On this eve of the new year, I will be taking some time to reflect. I have some favorite tools and rituals that I return to each year and wanted to share them with you, should you be inspired to join me.
I have long followed Susannah Conway, a UK-based writer and creator of personal development e-courses, who puts out a *free* Unravel Your Year workbook. She is big on setting intentions over resolutions, which I find particularly appealing and have adopted. She turned me on to the idea of selecting a Word of the Year, a kind of thematic word that encompasses what you want to birth in the unfolding new year. I'm now on my 12th word of the year! Mine came to me a couple of months ago and is already creating magic. It's a powerful practice that you can learn more about here, with Susannah's workbook devoted to finding your unique word (also *free*).
I am adding Kerstin Martin's Calm Business Review workbook to the mix as well. I'm curious to do a deeper dive with my intentions around my business. I've always followed my intuition and grown my work life in an organic way, so I am curious to see what this reflection and mindfulness might bring. (By the way, Kerstin also created the Eule Planner for business owners. For those of you who like bullet journaling, this could be a great option for you!)
What are your new year's rituals? I'd love to hear.
If you are curious to take a peek at the upcoming workshops and retreat in 2022, I invite to you check out what's brewing. The winter sessions for the Unlocking Your Story workshop begin the second week of January and there are still a couple spots open in the Tuesday group!
Also, if you feel like gifting yourself (or someone else) a writing challenge for the year, you can sign up for The Daily Prompt which delivers a writing prompt directly to your in-box each day for the year. Use code "2022" for a $10 discount if you sign up by midnight January 1st!
I'll be back in the New Year with more interviews and info + resources, always aiming to keep you in the loop with what's happening in the world of memoir and storytelling. I love sharing what comes across my desk and what piques my interest.
Wishing you all good things this coming year,
Karin
A Conversation with Susannah Conway
For over 12 years now, I have been running a heart-centered business. I have been working closely with memoir writers for nearly two decades, but the first Unlocking Your Story workshop took place in 2009, which has now become my signature offering along with one-on-one mentoring.
For much of that time, I have been following Susannah Conway, an author, photographer and teacher who is based in the United Kingdom. Susannah offers a variety of e-courses devoted to personal development—everything from journaling to tarot to how to blog from the heart. Her name may sound familiar as I’ve often passed along the link to her ever popular “Unravel Your Year” workbook at the end of each year.
Six years ago, Susannah created The Inside Story, which offers a behind the scenes look at how she runs her very successful, heart-centered online business. Not only does Susannah share her knowledge openly and generously, but she also draws together an incredible community from around the world. In many ways, they have been my guiding light as I navigate my own organic path doing work that I love.
This Monday, October 4th, Susannah is opening a new iteration of The Inside Story—a 7-week online course ideal for those who want to put more of yourself into what you do!
Scroll down to read my interview with Susannah, where she shares more about The Inside Story as well as a few golden tips on how to think about cultivating your personal brand, which to my mind, is really about sharing your genuine Self as a way of cultivating community.
If you are curious about The Inside Story or have any questions, I'm happy to share my experience!
SUSANNAH CONWAY is an author, photographer and teacher who’s been sharing her heart online for over a decade. She guides people in knowing, trusting and expressing themselves better by teaching the tools that helped her heal her own heart and live a self-directed life.
Based in the United Kingdom, Susannah now has a range of creative e-courses running throughout the year sharing the tools and techniques that brought such profound change into her life. Thousands of people from over 50 countries have joined together to explore their creativity.
Her upcoming e-course, The Inside Story, takes you behind the scenes, as she reveals how her online, heart-centered business is run, so that you can find the shape of your own!
KARIN GUTMAN: For those who don’t know you, can you share a bit about what you do in the world?
SUSANNAH CONWAY: Yeah, well, the people who I normally have to explain that to are taxi drivers. You know, when you're in the back of a cab. “What do you do, love?” And so, I always say, “I'm a writer,” because that's easy to understand. And then they say, “What do you write about?” And I say, “Well, I write about personal development.” But then I say, “I also run creative courses online. And I teach about journaling, and Tarot, and photography, and meditation and stuff like that as a way to get to know yourself better, and feel more in alignment with what's important to you.” So yeah, that's kind of how I put it.
That always sounds a bit wishy washy. So then I say, “Well, I've been doing it for 12 years. And so far, so good. So, it does work.” People often find the concept of teaching online a new thing. But this has been going for a while now. It is a billion-dollar industry with lots of different layers. I'm definitely a smaller player, but in some ways that feels better, because I'm a bit more nimble. I can change and course correct and make it the shape I want it to be.
I’ve been doing stuff online since 2006. So, I've had time to build community and get to know people online and know how to be online. It feels quite natural now.
KARIN: Let’s talk about The Inside Story! You and The Inside Story community have been my guiding light in running a heart-centered business for many years.
So much of it is about developing a personal brand or platform, which applies to authors, as well. Where do you suggest people start?
SUSANNAH: You've got to get to know yourself really well. That's part of why it's called The Inside Story. In the first module, I talk about doing the strengths finder test. Knowing if you are an introvert or an extrovert. Having self-awareness first, to understand how you want to create your business and how you want it to feel and what you need from it, rather than doing what you think you should do, or what everyone else tells you. So, we start with that piece of self-awareness.
And then we're moving into building a following, building your tribe of people. Because without community, you don't have a business. If you don't have someone to sell to or for someone to buy your book, or come and see your play, or whatever it is… it's not going to happen. The community piece is the biggest piece. And so, I'm going to talk about how to call those people in.
How do you want to show up online? People use the word ‘authentic’ all the time. I’ve kind of gone off that word now because I hear it so often, it doesn't mean anything. But how to get comfortable—I feel like I'm speaking clichés—being yourself online? How do you get to know yourself well enough to feel confident to show up on Twitter or Instagram, whatever it is, just as you are. Not trying to be like that person and not comparing yourself to that person. We're going to do a bit on comparison as well. But just celebrating who you are, and how you are, and what you look like, and figuring out how much do I want to share? What do you not want to do—get really clear on that. That will help you get clear on what you do want to do.
KARIN: You originally created the course six years ago. What’s new in this latest iteration?
SUSANNAH: The new spin is going to be a whole thing on Instagram, because that's my favorite way to share. I'm not on Twitter anymore. I don't like Facebook. I will talk about picking one and doing it well. And do it consistently. Consistency is the most important thing in all of this. Do something consistently. Sharing snippets of your world, I think, is the most seductive thing. You're creating this little legion of fans who want to know your story, they want to know what comes next. You find things that you want to share.
KARIN: Like how you’ve been photographing and sharing about the foxes who took up residence in your backyard?
SUSANNAH: The foxes are going to be an example. The foxes haven’t anything to do with what I teach, although we could argue photography. But what I did is I created a stopwatch. I documented something that was happening in my immediate world, something that I felt quite emotional about. And I shared it with my Instagram family. There were no hashtags, nothing like that. And I got bajillions of comments on there, because everyone got really invested in the foxes just like I was.
Photo courtesy of Susannah Conway.
I was just being in the community, and I wasn't there to sell them anything. I wasn't trying to do anything actually. I was just like, “Oh my God, look at this!” It's almost like social media becomes a show and tell. “Look at this...” and they get invested in your story. And they want to follow because they wonder what happens next. That's what my blog always was—it was telling the story of me and saying, you know, this happened. And then, well, I figured that bit out now and I figured that bit out, and people come along for the ride. Maybe it's just about being a decent storyteller and sharing your story in a way that's moderately interesting. We're not talking Neil Gaiman. Just share. Honestly, truthfully. Decide what you don't want to share. Don't want to talk about your marriage. Great. No one cares. But just sharing enough.
Maybe sometimes you will feel a tiny bit uncomfortable. But that's always when you're going to get the most comments. Anytime I've shared something that was like, “Oh shit, I shouldn't have said that.” Avalanche of comments. It was like, “Me too! Me too! Me too!” I think it's knowing who you are, and then getting comfortable sharing yourself. You get comfortable by practicing it. The more you do it, the easier it gets. But you have to do it consistently. And then do it in such a way that people get a little bit invested. And then obviously, if you're creating something, share your process, share your inspirations.
Social media is like this big storytelling platform, if you think about it, and we're all these unpaid entertainers that are dancing at the front of the room, and everyone's like, “Oh, she's so great. I want to be like her.” Ultimately, that's what it is… you do things and people are like, “I just wanna be like you.”
KARIN: It’s sharing about the things that matter to us, like the foxes were for you.
SUSANNAH: The enthusiasm is infectious. You want people to fall in love with you. It sounds a bit ‘ick’ but actually I mean in the purest way. If you're going to build a following it’s because people like what you're saying or they like what you're sharing or they really relate to your story, you know, it's all of that. I don't know how to teach people how to be charming, but that's what it is. It's you charming people, and you do that by sharing enough that they are interested and a little bit intrigued and they want to know what happens next. I am a constantly unfolding story for people to read and I think that's always what blogging felt like—a blog post literally felt like the next chapter in the book. It was this never-ending book. Now we have much shorter chapters on social media.
The way they've designed the technology with the whole slot machine aspect of Instagram—the addictive quality of it—is quite annoying and I don't like that because I'm on there scrolling. We're all doing that. That whole idea that you never know what you're going to find, you can't predict what it's going to be. And so, every time I shared a fox picture people went bananas. I made a reel of the foxes on Instagram and it got viewed like 190,000 times. The algorithm got it because it was popular. I love that the thing that got viewed the most was just about the foxes. There was no “link in bio,” there was none of that. It was just sharing joy. That's awesome. I can't monetize that, surely, but sometimes you can catch something that feels magical and it's not about money but it brings people to you because they feel your energy. I'm sure I got quite a few followers from it.
So, we have to learn how to be partly entertainers but also partly storytellers. How can you tell your story, whatever it is, in such a way that someone you know wants to give you a few minutes of their time and attention? And then maybe, when they get a bit invested and fall in love with you, they'll give you some money. That's been my experience.
KARIN: What do you say to people who feel anxious about exposing themselves?
SUSANNAH: I would say you’ve got to find your way of doing it that feels comfortable. If it's that bad, do something different. Re-think your job. Because the thing is, if you're doing anything creative, there needs to be an aspect of you finding your fans. Fact. We can't get away from that. I still share the occasional picture of me because I know that if I've ever shared a selfie on Instagram, it gets the most comments because people want to connect with other people. You want to know who you're buying from. Like the old days of Etsy, you're always going to be clicking on the “About” page because you want to know, Who is the person creating this magical shawl? We want that connection. It feels much more authentic and real.
KARIN: For those who are looking to cultivate a personal brand, what are the three most important things to think about?
SUSANNAH: Consistency, honesty… you know, I want to say, humor.
KARIN: That’s awesome.
SUSANNAH: Don't take it all so seriously. It's fun. I hope that comes through. I'm a very serious person, but I'm a sweary. That's just who I am. So, I hope that comes across. I think in my writing online, I probably seem a little bit more serious than I actually am. That is also part of me, but when you meet me in person, I'm just like my mom and my sister. We're the jesters of the family. Whenever we're around people, we're the ones cracking jokes and putting everyone at ease through humor. I think humor is such a lovely way to bring people together. Just to take that edge off. Yeah, bring that in—obviously if that comes naturally. Just a lightness of touch.
To learn more about Susannah, visit her site.
See all interviews
THE INSIDE STORY
A seven-week online course
Beginning Monday, October 4th!
If you’re a year or two into your business, looking to build your personal brand, or ready to take your side-hustle full time, this course is for you.
In this seven-week online course, Susannah shares how she got started and (un)structures her day to the tools she uses, how she creates and runs her e-courses, builds community and navigates social media as an introvert. She reveals everything she has learned in 12 years of running a successful, heart-centered online business. She'll also help you figure out the shape of YOUR business.
The Inside Story isn’t a blueprint, it’s a permission slip to create the business that fits YOU.
“Susannah not only offers outstanding guidance and a wealth of information and tools in her class, she has also built an exceptional community of nurturing and supportive business owners around her. We are proud to be Insiders!”
