Read this if you're afraid to repeat yourself

“Don’t walk on the grass, or Mick won’t eat it!”

Mick was the only goat and precious lifeline to my late paternal grandmother’s aunt. Mick’s milk was her vital food supply during WW II.

Everybody was starving. (Cutting marks into loaves of bread to limit how much you can eat, so the bread lasts until next week when you’d hopefully get new rations, was normal.)

But at least there was the goat.

The goat, however, was *very* picky.

If you ever walked on the grass, she refused to eat it.

So whenever my grandmother (then a young girl of 14) would sneak across the lawn for a shortcut into her aunt’s house, the aunt would yell from the window, “Don’t walk on the grass or Mick won’t eat it!”

When I was a child, grandma shared this story a million times. I never got tired of it. I always begged her to repeat it again and again.

Once, I had a friend over. Wanting to impress her, I challenged my grandmother to “stop chit-chatting about boring stuff” and instead tell the story of Mick. It landed me a “well-deserved” (her words) slap on the mouth – from both of my parents simultaneously.

This incident, however, didn’t stop me from wanting to hear the story again.

My grandmother was a fantastic storyteller.

Her voice was full of wit and humor; she could tell a story like David Sedaris.

Why am I telling you this?

Because I want you to remember:

It takes 7–8 times of hearing a (marketing) message for it to register. (Maybe this is why my grandmother walked on the grass, even after her aunt yelled at her not to?)

Lesson: Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself.

I try to remember that whenever I’m nervous to repeat myself. (More on that in my Copywriting Mini-Course. Look for the section called, “Write As You Talk”. Link is in my stories.)

I tell the same stories all the time, but even my oldest clients tell me they love hearing a message reinforced or appreciate finding a new nugget of wisdom in an old lesson.

Stop thinking, “Everyone has already heard this.”

If you’re ever in doubt about the usefulness of your story or repeating your message, think of your audience as mini-me, begging her grandmother to repeat her best story over and over again. (You won’t get slapped for it. Promise.)

Now get out there and share your stories!

Nadja xo

PS: Do you want help shaping your stories to give your emails, blog posts, and Facebook ads that exclusive “seduce-and-sell” factor? Write me, and I’ll share more about how we can make that happen.

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