March 19, 2025 • 19 mins
In this episode, I explore the power of storytelling in newsletters and email marketing for creative entrepreneurs. She shares how incorporating personal stories can dramatically increase engagement, build connection with subscribers, and transform newsletters from dreaded tasks into effective business tools.
Want to learn how to write story based emails for yourself? Bill Mueller has one of the best courses to learn how! For more information, visit his website. **
**Note: Some links in this episode are affiliate links which means that if you use the link and purchase the product or service, it won't cost you more, and I'll earn a little commission. It's a great way to support the podcast!
00:00 Welcome to Season Five: Behind the Scenes of Creative Entrepreneurship
01:06 The Power of Stories in Newsletters
02:21 Engaging Your Audience with Personal Stories
06:16 The Art of Story Transition in Emails
12:01 Practical Tips for Adding Stories to Your Newsletters
14:16 Overcoming Common Objections to Storytelling
16:20 The Benefits of Storytelling in Business
17:22 Final Thoughts and Encouragement
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Welcome to Measure Twice.
Cut once we're in season five,and this whole season is an
exploration into behind thescenes of not just quilting, but
building a creative businessthat truly lights you up as
someone who's navigated theexciting.
Sometimes bumpy world of turninga passion into a profession.
I'm excited to pull back thecurtain and share my own
(00:25):
experiences.
Some episodes are just me divingdeep into my personal journey.
While other episodes willfeature guests who are also
navigating the world of creativeentrepreneurship, we'll explore
the nitty gritty of building acreative business.
The lessons learned and theunexpected challenges that come
with transforming your craftinto a thriving enterprise.
(00:46):
And don't worry, I'm not leavingstorytelling behind.
Instead, I'll be weaving storiesinto the conversations about
what it takes to grow a businesswhile staying true to your
creative spirit.
So whether you're dreaming ofstarting your own business, or
you just love hearing aboutcreative entrepreneurship, this
season is for you.
And it's kind of meta todaybecause we're in fact talking
(01:09):
about stories.
Before we fully dive intotoday's topic, I want to share
an illustration.
Something that happened to melast week.
I was sitting at my favoritecoffee shop, also known as my
second office, working on someemails.
When I overheard a conversationat the next table, two women
were chatting about theirbusinesses and one of them said
(01:30):
something that seriously made mealmost spit out my latte.
I hate sending my newsletter.
She sighed.
I feel like I'm just shoutinginto the noise.
Nobody reads these things.
Anyway, I had to bite my tonguenot to turn around and say,
actually that's not true.
Because here's the thing.
Newsletters don't have to beboring, forgotten pieces of
(01:51):
content that land with a thud insomeone's inbox.
They can be magical littleconnections that your
subscribers actually lookforward to receiving.
And that's exactly what we'retalking about today.
How to use stories in yournewsletter to engage, connect,
and yes, even delight yoursubscribers.
And by the way, if you don'talready receive my newsletter
(02:13):
and you want to see stories inaction, head to stitched by
susan.com and sign up for thatnewsletter.
But here we go.
Let's talk stats for a minutebecause this is the, sorry,
state of most newsletters, butit doesn't have to be this way.
The average email open rateacross all industries currently
(02:33):
in 2025 is around 21%.
That means for every 100 emailsyou send, only about 21 people
are even opening them.
Nevermind reading to the end.
Pretty dismal, right?
Here's where it getsinteresting.
Newsletters that incorporatepersonal stories and narrative
elements, see open rates thatare consistently higher,
(02:56):
sometimes dramatically higher.
For example, my newsletterStitched by Susan, which always,
well, not always, but oftenincludes a personal story.
In that email///***** has anopen rate of over 50%
Consistently and often over 60%.
Susan (03:12):
Why such a difference?
Because stories grab attentionin a way that straight
information just doesn't.
Think about your own inbox for aminute.
When you see yet another emailtitled 10 Tips for Better
Marketing, or This Month'sUpdates, or What's On Sale, do
you feel that little spark ofexcitement?
I'm guessing not, but when yousee something like the day I
(03:35):
almost set my craft room onfire, or what my 4-year-old
taught me about business, you'rea little intrigued, right?
Your inbox is crowded, it'scompetitive, and storytelling is
your secret weapon to stand outwith your emails.
So what is it about stories thatmakes them so powerful?
Let's break it down.
(03:56):
First, stories engage our brainsin a unique way.
When we read bullet points orfacts, we activate the language
processing parts of our brain.
But when we read a story,something magical happens.
Our brains light up as if we'reexperiencing the events
ourselves.
Scientists call this neuralcoupling a fancy way to say,
(04:18):
your subscriber's brain issynchronizing with yours.
They're not just reading they'refeeling an experience.
So think about that for asecond.
In a world where we're allfighting for attention, stories
give you the ability to actuallysync your brain with your
readers.
That's powerful stuff.
Secondly, stories teach in a waythat's both effective and
(04:40):
memorable.
We've been learning throughstories since we sat around
campfires in caves, and there'sa reason for that.
Information wrapped in anarrative.
A story is simply easier toremember.
If I tell you that authenticityin business builds customer
loyalty, you might nod andagree, but if I tell you about
(05:00):
the time I sent out a letterwith a huge mistake in it, owned
up to it immediately with humorand honesty, and received dozens
of supportive emails in return,yep, that happened.
Well, it teaches the samelesson, but you're much more
likely to remember it.
And finally, stories createconnection.
This is perhaps their mostpowerful aspect.
(05:22):
When you share a story,especially one that reveals
something authentic aboutyourself or your business
journey, you're inviting thereader into your world.
You're saying, Hey, I'm a realperson over here.
I have good days and bad days.
I make mistakes.
I learn lessons.
In fact, I am just like you.
In a digital world that can feelincreasingly impersonal, that
(05:45):
human connection is gold.
It transforms your relationshipfrom business and customer to
human, and human, and humanslike to buy from and support and
remain loyal to.
Other humans they feel connectedto.
Now I know what you might bethinking.
This all sounds good, but I'mnot just sending emails for fun.
(06:06):
I've got a business to run overhere.
I'm trying to engage people.
I need to teach things.
I need to promote products.
I need to share tips andinformation.
Absolutely.
That's where the art of storytransition comes in.
Let me share a couple ofexamples of how this can work
beautifully.
Now, make sure you're sitting ina comfy chair and perhaps have
(06:27):
a, have a beverage in your handbecause what I'm going to read
to you is actually one of myrecent newsletters because it
illustrates the point so well.
And remember, stories make itmemorable.
So this will help you rememberthe value of the story and to
see the transition at work.
Here we go.
(06:47):
New Year's Eve, we had a lovelylittle party at our house.
Well, let's be accurate.
In our garage, truly, Mr.
Producer and our daughter putpipe and drape, which is
basically very tall curtains ona system of pipes around the
perimeter of the garage.
The car lift was transformedinto a games room, all curtained
in and James Bond was on the bigscreen and projector, and of
(07:09):
course, we had to dress up too,which was totally fun.
Here's the mocktail station, andI shared a picture of that.
Here's the games room, and Ishared a picture of that and the
nibbles, and I showed a pictureof a gorgeous charcuterie board.
Oh my goodness.
Yummy.
My sister-in-law Faith is amaster at charcuterie displays.
(07:30):
It was pretty interestingthough, how some of us dove
straight into the sweets.
Others leaned heavily into thesavories and still others just
hung out at the mocktail table.
But there was absolutelysomething for everyone's taste
and inclination, which remindsme, isn't quilting like that
something for everyone?
Occasionally we can get a littlecaught up in this is how you do
(07:52):
it, or This is the way my momdid it, so it must be right.
Or even this is the only way.
No, just me and a little smileyface laughing.
I think it's a fine idea totreat quilting styles and even
techniques like a diverse andinteresting charcuterie board.
All kinds of variety, all kindsof tastes.
(08:14):
Try a little, you might like it.
Have you tried any of thesequilting techniques and styles
that are trending right now inquilting?
Number one, sustainability.
Reuse your orphan blocks andleftover scraps shopping in your
stash.
Number two, applique, especiallythose cute little sweatshirts.
Number three, tech tools usingapps for calculating quilt math
(08:36):
or organizing your quilt room tosave you time and help you avoid
mistakes.
Number four, watercolor choosingand blending fabrics to look
like your quilt was painted.
And number five, modernquilting.
Designing from objects playingwith scale and minimalist
designs.
Trying a new technique or quilting practice can help you
spark new ideas, feel morecreative, and build up your
(08:58):
confidence in your skills.
If you'd like to give any ofthese trends a try, my friend
Tabitha is putting together afree two day virtual summit, and
all of these topics are covered.
I am gonna be speaking as well,and I'll be talking about how to
choose a quilting design foryour project.
And the cool thing is that as aspeaker, I'm able to give you a
free ticket to join us.
(09:20):
Get your free ticket to quiltedexclamation point here.
I am in sunny Florida as Iwrite, and we're embarking on
our cruise quilting on theEquinox from Port Canaveral
first thing tomorrow.
we packed 11 suitcases of supplies and goodies for our
group, so it's bound to be agood time and we know for sure
we'll be eating super.
Well.
Have a great weekend, Susan.
(09:42):
So do you see all that happenedthere?
Within that email, I startedwith a fun personal story about
our garage party and thecharcuterie board, which created
a visual people could relate to.
Then I made a connection betweenthat diverse food spread and the
many approaches to quilting.
This created the perfect bridgeto introduce.
Techniques and then promote anupcoming event.
(10:04):
The promotion didn't feel forcedor salesy because it flowed
naturally from the story.
It was all connected by thistheme of trying new things and
something for everyone.
That's the magic of a good storytransition.
Here's another example.
I was at the farmer's marketlast weekend and I found myself
drawn to one particular boothselling handmade soaps.
(10:25):
It wasn't the most elaboratedisplay.
In fact, many others had fanciersetups.
But this soap maker had donesomething clever.
Next to each variety of soap wasa small, handwritten card, not
explaining the ingredients orthe benefits, though that
information was available theretoo.
But telling a tiny story behindeach soap's creation.
(10:46):
Sea glass inspired by mygrandmother's collection of blue
sea glass from the beaches ofMaine morning garden.
Created on the first spring daywhen I could finally get back
into my garden after a longwinter.
I found myself reading everysingle card completely drawn in,
and yes, I bought three soapswhen I'd only plan to buy one.
On my walk home though, I wasthinking this over and I
(11:08):
realized this soap maker hadtapped into something powerful.
She wasn't just selling soap,she was selling tiny moments of
connection, little windows intoexperiences that might resonate
with her customers.
In short, she was telling tinystories, and this is something
any of us can do with ourproducts or our services.
(11:30):
Behind each item, there's aspark of inspiration, a problem
you were trying to solve, aperson you were thinking of.
Sharing these small storiesdoesn't just differentiate our
products and services.
It gives our customers, ourpeople, an emotional reason to
choose us over others.
Take a moment this week to lookat your descriptions, look at
(11:50):
your emails, look at the thingsyou're writing.
Are they just listing andcataloging features, or are they
telling the stories that makeyour creations unique?
I have a few practical tips foradding stories to your email and
particularly to your newsletter.
And now that we understand whystories work and how they
(12:10):
transition, these are thepractical ways that we can
incorporate them.
Number one.
Start with a story bank.
Keep a simple note on your phonewhere you jot down small
moments, observations, orexperiences that might make good
story openings in an email.
Look for moments that surprisedyou.
Taught you something, made youlaugh, or connected to your
(12:31):
business in some way.
And if you want to go further,actually create a spreadsheet
with these story banks.
So idea and then connected tosomething you can have to say
about it transitioning tosomething in your business.
Number two, keep it relevant.
Your stories should have someconnection, even if it's a
creative stretch to the rest ofyour email or newsletter
(12:53):
content.
The=transition needs to feelnatural and not forced.
And again, you can note this inyour spreadsheet or your note on
your phone, right beside thestory you're telling.
Number three, be authentic, butappropriate.
Good stories include somevulnerability or realness, but
remember, this is still abusiness communication, so share
(13:15):
the kinds of stories you tell afriendly acquaintance, but not
necessarily your therapist,right?
Number four, keep it brief.
Your opening story doesn't needto be a novel.
Aim for a few short paragraphs,just enough to create a scene
and draw readers in.
And honestly, what I like to dois read my story aloud.
That helps me understand whatit's feeling like to the person
(13:38):
that's going to be receiving ittoo long, too short enough
details.
Does it create the picture, etcetera.
Number five.
Use conversational language.
Write like you talk, and again,read your story aloud to see if
it sounds natural.
Number six, include sensorydetails.
What did you see or hear orsmell or feel?
(14:01):
These details help your readerstep into the experience with
you.
And number seven, end with aquestion or bridge.
Create a smooth transition fromyour story to the teaching or
information or tip that follows.
Now, I know there are somecommon objections that might be
popping up in your mind rightnow.
I'm not a good storyteller.
(14:22):
Lots of people say that, buthere's a secret.
Most of us think this aboutourselves.
Storytelling is a skill thatimproves with practice.
Start small and you'll getbetter with each newsletter.
And there are ways to learn howto tell better stories, and I'll
tell you about one of those injust a moment.
Another objection.
My business isn't interestingenough for stories.
(14:45):
Or I'm not.
Interesting enough, everybusiness, every person, no
matter how technical orspecialized, is run by humans
having human experiences.
There are stories everywhere ifyou know to look for them or
another objection, I don't wannaget too personal, but you
control the boundaries whenyou're telling the stories.
(15:06):
They can be simple observationsor small moments.
They don't all have to be deeplypersonal Revelations.
Or I don't have time for this.
Once you get in the habit ofnoticing potential stories, it
actually becomes quiteefficient.
I often find that starting witha story makes my email or my
newsletter faster to writebecause it creates a natural
(15:28):
flow and gives me a springboardrather than starting from a
blank page.
I mentioned a way that you canlearn to tell better stories,
and this would be throughcourses that my friend Bill
Mueller offers.
I tripped over Bill'snewsletter.
I don't even know how.
I just knew that I measured hissuccess by the fact that I
(15:49):
opened every one of his emailsand read them, and they.
All contains storytellers.
He's a master, and Bill haswritten a number of courses on
this process on not only tellingthe story, but on collecting
ideas, et cetera, et cetera.
So I'm going to link to some ofthose courses, and some of them
are extremely affordable, like$24.
(16:09):
I'm gonna link to those in thedescription of the episode.
Check those out if you want someconcrete learning and
handholding as you learn to tellstories.
When you consistently includestories in your emails and
newsletters, here's what tendsto happen.
Open rates increase.
People start to recognize yourname and know they'll get
something engaging.
(16:31):
Your reply rates go up becausestories invite conversation and
response.
Your unsubscribe rates go down,even if a particular topic isn't
relevant to someone, they stayfor the connection.
And this is what I experiencedwith Bill Mueller.
His topics were not always whatI was working on currently, but
I just loved reading the storiesand the connection.
(16:52):
So then the natural result ofall of these is that your sales
from any newsletter promotionsimprove because you're building
trust and relationship, and thatis so key.
And perhaps most importantly,your email or your newsletter
transforms from an obligationinto a pleasure.
When you know you're trulyconnecting with your audience,
(17:14):
writing to them becomessomething you look forward to
rather than an onerous task tocheck off your list.
So let's go back to that woman Ioverheard in the coffee shop for
a moment.
If I could have turned aroundand given her advice, and I
could have, but I didn't.
But I'd have said this, yournewsletter isn't shouting into
the noise.
It is whispering a story to afriend.
(17:37):
It's inviting someone into yourworld for a few minutes.
It's creating a moment ofconnection in a busy day.
And when you approach it thatway, when you lead with story
and let your teaching flownaturally from there, something
magical happens.
Your readers don't just openyour emails, they look forward
to them.
They feel like they know you,they trust you.
(17:59):
And in business trust iseverything.
So for this week, I challengeyou look at your next
newsletter, email, draft.
Is there a story you could startwith A tiny moment, an
observation, a challenge youfaced?
Try it and see what happens toyour engagement, and I'd love to
hear how it goes.
Drop me an email atsupport@stitchbysusan.com.
(18:20):
And let me know.
And if you loved hearing aboutstories in this podcast episode,
please do scroll to the bottomand leave a review for me.
Leave a comment and share thisepisode with any of your friends
you think would enjoy it too.
So until next time, my friends,may your sorrows be patched and
your joys be quilted.
Welcome to Measure Twice.
Cut once we're in season five,and this whole season is an
exploration into behind thescenes of not just quilting, but
building a creative businessthat truly lights you up as
someone who's navigated theexciting.
Sometimes bumpy world of turninga passion into a profession.
I'm excited to pull back thecurtain and share my own
(00:25):
experiences.
Some episodes are just me divingdeep into my personal journey.
While other episodes willfeature guests who are also
navigating the world of creativeentrepreneurship, we'll explore
the nitty gritty of building acreative business.
The lessons learned and theunexpected challenges that come
with transforming your craftinto a thriving enterprise.
(00:46):
And don't worry, I'm not leavingstorytelling behind.
Instead, I'll be weaving storiesinto the conversations about
what it takes to grow a businesswhile staying true to your
creative spirit.
So whether you're dreaming ofstarting your own business, or
you just love hearing aboutcreative entrepreneurship, this
season is for you.
And it's kind of meta todaybecause we're in fact talking
(01:09):
about stories.
Before we fully dive intotoday's topic, I want to share
an illustration.
Something that happened to melast week.
I was sitting at my favoritecoffee shop, also known as my
second office, working on someemails.
When I overheard a conversationat the next table, two women
were chatting about theirbusinesses and one of them said
(01:30):
something that seriously made mealmost spit out my latte.
I hate sending my newsletter.
She sighed.
I feel like I'm just shoutinginto the noise.
Nobody reads these things.
Anyway, I had to bite my tonguenot to turn around and say,
actually that's not true.
Because here's the thing.
Newsletters don't have to beboring, forgotten pieces of
(01:51):
content that land with a thud insomeone's inbox.
They can be magical littleconnections that your
subscribers actually lookforward to receiving.
And that's exactly what we'retalking about today.
How to use stories in yournewsletter to engage, connect,
and yes, even delight yoursubscribers.
And by the way, if you don'talready receive my newsletter
(02:13):
and you want to see stories inaction, head to stitched by
susan.com and sign up for thatnewsletter.
But here we go.
Let's talk stats for a minutebecause this is the, sorry,
state of most newsletters, butit doesn't have to be this way.
The average email open rateacross all industries currently
(02:33):
in 2025 is around 21%.
That means for every 100 emailsyou send, only about 21 people
are even opening them.
Nevermind reading to the end.
Pretty dismal, right?
Here's where it getsinteresting.
Newsletters that incorporatepersonal stories and narrative
elements, see open rates thatare consistently higher,
(02:56):
sometimes dramatically higher.
For example, my newsletterStitched by Susan, which always,
well, not always, but oftenincludes a personal story.
In that email///***** has anopen rate of over 50%
Consistently and often over 60%.
Susan (03:12):
Why such a difference?
Because stories grab attentionin a way that straight
information just doesn't.
Think about your own inbox for aminute.
When you see yet another emailtitled 10 Tips for Better
Marketing, or This Month'sUpdates, or What's On Sale, do
you feel that little spark ofexcitement?
I'm guessing not, but when yousee something like the day I
(03:35):
almost set my craft room onfire, or what my 4-year-old
taught me about business, you'rea little intrigued, right?
Your inbox is crowded, it'scompetitive, and storytelling is
your secret weapon to stand outwith your emails.
So what is it about stories thatmakes them so powerful?
Let's break it down.
(03:56):
First, stories engage our brainsin a unique way.
When we read bullet points orfacts, we activate the language
processing parts of our brain.
But when we read a story,something magical happens.
Our brains light up as if we'reexperiencing the events
ourselves.
Scientists call this neuralcoupling a fancy way to say,
(04:18):
your subscriber's brain issynchronizing with yours.
They're not just reading they'refeeling an experience.
So think about that for asecond.
In a world where we're allfighting for attention, stories
give you the ability to actuallysync your brain with your
readers.
That's powerful stuff.
Secondly, stories teach in a waythat's both effective and
(04:40):
memorable.
We've been learning throughstories since we sat around
campfires in caves, and there'sa reason for that.
Information wrapped in anarrative.
A story is simply easier toremember.
If I tell you that authenticityin business builds customer
loyalty, you might nod andagree, but if I tell you about
(05:00):
the time I sent out a letterwith a huge mistake in it, owned
up to it immediately with humorand honesty, and received dozens
of supportive emails in return,yep, that happened.
Well, it teaches the samelesson, but you're much more
likely to remember it.
And finally, stories createconnection.
This is perhaps their mostpowerful aspect.
(05:22):
When you share a story,especially one that reveals
something authentic aboutyourself or your business
journey, you're inviting thereader into your world.
You're saying, Hey, I'm a realperson over here.
I have good days and bad days.
I make mistakes.
I learn lessons.
In fact, I am just like you.
In a digital world that can feelincreasingly impersonal, that
(05:45):
human connection is gold.
It transforms your relationshipfrom business and customer to
human, and human, and humanslike to buy from and support and
remain loyal to.
Other humans they feel connectedto.
Now I know what you might bethinking.
This all sounds good, but I'mnot just sending emails for fun.
(06:06):
I've got a business to run overhere.
I'm trying to engage people.
I need to teach things.
I need to promote products.
I need to share tips andinformation.
Absolutely.
That's where the art of storytransition comes in.
Let me share a couple ofexamples of how this can work
beautifully.
Now, make sure you're sitting ina comfy chair and perhaps have
(06:27):
a, have a beverage in your handbecause what I'm going to read
to you is actually one of myrecent newsletters because it
illustrates the point so well.
And remember, stories make itmemorable.
So this will help you rememberthe value of the story and to
see the transition at work.
Here we go.
(06:47):
New Year's Eve, we had a lovelylittle party at our house.
Well, let's be accurate.
In our garage, truly, Mr.
Producer and our daughter putpipe and drape, which is
basically very tall curtains ona system of pipes around the
perimeter of the garage.
The car lift was transformedinto a games room, all curtained
in and James Bond was on the bigscreen and projector, and of
(07:09):
course, we had to dress up too,which was totally fun.
Here's the mocktail station, andI shared a picture of that.
Here's the games room, and Ishared a picture of that and the
nibbles, and I showed a pictureof a gorgeous charcuterie board.
Oh my goodness.
Yummy.
My sister-in-law Faith is amaster at charcuterie displays.
(07:30):
It was pretty interestingthough, how some of us dove
straight into the sweets.
Others leaned heavily into thesavories and still others just
hung out at the mocktail table.
But there was absolutelysomething for everyone's taste
and inclination, which remindsme, isn't quilting like that
something for everyone?
Occasionally we can get a littlecaught up in this is how you do
(07:52):
it, or This is the way my momdid it, so it must be right.
Or even this is the only way.
No, just me and a little smileyface laughing.
I think it's a fine idea totreat quilting styles and even
techniques like a diverse andinteresting charcuterie board.
All kinds of variety, all kindsof tastes.
(08:14):
Try a little, you might like it.
Have you tried any of thesequilting techniques and styles
that are trending right now inquilting?
Number one, sustainability.
Reuse your orphan blocks andleftover scraps shopping in your
stash.
Number two, applique, especiallythose cute little sweatshirts.
Number three, tech tools usingapps for calculating quilt math
(08:36):
or organizing your quilt room tosave you time and help you avoid
mistakes.
Number four, watercolor choosingand blending fabrics to look
like your quilt was painted.
And number five, modernquilting.
Designing from objects playingwith scale and minimalist
designs.
Trying a new technique or quilting practice can help you
spark new ideas, feel morecreative, and build up your
(08:58):
confidence in your skills.
If you'd like to give any ofthese trends a try, my friend
Tabitha is putting together afree two day virtual summit, and
all of these topics are covered.
I am gonna be speaking as well,and I'll be talking about how to
choose a quilting design foryour project.
And the cool thing is that as aspeaker, I'm able to give you a
free ticket to join us.
(09:20):
Get your free ticket to quiltedexclamation point here.
I am in sunny Florida as Iwrite, and we're embarking on
our cruise quilting on theEquinox from Port Canaveral
first thing tomorrow.
we packed 11 suitcases of supplies and goodies for our
group, so it's bound to be agood time and we know for sure
we'll be eating super.
Well.
Have a great weekend, Susan.
(09:42):
So do you see all that happenedthere?
Within that email, I startedwith a fun personal story about
our garage party and thecharcuterie board, which created
a visual people could relate to.
Then I made a connection betweenthat diverse food spread and the
many approaches to quilting.
This created the perfect bridgeto introduce.
Techniques and then promote anupcoming event.
(10:04):
The promotion didn't feel forcedor salesy because it flowed
naturally from the story.
It was all connected by thistheme of trying new things and
something for everyone.
That's the magic of a good storytransition.
Here's another example.
I was at the farmer's marketlast weekend and I found myself
drawn to one particular boothselling handmade soaps.
(10:25):
It wasn't the most elaboratedisplay.
In fact, many others had fanciersetups.
But this soap maker had donesomething clever.
Next to each variety of soap wasa small, handwritten card, not
explaining the ingredients orthe benefits, though that
information was available theretoo.
But telling a tiny story behindeach soap's creation.
(10:46):
Sea glass inspired by mygrandmother's collection of blue
sea glass from the beaches ofMaine morning garden.
Created on the first spring daywhen I could finally get back
into my garden after a longwinter.
I found myself reading everysingle card completely drawn in,
and yes, I bought three soapswhen I'd only plan to buy one.
On my walk home though, I wasthinking this over and I
(11:08):
realized this soap maker hadtapped into something powerful.
She wasn't just selling soap,she was selling tiny moments of
connection, little windows intoexperiences that might resonate
with her customers.
In short, she was telling tinystories, and this is something
any of us can do with ourproducts or our services.
(11:30):
Behind each item, there's aspark of inspiration, a problem
you were trying to solve, aperson you were thinking of.
Sharing these small storiesdoesn't just differentiate our
products and services.
It gives our customers, ourpeople, an emotional reason to
choose us over others.
Take a moment this week to lookat your descriptions, look at
(11:50):
your emails, look at the thingsyou're writing.
Are they just listing andcataloging features, or are they
telling the stories that makeyour creations unique?
I have a few practical tips foradding stories to your email and
particularly to your newsletter.
And now that we understand whystories work and how they
(12:10):
transition, these are thepractical ways that we can
incorporate them.
Number one.
Start with a story bank.
Keep a simple note on your phonewhere you jot down small
moments, observations, orexperiences that might make good
story openings in an email.
Look for moments that surprisedyou.
Taught you something, made youlaugh, or connected to your
(12:31):
business in some way.
And if you want to go further,actually create a spreadsheet
with these story banks.
So idea and then connected tosomething you can have to say
about it transitioning tosomething in your business.
Number two, keep it relevant.
Your stories should have someconnection, even if it's a
creative stretch to the rest ofyour email or newsletter
(12:53):
content.
The=transition needs to feelnatural and not forced.
And again, you can note this inyour spreadsheet or your note on
your phone, right beside thestory you're telling.
Number three, be authentic, butappropriate.
Good stories include somevulnerability or realness, but
remember, this is still abusiness communication, so share
(13:15):
the kinds of stories you tell afriendly acquaintance, but not
necessarily your therapist,right?
Number four, keep it brief.
Your opening story doesn't needto be a novel.
Aim for a few short paragraphs,just enough to create a scene
and draw readers in.
And honestly, what I like to dois read my story aloud.
That helps me understand whatit's feeling like to the person
(13:38):
that's going to be receiving ittoo long, too short enough
details.
Does it create the picture, etcetera.
Number five.
Use conversational language.
Write like you talk, and again,read your story aloud to see if
it sounds natural.
Number six, include sensorydetails.
What did you see or hear orsmell or feel?
(14:01):
These details help your readerstep into the experience with
you.
And number seven, end with aquestion or bridge.
Create a smooth transition fromyour story to the teaching or
information or tip that follows.
Now, I know there are somecommon objections that might be
popping up in your mind rightnow.
I'm not a good storyteller.
(14:22):
Lots of people say that, buthere's a secret.
Most of us think this aboutourselves.
Storytelling is a skill thatimproves with practice.
Start small and you'll getbetter with each newsletter.
And there are ways to learn howto tell better stories, and I'll
tell you about one of those injust a moment.
Another objection.
My business isn't interestingenough for stories.
(14:45):
Or I'm not.
Interesting enough, everybusiness, every person, no
matter how technical orspecialized, is run by humans
having human experiences.
There are stories everywhere ifyou know to look for them or
another objection, I don't wannaget too personal, but you
control the boundaries whenyou're telling the stories.
(15:06):
They can be simple observationsor small moments.
They don't all have to be deeplypersonal Revelations.
Or I don't have time for this.
Once you get in the habit ofnoticing potential stories, it
actually becomes quiteefficient.
I often find that starting witha story makes my email or my
newsletter faster to writebecause it creates a natural
(15:28):
flow and gives me a springboardrather than starting from a
blank page.
I mentioned a way that you canlearn to tell better stories,
and this would be throughcourses that my friend Bill
Mueller offers.
I tripped over Bill'snewsletter.
I don't even know how.
I just knew that I measured hissuccess by the fact that I
(15:49):
opened every one of his emailsand read them, and they.
All contains storytellers.
He's a master, and Bill haswritten a number of courses on
this process on not only tellingthe story, but on collecting
ideas, et cetera, et cetera.
So I'm going to link to some ofthose courses, and some of them
are extremely affordable, like$24.
(16:09):
I'm gonna link to those in thedescription of the episode.
Check those out if you want someconcrete learning and
handholding as you learn to tellstories.
When you consistently includestories in your emails and
newsletters, here's what tendsto happen.
Open rates increase.
People start to recognize yourname and know they'll get
something engaging.
(16:31):
Your reply rates go up becausestories invite conversation and
response.
Your unsubscribe rates go down,even if a particular topic isn't
relevant to someone, they stayfor the connection.
And this is what I experiencedwith Bill Mueller.
His topics were not always whatI was working on currently, but
I just loved reading the storiesand the connection.
(16:52):
So then the natural result ofall of these is that your sales
from any newsletter promotionsimprove because you're building
trust and relationship, and thatis so key.
And perhaps most importantly,your email or your newsletter
transforms from an obligationinto a pleasure.
When you know you're trulyconnecting with your audience,
(17:14):
writing to them becomessomething you look forward to
rather than an onerous task tocheck off your list.
So let's go back to that woman Ioverheard in the coffee shop for
a moment.
If I could have turned aroundand given her advice, and I
could have, but I didn't.
But I'd have said this, yournewsletter isn't shouting into
the noise.
It is whispering a story to afriend.
(17:37):
It's inviting someone into yourworld for a few minutes.
It's creating a moment ofconnection in a busy day.
And when you approach it thatway, when you lead with story
and let your teaching flownaturally from there, something
magical happens.
Your readers don't just openyour emails, they look forward
to them.
They feel like they know you,they trust you.
(17:59):
And in business trust iseverything.
So for this week, I challengeyou look at your next
newsletter, email, draft.
Is there a story you could startwith A tiny moment, an
observation, a challenge youfaced?
Try it and see what happens toyour engagement, and I'd love to
hear how it goes.
Drop me an email atsupport@stitchbysusan.com.
(18:20):
And let me know.
And if you loved hearing aboutstories in this podcast episode,
please do scroll to the bottomand leave a review for me.
Leave a comment and share thisepisode with any of your friends
you think would enjoy it too.
So until next time, my friends,may your sorrows be patched and
your joys be quilted.
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