ON TODAY’S EPISODE:

The #1 mistake brands make in storytelling [2:55]
Michelle’s 5 categories for how product based businesses can use storytelling within their marketing [5:26]
Her tips for brainstorming story ideas for your marketing [12:43]
Mindset tips for storytelling and getting vulnerable [16:30]
Her recommendations for clients on repurposing your content [19:48]
Drawbacks of storytelling (or using it incorrectly) [22:07]
Resources for people who want to incorporate storytelling in their business [25:11]
How often she checks in on her ideal customer [25:59]

Download These Quotables to Save and Share

KEY TAKE AWAYS

“When we're running a business, our stories aren't really for us. They're for our audience.” - Michelle Knight [3:11]

“The biggest mistake that I see entrepreneurs making is that they'll tell stories without their audience in mind.” - Michelle Knight [3:33]

“Just like you were talking about piecing it together is a story that enables our consumers, our customers to see themselves in the stories we're telling.” - Katie Hunt [9:49]

“The art of storytelling is so powerful no matter what you sell.” - Michelle Knight [10:20]

“Make sure you're not striving for perfection.” - Michelle Knight [16:48]

“We learn by making mistakes and we learn by putting our stuff out there.” - Michelle Knight [17:19]

“We put too much concern and worry on things that we no one else notices.” - Katie Hunt [21:52]

“The end goal of storytelling is to build a strong brand presence.” - Michelle Knight [24:14]

RESOURCES

LABS
Paper Camp
166 | Connecting with Customers with Kate Murray, Quick Brown Fox Letterpress
Trello
The "Build a Better Brand" Method

MEET MICHELLE:

Michelle Knight is a mother, wife, world traveler and storyteller. She is the founder of Brandmerry.com where she supports entrepreneurs in branding themselves online, marketing their message and creating more income and impact. Michelle focuses on teaching the power of storytelling to create an authentic brand that allows them to show up as they are, build a loyal community and experience time, financial and location freedom as a result of their work.

Michelle left her 9 to 5, retired her husband, built a multiple-6-figure-a-year business and became digital nomads all within 5 years of building her business. Michelle has been featured on CNBC, Entrepreneur, and Authority Magazine.

CONNECT WITH MICHELLE

Website: https://www.brandmerry.com | Instagram: @michelleknightco | Facebook: @brandmerrycoaching

Connect with Katie Hunt

Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.

Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct

Transcript for Proof to Product Episode 212

DOWNLOAD THE TRANSCRIPT

Katie Hunt [00:00:03] We're taking you behind the scenes with entrepreneurs that run product based businesses. There is so much information out there tailored toward service providers. So we have carved out a space just for you, the creative entrepreneur making and selling physical goods, whether you are just starting out or a seasoned business owner. This podcast will shed light on new strategies, inspiration and action steps to help you grow your product based business. Hey, friends, I'm Katie Hunt, and welcome back to Proof to Product. Today on the podcast, we are talking about the power of storytelling and specifically how to use storytelling to sell more of your products. My guest today is Michelle Knight. She's the founder of Brandmerry.com, where she supports entrepreneurs in branding themselves online, marketing their message and creating more income and impact. Michelle focuses on teaching storytelling as a means to create an authentic brand and to build a loyal community of customers. On today's episode, Michelle shares common mistakes and misconceptions that she sees among entrepreneurs as they are telling stories online. She shares the five types of stories that every entrepreneur should be telling. And we talk about how knowing who your audience is, as well as knowing what your end goals for telling stories are. Those are the two key components for successful storytelling. And she'll tell us more about that in this episode. Now, before we jump in, I want to celebrate one of our Proof to Product LABS members. And she's also a paper clip alum. Katamari of Quick Brown Fox letterpress has been killing it. You might remember Kate from Episode one sixty six of the podcast here where she shared her startup story and some new products that she's been working on. I'm also trying to get Kate back on the podcast to do an update on where she is now. But I can tell you that in the last six months, Kate wrote her first six figure purchase order with a new big box account, a new key account. And she received a second and I believe a third order even before the first ones were on the shelves and this was in the middle of a pandemic. So I'm super happy and excited for you, Kate. Your hard work and your leadership are totally paying off. And it's just so fun to see the growth. You're having friends every week instead of Proof to Product LABS. We celebrate each other's wins and we hold each other accountable to push ourselves towards the goals that we've set for ourselves, our individual goals. If you're looking for coaching and community and connection with other artists, designers and product makers, come join us at ProoftoProduct.com/LABS. All right. Let's head into this episode with Michelle Knight, all about storytelling. Hey, Michelle, welcome to Proof to Product.

Michelle Knight [00:02:38]Thank you so much for having me. Katie, I'm pretty excited to chat with you today.

Katie Hunt [00:02:42] I am super excited to chat with you because you are an expert in storytelling and this is what we need more of in our lives. But first, when it comes to storytelling in our marketing, what mistakes do you commonly see brands making?

Michelle Knight [00:02:55]Yeah, so the number one mistake that I see is that they make it about themselves. So we have this idea when it comes to storytelling because we read stories, right? We read books, we read autobiographies that it's all about the person writing it. But when we're running a business, our stories aren't really for us. They're for our audience. And the idea is that we want to build that connection with our audience through storytelling so that they buy the products, right? Like that's our end goal. The end isn't by the book. And then now read my awesome story. It's learned my story and buy my product. So the biggest mistake that I see entrepreneurs making is that they'll tell stories without their audience in mind. So not every story needs to be publicized on the interweb. And we really need to be really conscious about the types of stories that we're sharing. So knowing who your audience is is key and making sure that every time you're writing a story, drafting a story that you're paying attention to, what's the end goal for my audience here? What's the value? How is this building connection with them or what's the product that we ultimately want them to buy?

Katie Hunt [00:04:06] I am over here nodding my head personally. Yes, because I agree with everything. I think you're absolutely right. I hadn't thought about this. But storytelling needs to start with who's our audience? What are we trying to communicate like what's the end goal here that we're trying to achieve? I think so often you're right. The mistake we make is that we're telling stories because they're in our head or it's something we experienced. But if it's not tying it back to something our audience needs or it helps them in some way, then it's just kind of us talking about ourselves.

Michelle Knight [00:04:35] Yeah, I always say it's like a cool story, bro. Situation where someone's life, your story, but like nothing actually comes from it. Right. And I think this comes a lot from the brand story. So when we're starting our businesses, we're told to like write our brand story. And when we're doing our websites, we are writing our about page. And a lot of people think that that's where storytelling ends. But that's really just the beginning. Pieces are important. They're foundational pieces. But the storytelling that I think really drives the success of a business are the constant marketing stories that we're sharing online.

Katie Hunt [00:05:11] Yeah, let's do a quick brainstorm session. Like how can product based business owners specifically use storytelling within their marketing? I assume telling their customers stories, not just testimonials, but like how they're using things? What other ideas do you have for us?

Michelle Knight [00:05:26] Yeah, so I have like five categories that I really love to focus on just to, like, get people started. So. One is the brand story, I'm not going to skip it, it is important there's a reason why you're about me page on your website is the second most viewed page we think about when someone's trying to choose between two very similar products, they're going to go towards the brand that they feel attracted to, right? and that tends to be the story behind the product. So your story is important. Why you decided to create your product and put it out there in the world is important, and that is something that we want to share. But again, that's only one piece of it. The second type of story that I love to share are those behind the scenes or process type of stories. So products specifically, you know, sharing the process of maybe choosing materials, the design process, choosing the design, naming something if you create to craft jewelry, the process of you making your jewelry. I mean, I am obsessed with jewelry makers. I can watch them for hours of the process of making an earring. And then I'm like, well, now I have to buy the thing because I'm so obsessed with the process.

Katie Hunt [00:06:33] I am. I say we would take talks about painting and calligraphy. I find it so relaxing and just beautiful. I agree. At the end I'm like, yep, let me let me get some of that.

Michelle Knight [00:06:44] Yes. Well, in that storytelling, I think a lot of people don't think about the behind the scenes as a part of the story. But you're telling the story of the product, right? The process of it. Then there's another element of storytelling that I think is definitely having its moments lately, and that's brand affinity and everything that really happened last year in terms of values and mission driven work and not being afraid to say this is who I am. This is the stance that we take as a brand. We're seeing an increase in people purchasing from companies and brands that share similar values. Brand loyalty is key. I mean, before we hit record, you were talking about some of your listeners have products in Target and J. Crew, right? Think about like when you launched something new and we see, like, everyone running to purchase it and like, it doesn't even really matter what it is. We just like to have our hands on it. Now, that's brand affinity. And it's a shared connection, not just about the product, but about the shared values and the mission and the experience. And so even just showing up and sharing stories about why you have these company values and showcasing those company values are really great way to showcase story and build that connection with your audience.

Katie Hunt [00:07:58] I love that.

Michelle Knight [00:07:59] In addition to that, there's also just the product stories. Right? So we talked about the behind the scenes piece of the story like of the product, how it's made crafted a design process, but also sharing your product as the center of a story, right? so.

Katie Hunt [00:08:14] Tell me more.

Michelle Knight [00:08:15] So think about a before and after situation like a result. Right. So we're talking about, you know, the making of the product, why you created the product, the mission. But think about how powerful those before and after type of pieces are. I think about skincare, specifically another mild obsession of mine over here. And I love when a brand will do such a beautiful job of making the product the focus, right? Not so much like, "oh, look at this picture before and after," but actually telling the story of how the product was used, why it worked so well, what the consumer had to say about the particular product itself. Those are really powerful ways to really make your product kind of front and center and someone's life. And then those client testimonials that you talked about, those are just go right. Like people's takeaways for from using the product, having it can't get enough of it. And one of the things that I really encourage people to do when it comes to testimonial type stories is to tell a story. Don't sell yourself short by just posting a quote, right? So and so had this to say about my product. It's just like a single line if you have an opportunity with your product specifically to maybe ask a few open ended questions and a review, you know, you can piece those together to tell the actual story right? painting more of a picture than just a quote that says, so-and-so loved my product. You know, it's like, why was it so powerful? Why did they love it? What results did they get? And really piecing those together in in a storytelling fashion.

Katie Hunt [00:09:49] Well, and just like you were talking about piecing it together is a story that enables our consumers, our customers to see themselves in the stories we're telling. And that, again, goes back to what you were talking about with the brand affinity and the loyalty when they can see themselves in the story. That goes a long way in building the trust and the relationship too.

Michelle Knight [00:10:10] Absolutely. I mean, we know that people make purchase decisions based on an emotional connection. This has been proven, right? like this is this is why we ultimately buy and that's why the art of storytelling is so powerful no matter what you sell. Because just by sharing story, not only are you creating more memorable content, so let's say you show up on social media and you talk about your products. Are gearing up for a new launch, if you're just like, I've got this, I've got this, this is great, this is fun, you know, your audience is just going to kind of be like, OK, cool, you know? But if you incorporate storytelling into those social media, post your contents 22 times more likely to be remembered. So you're giving yourself a leg up by incorporating storytelling into your content. And like you mentioned before, it allows it kind of invites the reader in to fully engage themselves in what's happening. And that's why storytelling fires off neural coupling and dopamine, Right? like the art of storytelling itself is so powerful that it's a tool that, like I said, no matter what you sell, is just so important. I have an experiment I can share with you that like talks about go, OK, so this is like one of my favorite things to nerd out about. But there was an eBay experiment done in 2009. I don't know if you've heard about this, but, it's between Rob Walker and Joshua Glenn. And they conducted this experiment. So they they asked one hundred creative writers to invent stories about products. So it was about one hundred and twenty nine dollars worth of items that they bought. And then they hired creative writers to just make up some stories they listed and they sold them on eBay. The results were a net profit of three point six million dollars. So one example that they give in this study that always blows my mind is that they sold a paperweight that they bought for a dollar forty seven and it sold for one hundred and ninety seven dollars. It's not it wasn't right. It's not about the product. It's about the story. And so. Yeah. Isn't that so crazy. I love it so much.

Katie Hunt [00:12:15] That's a great example. Wow. OK, so I mean that's somebody that's purchasing a product and hiring copywriters to like build out the stories, right? like hiring professional storytellers, Right? for those of us that maybe feel a little bit like I don't know what stories to tell, I mean, you just went through five framework options that are really great. But how can we like do you have any suggestions for how to take that further or how they can do their own brainstorming within those five categories to come up with some story ideas?

Michelle Knight [00:12:43] Yeah, absolutely. So let me go back to what we talked about in the very beginning of, like, knowing your audience is key, you know, and I work with entrepreneurs on a product service, yoga studios, photographers all over the spectrum. Right. And oftentimes people will come to me and say, like, why buy products for everyone and my services for everyone? And I know you talk about this like it can be for everyone.

Katie Hunt [00:13:07] No, it can't be for everybody.

Michelle Knight [00:13:09]So I always say the first part of the storytelling process is to make sure that you truly know who you want to attract, who you want to build that brand loyalty and who you ultimately want to buy your products. So that's number one. And then I always say that really the art of storytelling is practicing. So, you know, you're not really going to know, just like kind of with content sometimes, right? Yeah. What's going to work and how it's going to work for your audience until you actually start showing up and delivering it. So the first story that I find to be the easiest to share is that brand story. Most listeners probably already have a bio written or an about me page or if you're doing a lot of PR, you've got your professional blurb. So start there. Really build out that story and experiment with sharing that through your email marketing, through social media, break it up into bite sized pieces and really just practice the art of storytelling. And then I recommend writing stories for each of your products as well. So I do this for my products, my courses and things that I sell. But write a brand story for the product. Right. Where did you get the idea? Why did you where was the need what was the problem that you wanted to solve? What happened when you first put it out there? You can incorporate testimonials that's going to give you two really solid stories that you can repeat and recycle and modify just to get started. And then the next key and the key, I think, for longevity is the heightened awareness. So I've done this enough to know that this works. People don't believe me in the beginning, like Michelle, give me my step by step. I'm like, listen, you start sharing stories, you start seeing how fun it is and your awareness skyrockets. And you'll find yourself at the grocery store and say, like, oh, my gosh, I have to share the story, Right? maybe you saw something on the shelf. For one example I like to give is one time I walked into my office and my son had like my blue blocking glasses on. I was like at my computer and he was like, Mom, I'm working like you. And I was like, "oh, my gosh, great story." So, you know, I jotted down because I wanted to share that with my audience. As you start sharing story and you really get into it, it's just about the continuation and the awareness around the stories that are happening every day that you're seeing. Something's triggering or giving you the idea. And for that, I just love to keep a running document, a story, ideas, you could be a Trello board with these different categories that I mentioned before, I actually have one of my clients that's like each of the categories, and then they just plug in different cards with different story prompts that they have and they just have this ongoing list that they can then share with our audience.

Katie Hunt [00:15:50] I love what you said about practice, too. I think that with anything, the more we do it, the easier it becomes, Right? but something like this, I know all the stories shouldn't be about us, particularly. You covered that already. But like, it feels very vulnerable to tell these stories sometimes, even if they're not our own stories, even if there are customer stories or even if it's, you know, behind the scenes in the origin of these products and things like, it's still very personal. So, like, I don't know, are there any mind set tips you have around getting over that hurdle of it's OK to share? Because sharing leads to authenticity and relationship building and growth for the business?

Michelle Knight [00:16:30] Yeah, I don't know. I get it. It's still hard. I'm not going to sugarcoat it and be like especially when you're starting out. It's incredibly intimidating if you haven't been sharing these stories and and these things yet, like it can be really hard to rip off that Band-Aid and go for it. Yeah. So the first thing that I recommend is like, make sure you're not striving for perfection. I think with all things, with marketing, with all things copywriting, you can't it's just not going to happen anyway. So you're just really postponing the inevitable by waiting for something to be absolutely perfect. And listen, if you post it and you really have an oh my gosh moment, you can delete it, right? It's not so much. So maybe practice on social media. You don't really understand that email. So I think make sure you're not striving for perfection around this just with all marketing and all business in general. You know, we learn by making mistakes and we learn by putting our stuff out there. But then I think there's this misconception around how much we have to share online. And I think that we have a really sour taste in our mouth because we do see a lot of people who it feels like they're just airing it all out there, right there, just put everything out there, all their personal stuff. I do not follow that approach, Right? and as I mentioned in the beginning, every decision that I'm, story I'm posting, piece of content I'm posting, it's to move the business forward. So it's not just like, oh, I'm going to share a bunch of new clothes and show my audience. It's like that doesn't my audience doesn't care, Right? so I think when it comes to that vulnerability, please remind yourself that it's not about sharing everything. And if there's something that is difficult to share or you're in it or it feels like an open wound, wait. Stories doesn't have to be shared in that moment. I have gone back. An example of this would be when my son was born, I was just launching my business into the world and I was going through a postpartum experience that I was like did not want to talk about on the Internet, you know? Yeah, I knew my audience could relate to it. I had a lot of moms have followed me. It was the reason I started my business. But I wasn't in a place where I was comfortable diving into that topic. A year down the line, I started sharing it more. You know, two years later, I did a podcast recording about it. It doesn't have to be shared in the moment. You can always come back to it, note it in your document, say this is something I want to come back to what it feels, Right? and if it never feels right, cool. You have a million other stories, I guarantee you, that are going to work just fine, that you don't have to, as I say, "air your dirty laundry out on the Internet."

Katie Hunt [00:19:09] I love that because stories don't have an expiration date.

Michelle Knight [00:19:13] Oh, yes. Thank you. You took that. I was like, what's the word? That's perfect.

Katie Hunt [00:19:16] They don't. And too I mean, I don't know the current statistics on this, but I know that we have to you know, people have to hear things over and over and over again in order for it to sink in. And so, you know, one thing I coach my clients on with content creation and not specific to storytelling, but this would be included. It's OK to recycle these things and put them in different places over and over and over again. So, like, if we can refine a story, I would want to see it on their social feed. I would want to see it in their email. I'd want to see it on their website. Do agree with the strategy, what Do you recommend for your clients?

Michelle Knight [00:19:48] Yeah, I mean, I wish people could see my face when you said that because that was like a hallelujah moment. You know, I think that a lot of entrepreneurs, business owners do themselves a disservice by only posting things once. The statistic the last time I saw was at least seven times, Right? there's at least seven touch points that have to happen for someone to actually, like, get your message because the algorithm and all the different pieces and we're just busy, busy humans that you're taking the time to create these stories, to craft these stories. Don't let them just wither away and die after one post. So I am a big fan of repurposing content and making sure that we're taking a piece of content, that we take a lot of time to create and getting it and pushing it out there on different platform. Forms in different ways, rewriting it and the same goes for story. I mean, we talked about the brand story. For instance, you write that brand story, it's on your About Me page. Then you're also sharing a shorter version of that on your home page. Maybe you've got shorter bio on your product page. Right. Then you've got a bio in your Instagram. Maybe you record a video and you save it to your highlights. Right. It's the same story, but you're delivering it a bunch of different ways. Maybe you record a video on YouTube. You know, there's no there's no cap in my mind on the varieties that the variety that we can create from a single piece of content.

Katie Hunt [00:21:09] Yeah, absolutely. And two from the one story who pull out different snippets and use in multiple ways. So then multiply that times, all the places you can put it. And that's a that's a lot of content.

Michelle Knight [00:21:19] So there's a really prominent podcaster, blogger, course creator that that I follow. And I pay attention because every 30 days she will share the exact same story. Her founder story every 30 days with a brand new photo thing. And I'm like, listen, if with a hundred thousand followers and we're worried about it, OK? You know, I know.

Katie Hunt [00:21:42] Well, that's that's the problem, right? We all and I'm guilty of this, too. So I'm not just like lecturing. I'm not commiserating. Like we're we're guilty of overthinking things. Were we put too much concern and worry on things that we no one else notices. You know, no one else notices these things. So, you know, we talked about the benefits of using stories in our marketing. Are there any drawbacks? Are there any downsides to stories?

Michelle Knight [00:22:07] I don't think so. I mean, I think if you're being really conscious of the types of stories, you're just going back to the mistake, right? If you're if you're making that mistake on repeat, where everything you're sharing is just so that you can share fun things that are happening in your life, like that's not what storytelling for business means. And again, and one of the things that we chat about, like even like if I'm sharing a story about a travel that we recently had, we travel a lot. So, you know, like a jet that we recently took in something that happened. Yes. I'm sharing the story right. It's my perspective, but I have to remember who's reading it. How can I bring them in? How can I captivate their attention? How can I call them to action at the end of it, to comment, to click through, to purchase something the way that you can incorporate storytelling and blogs and product descriptions and videos and everything is endless. And I really think that we should challenge ourselves more to doing it and get really creative with it.

Katie Hunt [00:23:03] Yeah, I think the practices and things that are just resonating with me as I'm listening to you, knowing your audience, practicing so that, you know, we're not looking for perfection here, we're just looking for progress. We're looking to get better at something and refining our skills. But the intent piece, the intent of why we're doing this, like that's a piece I want to hit home a little bit more, because if we're not focused on the end result, we're trying to get, it feels like kind of a waste of time. Right?

Michelle Knight [00:23:32] Right. Well, I think that's true with all content right through. If you're not clear on what the point of showing up is, the purpose behind it, then you don't you're just wasting your time. And I think the biggest thing when it comes to storytelling is think about the connection that it has to branding, right? so what storytelling is allowing you to do is build brand affinity, create more brand awareness, right? Bring more people that build that know, like and trust factor that matters when you are selling products on the Internet especially. And so storytelling allows you to do that to build those connections. And so what the really in my mind, the end goal of storytelling is to build a strong brand presence. And that is what is going to allow you to consistently sell your product. Right. Whether that person's ready to buy it in that moment. And they're like, wow, yes, this is it. This is what I want to hear. Ready to purchase? Or they need a little bit more warming up and they get to know you a little bit more and then they're ready to buy. Yeah, I think that's where branding is really, really important and how it really supports the marketing of any product or service.

Katie Hunt [00:24:41] Totally. And the storytelling gets to your point, it's appropriate at any stage of the customer journey, whether they're just brand new to you or whether they're ready to buy. And I love that you mentioned that, too. This has been fascinating. Thank you for the concrete stories and thank you for the five steps. I'm taking notes over here. I'm like, my brain's going crazy. Kind of like what you said of what you said about a story that just doesn't stop. So tell us, what are you working on? What kind of resources do you have available for people that want to maybe learn more from you or learn more about what you're doing in your own business?

Michelle Knight [00:25:11] Yeah, absolutely. So I have my website is Brandmerry. B-R-A-N-D-M-E-R-R-Y.com. It's like a main hub for all the things. There are blogs and videos galore on there, on storytelling. If you want to dove deeper into vulnerability, imperfections, all of those different pieces. And I have a free training on building a better brand. It's completely on demand, you can sign up on my website or you can go to Brandmerry.com/brandmasterclass and it's just an awesome training on storytelling, ideal customer and messaging.

Katie Hunt [00:25:42] That's awesome things that every business needs to lock in if you haven't already done that.

Michelle Knight [00:25:46] Absolutely.

[00:25:47] Katie Hunt And two, it's worth revisiting, too, right? Like, I mean, I'm I was just teaching and training and I'm like, this is something we have to revisit as our business continues to grow. How often are you checking in on your, like, ideal customer avatar and seeing if it's shifted at all?

Michelle Knight [00:25:59]I, I like question my audience probably too much. I aim for at least every 90 days sending a survey to my audience to find out where they're at. Like how have things shifted for them? What do they want for me? What do they need from me?

Katie Hunt [00:26:13] Yeah.

Michelle Knight [00:26:14] And then my clients, like my existing clients, I love picking their brain as well. So I really try to do ideal customer work every 90 days. And that kind of coincides with how I create my content as well, because I think ideal customer work is is important too, if you have an existing audience. But there's also a lot of amazing avenues with answer the public and Uber suggest just reading book reviews that give you a lot of insight into your ideal customer as well that we should be repeating or if we're launching a new product or something. Like I said, you write that story, you write those messages like that process. We have to keep ourselves on our toes.

Katie Hunt [00:26:49] Yes, we do. But every 90 days is impressive. I, I think that's really cool that you're doing that because then you really do know who they are, what they need and how you can best serve them, whether it's a service or product. We want to make sure we're listening to what their needs are. Otherwise we're just making stuff to make stuff for ourselves. We're not making it for them and we want to be making it for our customers. So.

Michelle Knight [00:27:09] Yeah, I thought of something, too, that might be really beneficial for your audience, actually. If if you have an existing audience, don't be afraid to send them a survey and ask them, like, what would you like to know more about from me? Maybe even list out some of the types of stories or different things that you do that you don't talk about a lot on the Internet. And you might be surprised as what people will say. When we first started traveling, I asked my audience, would you be interested in knowing more about, like, minimalism? Because we're selling all of our stuff. And everyone was like, oh, my gosh, yes, absolutely. You know, so your audience would probably just tell you what kind of stories they want from you if you ask them.

Katie Hunt [00:27:46] Yeah. Especially if you make it a short survey that doesn't take much of their time. That's awesome. That's a great tip. So thank you so much for sharing that, Michel. All right. So you share your strategies, you shared your website, your free resources you have available. Where can people follow you online to on social media?

Michelle Knight [00:28:03] Yeah, I'm hanging out on Instagram mostly. It's @MichelleKnightCo and I tell tons of stories over there. So coming up!

Katie Hunt [00:28:10] I was going to say we're going to go stalk your Insta so we can see what kind of stories you're telling and see how you're putting all of these incredible strategies into action. So, Michelle, thank you for your time today. This was amazing. And I can't wait to dive into my own stories and hear the stories that my audience is doing, too. So thank you.

Michelle Knight [00:28:26] Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Katie Hunt [00:28:28] Of course, friends who took notes during this episode, because I certainly did. Brainstorming those five story topics was hugely helpful. And now my brain is spinning with ideas of stories that I want to share with all of you. So be sure to check out all of Michelle's free resources and the courses she has available on her website. We've linked everything in the show notes. You can easily grab it. And before we sign off, I wanted to answer a question. I received about Proof to Product LABS. Sarah asked "What types of companies are in Proof to Product LABS?" And this is a great question. We have manufacturers that are making paper goods, jewelry, apparel, candles, embroidery kits, scrapbooking kids and a wide variety of home decor and gift items. We also have some people that are making food products. We have store owners and sales reps. We have service providers who work with product based businesses owners in there. And we have a wide range of perspectives, resources and discussions happening every day within Proof to Product LABS. There's lots of ways to connect in there. So if you are looking for a diverse community and coaching support, check out Proof to Product LABS by going to ProoftoProduct.com/LABS. LABS is a twelve month group coaching program where you get access to live trainings, group coaching calls and small group discussions each month or LABS members also gain access to all of our archives of training. So you can jump in specifically to what you need and you can study up and take steps forward with all of our different archive trainings and group coaching calls, too. So to join us, head over to ProoftoProduct.com/LABS. Thank you so much for tuning in today. I will be back next week with a new episode.