Yeah, it's hot down here. I think it's hot everywhere. It's hot.
It's so hot here.
Yeah, well, yeah, can we
we had some Cateura monsoon come through here too.
Oh my goodness Yetzirah I just always assume it's hot there. Even midwinter.
It just got hot, but we're going to be between like 95 and 100 for the next 10 days. Oh, but that's what happens here. It's just time for that. So here we go.
Yeah, congrats on your your outdoor bathtub. Oh
God, total game changer.
I'm sure. Yeah, I'm sure also I've been dreaming about your new sorry to just be talking to CRM, right? I've been dreaming about your new silver necklaces that you laid out, oh,
I have a right next to the computer. I have seven of them. And I'm working on three more. It's the first time in months that I've been like completely obsessed with something. I can't stop working on it for days. And so I'm just trusting myself. And I put everything else aside and I'm just going for it. And I'm
super excited. Oh, good. I'm gonna buy. Oh,
I can't wait for you to see the night.
Does anybody else relate to you? I am so excited. Does anybody relate to that? Like when you've been kind of maybe not putting words in your mouth, like out of sync with like design or like not inspired or excited by it? And then like, suddenly you are? Yeah, I mean, just the best feeling right.
Yeah. I mean, I don't want to take over. But I'll just say real quick. Like, I think I'm making some big changes with like getting rid of some made to order stuff. And I think I've just been so focused on like this one thing in my head that I thought was the way I wanted to go. And it didn't go that well. And so I pulled back a little bit a few weeks ago, and I was like, I'm just gonna go back to my, like, one of a kind, super inspired, can't stop thinking about it stuff. And I'm having so much fun. I mean, I hope people buy them. But my mental state has shifted to a new thing. And it's a big change.
That's awesome. Yeah. So happy for you. You can tell with that design. Sorry. Not like, go on about this. But I could tell when you posted that that like you were excited about it. And like you can tell that kind of stuff. Yeah,
totally. That's amazing. I love that that comes through also just a mental health note for everyone. And maybe this isn't overshare but like, I'm like three months into being on Lexapro. And I think some of that also has like, my studio practice has completely changed and I feel it's just very interesting. And I'm just saying anybody who's on the fence about mental health shit, do it. Get it together. You won't be sorry
to ramble about this. Yeah, Bramble retiming for the win,
dude. Yeah, I had I have been dealing with chronic depression and clinical depression for the past six months and had been on medicine for my life. And and it just got horrible. And I just did I just finished AECT and very scared doing it, they lecture can both should whatever therapy, did 12 sessions of it, which is the cycle and can say I have never felt better in my life.
Good for you. That's so amazing. It
is it's real. It works it the and the more people I just had I just was out with girlfriends last night. And you know, they're like What is it now? You know, it's menopause. Turn it up it's all you know, all that kind of stuff. And you know it's I don't think people are talking about it enough coming out of COVID because it a lot of it started there. And it's still lingering you know we haven't we haven't really adapted yeah
so important No, thank you all for sharing Bramble and I were talking about mental health earlier this week that it's like it's part of her story with her new collection and it's like something to talk about like mental health is like if that's like impactful to you or like something that you want to be saying or like one of the causes or about us you want to like champion like do it because so many people can relate.
I want to talk about it I just don't know how to like go from zero to I mean, I've talked about anxiety and stuff in the past but this is like so monumental like divorce was on the table like picking up and moving away was on the table like mental health inpatient things were on the table like it's just it's so funny my friend and I call it Lexi and we always just refer to like, Lexi is with me today. And she's like really making it happen. And I just have this like lightness about me that has like totally infiltrated the studio as well. And I wasn't expecting that so I just feel like Yay. Okay, I'll shut up now.
No, thank you Bramble. Go ahead. What were you gonna say?
Oh, I'm Lexapro for the win. Like I can't I can't stress that enough. It's I find that it's like the one med that you get to stay yourself. Yeah. And you kind of return to yourself instead of muting yourself, which I think is really great. And I think that, to Katie's point, we haven't talked about the pandemic, and the lasting effects of that. And I think that when you are going through mental health, you're, the pandemic gave us an opportunity to all talk about this collective coping moment, because we were all experiencing it. And so now's the time to be really vocal about your journey with that, because I think a lot of people will be able to really reflect and resonate with it, because of what they dealt with the last four years. Yeah,
so I went public with it. Really? Well, I had to, because I had, I had to pull out to doing the New Orleans Jazz Fest. And because I was so paralyzed by my depression, and my, the pouring out of my fans, my friends socially, you know, on social media, and, you know, I got flowers from clients, and all this stuff there, you know, we're just like, holy shit, you know, how can we help? What do you need? Hang in there, we need you all this kind of stuff. And so it's so resonates with the authenticity that we're talking about today, that I have found through doing my work that the more authentic and real I am with my struggle with depression and anxiety, the more my, my clients, my collectors have been? Just like, you know, they they think I'm just, they dig it. You know, they love the authenticity, they love the raw, they love the essence that's shown. No, I'm all team. Team put it out there, you know?
Yeah. Thanks for sharing. Everyone. I didn't mean to come into this talking about mental health. But it is a super important topic, I go to therapy every week. And, you know, talk to your doctor before you go on drugs or anything like that, but get help if you're looking for it. I love this. comment in the chat here from Amy, like mental health and creativity is everything like, anyway, take care of yourself. I guess. This is the main message here. But anyway, moving on. To sorry not to laugh, but I mean, sometimes you're gonna just have to write. But okay, so today, we're going to talk about storytelling. So I did a chat about four months ago about tips for telling your story. I use the same cover page here. But I kind of broke it down a little bit more. So hopefully, this is helpful because I, a lot of you like when I did a poll last week of like what we should talk about this week, like most people were like storytelling, like hugely wanting to talk about this. And a lot of times when I'm talking to y'all one on one, you asked me about storytelling and things like that, that so and like just how to do it. And like, you know, what should I be saying and all of those things. So I actually wanted to start with, you know, not to like, fan girl about Marla Aaron. But Marlon, I'm going to show more examples at the end. But I was thinking I kind of want to start with this. And then end with it too, just to kind of get the point across, but sorry, my screen. But so this video, which is just like kind of a series of statements is so good. Her story is obviously like there's a lot to it. She has a lot of products on her website. But she's broken down her story to be like super clear, like once there was a woman named Marla who wanted to take a big lock and make it into a wearable lock. And this is what's become a bit. And I think that she's just like tells the story so well, even though she has so many things going on. And it's so saying so many things. And like not everybody can have like a video like that's produced like this, but just the way it's broken down. I'd encourage everyone to just watch it. It's just very clear. And then the more the other examples I show you too later, are a little bit more produced like this, but they break it down in a way that is super clear. And one of the things I find a lot with, you know, younger brands or like independent brands is that there's just a lot that you're trying to say or just a general bio and it's not like really like broken down in a way that is digestible and the way that this video goes on like it's just very digestible. So anyway, I wanted to start there and then I will get into the slides here. All right. So I'm going to talk about steps. Essentially, this presentation is like steps for creating your story. So like if you kind of answer all of these questions and put them together, you should be able to Have your story that you want to tell. But step one, and this is so important, like, especially these days, especially with like Gen Z is your core values. And you're like the purpose of your brand, like, what do you stand for? Like, what is your brand about? What guides all of your business decisions? And I think that this is something important to do just in general, because it helps you answer a lot of questions like, Should I do this trade show? Or should I advertise in this magazine? In? Or should I do this trunk show? You know, so if you're very clear about your core values, it makes it easier to answer a lot of questions. And when you're doing this work, like if you're like, oh, I have nothing, you know, I don't have any, I haven't done any work in this area at all, like just start a document, like open a document now and like just put the titles like step one, step two, and just bullet points, you know, it doesn't have to be a formal document. And I think that's something that holds people back is like having something formal. I've been seeing this a lot with outreach to wholesale accounts. It's like, oh, well, I have to have my formal blind sheet before I reach out to wholesale accounts. And you do, you can reach out without a line sheet. You want to be working towards having a line sheet, because that's something that they're going to ask for, but you can do your initial outreach, don't let that thing hold you back. So just open a document or a piece of paper and just you know, step one, what are my core values? What does my business stand for? What is the purpose of my brand. And again, just bullet points, it doesn't have to be like, super formally written or anything like that. And then you want to like talk about, like, how your brand started, and how it's evolved. And it doesn't have to be a profound story. It just has to be true and honest and transparent. So how and why was your brand start it? What inspired you to do it. And then also, like any milestones or achievements along the way, or like any turning points, or like any big things that you want to share, again, like you can just do bullet points. It doesn't need to be I'm just saying this again. So it gets into everyone's head. It doesn't need to be profound, like you don't need to have a story that is like just, you know, the next great American novel, but you want to be transparent about your founding story. Like how was it started? Why did you start it like what was inspiring you to get started? Because that is compelling. That is interesting information. And I think that a lot of times I talked to artists, and they're like, Oh, well, my story is kind of boring, or like, you know, it's obvious, or I don't have much to say about it. Like, I just love making jewelry. And it's like, well, a passion for making jewelry is interesting. Dive into that deeper, like, how did that passion start? Like, did you love making necklaces with, you know, beads when you were younger? Like how can you kind of tell something like emotional or something real about how you got started within that. Know your audience, this is something that comes up in most. In most slide presentations I do I think I've like said Know your audience like 100 times 1000 times in since I started stabled collective, and in my podcast and all of that, but you need to know your audience, you need to know who they are, who were you speaking to, again, this needs to be on a document with bullet points, because, you know, this is something that can be tweaked to, I think that's another thing that gets in people's heads is like, Oh, well, like the first time I do it. It's like the only time I do it, and I can't touch it again. And I might be wrong. But this is something that can be ever evolving. So don't let that hold you back. But target audience like who are you speaking to. And then I've done chats about customer personas before an or and or Larissa has on the podcast talked about customer personas. So let me know if you need more info about that. But essentially, it's like a detailed representation of your different audience segments. And you can have like three to five audience segments if you feel like you have like a bridal audience or like an older clientele who collects the fashion line or you know, whatever it is, but get clear on who your audience is. Step four is define your unique value proposition so like what makes your brand unique, which is a tough question to answer but you know what makes your brand unique, just feel comfortable articulating that and this is the tough one I think for like jewelry and art is like how your products or services solve problems better than others. Because we're not selling vacuum cleaners or anything like that but I'm so sorry, I was just looking at the chat. But think about like what is special about your brand and like what it sir how it serves your audience. So for example, like maybe you create meaningful jewelry that I'd like you know, is future heirlooms or something like that. And what that does is that you're creating pieces that can be passed down from generation to generation. So think about how you can kind of tell the story of like, what your what problems your product solves, which I know is tricky. So if that's too tricky, just stick with like, what makes your brand unique.
And your personality and your boys. Actually, I just, I shared with y'all the, the extended version of the chat I did with Kylie from Okay, fine. In the mighty network, if you can't find that link, feel free to grab it. But one of the things she says in that interview was that personality is like the biggest asset to your brand. And I agree with that, I think it's hard to convey, like, we kind of like get into this like space where it's like, oh, we're marketing, we're just like, we have to do this, and it's exhausting. But if you post less and have more personality to what you're saying, I think that could be good. So like, if it's too much to post two times a week, or three times a week, post one time a week, and just like make sure that like it's injected with your personality. But brand personality is like the characteristics of your brand, like some key words that you could kind of like bullet point out, like, what is my brand personality, like doing some of that work can be helpful. And then also like your brand voice, which is what Megan almond talked to us about a little bit, but like your communication style, are you super formal, super casual, super friendly. If you remember from that chat, which is a good one to go back to, if you're kind of playing around with like, what does my voice sound like? She's like, I'm like always using exclamation points. I'm just very, very excited. That's my brand voice, I'm always excited. And that's kind of it comes through in our marketing. And you see that if you know that, but thinking about your communication style could be really helpful to this process. And then, so after you've kind of like done all that work, you can craft your compelling narrative. And you kind of want to structure it with like a beginning, a middle and an end. So the beginning is like introducing your brand and its origins and like, you know, where you started and why what inspired it. And then the middle is describing the journey and your growth and like any milestones that happened along the way. And in the end, you can you want to talk about like your current state, like where are you now but like, also, what are you looking towards. So if you're maybe a sustainable brand that's looking to use more fair mined gold or something like that, like sharing that part of your journey, or like where you're trying to go from here.
And something else that like you want to create boundaries around this what I'm saying in this slide, because you don't want to like share everything or like be uncomfortable or like you know, having feel like you're like too exposed. But it is good to incorporate elements like emotional elements, and relatable stories. So that could be like custom stories where you're sharing the story of like a redesign or you know, a custom piece where you're using, like somebody's grandmother's diamonds or something like that, or you're creating a piece for an anniversary, or a milestone event like relatable stories like that. But also just like what inspires you or why you wear jewelry for self expression. You know, like you put on earrings everyday before you leave the house because it makes you feel like you're really able to express yourself like that's a relatable story. So anything that can kind of like touch a consumer where they could like, be like, Oh, I get that I can relate to that. I'm so using language and imagery to evoke emotions, like do this authentically. Take this, like with a grain of salt and do this authentically, you don't want to like force, emotional content or anything like that. But it is okay to share like your real story and be transparent about the things that you you know, feel and like are inspired by and want to share. Something else to think about and one of the charts here is like, I can see this method is important for your website. But how do you adapt it in social media? So what I want everybody to think about with this is like, doing all these steps, you know, like answering the questions, doing bullet points, and all of that, and then that's going to be infused into everything you put out there. So when you look at the like content planning webinars that I've done, it's like choosing your content pillars, that's going to align with pieces of your story. It needs to come through everything that you're doing. I think that sometimes it gets lost with like, Oh, well I have to showcase this piece or have this collection and you forget about like and you're just doing that like intro post every quarter or whatever it is but you forget about like telling the story every day. So like going back to the example of like I'm creating you know, bold jewelry for self expression. It's like showing up in stories like once a week, or every couple of weeks being like, Oh, I put on my earrings today and I'm feeling like ready to, you know, I'm feeling empowered to go about my day or like whatever it is, or even like just sharing your daily jewels because you create wearable jewelry that people can wear every day, like how can you infuse these like key aspects of your story and like, what's inspiring you and where you started and all of that, in your like everyday social media content, or like weekly social media content, I'm going to share more examples of this and get into a little bit more but like, it's like, once you do this work and have your story, you want to like infuse it into everything, like your email marketing to is something to kind of kind of like pull pieces of your story to include, rather than just like moving on to the next thing or just being like very, like, cold. And like, here are some new earrings, you know, like, here's some new earring that you know, align with like my inspiration of creating bold jewelry that people can wear every day. So like tying it all together, kind of in everything you do. But visually you want to think about consistent imagery, which I know you've heard from me before, aligning your visuals to your brand's aesthetic. And that doesn't mean to be I high production. Like you don't need to have like professional photos to have alignment. Maybe it's just you photograph in the same spot every day. Or I forgot if I shared this example here somewhere else but I love Oh my gosh, why am I blanking on her name? The gal who does earrings galore. I'm like totally blanking on her name. If somebody knows, please put it in the chat because I know her name. Oh, Heidi low Heidi love. Anyway, earrings galore. Heidi lo she just does like a very simple video of showing earrings like she has this earring school or exhibit and she shows each one on and it's a very simple video, no voiceover or anything like that of her like showing the earring putting it on. That's consistency. And that's great, because it's like showing scale. It's like, you know, showing the piece in real life. It's merging the offline and online. I just I love that. Or like Karanja more n, which is one of my examples that I'll share, after I go through these slides, but she does really consistent imagery with videos and flatlays that's just on a white piece of paper, and probably just a phone photos. So you can create consistent imagery and align everything without like, you know, high production, I just want to get that point across. But, you know, looking at some of these brands that have infused more money into their branding can be really helpful because they've infused more money into their branding, they've maybe hired a marketer or something like that. And it could be helpful for you to kind of see how they outline things. And not necessarily like the fact that they probably spent $50,000 on a video, but the fact that they you know really thought through how it's lined up their story and kind of taking notes from that can always be helpful so also align and leverage multiple channels, I already touched on this, but you want your website obviously to tell your story and not just have an about page that's like about an a bio. I love what it's like in different sections like you know, about the designer, and then like about the process and about custom and about our values, like breaking it down for people makes it much easier for them to consume. Rather than just like a standard like, here's my bio, here's where I went to college, like you know, that could be important to be sharing and like you know about the artists but it's not something that intrigues somebody to like buy a piece of your jewelry necessarily. Unless they went to that same college and you know, graduated a similar year and like want to support you. So just something to think about and then social media like sharing snippets and highlights and making sure that like this story that you've put together that's like lives mainly on your website is infused in like your social media. And then I'd also add like email marketing is super important to you and then also your packaging. So um, you know, like maybe it's like a little like postcard with like, an image that aligns with your other images or like, maybe it's a note about the materials that you've used that are are sustainable and like you use Fairmont gold, like how can you kind of use this kind of like, bring your story through to like the product and actually shipping it out. I think everybody probably saw this because a few people sent it to me but the Marla Aaron going back tomorrow, Erin, I mean, she's just brilliant. I think a lot in her marketing, but she did a video where she's like they're like having a funeral for her box. And she's shifting to packaging that is paper free and a pouch made from sustainable like from recycling. materials or something like that. And it's all part of like this grander plan to lean more into sustainability. And that's like, it was a, it was such a good video, like it was just so engaging and it was so interesting and it made you like wonder like, why are they doing this and like, learn more about why they were doing it and all of that so, but that's part of her story that she's like, you know, bringing to the forefront is that she's like interested in sustainability and creating a more sustainable business and all of that. So anyway, packaging is something to think about. Alyssa, in the chat here says one thing I struggle with is that some of the phrases feel too generic. So ethical, everyday jewelry, future heirlooms, they may be a true and part of the story, but they don't say anything about our design language. If you just heard them, you would have no idea what the jewelry feels like, and what it looks like. I feel like I've always watched questing for the perfect word or phrase that will unlock a story. I get that, I think that we get stuck in this like needing, like the perfect catchphrase or like, you know, like line about our jewelry, free or, or whatever it is, but like, those are generally like kind of generic, it's like more of like the storytelling that you do do like following that. So, you know, we create ethical, everyday jewelry, and then going into like, I feel good putting on my daily jewels, because I know they're made from fair mined gold, which I know is mined in an ethical way. And you know, like going in more like telling more of that. So like, not just stopping with that, like, kind of like generic sounding thing. Like same with future heirlooms. It's like, I think that's been like kind of overused in recent years. But that doesn't make it not true. That doesn't mean you can't use it as like a title on a landing page, or like the start of an Instagram post or the subject line of an email. But you need to go in deeper, like what does future heirlooms mean to you and your brand in particular. Because to me, you know, it means like, recently, it just means like, wearing like, my, the people I care about the most close to me, and also knowing that I can pass it down, which I mean, maybe that is what it means to most people. But like sharing that narrative, like these are the future heirlooms that I wear. This is why it's important to me, this is why it's important to my clients, here are stories that I'm going to share of you know, client testimonials and things like that. So thinking about how you can take those like generic words or phrases and like just elaborating on them and sharing more of that story.
And then the last thing, step 10 is like authenticity and transparency. And this is so important. You know, like being truthful about your journey, being transparent about like your insights, like sharing insights into your process, I think we've learned that a lot like in the jewelry industry, in particular in the past, you know, in 2024 But it's so important, it's important to everyone, people are going to buy from people they feel like they trust and know, they're not just gonna buy something, even if it's $100 thing from from a brand that they don't feel like they know. And that's just the where we're at now. So being truthful about your journey, being transparent, being authentic, like that's what leads to engagement. And that's what leads to success, like not worrying about hashtags, or not worrying about the algorithm or like reels or whatever it is, but like authentically talking to your audience, which is obviously like easier said than done, because I've been trying to like, send out emails that like feel like my voice but it is hard to write like, it's just hard. It's not in like a format that makes sense for marketing. I find it much easier to you know, have a one on one conversation and things like that. And that's something you could offer, you know, think about where your strengths lie and you know, that that could be a way to do it is like not trying to fit yourself into some like marketing mold and be like okay, well what leads people to buy, what has led people to buy in the past and how can I like replicate that? Or how can I lean into that further versus like you know, trying to do something that feels like out of reach or out of like something that you want to be focusing on or feels good to focus on so the brand story structure is your introduction you know your hear your founders name, your mission like the story of you know, who you are, and then your origins and like any challenges you want it or milestones or things like that. Your growth, how you're growing your achievements, your unique value proposition, what sets you apart, current state of affairs and future goals and then your core values. Send your like any personal anecdotes you want to share. Like I love an about page that has like a quote from the artist, or story from the artist that feels personal like even though a lot of designers I find are like, Oh, I've loved making jewelry since I was born. Or like since I was a little kid, like I used to play with beads right on shells on the beach, and you know, make jewelry out of it and stuff like that, if you have a photo to share of that, or, you know, a story from like, firsthand from your perspective, like it makes it unique, even though that story maybe has been told before by a different artist. And then the last thing I'll say about this is that like with effective storytelling, it needs to be simple and focused. So this is something I see often is like an overcomplicated story or like trying to say too many things. But you want to keep it simple and focused and consistent. It's not going to come through to people if you like, tell it once, or you tell it once a quarter and you don't like kind of infuse it into everything you're putting out there. So you want to say stay super consistent, like across all your channels saying the same thing on every every place. And just super consistency is it's super helpful, adopt a note evolve. So some thing to do is make sure that you're checking in I mean, like once a year, at least checking in on your, your brand story, like the one that you're using on your website. And then like making notes on what you want to include in like your emails now or like anything you want to update. That's super important. Because sometimes I often see I see like a bio that hasn't been touched in the years. So that's definitely something to take a look at. So Lindsey saying if my story is about me, how do I make it about my client, they always say make it about the client, not you. So it's like, how can you relate to the client, your support, like they say, use use statements a lot in like marketing, you know, courses and stuff like that. And it's true, you don't want to just be like, me, me, me, but it's like, you know, I was always inspired by gemstones and rocks, and I dig through like, you know, all the all the tables at Tucson to find the coolest stuff so that I can bring it to you. Because I know my client loves unique stones or something like that, like so you can like circle it around to back to them. But it's still about you and your inspiration, you know what I mean? So the whole thing doesn't have to be about the your client, if you're doing like a section that's like about the artists like that's about you. And that's about your inspiration. But when you're talking about like, you know, find testimonials are a good way to bring your client into it. I know this is like kind of vague. That's i i said this to all of you before but like when I'm talking about branding and stuff like this, it's just tough because it is kind of vague. And I think Lauren had an idea up here like maybe we kind of did this before but we could do it again like a Story Workshop. That would be fun. But like you don't have to shift to like everything being about your client because that feels inauthentic to you want like a nice balance of this is about my client but it's also about me because I'm creating it Okay, so some examples these are some good storytellers in my opinion. I showed you Marla, I think everyone should go and look at her about page because I showed you the video a little bit but just like a little bit let me shift my share settings you can see this full screen
so this like a little or a rebellious, rebellious little company, I think is so smart. And so her and so authentic. So this is about the company and then where to find us. And then I love this I think I've shared this before but like new here the guide to it all and it shows how to like mix and match and choose pieces and how to like wear it which I think is super helpful. Not assuming that your customer knows how to wear jewelry, you know, you can make sure metals like maybe you have like mixed metal pieces. You can mix your metals or like here's how to layer necklaces. These are like necklaces I like to layer together and things like that. It's something to think about like kind of dumb it down and break it down for them. And then I've mentioned her team page before I think it's just so good. They all have like their favorite snack food. But anyway, Marla's about page is just like gold. It's so good. Yeah, crazy things we do. She'd like just really makes down like all her whole story. It's, it's really good. And you can do that like without the production value, like you can still do that you can take some of the ideas and run with them and create a page that kind of like breaks it all down. The other which one was next that I wanted to show, I'll show you Granja more and next, this is like one of my favorite brands, but I think she does a really good job telling her story subtly, if you follow her on Instagram, just like kind of bringing in little bits without saying too much kind of, you know, sometimes she'll share a a, like a shot of her like laying out the little pieces, and things like that. And sometimes she'll share like a photo of like her studio, but like, it's not super often. And I really like this about page it's very visual, but like the Meet the maker, like a childhood photo of her at the beach, like probably collecting shells and things like that. This like Polaroid of her at her Sketchpad, like obviously, like, this is a whole vibe, this photo. But I just, I really, I love her pay her. It's just like really engaging to me, she tells her story really well. And very visually to talking about like, the tiny things that she finds and like, why she loves them and like how she uses them and all that. So cuz like her collection is about objects, if you aren't familiar, it's like she collects like little antique things and like creates like cool earrings and necklaces from like pairing them together. So her about page is very much about like her collecting and like how she finds things and how she puts them together and all of that. So really, really nice. This is probably just a phone photo, but like, look at what it conveys, like her love for collecting things. And just like just having it laid out and like her little sketchbook there and like she's gonna play around with it. I don't know, I'm really compelling. I'm a huge fan of this brand. She also does a really good job with social media. And I said this already, but like, look at our page, because I think it's mostly like phone content. You don't need to, like hire a photoshoot, like and you know, pay a bunch of money for that, although photography is important, but I'm just saying that like, you know, you can achieve some of this just with your phone. Another one is on a Sheffield. I've been a fan of her brand for a while, because it just feels like more than diamonds. You know, like, I was like, thinking about brands I wanted to share here and I thought of her because I've met her before and she's very much her brand. I'm not like super into like diamond rings, obviously. But like at the time when I was like working for Todd Reed I was like, keen on like all the other like diamond rings in the market sort of thing and she was one that was like top of mind for me. But her brand feels like more than diamonds and then I came to her about page and this is what she's saying here. There just feels like there's something meaningful about what she's creating and when you like kind of dive into some of the posts that she shares from clients and things like that you can kind of sense that there's more of a meaning there just by the way that she's like, you know, telling that story. I meet the designer I love this like her sketchbook or process great photo, modern day talismans. This is what going back to Ulisses question. It's like yeah, this is like kind of generic but when you put it all together with like about the designer and like the more than diamonds and things like that it tells like a more unique narrative. So just something to think about. But yeah, I think that she does a really nice job if you follow her on social media too. And then I love I love anytime there's like if you are into like ethical jewelry or sustainability or there's more to your brand, say that like if you have specific values like you champion like mental health organizations or you know, there's anything that you kind of donate to or contribute to or it's like important to like you know, where you're putting your money that you make from your business, I think that's really important to share. So and then I love a process page too. So sharing your process even you know if it's just your sketchbook, or whatever it is how the diamonds are sorted first which is probably a super important topic if you're selling diamonds their impact, which is great, like having a chart like this this is transparency so she's telling the story and I've seen a lot of pages that kind of have similar language and things like that. But this is transparency here is like the impact like diving in deeper and her promise like little kid toes but and keep me updated. So I'm guessing that leads to like signing up for her newsletter giving back this is exactly what I was saying like if you donate to a specific Cause like including that is super important and compelling. You know, none of this is like earth shattering what she's doing here, but she's transparent about like, what her brand is and what is important to her. So, anyway, I shot Phil. I love her. Another one that I really like is Spinelli cool Kilcullen. They created this kind of like, this band, this ring design that became very popular, maybe like, I don't know, seven years ago, they launched or something like that. But I love this video. This is Yves. He's the designer. And then Dwyer was the gal who was talking to originally that's his wife. But they're like very much like kind of like a family business ish. But they've grown much bigger. I love this video. I think they have their jeweler taught one of their jewelers talking in this as well. But I think that this is a really nice about page. I like when I think this is the team. This is Dwyer and Eve's and then maybe their jewelers, I think, but that's a great photo to share their values, their team, they have a great team page two, but this is like talking down nicely into you know, little segments that you can click more into a love a video. Even if like if you want to incorporate video, maybe it's like a casual video. That's like done on your phone, it doesn't again have to be higher production. It doesn't necessarily have to be on your website, but video content of like him talking about this design and like why it's important. And then the jeweler talking about like maybe like all the care that goes into making it like That's, again compelling to me. Another one that I want to share that wasn't on my list is Jane Taylor and I actually have it on my list of to dues from like last year is to like ask Leo who runs the social media to come talk to us. Because this is a really like, I mean, this is a brand I've known established 1994 I've known them since I've been in the jewelry industry, it's a mother daughter duo. They do just a really good job. I would encourage like checking out their social media and maybe like following for a bit because they do a really good job close the voice of the social media, but she does a really good job like telling the story every day or like maybe not every day. But like regularly like you just know the story. You know, they're inspired by color. You know, Jane is the designer. You know Clio is just like a lover of jewelry and the daughter and they've been in business together for a really long time supporting each other, they love clouds. You just know things about them like little things that aren't super personal. But you just kind of like know their quirks and things like that. And I think they just do a really nice job sharing sharing their story and on their website.
I think that their website about Paige is really nice. It kind of brings you through the story like Jane has been designing jewelry for a really long time. I love the old photos, her bunch like the early years. They share like kind of when Cleo got involved with the business and it like became a family business. All these like great photos of them together. So I think that this is a really nice about page two. And they just do such a nice job storytelling. All right. What questions Does everyone have? Oh my gosh, there's a deer running through my front yard. Let me pull up the questions I received. But if there's any other questions, feel free to throw them in the chat. Was this helpful? Instagram keeps logging me out of my accounts. So I have to like log in every time is anybody else experiencing that? super weird. Okay, here we go. Let's see what questions I got on Instagram. I meant to pull this up sooner. So sorry about that. Questions about storytelling. Okay. So where to begin? And how far back do you go? I think I kind of answered that question in the slides. But like, you want to start at the origin of your business and like you know, if I mentioned a few times like if you've always loved designing jewelry and you used to make jewelry with beads that your mom bought you at the bead shop or whatever, like I think that's interesting to share. But I would keep it kind of related to jewelry not you know, when did you Start having an interest in jewelry. And what do people want to hear or not hear from you, I think that's when, like doing this work, I think it'll come through what you want to be sharing something to know if you do like in person events or you know, chatting with people they mentioned, oh, I'm really interested in this thing that you, you know, shared with me or whatever. So like listening to your audience to I think can be helpful. Because out of that might come things that like you weren't sharing that might be interesting for people to hear. But you want to start with like, what do I want to say about my brand? How to make practical jewelry into good story. So I think that a lot of people look for practical jewelry, or like wearable jewelry, you know, and that is a good story like jewelry that you can wear every day or like jewelry that you don't have to like worry about, you know, taking off or whatever, like you can throw it on and not take it off or whatever it is. So, you know, that sounds like kind of, I guess that sounds kind of boring, but it's not especially to a consumer who's looking for something that they can like live in, or joy they don't have to like is not you know, playground I see this example a lot but like playground jewelry, like what can you just wear to the playground like I'm not I'm going to the playground after this zoom. I'm not going to wear these earrings just because I'm afraid they're going to like rip my ear out or like get caught in something or just be a little bit extra and like other moms be like, or dads or whoever's there with their kids be like What are you doing? So like jewelry that you can wear anytime is an interesting story to a customer who is looking for that my story is deep and many facets how to break it down into chunks but still convey the story. So like most of the examples I shared and the links I shared I find are really like broken down on their their about pages, then you want to kind of take those ideas and put them into like your content buckets and like things you want to share on your social media content regularly. But yeah, I love breaking it down. There's, you know, a lot of you have very layered stories. And and you want to like make it very clear, and keep it super focused. Yeah. Lauren says, Liz, I feel like you need to make a line called playground jewelry. Totally. I would never become a jewelry designer. You guys are all just so beyond talented. I wouldn't be able to do it. You know? I don't have it in me. But yes, playground jewelry, like maybe I could curate a collection from other people of like what I consider to be playground jewelry because I think it is important. We should be wearing jewelry every day and to the playground. But it can't be statement earrings, in my opinion, although I have seen moms, and you know, people out there at playgrounds wearing cool stuff. Not often, anyway. Okay, so Bramble is asking tips on transitioning your story into the dreaded elevator pitch. So the elevator pitch needs to be like the main bullet points of what you want to share. So like, if you just have the ideas, if you have 15 seconds in the elevator with like, you know, winter or whoever. What do you want to say to them? So it's like kind of the top line, the main points. So where you start at why you start it, what you create, and where you're going, maybe start there and see how that feels. But like if somebody you know you're at a party or like meeting somebody new for the first time, like personally, not professionally like, and they're like, What do you do? What would you say to them, I think that's a good place to start. And then kind of like tweaking it from there. You want your elevator pitch to like feel unique, but not too detailed. Hopefully that's helpful. But it is hard. That is hard. That's something you want to practice. Like, when I was first starting working for myself, I really got into it at Todd Reed. I like loved telling his story. I thought I still love telling his story. Like if people asked me about his brand, which doesn't happen anymore, but I love telling his story because I thought it was so interesting and so compelling. And I still think it is he actually just did a live chat on or like maybe it was a pre recorded video where he answered questions from the audience. And I just I love that for him. I think that the more he talks about his art, the the better because just like, I think that he had such a way of, you know, communicating what he was in his head. That was just like so interesting. And then the fact that he had these like he did these like crazy like drawings that were like, they look like kids sketches, you know, and then he'd talk through it with the goldsmith and they would be able to translate that into like a work of like a work of art, some of the pieces are like truly works of art. And that I found just so interesting. And then also just the passion behind his brand, like both from him from his employees and from the Boulder, Colorado community, and then also his collectors. So like, those were all parts of the story that I was trying to tell. I don't know where I was going with this. But I used to, like practice talking about it, you know, to anyone who would ask me like what I did for work and things like that. And then when I started working for myself, I had practice talking about what I do all the time. I've gotten super rusty, I actually ran into this woman who was like walking up my street, and I was outside with my kid. And she was wearing Alex up kiss. And I was like, Oh, my gosh, I love your Alex app, because necklace. And she's like, what, you know, this is Ali accept kiss like, I've never once had anybody recognize this? And I was like, Well, it's pretty distinctive. And also I work in the jewelry and industry. And she was like, what do you do, and I had a really hard time. So it is something that you have to practice regularly. So work on a draft and then just practicing it. Lindsay says our brand stories can be what excites us as artists. Yes, it should be. I mean, it should be like, I think we get in our heads about like, oh, you need to use you statements or like, make sure you're like bringing your audience in. And like, yes, that is true. You want to make it about your audience also, and you want to bring them in. But you being as you being excited as an artist is going to bring people in, I promise you that. Like I said about Sears new necklaces, it's like, I noticed that she was excited about it. And yeah, of course, I'm paying closer attention to maybe other people, but they probably noticed a little bit too. I feel like I'm excited and inspired by so many different things. And it would be inconsistent to talk about all the things. So I would look at like all the things you're excited about or inspired by and see if there's any like common ground and kind of lean into that and know things. So like maybe you notice you're super inspired by like aspects of nature, and then drill down on that, like maybe it's aspects of, you know, floral like flowers, or like native plants or something like that, like how can you dive deeper and get a little specific and also, like have a common ground by the things that you're excited about.
All right. Any other questions?
Well, well, hopefully this was helpful. I put up a link for hot seats. But I love the idea that Lauren had of like doing like story reviews, or something like that. So I'll try to plan something out about that. Um, and then next week, we're talking Facebook ads, with this guy named John who, Larissa, we're SIAC my co host on success with jewelry. Recommend it and I chatted with him. And I think he's going to be great. If you have any questions about Facebook ads, let me know. If there's anything else on your mind, let me know. And yeah, I'm around. If anybody has questions, feel free to DM me, or email me. Whatever works. But thanks for being here.
Well, okay, I'll set up story reviews. I'll put out like I'll do a document and put some dates on it and y'all can sign up. Well, thanks, everyone.
