I officially peaked last week: A millennial-kitsch Instagram account with 1+ million followers pinned one of my comments. About Beanie Babies.

And it went viral.

I’ll be signing autographs by the Limited Too sale rack later this week.

💥 Okay, 512 likes probably doesn’t count as viral, but it continues to feel like a big deal when I see people liking this asinine comment even a week later. 💥

By the way, apparently the Beanie pictured in that Instagram post is not Tabasco; it’s Snort.

Tabasco had red hooves and was retired in 1997 for copyright reasons.
Cream-hoofed Snort replaced him shortly after.

Someone took the time to leave a comment about this.

Always nice to enjoy a moment where I’m not the biggest lunatic in the room.

I am absolutely “bum-rushed the local Hallmark franchise to ransack the display of new Beanie Babies” years old. Our shop was called Tiffany Town (RIP), and for some reason it was a goldmine for the hard-to-find ones.

Pretty sure we even scored the Princess Di commemorative bear there.

So: What if you could go “viral” with folks who actually matter?

What if, unlike that massive Tupperware full of grungy Beanie Babies, the folks you collect actually could “be worth a ton of money someday”?

Well, it begins with your message.
(And you were wondering how the hell I was gonna bring this back around.)

When you craft a brand narrative that speaks to your dream customers’ souls, you can pin yourself to their consciousness like so many clever Instagram comments immortalized with the prized thumbtack 📌

When you understand the central problem the hero of your story is facing, those dream customers are gonna feel seen af — and bum-rush that inbox like my Tiffany Town of yore.

Anyway, I sent America to her room without cake on her birthday — she’s been real bad all year — but today, July 5, I have a gift for you:

My spankin’-new brand story guide, Do This, Not That!, is out in the world and one hundo p free to thee.

It features nine simple reframes that will change the way you think about your brand message and actionable tweaks to transform how you communicate with those customer crushes.

Check it out, hmm?

For one shining moment…
Paige

P.S. If you’re anything like me today and unclear on what day it even is, recalibrate with this absolutely unhinged episode of You’re Wrong About, featuring the dark tale behind everyone’s favorite posable plushies.

P.P.S. Seriously. Do This, Not That! It’s here. Grab that Tabasco/Snort by the horns, my friend 🐂