Point Of The Story

James Nwobu, ShowIt’s Director of Marketing and mindset-minded content strategist, shares why people-first marketing beats polish. He unpacks athlete-style consistency, batching huge volumes of short videos, repurposing long-form content, and when AI shortcuts cross a line. Expect candid takes on imposter feelings, creative responsibility, and how showing up beats perfection.

Mariah Magazine, an SEO strategist who teaches creators and designers, drops no-nonsense SEO advice with personality. She debunks blog myths, explains keyword intent and where phrases truly belong. She calls out design choices that tank rankings and lays out the simple “SEO sandwich” workflow. Expect practical takes on contact copy, accessibility slipups, and why AI-generated blogs are risky.

Abbie Radford, brand messaging and positioning expert and host of The Industry Icon, helps businesses craft iconic messaging. She discusses saying less and delivering creatively. Topics include why storytelling beats nonstop teaching, how small moments make memorable stories, niching by person and problem, and creative delivery tactics like the Diet Coke example.

I’ve got more testimonials than I know what to do with. Love notes. Slack screenshots. Emails that made me tear up a little. But for the longest time, I was just letting them collect digital dust.Until I met Jocelyn.⁣ She’s the mastermind behind Best Seller, a course that’s teaching me how to turn client results into actual marketing gold —not just "Sarah is amazing!!" but “Sarah is amazing AND here's the specific transformation she helped me achieve, broken down like an actual plot line.”We talk about why your social proof isn’t working the way you want it to, what kind of questions you should be asking your clients, and how to repurpose your case studies across literally every platform — not just buried in a highlight on your IG.You’re gonna learn a lot. You’re gonna laugh. You’re gonna want a sticker sleeve.TOPICS & TANGENTS— The difference between case studies and testimonials— What a case study collection system is and why you probably need one— The unhinged rage I feel when someone misuses the word aesthetic (I will die on this grammar hill)— Why your onboarding form might be your biggest missed opportunity— Why tattoo artists lowkey hate my arms (symmetry? never heard of her)POINT OF THE STORYSocial proof hooks. Stories convert. If you want people to see themselves in your offer, don’t just tell them “it worked” — show them how it can work for someone exactly like them.GIVEAWAYWant a free order of bean water on me? Tag me @btlcopy and Jocelyn Montemarano @scaleyourresonance on your Instagram story while you’re listening, and one lucky winner will get TWO caffeine fixes on me!AND — count how many times we drop the F-bomb in this episode. DM me the number, and you could win a prize!Love you, mean it. 🖤JOCELYN LINKS— Follow Jocelyn on Instagram and Threads— Check out her website— Take Jocelyn’s free micro-class— Join Jocelyn’s program Best Seller— Jocelyn’s walkout songBTL LINKS— Use code "MILLIONAIRE" for $100 off my website copywriting course, Site Series Sprint.— Join the Point of the Story community on Slack.— Leave feedback or episode requests in our Suggestions Box.— To stay up to date with all things Point of the Story, follow on Instagram and Substack.— Follow me on Instagram, Threads, and Substack.— Subscribe to my newsletters Tuesday Table of Contents for one marketing tip, once a week and Millionaire Moment for the insider tea on how I plan to make $1 mil in sales by my 31st birthday.— Check out my website betweenthelinescopy.com.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Intro00:22 Meet Jocelyn, the Case Study Queen02:52 Rapid-Fire Squirrel Brain Questions18:19 Why Social Proof Isn’t Converting23:25 Where to Use Case Studies in Your Marketing28:43 Using Stories to Attract (Not Just Sell)31:11 What Is a Case Study Collection System?49:46 Key Questions for Effective Case Studies53:54 ClosingThis episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz. Mentioned in this episode:For $31/mo, get FIVE personal story prompts a month for your newsletter! Sara's Swipe File: A Newsletter Storytelling Subscription

If you’ve ever felt like buying a house is some mysterious, unattainable, "adultier adult" milestone... I get it. It took me ages to do it, and the process was like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded — while signing 37 forms.Which is exactly why I dragged my real-life bestie and first-time homebuyer expert, Alli Moore, onto the pod today. (Dragged lovingly, obviously.)Alli is here to walk us through WTF a loan officer actually does, how the home buying process works, and what you need to know if you’re self-employed and still want your white-picket-fence moment.TOPICS & TANGENTS— Why buying a house as a self-employed girly is not as scary as TikTok makes it sound— The crucial thing you need to tell your accountant before you even start stalking Zillow— Why your rent vibes do not translate to mortgage vibes— How not to accidentally kill your pre-approval status while you're in limbo— Our unhinged homebuying stories: bullying, bad math, and a Cape Cod side questPOINT OF THE STORYFind a house you can afford, live your life in, and not cry every time a bill shows up. That’s the dream.ALLI LINKS— Follow Alli on Instagram here and here— Subscribe to her newsletter to for home-buying tips— Alli’s walkout songs: song 1, song 2BTL LINKS— Use code "MILLIONAIRE" for $100 off my website copywriting course, Site Series Sprint.— Join the Point of the Story community on Slack.— Leave feedback or episode requests in our Suggestions Box.— To stay up to date with all things Point of the Story, follow on Instagram and Substack.— Follow me on Instagram, Threads, and Substack.— Subscribe to my newsletters Tuesday Table of Contents for one marketing tip, once a week and Millionaire Moment for the insider tea on how I plan to make $1 mil in sales by my 31st birthday.— Check out my website betweenthelinescopy.com.OTHER LINKS— Bookkeepers: Peach Perfect Financials, Madison Dearly, Coyne Bookkeeping— Sara’s high-yield savings account— Annual Credit Report websiteTIMESTAMPS00:00 Intro00:26 Meet Allie, the First-Time Homebuyer Whisperer03:26 Rapid-Fire Squirrel Brain Questions18:27 What Even Is a Loan Officer?22:42 Buying a House as a Self-Employed Squirrel29:18 The Homebuying Process, Step-by-Step41:01 Our Homebuying Stories54:14 How Equity Works (and Why You Should Care)57:55 Debt, Credit, and Other Capitalist Nonsense You Still Have to Deal With01:05:46 ClosingThis episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz. Mentioned in this episode:For $31/mo, get FIVE personal story prompts a month for your newsletter! Sara's Swipe File: A Newsletter Storytelling Subscription

Gemma Watts, social media strategist behind This Social Cottage who helps biz owners create cozy, simplified strategies, shares how to run Instagram in just 15 minutes a day. She breaks down a four-part content framework, batching and repurposing tactics, and a weekly planning sprint. Expect practical shortcuts, format-mapping, and tips for growing from zero without perfectionism.

Be honest. When was the last time you said you were gonna launch something… and then let your idea sit in a Google Doc because you “just need to finish the sales page” or “should probably finish all this client work first.”(I’ll go first. It was last month.)This week on the pod, I brought in one of my faves — and one of yours, too — Kelsey McCormick of Coming Up Roses. Kelsey’s the go-to expert on launching your own way (yes, even if you’re squiggly, squirrel-brained, or about to have your second baby).And because I know y’all come here for the actual tea, I didn’t ask her the “So, tell us how you got started” questions. No ma’am. I asked the good stuff, like: “What should you do first when you have a cold audience,” “How often should you launch,” and sooooo much more!TOPICS & TANGENTS— What “campaign thinking” actually means and how it can chill out your business— The tragic ADHD guilt of forgetting your kid's snack request— What to do about the very real urge to avoid your own launches— Kelsey’s 3-step warm-up strategy for cold audiences— Our Myspace song eras and why we all peaked with profile music— The reason your past launches might’ve flopped— The underrated power of building in publicPOINT OF THE STORYYou don’t need to figure it all out before you start launching, but you DEFINITELY need a deadline.GIVEAWAYWant a free order of bean water on me? Tag me @btlcopy and Kelsey McCormick @cominguproses.co on your Instagram story while you’re listening, and one lucky winner will get TWO caffeine fixes on me!AND — count how many times we drop the F-bomb in this episode. DM me the number, and you could win a prize!Love you, mean it. 🖤KELSEY LINKS— Follow Kelsey on Instagram— Check out her website— Kelsey’s famous progam Launch Your Own Way— Listen to her private podcast The Warm Up— Kelsey’s walkout songBTL LINKS— Use code "MILLIONAIRE" for $100 off my website copywriting course, Site Series Sprint.— Join the Point of the Story community on Slack.— Leave feedback or episode requests in our Suggestions Box.— To stay up to date with all things Point of the Story, follow on Instagram and Substack.— Follow me on Instagram, Threads, and Substack.— Subscribe to my newsletters Tuesday Table of Contents for one marketing tip, once a week and Millionaire Moment for the insider tea on how I plan to make $1 mil in sales by my 31st birthday.— Check out my website betweenthelinescopy.com.OTHER LINKS— Mentioned by Kelsey: Michelle @byhellolemon and Alyssa @atnndesignTIMESTAMPS00:00 Intro00:25 Meet Kelsey, the Squiggly Launch Queen02:09 Rapid-Fire Squirrel Brain Questions19:47 Campaign Thinking 10122:52 The Inaction Problem No One Wants to Admit30:21 How to Warm Up a Cold Audience39:07 Can You Just Copy-Paste a Launch That Worked?51:11 ClosingThis episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz. Mentioned in this episode:For $31/mo, get FIVE personal story prompts a month for your newsletter! Sara's Swipe File: A Newsletter Storytelling Subscription

Okay, picture this: it’s 9am, you’re in a full face of makeup and red leather pants belting RENT at an audition — and by 2pm, you’re back home in sweatpants designing someone’s dream website.That’s just a Tuesday in the life of Sarah Kleist.She’s a New York-based actor and Showit website designer, and also one of my real-life best friends, my longest-running creative collaborator, and the most organized Notion girlie you’ve ever met.In this episode, we’re talking all about living a double life as a multi-passionate human, why “simple” websites aren’t always the move, and how to make a template look like a million bucks. Plus, we share the behind-the-scenes of what it’s like to collaborate on all the dreamy copy/design projects we’ve done together (and why we absolutely refuse to share a contract system. Ever.).TOPICS & TANGENTS— Why template websites aren’t a cop-out (and how to make them look custom!)— The very specific power of red leather pants and a good walkout song— Why you need more website pages than you think— The Notion obsession that will either inspire you or make your brain short-circuit— A highly emotional tangent about seltzer, energy drinks, and being short in real life— A mini lesson on the real difference between being outgoing and being an extrovert— The exact moment we went from TikTok mutuals to real-life besties— How our copy/design collabs actually workPOINT OF THE STORYA solid website template and smart UX will take you far. (A fresh Notion hub wouldn’t hurt either.)GIVEAWAYWant a free order of bean water on me? Tag me @btlcopy and Sarah Kleist @kleistcreative on your Instagram story while you’re listening, and one lucky winner will get TWO caffeine fixes on me!AND — count how many times we drop the F-bomb in this episode. DM me the number, and you could win a prize!Love you, mean it. 🖤KLEIST LINKS— Follow Kleist on Instagram— Check out her obviously kickass website— Download Kleist’s viral freebie: The To-Done List— BTL Copy x Kleist Creative - hire us together!— Kleist’s walkout songBTL LINKS— Use code "MILLIONAIRE" for $100 off my website copywriting course, Site Series Sprint.— Join the Point of the Story community on Slack.— Leave feedback or episode requests in our Suggestions Box.— To stay up to date with all things Point of the Story, follow on Instagram and Substack.— Follow me on Instagram, Threads, and Substack.— Subscribe to my newsletters Tuesday Table of Contents for one marketing tip, once a week and Millionaire Moment for the insider tea on how I plan to make $1 mil in sales by my 31st birthday.— Check out my website betweenthelinescopy.com.OTHER LINKS— The book that inspired Kleist to reach out to me and the group we both joined as a result— What I asked you to search up on TikTok— Websites mentioned: Madden Made Events (designed with the Manhattan template by Tonic Site Shop), The Legalzine, Kat Wolff Creates, Frances House, Ashley Flowers, Monocle Productions, Katherine MarchandTIMESTAMPS00:00 Intro00:23 Meet Sarah Kleist, The Best Showit Website Designer06:03 Rapid-Fire Squirrel Brain Questions18:02 The Truth About Templates, UX, and Doing Too Much22:57 The To-Done List and Tracking Your Entire Life28:17 What It’s Like to Work with Sarah + Sara38:32 Favorite Projects We’ve Done Together42:31 What We’re Actually Like in Real Life48:21 ClosingThis episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz. Mentioned in this episode:For $31/mo, get FIVE personal story prompts a month for your newsletter! Sara's Swipe File: A Newsletter Storytelling Subscription

Okay, be honest: have you ever heard someone talk about “quantum leaping” in their business and thought, “What in the Girl Boss is going on here?”Same.So in this episode, I brought in the one person I trust to de-mystify the energetic, the esoteric, the whole woo of it all and make it actually make sense.Today’s guest is my best friend once removed (we made it official mid-recording), Kaitlyn Kessler. She’s an energetics and business coach who helps high-achieving visionaries trust themselves more deeply, pivot with purpose, and create success that doesn’t feel like a cortisol-inducing hellstorm.We talk about why self-trust is the real secret to momentum, how “quantum leaps” actually happen, and why rest might just be the most rebellious thing you can do.TOPICS & TANGENTS— Why quantum leaps don’t happen overnight (even if the internet says you can make $3K while getting your hair done— How to build actual self-trust and stop lying to yourself about going to the gym at 5 AM— Kaitlyn’s best advice for the woo-curious— A deeply important tangent about plane strangers trauma dumping and squirrels holding mushrooms— Why “I’m hot no matter what” is a valid business mindset— What in the world is “energetics” anyways?POINT OF THE STORYQuantum leaps are made in the micro moments, when you trust yourself enough to show up differently.GIVEAWAYWant a free order of bean water on me? Tag me @btlcopy and Kaitlyn @kaitlynskessler on your Instagram story while you’re listening, and one lucky winner will get TWO caffeine fixes on me!AND — count how many times we drop the F-bomb in this episode. DM me the number, and you could win a prize!Love you, mean it. 🖤KAITLYN LINKS— Follow Kaitlyn on Instagram— Check out Kaitlyn’s website— Listen to Spacious Podcast— Follow Kaitlyn on Substack— Kaitlyn’s walkout songBTL LINKS— Use code "MILLIONAIRE" for $100 off my website copywriting course, Site Series Sprint.— Join the Point of the Story community on Slack.— Leave feedback or episode requests in our Suggestions Box.— To stay up to date with all things Point of the Story, follow on Instagram and Substack.— Follow me on Instagram, Threads, and Substack.— Subscribe to my newsletters Tuesday Table of Contents for one marketing tip, once a week and Millionaire Moment for the insider tea on how I plan to make $1 mil in sales by my 31st birthday.— Check out my website betweenthelinescopy.com.This episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Intro00:29 Meet Kaitlyn Kessler, Energetics Coach and Best Friend Once Removed03:10 Rapid-Fire Squirrel Brain Questions15:49 Self-Trust is Everything23:03 When Shoulds and Have-To’s Are Running the Show28:16 Rest as Rebellion and Fuck the Man31:49 What Even Is a Quantum Leap?38:05 What Energetics Have to Do With Business Strategy43:20 Did Anyone Say “Journal Prompts”?!?48:57 Woo-Curious? Let’s Talk About It54:23 Closing Mentioned in this episode:For $31/mo, get FIVE personal story prompts a month for your newsletter! Sara's Swipe File: A Newsletter Storytelling Subscription

Not to be dramatic, but this might be the only cold pitch I’ve ever liked. And trust me — I’ve seen a lot of cold pitches. Most of them = instant delete, do not pass go, do not collect $200.But today, I’m joined by Eva Couto of Flying Colors Creative — one of the very few people in the world who has ever successfully cold-pitched me. (A rare honor. A high calling. A feat so impressive I had to have her on the pod.)Eva is a brand designer and ringleader. She’s all about helping people create unconventional, standout brands that feel like them.We get into why most cold pitches suck (and how to actually do it right), why freaks always find each other, and how your branding might be quietly holding you back in ways you don’t even realize.TOPICS & TANGENTS— Why most cold pitches make me want to call the cops— The real reason branding is a business essential, not a luxury— Why Eva stalks people on LinkedIn of all places??? (Still not over it.)— The branding mistake that makes people forget you exist— Why bad branding gives “took his hat off and ruined it” energy— My high school crush and the deeply unserious reason I logged into my personal Instagram for the first time in yearsPOINT OF THE STORYA forgettable brand is an expensive problem. If people don’t remember you, they’re not going to hire you. Your brand should be more than just a pretty Pinterest mood board — it should actually help you make money and attract the right people.GIVEAWAYWant a free order of bean water on me? Tag me @btlcopy and Eva @flyingcolourscreative on your Instagram story while you’re listening, and one lucky winner will get TWO caffeine fixes on me!AND — count how many times we drop the F-bomb in this episode. DM me the number, and you could win a prize!Love you, mean it. 🖤EVA LINKS— Follow Eva on Instagram— Check out the Flying Colours Creative website— Listen to The Freak Show on Apple or Spotify— The Extravaganza - your complete brand & website transformation— Eva’s walkout songBTL LINKS— Download my FREE Cold Pitching Guide— Watch my cold pitching Tiktok videos in this playlist— Use code "MILLIONAIRE" for $100 off my website copywriting course, Site Series Sprint.— Join the Point of the Story community on Slack.— Leave feedback or episode requests in our Suggestions Box.— To stay up to date with all things Point of the Story, follow on Instagram and Substack.— Follow me on Instagram, Threads, and Substack.— Subscribe to my newsletters Tuesday Table of Contents for one marketing tip, once a week and Millionaire Moment for the insider tea on how I plan to make $1 mil in sales by my 31st birthday.— Check out my website betweenthelinescopy.com.OTHER LINKS— My accountant - Peach Perfect Financials— Contract templates - The Boutique LawyerThis episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Intro00:24 Meet Eva Couto, Brand Designer and Cold Pitching Expert04:14 Rapid-Fire Squirrel Brain Questions16:17 A Forgettable Brand is an Expensive Problem21:37 When Should You Actually Invest in Branding?23:54 Ideal Clients and Red Flags30:43 The Best Brand is One You’ll Actually Use42:58 Why Bad Branding Gives “Took His Hat Off and Ruined It” Energy49:15 Eva’s Everything Branding & Website Package (It Really is an Extravaganza)51:26 Closing Mentioned in this episode:For $31/mo, get FIVE personal story prompts a month for your newsletter! Sara's Swipe File: A Newsletter Storytelling Subscription