June 2026

The Story Starter

Reader,

The schools that are winning at top-of-funnel marketing right now aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest ad budgets or the most polished promotional messaging.

They're the ones that have figured out how to explain themselves — clearly, specifically, and in the voices of the people who actually work there.

This week over at School Storytellers, we're talking about why educational content — a Head of School talking through how decisions get made, a teacher describing how she supports different kinds of learners — has become one of the most valuable marketing assets an independent school can have.

Trust, it turns out, is what moves families through the funnel.

​Read: Why Explaining Your School Matters More Than Promoting It →​

This week's storytelling tip:

The most powerful thing your Head of School can do for enrollment isn't send a welcome letter — it's explain, in plain language, how your school thinks about kids. Read story

Em-Dash: a peek inside Emily's office

What I'm writing: A Master School Summer Program Story. It's exactly what it sounds like: the Master School Story approach, but for a boarding school's summer program. We're starting where I always start — the story hierarchy — then working outward to names and taglines, building a complete story foundation from the ground up. Because summer programs need a unique story just as much as the schools they live inside.

What clients are asking: "Can we start now?" School stories, digital ad campaigns, viewbooks — my school partners are getting smart about kicking projects off now instead of waiting for the summer slog to set in. The work goes better when it isn't crammed into the months when half the team is out. If you've been thinking about starting something, this is your sign: now is better than later.

What I'm reading: The first in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn fantasy series. A female lead with genuinely awesome powers? Sold. (Khaleesi is, predictably, taking it as a personal endorsement.)

Take digital advertising off your never-ending to-do list:

You can make meaningful movement toward your enrollment goals (and start filling seats with happy, right-fit students) – and you can do it all in one week. Find out how!

See you next week!

-Emily