TOC 212: I'll never make this mistake again
(January 14, 2025) How To Turn Your Real Life Stories Into Newsletters (and mandatory khaki pants...)
I guess this story technically begins in an airport in Australia in the summer of 2011.
But where the most embarrassing part happens is actually on a train outside of Boston in the summer of 2016.
Fortunately, I think you need a little backstory before we get there, though.
So, back to Sydney it is: starting with me, Matt, our red shirts, and our khaki pants.
(Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe the most embarrassing component of this story is actually me getting my period on the 15-hour flight from LA to Sydney, not realizing, and being in mandatory khaki pants.)
(To make matters worse, the khaki pants were too tight, because I barely fit in straight-sized stores back then. Alarming.)
When I was a rising junior in high school, my parents' friends convinced them to sign me up for a month-long trip to Australia, with a school-trip-esque program called People to People, which was an organization dedicated to “promoting international understanding and friendship” that apparently went bankrupt in 2022.
(Hence the mandatory khaki pants.)
I was a little nervous, because I'd never been out of the country before, and I'd never been away from my parents that long, but whose privileged ass says no to a trip to AUSTRALIA??? At age sixteen???? It doesn't get cooler than that, so I ignored the possibility of homesickness and went.
And while I was there, I made lots of friends. One of them was named Matt.
You can imagine how traveling across the world with a group of 30 strangers bonds you, so naturally, I kept these friends for a very long time.
In fact, I saw one of them last week.
So, of course, I wasn't surprised to be invited to Matt's 21st birthday party.
But I was surprised when, two and a half years later, I ran into one of his best friends on the train, that I had supposedly met at said party.
…especially because he remembered ME, but I had no idea who the fuck this man was.
I was sitting on the train on the way home from Boston, after a long day being yelled at by several different attorneys and trying to read their chicken scratch handwriting, when a boy waved hello at me.
I waved back, then immediately went back to my phone, because that's what you do when you see crazies on the train.
Weirdly enough, I was actually talking on the phone to a friend from college who did something bitchy and was apologizing for it, so despite me being the rude bitch talking on her phone on the train, I couldn't really hang up.
(I deserved that apology, and she's not really an apologizer, so some public transit social norms weren't gonna make me cut her short.)
Eventually, the phone call ended, and I could tell that Crazy was still trying to get my attention, but I kept busying myself between my book and my phone, because Lord knows I have a ‘tell me your life story’ face, and I wasn't about to get roped into whatever that man was selling or snorting.
The train ride home was about an hour for me, and my city is the last stop.
Every time the train halted, I would look to see if he got off, but he didn't, until two stops before mine, when he looked back and yelled to me:
"It was so good to see you, Sara!"
…the fuck?
I must know that man, I thought. But from where?!
I started racking my brain, texting my friends, freaking out over who this man was, coming up with absolutely NOTHING.
Then I started thinking about how he actually didn't look that crazy, and he was actually kind of cute, and I was just being a cautious girl alone on a train, making up a narrative about him being a freak.
I made it all the way home, still having no idea who he was, until I got a Snapchat from Matt's random friend.
It was a selfie of the boy from the train, calling me out for not remembering him.
I felt like the biggest asshole ever, for 3 reasons:
I didn't remember him, and I alwaysss remember people.
He was clearly trying to talk to me on the train, and I was obviously ignoring him.
He watched me be the stupid bitch yapping on her phone on the train. Embarrassing.
(Little did I know the real embarrassing moment would come about 7 weeks later.)
Fast forward to the next morning: we're sitting together on the train, now that we've figured out that we both commute to Boston for work every day.
He was an intern at a pharmaceutical company, and I was an executive assistant at a law firm. We both got off in South Station.
So, we started sitting together every morning and every afternoon, and in my head, he was my cute little train boyfriend.
On a summer where I wished I were on the beach every day with my friends, but I was forced to be in a cold office with mean lawyers, he was the highlight of my day. He gave me a reason to look cute in the morning, and feel excited about the train ride home.
And, yeah, I had a tiny crush on the man.
So, at the end of the summer, when I told him how tired I was that Wednesday morning, and he inched a little closer to me in the purple commuter rail seat, I happily rested my nice little head on his shoulder and took a snooze.
He was busy studying for a big presentation he was giving to the execs of his company, which apparently was going to determine his fate (aka be the deciding factor of whether or not he'd get a full time job there after he became a pharmacist).
40 minutes later, the train skidded to a halt around Back Bay, and I woke from my peaceful slumber to find…
Makeup.
ALLLL over his shoulder.
A big, giant orange stain on his white dress shirt, with no way to hide it.
BESTIE WHEN I TELLLL YOU I felt my stomach drop like I was on Disney's fucking Tower of Terror I am not playing.
If you could have seen me try to casually stretch and land my arm on his shoulder, trying to discreetly rub it off like I was the main character in a cringe early 2000s rom-com, you would have died.
I died being my own self in that moment.
The way I SPRINTEDDD off that train with the faintest “good luck today!” over my shoulder would have for sure earned that rom-com an award, if I were really in a film.
I spent the rest of the day worrying about his shoulder stain.
He aced his presentation.
And, unfortunately, despite the meet-cute on the train, we never ended up together.
But his sister did ask for my TV on Facebook Marketplace the other day, so.
How To Turn Your Real Life Stories Into Newsletters
I think about my makeup on Chris's shoulder at least once a week and full-body shudder, remembering trying to look cute that day, putting on a little extra makeup, realizing I fucked up… omg. I'm embarrassed.
(And I'll never do a full beat without good lighting again, I'll tell you that much.)
I've been sitting on this story for YEARS, and when it resurfaced in my brain again the other day, I figured what better time to tell you than now, when I'm planning on teaching you how to use your OWN embarrassing, boring, relatable, random, funny life stories for your weekly newsletter.
I'll be going over my technique for this — and my master plan for coming up with an entire year's worth of content for your newsletter in under an hour — in my live email marketing workshop on February 5th, but here's a taste for today:
#1 — Identify your call to action or what you want to promote
Let's say I wanted to use my train story above to promote my website copywriting course.
#2 — Identify the FEELING your audience has about that specific thing
A common feeling my audience has about their website is wondering whether or not their site is making the right first impression, and feeling insecure about it (because they're not getting leads, or good enough leads, currently from their site).
#3 — Consider a time when YOU have felt that way
Once I know what I want to promote and how my audience feels, it's time to think of a time *I* felt that way, so I can think of a story that encompasses the feeling, for an easy way to share it with my subscribers.
#4 — Tell the story about that feeling, connecting the two
I could use the story about the train to illustrate the fact that I apparently gave a lasting first impression on Chris, enough for him to remember me out of context almost 3 years later.
Or, I could talk about being mortified of my new “first” impression on him (being the dumb bitch yapping on her phone, ignoring him).
Once I choose an angle, I tell the story, and effortlessly connect the two feelings together, to keep my readers engaged AND help them understand my point, since stories are 22x more likely to stick with & resonate with people than just straight up tips and facts.
If you want to learn more about newsletter strategy and newsletter storytelling, I highlyyyy recommend signing up for my live email marketing workshop!
It's happening live on February 5th, but the entire thing will be recorded, so live attendance isn't mandatory. 🤠
Bookmarked by BTL
My Latest Website Copy Project Launch: Hey Sleepy Baby
Obviouslyyyy I have a whole ass portfolio piece coming about one of the sexiest websites I wrote in 2024, but I couldn't wait to share this with you now: my client Rachael's site is simply too good!
Stalk it here (and inquire here about website copywriting if you're hoping to work with me this year — I only have 6 spaces left for the year!)
Point Of The Story Launches On Thursday!
My podcast, Point of the Story, is officially LIVE! And because I have no chill, FOUR new episodes are scheduled to go live on Thursday! (Seriously though, who wants to find their new favorite podcast and only get to listen to the intro when it launches? So, I pre-recorded some eps for you to binge.)
Follow the pod here or listen to the trailer here! By Thursday, it'll be available on all platforms to listen to.
Why You Feel Uncomfortable Talking About Your Offer & How To Fix It
This week's edition of Millionaire Moment was actually a private podcast episode instead of a regular newsletter! I had a very honest convo about why people don't ever talk about their offer, how they can fix it, what to say about your offer, AND a ridiculously long list of places to talk about your offer once you've figured out how to do it without feeling like a freak.
Listen to it here & subscribe to the newsletter to get access to an exclusive “sales challenge” I'm hosting to help my Milly girls make more in February!
My Group Mentorship Program For Copywriters Is Now Enrolling…
The next cohort of my 3-month small group mentorship program, Success Story, is enrolling until Friday — and if you're a copywriter looking for a mentor (specifically: someone to answer your questions, help you take your business where you want to go, review all your copy for 3 months, audit your website, make sure your SEO is working for you, ANDDD teach you everything you need to know about running a successful copywriting business) then IT'S FOR YOUUUUU.
As of this morning, there are only FIVE spots left, so if you're interested, I'd recommend either signing up now or hitting “reply” to this email to ask me your questions today!
SIDE NOTE… I'm teaching an Email Marketing Workshop!
On February 5th, I'm teaching a LIVE email marketing workshop designed to help you kick off 2025 as an absolute email marketing QUEEEEN.
By the end of our day together, you’ll have:
→ A lead magnet that your ideal audience actually wants.
→ Opt-in copy that turns “meh, maybe” visitors into subscribers who stick around.
→ A newsletter strategy that feels fun, sustainable, and completely doable.
→ An entire YEAR of content ideas, mapped out and ready to roll.
(You read that, didn't you? You know that I just said an ENTIRE YEAR'S WORTH of content ideas, directly from your brain into your content plan? As in: NOT pre-determined or robot-generated, but literally created that day, in under an hour… kk just making sure u knew.)
→ Confidence that your emails will sound like you and sell for you.
PLUUUUUS, in addition to learning all of that, you'll also get access to:
💌 A Notion dashboard packed with resources and templates
💌 A video tutorial on writing your Subscribe page
💌 A target audience workbook to sharpen your messaging
💌 Real-time feedback on what you create during the workshop day
The workshop will be 100% recorded (so, the next day, you'll receive videos and transcripts from all 4 training sessions, you'll be able to see the chat, and you'll have access to all of the shared resources from the calls).
I'd really love to see you there, because this workshop is going to be sooo impactful and helpful for you if you're an aspiring email marketing pro!
Ok that's all for today ily bye xoxoxox
P.S. Copywriters: don't forget to check out Success Story! It's my favorite program I teach all year and I genuinely would LOVE to have you. <3
If we haven’t had the chance to *virtually* meet yet, hi! I’m Sara Noel—website copywriter and marketing mentor for creatives, copywriters, and all-around cool people. If you like my content and you want even more BTL in your life, here are a few ways you can connect with me:
Subscribe to my newsletter! I send one marketing tip, once a week - and, according to my subscribers, it's "the best marketing newsletter on the Internet" and "the only reason to wake up on Tuesday mornings." So... yeah. You'll love 'er. 😏 Click here to subscribe!
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Read my blog. It’s home to everything from copywriting tips, to marketing education, to freelance advice, to portfolio-worthy projects… if you like this post, you’ll love the blog. Here’s a quick roundup of my most popular posts.
Sign up for my email marketing course. Learn how to grow your email list full of loyal, ready-to-buy readers with this self-paced course teaching you how to write the best lead magnets, opt-in copy, welcome sequences, and newsletters.
Enlist me as your mentor. I have an entire in-depth blog post about my one-on-one consulting process for new and aspiring copywriters, if you’re interested in having a big-sis-style mentor to help you grow your freelance copywriting business & get results.
To get in touch with me directly, send me a DM or email sara@betweenthelinescopy.com. Have a great day!