Marketing Simplified with Vanessa Errecarte

04/19/2026

Ever heard of Davis Picnic Day?

This is my 27th one, and it’s still one of my favorite days of the year.

For those who haven’t experienced it, Picnic Day is UC Davis’s annual open house (the largest student-run event in the country) where the campus comes alive with parades, exhibits, food, and traditions that span generations.

From the opening parade (yes, complete with DeLoreans 🚗) to the Doxie Derby, it’s one of those days that reminds you just how special this community is. It was especially great to spend some time with LeShelle May. I’m so looking forward to my book event with her on May 6th!

A special thank you to students for organizing their annual breakfast. It’s my favorite way to start the day with prospective students, current students and alumni, and then head to the parade.

Here’s a bit of the magic (sound up). I always get goosebumps when the band plays Sons of California to open the parade ✨

04/11/2026

Today I had the pleasure of spending my Saturday afternoon at the open house talking with prospective and admitted students, and it put me in reflection mode.

Two of my three degrees are from , and I’m also on faculty here. So what IS so special about this place? Why, as an undergrad, did I turn down an ivy league offer in favor of this special place?

The answer was actually simple when I asked myself that question...

In my classes, I tell students they’re investing in a business education to get AHEAD of the market, not just keep up with it.

And here’s how we get ahead at .

We’re nice.

Yes, I’ll say it again: we’re nice.

But not in the surface-level way people might assume about any organization (that’s actually fake nice, the antithesis of real nice). Real nice means we’re wildly collaborative. Deeply supportive. And the part that makes it matter most: we don’t just SAY it, we DO it.

You may have seen that on 60 Minutes, astronaut Christina Koch said she hopes people forget about Artemis II when thinking about her legacy. Why? Because she wants there to be an Artemis III, an Artemis 100…missions to Mars. She wants Artemis II simply to be what made more innovation possible.

That’s what this looks like in action.

Being “nice” isn’t about SAYING kind things, it’s about DOING them. Sharing opportunities. Making introductions. Taking risks for others. Lifting people up, even when there’s a perceived cost (which is ALWAYS a false one… Christina Koch didn’t minimize her legacy by sharing that sentiment, she actually made her purpose go viral).

At UC Davis, these kinds of actions are embedded in our culture. We share our best connections. We create opportunities for each other. We TAKE RISKS for each other. And in the end, we win together, again and again.

Yes, we have all the bells and whistles, and we implement them incredibly well.

But we beat the market because we help each other.

If that sounds unique for a business school, that’s because it is.

04/08/2026

Here’s my full interview with Taylor Stanton, MBA, author of the photo narrative book, “Beyond Yosemite Valley.”

His personal brand has not only shaped his own professional path, but also meaningfully expanded how others experience the beauty of nature.

Many people have been lucky enough to experience Taylor’s talent. He’s been the Director of Communications behind some of Silicon Valley’s biggest CEOs, and is now the Head of Communications at the Foundation for America’s Public Lands.

We are fortunate to have him in such an important role.

Taylor’s journey is featured in Chapter 12 of my upcoming new book Valuable & Visible: Redefining Personal Branding by Leading with Impact Over Image, in stores May 5 and available for preorder.

Find his video interview and book linked in my story. It’s at vanessaerrecarte.com/blog

What stood out to you about Taylor’s journey? I’d love to hear in the comments.

04/07/2026

Writing a book is as nerve wracking as it is exciting. 68,000+ words later, and you’re still wondering: Will it land? Will it help?

My “why” for this book is the same as in my classroom and with my clients: Marketing is a gift, when we do it right.

It’s one of the biggest stages we have to create value, make an impact, and genuinely help people. Brands (corporate or personal...but they all start personal... with a person and idea) exist to understand and serve others better than anyone else.

That belief has fueled my work for 20+ years. But putting it out into the world at this scale brings up a lot of… feelings. And like most humans, fear is often the easiest place to land.

Then a small thing happened early this morning. I woke up to see Valuable & Visible ranked on Amazon:
#3 in Business Entrepreneurship
#4 in Business Marketing

Rankings were never the goal, and I know they change OFTEN. But what this signals is that my message is reaching people and resonating with them, and my “why” is spreading a bit.

Maybe impact over image is exactly what people are craving in a noisy, AI-driven world. And maybe, over time, it might change the kind of information we see.

Today, I just want to say thank you for that moment of validation. I’ll always remember it.

Traditional “selling” has never come naturally to me, which is why I practice and teach a different way… so again, this moment means a lot.

P.S. A few of you have asked about the books in my photos and videos (thank you for that, too)! In the name of transparency: they’re not the real books yet, just covers over blanks😊. My handful of early readers are using PDFs.

My book is still in preorder (which makes these rankings even more meaningful) and will be in stores May 5.

04/06/2026

Personal brands that put impact over image do a few powerful things:

• They create career insurance
• They build an online presence that works for you
• They generate a pull effect for pivots, promotions, and opportunities

Yes, they can lead to businesses, consulting, speaking, and monetized IP.
But that’s not where you start.

Most people ask:
❓ “What can I sell?”

Taylor Stanton, whose story is featured in Chapter 12 of my upcoming book, Valuable & Visible, asked a better question.

He asked:
❓ “What have people already proven they value?”

Before he ever created a product, his wilderness photography had already generated 20+ million impressions on Reddit. That wasn’t just a metric. It was a signal of resonance, demand, and what could come next.

Tomorrow we’ll hear more from Taylor about how and why he made the shift to next steps and the (multiple) outcomes he experienced.

We touch on passion, equity, and the value of believing and betting on yourself.

04/03/2026

Everyone says personal branding is about you. Everyone is wrong.
Your vision is the breakthrough for OTHERS.

If you watched ’s interview yesterday, you likely realized that Lisa didn’t build her brand by promoting herself. She built it by challenging a “solved problem.”

➡️ In Lisa’s case, dry eye disease was a problem that most saw as already solved with eyedrops. Lisa knew it wasn’t, and said so.

➡️ Her mission became clear: help people actually fix it instead of risking further deterioration by not identifying the root cause.

➡️ She shows up consistently to educate, not to self-promote. When her strategies help other doctors treat patients better or see things in a new way, they naturally find her credentials, qualifications, and more. Lisa never had to tell them.

That’s the shift, and it’s good news for all of us. None of us LIKE self-promotion, it’s just what we were told to do. I officially give you permission to try another way, which is why I wrote my book.

But first, you have to define your brand.

⭐ Try this (from Chapter 2) ⭐

If you’re trying to find your niche or sharpen your personal brand, start here:

What is something you see differently than others?

When was the last time you felt a true moment of professional accomplishment, pride, or happiness? How about personally?

What is a big lifetime goal of yours that people close to you know about?

Your brand is usually already there. You just haven’t named it yet.
(And if this gets you thinking… there are 30 more questions and 3 exercises waiting for you in Chapter 2.)

For now, I’m curious. What’s starting to come up for you?

04/02/2026

Here’s my full interview with (linked in my stories) or at vanessaerrecarte.com/blog.

It’s the first in my “Visible & Valuable Voices” series, where I’ll be bringing you an interview with case studies featured in the book each week.

I can’t wait for you to learn more about her unique story and the ways her personal brand has not only shaped and enhanced her own professional journey, but also helped millions along the way.

She says, “Just changing one doctor’s approach is worth it because then they’re going to go back and change their patient’s lives. And that’s just the coolest feeling.”

Lisa leads the pages of Chapter 2 in my new book “Valuable & Visible: Redefining Personal Branding by Leading with Impact Over Image” in stores on May 5th and currently in presale.

04/01/2026

You don’t build a personal brand by explaining what you do and who you are. You build it by challenging how people think, and the rest is discovered naturally.

Most professionals approach content like a job description, meaning they explain what they offer, what they’ve done, or what they’re good at.

However, information doesn’t create momentum, PERSPECTIVE and TRANSFORMATION do.

The people who stand out are the ones who see things differently from the norm, by taking something familiar and reframing it. That reframe then helps someone in their audience see or do something in a better way.

→ A consultant might challenge how we think about defining the true problem.
→ A human resources professional might reengineer the concept of traditional professional development.
→ A chef might challenge how we think about a specific part of the food experience (dessert first and breakfast for dinner sounded different at first, which is why they stuck).

People pause, lean in, and remember you, not because you explained more, but because you provided a different lens.

Tomorrow we’ll explore this concept further through the first case study in my book, , an optometrist, mother of two, speaker, and author.

She built her brand in large part by questioning standard treatments for dry eye disease and creating better outcomes for patients with the most complex cases. She’s now touches millions of lives through her network effect. She started by doing something I’ve told you to do before: she questioned the question. Was the most common standard of care (eyedrops) really treating the real problem?

Check out this preview of our interview, where she shares more about her personal brand journey.

Note: My book, Valuable & Visible, is available for presale, along with branding tips for you, here: VANESSAERRECARTE.COM

04/01/2026

Personal branding starts when you begin paying attention to what you believe, how you help others, and the perspective only you can bring.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing a new series called Valuable & Visible Voices.

In these conversations, I sit down with some of the people featured as case studies in my book, Valuable & Visible: Redefining Personal Branding by Leading with Impact Over Image, to talk about their personal branding journeys. They will discuss how their voice took shape, how they made their value visible, and what helped them become known for something meaningful.

Alongside these videos, I’ll also share questions and prompts to help you start building your own personal brand, or go deeper in developing the one you already have.

I invite you to grab a notebook and write down your answers as you go. You may be surprised by what comes out when you give your own experience, perspective, and value a little more room to speak.

03/30/2026

I spoke with KTVU Fox 2 in the SF Bay Area over the weekend about how graduates, and frankly professionals of all levels can stand out despite our current age of AI sameness.

https://www.ktvu.com/news/ai-job-search-resumes-linkedin.amp

Professionals CAN thrive in the AI era by taking an upstream, critical thinking approach, and sharing HOW to do this has become a personal mission of mine.

One shift I consistently encourage: instead of prompting AI to “write this for me,” use it to expand your thinking first.

A few prompts I often recommend:
1. What are 20 things I might be missing about [topic/problem]?

2. What are the top 10 most common questions people ask about this?
What are 10 uncommon or surprising ones?
(With 2.5+ billion queries daily, AI offers incredible insight into how people think if we use it well.)

3. Review those insights. What surprises you? What actually changes your perspective?
Then validate that perspective by asking a few (real) people how it resonates.

From there, write about this distinction, not just what’s known. That’s where real differentiation happens.

The first five chapters my new book, Valuable & Visible (more info at vanessaerrecarte.com help readers find that differentiation (value). After that, readers learn how to disseminate it in ways that rise above the noise and help them become visible.

More than 50% of new job applicants are using artificial intelligence tools to help write their resumes and cover letters, according to a new survey. Here's how to stand out.

03/29/2026

In honor of my birthday… will you join me on May 6? 🎉

44 (yes, I said it 😄). I’ve always loved spotting palindromes. I take them as a sign of good things ahead. So I have high hopes for this year.

This book, Valuable & Visible, came from a bigger question:
What do I want to leave behind?

Because here’s what I see:
The AI era has made professional visibility feel like a game many thoughtful people don’t want to play.

Not because you don’t have something to say…
but because you don’t want to shout to be heard.

I get that. I don’t want to either.

In my work, I’ve never met someone who lacks value.
But I’ve met many who don’t share it because they don’t know how to do it without getting pulled into the noise.

That’s why I wrote this book.

It’s a love letter to the hesitant.
A guide to showing your value without self-promotion, without chasing algorithms… just by helping others.

📖 In stores: May 5
🎉Launch event: May 6

I’d love to celebrate with you.

If you can’t make it, the book is atill available for presale (signed copies for early supporters 💛)

🔗 Link in stories

And now… time for cake 🎂
Thank you, truly, for being part of this with me.

03/28/2026

Back home and squeezing in some work before the family boots up. May I pop into your feed with a quick Saturday morning tip? 💻

If your social feeds look like mine, they are increasingly full of “better prompting” advice for AI (infographics included!) all of which tell us to tell ChatGPT (and sometimes Claude or another platform) what output we want it to create for us with a variation of the same basic output-based framework.

Do that, and you’ve missed your opportunity entirely. These AI platforms get billions of queries a day from consumers like you and I… and yet, very few take the opportunity to use AI as a THINKING PARTNER when it has likely the largest database of consumer thoughts in the world!

So before you tell AI what to DO, ask it what you’re MISSING. If you use output-based advice and prompt it for the same outputs as everyone else, you sound like everyone else. After all, you’re talking to a machine, not a person. It’s not going to go out of its way for you or caution you against sameness. It’s just going to give you the sameness that satisfies most people on the surface and makes you completely blend in.😕 BE DIFFERENT instead, please.

In 2026, you won’t regret making sounding different your online power move. Go upstream. ❓Question the question.❓

Disclaimer: No infographic or AI platform was consulted for the creation of this info. It’s just a genuine thought from me to you to mull over with your Saturday coffee☕.