August 2026 The Story Starter Reader, If you've been here a while, you know that I've been sharing school website copywriting best practices for ... quite some time. (Decades, actually.) Which is why this week's topic is so important. It's about AI search — and specifically, how AI reads your website and determines what (and if) it will share. I spent the last few weeks down a research rabbit hole, and I'll be sharing my findings, thoughts, and tips in a series of blog posts. This week's is...
7 days ago • 2 min read
August 2026 The Story Starter Reader, "Yes, that's definitely on our list ... we just need time to focus on it." Sound familiar? The idea of putting a new marketing endeavor (like digital advertising) "on our list" is both comforting and dangerous. Comforting because we acknowledge that it is important -- but dangerous because it's SO EASY to keep pushing it off until next week, next semester, or next school year. This is why I'm incredibly excited to share something exclusively with Cursive...
15 days ago • 1 min read
July 2026 The Story Starter Janet & I behind-the-scenes at one of our video shoots for a digital ad client. Reader, A big round of applause to the schools that already reached out to kick off their fall digital ad campaigns — you know who you are 👏👏👏 These over-achievers are already laying the groundwork to show up first and best for dream families online, long before back-to-school season begins. But if you're still thinking about maybe doing digital ads this year... here’s your nudge: Now...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
July 2026 The Story Starter Reader, Every piece of marketing you share—blog posts, emails, website pages—has to grab attention fast. If you don’t hook your audience right away, you’ve likely lost them. The secret? Mastering your lede. Your lede—the intro of your content—is key to pulling your audience in and getting them to care. It sets the tone, answers their biggest question (“Why should I care?”), and keeps them reading. Done right, it makes your marketing impossible to ignore. This...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
July 2026 The Story Starter Reader, Storytelling is at the heart of your school’s marketing success. It’s how you connect with prospective families, engage current ones, and show the world what makes your school unique. But sometimes, even the best intentions can lead to stories that fall flat—or worse, create a disconnect with your audience. Are you making any of the 10 common school storytelling mistakes? These missteps can weaken your message, confuse your audience, and ultimately keep...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
July 2026 The Story Starter Reader, Conversion copywriting is not a new practice — and yet, it’s a style that is not widely used in the independent school communications world. Perhaps it’s because many schools are afraid to appear “sales-y,” but copy scientifically built to prompt action is few and far between. I believe this lack of focus on conversion copywriting is costing schools leads, inquiries, donations, and applicants — and I’ll tell you why. But first, you need to learn the basics....
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
July 2026 The Story Starter Reader, Every day, something worth telling is happening at your school. A student tries something for the first time and discovers she's actually good at it. A teacher finds the approach that finally makes it click. A senior does something generous that nobody asked him to do. These moments are your marketing. They're the proof behind every claim you make about your school — the specificity that separates your story from every other school's story. And too often,...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
June 2026 The Story Starter Reader, Independent schools spend enormous amounts of time refining what they want to say. Mission statements. Key messages. Taglines. Value propositions. And yet — what schools say and what parents actually hear are often two very different things. Parents aren't tuning out because they don't care about your school. They're tuning out because the message isn't answering the questions they're asking. Questions like: Will my child be understood here? Do these...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
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...
2 months ago • 1 min read