell me more when it was like in that moment when you decided to reveal who you
[5:51]were and what was it like having this whole secret identity for a couple of years, like
[5:57]what was that even like?
[5:59]And how often were you tweeting and like what did you tell me more of the learnings from
[6:04]that better?
[6:05]And just the whole thing.
[6:07]So this was like a side hustle for my real job.
[6:10]So I was still doing my regular role as as VP global communications.
[6:15]I was tweeting probably a hundred times a day, a hundred times a day, but like out of
[6:22]passion, like no one was making me do this to be like seven days a week, I was responding
[6:28]to everyone, I had been, I started a blog on Tumblr, I, you know, later on, Instagram
[6:34]didn't exist.
[6:35]So later on, I started on Instagram, it was it was fascinating to connect with people around
[6:41]the world.
[6:42]And the questions were often like, you know, how do I become a publicist or how do I break
[6:47]into fashion?
[6:48]And I had advice and I wanted to help.
[6:51]So I really found myself mentoring just as much as I was sharing insider fun behind
[6:57]the scenes, celebrity dressing tidbits and it became a really popular handle.
[7:04]What we decided to do to reveal me as the person was create a behind the scenes of fashion
[7:08]week video on YouTube to show my actual job because the whole premise was my life as a
[7:15]PR girl living in New York City.
[7:16]So it was a very fly on the wall view.
[7:18]And because this is moms don't have time to read, I will tell you moms also don't have
[7:23]time to reveal themselves as a Twitter personality.
[7:28]The day that I was designated as uploading this YouTube video to reveal myself was the
[7:35]day I was touring a camp for my son, Ramapho day camp.
[7:40]And we drove up into like a place with no Wi-Fi and they're literally walking around
[7:46]this camp.
[7:47]He's like, I don't even know six or something.
[7:49]And I literally hit submit on the video and I lose all Wi-Fi, all cellular.
[7:55]I hit submit.
[7:56]I have no idea what happens to this video.
[7:58]I'm on this camp tour.
[7:59]They're like, and here's the pool and I'm like, no, we can see that's a pool.
[8:04]I was like, we need to get out of here and finally get back in the car and I'm like,
[8:10]drive.
[8:11]I need cell phone service and we drive and it was hundreds of thousands of retweets.
[8:19]It was insane.
[8:21]And that exploded it and that was exhilarating, scary, shocking.
[8:26]And then it became like, well, I better be real careful what I say now because now they
[8:31]know it's me, but I didn't want it to change the personality at all.
[8:35]So I had to balance that, but I was a little snarky at times a little bit like, you know,
[8:40]a little bit page six ish, but yeah, it was incredible, but also it swallowed me whole
[8:46]as a person.
[8:48]So the rebrand and what I've put into on brand is really about building equity in your
[8:54]own name.
[8:55]So instead of being like, a laser from DKNY, right?
[9:00]I want to be a laser elect and that is what this book does for people.
[9:04]You have this whole thing like, hi, I'm a laser, you know, like, let me introduce myself
[9:09]to you.
[9:10]So how do you do that?
[9:11]How do you and how do you do it in the context of a bigger company because so many people
[9:14]are working in a big company?
[9:16]Yes.
[9:17]So how do you maintain your own identity within a bigger thing, but also when you hang your
[9:25]own shingle up?
[9:26]Great questions.
[9:27]So first of all, it starts with asking yourself like, what do you want to be known for?
[9:31]And one of the one of the concepts I really doubled down on in on brand is that this is
[9:36]not about becoming an influencer.
[9:37]This is not about building a huge social media presence unless that's what you want
[9:42]to do.
[9:43]very much just as much for the corporate person who wants to level up and get promoted
[9:50]or for the corporate executive who's like, you know what, I'm doing great, but I also want
[9:54]to be thought of as a thought leader in my industry.
[9:57]So how do you see yourself as a whole?
[10:00]person within a bigger infrastructure. And it really is as much about your executive presence
[10:07]company and how you're showing up to how you're emailing people to what you're posting on social
[10:13]media. So the book is very self-reflective. And what I do throughout the book is create these mental
[10:20]gymnastics exercises, right, where it's like each concept is broken into very small digestible
[10:27]fights. And then I kind of hold the reader's hand to think through like how they're navigating.
[10:33]So self-reflection, what do you want to be known for, starting off with a classic then diagram of
[10:39]thinking about all the facets of your life, all your interests, where, you know, where you work,
[10:44]what you maybe do for a side hustle, what your hobbies or your interests to really shape
[10:49]your narrative. Because that is, that's the reason it's the first subtitle, because I believe that if
[10:56]people don't make a concerted effort to understand what they want to be known for and how to shape
[11:03]that narrative, they're not giving other people the tools to speak about them. And I think a strong
[11:10]personal brand is really when people are dropping your names and rooms you're not in, right? And you're
[11:16]being offered opportunities that other people haven't even heard of yet because people know your value.
[11:23]So within a company, it's really about understanding how can you be collaborative, how can you
[11:30]let people understand that you're actually really good at what you do, but also you're proud of
[11:35]your accomplishments and you want people to understand the value you add, but doing it in a strategic
[11:41]and elegant way. And there's a million different exercises, but it can be for anyone who's thinking
[11:49]like, wow, I got past over for that promotion. Why? Like, what's wrong with me? Like, why didn't I get
[11:54]that promotion? Or to someone who's personal brand is getting a little dusty and maybe they
[11:58]haven't innovated in their role in a while. And they need to sort of recognize that like, you can't
[12:03]just sit back and relax. So there's so many scenarios. But at the end of the day, it really is aligning
[12:10]yourself reflection with public perception and look perception can be your colleagues, your family,
[12:18]your friends, whoever is consuming you as a person. Wow. It's awesome. Amazing. Tell me about
[12:27]like getting into podcasting. Like, tell me about like where you are now, like, what happened between
[12:33]DKNY, PR girl, and how you made your brand now. And like, where you want to take all this?
[12:41]Okay. So when I left on a Karen after 17 years, I had leave your mark with my book.
[12:47]And I started consulting in marketing and digital, which was challenging because people knew me
[12:53]as the PR person. So part of the rerun was also to make people understand that I knew how to
[12:58]be a marketer. And I knew digital, even though that wasn't like on my resume, you didn't just
[13:05]know digital. You like, well, I stitched. Thank you. I mean, I did, but it wasn't like, you know,
[13:11]I wasn't like a marketing person. I was a PR person and very much sort of like typecast into that
[13:17]space, especially with D to my PR girl. Zibi, I sucked at consulting. I consulted. I was so bad.
[13:24]I was so bad. I was, I was keeping track of everything. I was, you know, we both have wonderful
[13:32]networks. I was getting every meeting I wanted and landing not one client and anyone who came to me
[13:39]I think why. I think there's an element of brand really want to want to solve the problem, but they
[13:47]don't actually want to pay. So when you think about like a corporate salary, I was like, oh, I made
[13:52]X amount per year. I'll just divide that down and figure out my hourly rate. So wasn't getting
[13:57]the gigs I wanted. And the stuff that was coming at me, I was quite frankly a snob about it. I was like,
[14:02]I don't want to do that. Well, luxurious, you know, brand that I was working for as part of
[14:10]LVM age working on Donna Karen collection. And I was like, I don't want to do that. So I wrote
[14:15]this article in Forbes many years ago, which was very popular because it was literally called
[14:19]how you know you're not meant to be an entrepreneur. And I just basically said like, it is okay
[14:24]to fail and then be like, okay, this is not for me. Okay. So I publicly failed. And I felt really
[14:30]good about giving myself that permission. And then I went back in-house to do marketing and
[14:36]communications for a couple of years. And then I got itchy again. And I decided I needed to do
[14:42]something creatively. I wanted to extend the life of Leave Your Mark. I didn't want to write
[14:47]another book. So I decided to do the Leave Your Mark podcast in 2019. And then I decided to extend
[14:54]that into Leave Your Mark community, which is where I mentor people privately. So that's
[14:59]Leave Your Mark. And I keep on going in and out of house. I was in-house again at one point. Now
[15:05]I'm just a consultant. But what I've done in on brands, I've taken the two decades plus of marketing
[15:12]communications and digital experience in luxury fashion and applied it to people. So now I'm
[15:19]working as a marketing and digital consultant for brands, but also for humans.
[15:26]No branding aspect is something that I'm now offering as a service. So when people read this book
[15:31]and they're like, this was a great read. Great. I still can't do it. I can work.
[15:37]And what makes you think, how are you going to make sure you don't fail in this?
[15:42]Oh, well, I think there's always an element of failing. But I think, you know, it's like when
[15:48]you finally realize your why and what you're passionate about, like I'm really passionate
[15:54]about helping people amplify selves and understand their worth. And, you know, just like I started
[16:04]mentoring on DKI PR girl Twitter for no reason, like I really genuinely enjoy helping people see
[16:10]themselves. So I don't think I'm going to fail at this because it's like a passion project. And if I
[16:15]didn't make one dollar doing it, I would still do it. So fun. So I know there are so many different
[16:22]pieces of advice in the book. What are some of the things let's just take
[16:28]Jews and don'ts for personal branding or company branding or whatever. Like what are some of the
[16:34]things you've seen that really get people in trouble? Or what are some of the maybe low hanging
[16:39]fruit, if you will, or easiest things people can do to cement their who they want to be or what
[16:46]they're putting out in the world? Like what are some things like you're like, these are non-negotiable.
[16:51]Love non-negotiable. So your bio and what you're writing in that bio, whether it's on your
[16:56]website, on LinkedIn, on your social media, consistency, but also words that support your goal.
[17:05]In the book, I say like some people are like, I'm a Netflix junkie and a Taylor Swift fan. It's like
[17:10]great. But if you're like an aspiring journalist, like how do we know that? So you're leveraging
[17:16]that real estate to actually do the talking for you. Your email signature, so many people waste
[17:23]that space where it says like sent from my iPhone. Okay, you guys don't work for Apple do you
[17:28]because you're doing marketing for Apple when you keep that there. Why not include a link to
[17:35]you know an article you wrote or your website or your latest episode of your podcast, like
[17:41]handing people who you are on a silver platter. I literally like secretly writing this down.
[17:46]I don't even use my signatures ever. I don't even I don't even have one. I'm like, I don't know.
[17:53]Well, there you go. Thank you. So handing handing yourself on a silver platter. This goes back
[17:58]to the shape in your narrative because we assume people know what we want to do or do. Nobody
[18:04]does. Dory Clark's in my book. She's a brilliant communications coach. She very beautifully said
[18:12]no one is thinking about you. No one has time to think about you. So if you're not helping people
[18:17]do your PR for you by telling them exactly what you do or are looking to do, you're not giving
[18:24]them the tools to help you. So consistency, making sure that whatever you're putting out there
[18:32]is supporting your goal. But then thinking about who your stakeholders are, like whose attention
[18:38]are you looking to get? Are you looking to impress your boss? Are you looking to get clients? Are you
[18:44]looking to get investors? And really thinking about your content mix, especially on social media
[18:50]with them in mind. And a lot of people make the mistake of thinking, this is my personal social media,
[18:58]and there is no such thing as personal social media. And even if you're private, there is no
[19:04]such thing. We still see your bio and anyone can screenshot any single thing you post. And this has
[19:11]happened to someone I know where she forgot that a Page Six reporter was a Facebook friend amongst
[19:16]her 10,000 friends. And the person was not a friend and she screenshot this post and it ended up in
[19:23]the paper. So if you're not comfortable seeing a post as like a full page spread in a newspaper,
[19:30]don't post it because the screenshot is way more powerful than the delete button. And then beyond
[19:37]beyond that, it's really, I think, working on understanding how you see yourself, but really
[19:43]how other people see you. So there's a lot of exercises in the book to help you actually get
[19:48]feedback from others because you may think you're X, Y, and Z. But people around, you're like,
[19:53]no, you're A, B, and Z. Like, so you really do have to marry those two areas. And then
[20:00]really understanding how you're showing up.
[20:02]A lot of people, especially in corporate,
[20:04]now that we're sort of hybrid or moat, whatever,
[20:07]they're forgetting how important it is
[20:10]to show up in a meeting and give eye contact, right?
[20:13]Or to show up in person and engage.
[20:16]And thinking about how you're earning social capital
[20:19]and how people are perceiving you,
[20:20]like are you good to work with?
[20:22]Would they wanna work with you again?
[20:23]Like all of these things roll up to your personal brand,
[20:28]but also remembering that it's not just what you say
[20:31]and what you post.
[20:32]It's also what you choose to align with.
[20:34]And a lot of times people fail at personal branding
[20:37]because what they actually do
[20:39]is in conflict to what they say they believe.
[20:41]Hmm, interesting.
[20:43]You should teach a class, you teach classes.
[20:46]I don't teach a class, but I love teaching.
[20:49]You should teach a zippy class.
[20:51]I would love to teach a zippy class.
[20:53]That would be really fun.
[20:54]I feel like a lot of authors in particular
[20:56]could use help with your branding advice.
[20:59]Well, I would love to.
[21:00]And by the way, you have the galley,
[21:01]but I have the real one.
[21:02]It's metallic.
[21:03]Oh, oh my God, that's so cool.
[21:05]Yeah, you're getting it covered.
[21:07]You're getting it.
[21:07]This is my only copy, but you're getting it.
[21:09]Yeah, I would love to.
[21:11]I would love to.
[21:12]I think it's especially for authors.
[21:14]It's the heart, it's like you think the heart part
[21:18]is writing the book, right?
[21:19]But the heart part is also marketing the book.
[21:22]And you really aren't left on your own.
[21:26]I mean, you do a really in job for your authors,
[21:27]but a lot of people who are not part of zippy books
[21:30]or don't have the support or publishing themselves,
[21:33]it really is like a black hole.
[21:36]So these tips are for an author or any single type of person
[21:42]who really wants to understand
[21:45]how they're showing up in the world in new.
[21:47]It is.
[21:48]I love that.
[21:49]Go back to the podcast for a second.
[21:51]Tell everybody about your podcast.
[21:52]My podcast is called Leave Your Mark,
[21:54]which is inspired by the book, Leave Your Mark.
[21:57]And it is every Sunday, I bring on guests.
[22:01]It's really meant to be tactical career advice.
[22:04]So leave your mark.
[22:05]The book cover is a coffee cup with my red lip stain
[22:08]because that's my coffee every day.
[22:10]Leave your mark podcast is the same image.
[22:13]And one of the things I wanted to do with this show
[22:16]was one, really bring my network together
[22:19]to deliver advice every week.
[22:22]But not just advice, you know how sometimes you're listening
[22:25]to a show and you're like hearing someone
[22:27]who's extraordinarily successful.
[22:29]And you're like, that's great,
[22:30]but I'm never going to build like a billion dollar company.
[22:34]Like I kind of just want to do a good job
[22:36]in my role right this minute.
[22:39]So I think Leave Your Mark is much more
[22:41]down to earth in the sense of you're walking away
[22:45]with tactical career advice,
[22:47]but you're also not walking away feeling badly
[22:51]about yourself in the sense that you'll never measure up
[22:54]to that like unbelievably successful person.
[22:58]So I tried to make it humble in that sense
[23:00]and really again, the small digestible bites of like
[23:04]every episode has like three main takeaways in the title.
[23:08]I think it's important to note also,
[23:09]which goes back to sort of the ethos of on brand
[23:12]and building equity in your name.
[23:13]I never put the guests company in the title of the episode
[23:19]because I want their name to stand on its own
[23:22]because what you do today may not be what you do tomorrow.
[23:25]And I think it's really important to show every guest
[23:28]that like, no, you matter as yourself.
[23:31]It doesn't matter where you work.
[23:32]The lessons are the same and they take their skills
[23:34]wherever they go.
[23:36]I love them.
[23:37]Have you read the new book by Tara Schuster?
[23:39]She left Comedy Central.
[23:41]She had like a massive bestseller in the pandemic
[23:44]and now she has a new book at.
[23:45]But anyway, it's all about how she lost her job
[23:48]at Comedy Central and for her whole life,
[23:50]she was Tara Schuster Comedy Central, like all one phrase.
[23:53]And she went into this spiraling kind of depression
[23:57]and search for identity after.
[23:59]And part of the book is about like the rebound from that
[24:01]and figuring out who you are when you're so closely aligned
[24:04]to your job.
[24:05]And it's about many other things too.
[24:06]But since I've read that, I find I keep finding this
[24:10]happening to people like all the time.
[24:12]Like so and so worked here forever,
[24:14]but like who am I now that I sold my company?
[24:16]Who am I now that I left that company?
[24:18]And like that's who I was.
[24:21]And I feel like that's happening to so many people right now.
[24:24]So I feel like your your book and your advice
[24:27]could not come at a better time,
[24:28]especially with this like we are all no matter how invested
[24:32]we are in companies like people, right?
[24:34]People, daughters, mother, you know, whatever we are.
[24:38]And the company is just one piece of it, right?
[24:42]So yeah.
[24:43]Yes, and it does start to feel.
[24:45]I mean, I remember that first, you know, week
[24:48]when I was, you know, my unemployed self,
[24:50]you feel like less of a person.
[24:52]You feel naked without that title,
[24:54]without the credibility of that company.
[24:57]And that's really, it's an unfortunate
[25:00]and uncomfortable feeling, but what's worse
[25:03]is when people actually don't respond to your emails anymore
[25:07]or don't pick up the phone
[25:08]because you're not really offering the same thing
[25:11]that you once were at ex company.
[25:14]And that if everyone walks away with one piece
[25:17]of advice today or one lesson,
[25:19]like don't do that to your friends.
[25:20]Like stay in touch.
[25:22]Like people, you know, it's disheartening
[25:26]when people go through that.
[25:27]So I had to do crisis is real.
[25:30]And it's not to say that you can't put tons of value
[25:32]into the company you work at
[25:33]and completely appreciate that you're part of that team.
[25:38]But always remember that your name isn't on the door
[25:41]and even if it is, founders can be replaced.
[25:42]We see it all the time.
[25:43]So it's really about putting the equity in your own name
[25:47]and making sure that you know that you're good enough
[25:50]without it.
[25:51]Love that.
[25:52]I love it so much.
[25:52]Lisa, thank you so much.
[25:54]On brand, this is not the silver edition,
[25:56]but on brand, share your name, share your vision,
[25:59]shift their perception.
[26:01]Love it.
[26:02]Thank you, Zippy.
[26:02]Thank you, Zippy.
[26:03]Thanks for coming on.
[26:05]Okay.
[26:06]My pleasure.
[26:06]All right, stay in touch.
[26:08]No fun.
[26:08]Thank you so much.
[26:10]And I would love to do that class.
[26:12]So let me know if you would do it.
[26:13]Yes.
[26:13]I'm going to put you in touch
[26:14]with the person who runs the classes.
[26:16]Okay, sounds good.
[26:16]Thank you.
[26:17]Bye.
[26:18]Bye.
[26:19]Thanks for listening to this episode of moms
[26:21]don't have time to read books.
[26:23]Don't forget to follow me on Instagram,
[26:25]at Zippy Owens and at moms don't have time to read books.
[26:28]Also sign up for my newsletter at zippyowens.com
[26:31]and sign up for my virtual book club
[26:32]and meet lots of authors on Zoom every other week.
[26:35]Thanks so much to Steve and Ryan.
[26:36]In fact, texture sound for the sound editing.
[26:39]And thank you to Morning Moon Productions
[26:40]for providing this fantastic intro and now trim music.