65: Instagram Stories Strategy That Build Trust and Drive Sales (For Solopreneurs)

🎯 Why Your Instagram Stories Feel Like Homework (And What to Do About It)

Let me guess: you either overthink your Instagram stories to the point of paralysis, or you only show up when you have something to sell. Maybe you've convinced yourself that stories need to be strategic, planned out, perfectly polished. Or maybe you just avoid them altogether because they feel uncomfortable and you're not sure what to say.

Here's what I know after six years of showing up in stories almost every single day: the stories that build the most trust and lead to the most sales are not the ones that took the most effort. They're not scripted. They're not part of some complicated content calendar. And they definitely don't feel like a performance.

Sound familiar? If stories feel like a chore on your to-do list, this is for you.

Before we dive in, if you're already thinking "Emily, I need ALL your story secrets," grab my Insta Stories That Sell Masterclass. It's got my full framework, dozens of story prompts, and everything you need to turn stories into your secret weapon for building relationships and making sales.

💡 The DM That Changed How I Think About Stories

A few weeks ago, something happened that perfectly sums up my entire philosophy on Instagram stories.

A friend of mine (who's also a Coven member and has taken my live programs) posted a story promoting a workshop she was selling. It was a photo of her in the background with a decent-sized headline at the top, and then a very good amount of body text copy underneath. Enough that when I opened it, my brain immediately went into skim mode.

I'm a skimmer. If I have to read a lot, I'm kind of out. My brain shuts down and I move on.

So I looked at it, skimmed it, and thought she forgot to include a link. I could tell she was promoting something, but I didn't see a link anywhere. So I DM'd her like an idiot and said, "Hey, you forgot the link."

She wrote back and told me that was intentional. The goal was for people to read all that text and reply with a keyword. She'd learned this strategy from another creator: don't post in your stories for 24 hours, then when you do, put all this body text and tell them to reply with a keyword.

I was like, "Oh. Got it. I'm sorry, I didn't even see a keyword anywhere because I skimmed."

And honestly? I think I kind of offended her when I said those kinds of "games" have never sat well with me. But that's exactly what it felt like to me. Why not just give the link?

To each their own. Maybe that's working for her, and if so, amazing. But it reinforced something I already believed very strongly: I don't want my audience working hard in my stories.

I want the point to be clear. I want the next step to be obvious and easy. I want someone to open my story, get it quickly, and know what to do if they want more.

My audience is busy. I am busy. People are tapping through stories while doing six other things. They're in the carpool line, they're cleaning up lunch, they're taking a walk in the neighborhood. I'm always thinking about that when I post.

I don't want my stories to feel like homework or be difficult. And that really shapes everything for me.

☕ The "Coworker Coffee Chat" Approach to Stories

When I look at my podcast analytics (shoutout to Buzzsprout where I host), my number one performing episode of all time was episode five about Instagram stories. Almost 1,400 downloads. And I was like, why haven't I talked about stories again in 60+ episodes?

Because I love Instagram stories so much. Like literally, it's the number one thing I love about Instagram. I like talking to people. I love sending voice DMs and I love when people reach out. I'm just social like that, I guess.

And here's the thing: anyone who's ever bought from me or joined the Coven has talked to me in my stories first. At some point, we had a back-and-forth in my stories. That's how the relationship started.

Stories are, along with your email list, the fastest way to build trust online. And it's not because they're groundbreaking. They certainly don't need to be perfect. It's actually the opposite for me.

Stories work so well because they feel really casual.

If I come across somebody's stories and they don't feel casual, if they feel forced or salesy, I'm out. That's not why I watch stories.

To me, showing up in stories is so much like talking to your coworkers when you just get into work. When I used to have coworkers, I loved sitting down in the morning with my coffee and they had theirs, and we would just shoot the shit before the boss came in. What's going on in your life? What did you buy? Where did you go? What did you like? New restaurants, favorite pair of new jeans, your kid problems.

We would talk and we were all women and that's how we roll. We talk, we communicate, and we share. And that's how I approach my stories.

I'm not super strategic. Maybe you could say I'm leaving money on the table. So be it. My stories are not a place for me to sell, sell, sell, sell. They're to nurture.

And I think that matters so much for us service providers in this oversaturated Instagram landscape. People are not only paying attention to what you know. They're paying attention to who you are. They're taking in your energy and tone and perspective. Your little quirks, your personality, the way you explain things.

Your feed can absolutely help with that. But I really think stories are where people start to feel like, "I know her and I like her."

How many times have people said to me, "I feel like you're my friend. I don't wanna be creepy. I don't wanna be weird, but like, I feel like if we hung out in real life, we would be fast friends." And I'm always like, "Totally agree. I get it. And I love that."

It's because I show up in stories so honestly and in such a real, raw way. It's not a performance for me. It's a mental health check-in, honestly.

Like, "Hey everyone, my kids both have the flu and I leave for LA for Canva Create in four days. Help me. What do I need to do? What do I need to take so that I am not on a plane with the flu?" And 50 of you reply and tell me exactly what you think I should do, and I'm like, "God bless, you guys are the best."

It's just a very different kind of connection.

This is exactly what I teach inside The Content Coven, my membership where you get access to the Insta Stories That Sell Masterclass, plus live coaching calls, monthly challenges, and a community of female solopreneurs who are all showing up and doing the damn thing. If you want ongoing support and accountability for your Instagram strategy (not just stories!), join us inside The Coven.

📱 My Simple Stories Formula (That's Not Really a Formula)

I show up in stories pretty much every day, Monday through Friday. I do not have some giant complicated plan for them. I wish I could show up here and be like, "This is exactly what you're gonna post Monday through Friday." But that's not me. That's literally not me.

I'm not scripting them. I'm not sitting down every Sunday with a story calendar. And I'm also not obsessing over who watched or how many people watched.

I have people come to me like, "My views are drastically down for stories," and I'm like, "Oh, views. Is there somewhere to see that?" I kid. I know where to look at views. I just don't look at them.

The only time I look at them is at the very end of the month. I recently added a column to my analytics tracker for my top six most-viewed stories of the month. I'm just curious because I actually do it to prove a point.

I had this feeling that my best-performing stories were not the ones that took the most effort (which, I can't even say any of them take a ton of effort). I just wanted to see what was actually true.

And it was: the stories that got the most views were personable or relatable or just super in the moment. Or me resharing someone else's content that hit a nerve or made me laugh or felt super relatable and human.

I think a lot of people assume stories need to be more strategic than they actually do. This is the one thing I think you can just take a deep breath and not overproduce.

You know I take my feed super seriously. That's a place I put a lot of thought and strategy into. But stories? That's where your girl just has a good time and lets loose.

I don't think they should be a production. I think they need to feel alive. That's the word I keep coming back to. Alive. Like there's a real person behind this business and something's happening right now that you wanna share with them.

🎭 Story Bucket #1: Showing Up as a Human

This sounds obvious, but I think it gets skipped way more than it should.

People need to see your face. They need to hear your voice. They need to feel your energy. And they need those repeated little moments that make you feel familiar over time.

A quick check-in. A short video. A little thought that popped into your head. Sharing something you're working on in your business. Giving a quick tip about it. That stuff's gonna go such a long way.

I really think people wait until they have something so important to say before they show up in stories, and that's where you get stuck. Or you're just not showing up because it's uncomfortable.

Please go back and listen to episode six that I recorded about my story strategy, because that was me. I was so nervous. I was so uncomfortable. And now, after doing this for six years (I really wonder how many stories I've done over time), it's second nature. It literally is second nature. It's just part of my day. It's part of my routine. I'm talking to my people. I love every minute of it.

Sometimes the point is not that what I'm saying is mind-blowing. The point is that people see me again, and they get more comfortable with me. And that matters more than I think most people realize.

🎬 Story Bucket #2: Behind-the-Scenes Content

This one's such low-hanging fruit, and I think people overlook it because it feels too ordinary. But ordinary is often what builds the relationship.

Sometimes it's the most simple behind-the-scenes things that you can share with someone that makes them be like, "Oh my God, I never thought to do that" or "I've never seen that before. This is so helpful."

Letting people see what you're working on. Something you just bought for your desk. What your day looks like.

Now personally, I'm not a fan at all of a stationary (meaning not a video) story where it's just like your agenda for the day. I could give two you-know-whats about what your agenda is. I'm sorry. There's nothing relatable about that. I literally don't care what you're doing.

But if you picked one thing from that list that you thought you could share a bit more about (how you prepped for it, why you do it, whatever), that makes it relatable and interesting. Share something with me that helps me in my life.

It makes what you do feel really real, and it makes you feel like a real person instead of just a brand floating around on the internet. And honestly, some of the best stories are that simple. Just sharing what you're up to that day.

Sometimes it's a little peek behind the curtain. Sometimes it's just me talking about what I'm working on. A Canva tip I just realized that maybe some people didn't know. Something going on with my kid that I need some thoughts on or some help with.

💭 Story Bucket #3: Opinion Stories

This is the kind of content that makes someone think, "Oh my God, same."

Just recently I shared about Canva Create in LA (by the time you listen to this, I'll be long home, but it was coming up). They shared this big document with us with all the bulleted updates on what the Canva updates are. I'm telling you, my brain can't handle it.

Seriously. 20 pages long with all the updates. Just reading updates does nothing for me. I can't make sense of it. I need to see it. I literally need to just see it in Canva. I need you to show me a video.

So I just talked about that. Like, that has nothing to do with my business or selling. It's just like, "Dude, does anyone else see this document and their mind goes blank? I'm so visual. I've got to see it happen in real life, and then it'll make sense to me."

And so many people were like, "Same!" Or "I actually need both. I need the document bulleted and I need to see it visual." And some people were like, "The bulleted document's fine for me."

Just funny, little relatable moments like that can be really powerful when it comes to allowing your audience to get to know, like, and trust you.

Not fake hot takes for attention. That kind of content is sort of revolting for me. But I do think sharing any type of perspective or thought leadership matters. "I'm seeing this. I disagree. I believe in this. I'm seeing this and I hate it. And this is what I'm doing about it."

That's gonna let people get to know you. And listen, you may lose people because of that, and that's okay. I'm telling you, I never would've wanted to work with that person anyway.

If you had a problem with me talking about what happened or what was happening or what's still happening in Minnesota, you can leave. Because we are not on the same wavelength and you're not someone that I need to have in my world.

When people hear you think out loud or what you stand for, they start figuring out whether they align with you. And that's the attraction part. It's not only about being helpful. It's about being recognizable.

Especially in this crowded market, people do not need another expert saying the exact same thing in the exact same polished tone. They need to hear your voice. And stories can be such a beautiful place for that because they're naturally so much more casual. You can say what you really think without having to over-prepare.

📚 Story Bucket #4: Bite-Sized Teaching

There's teaching in your stories, but in a very bite-sized way. This is not where I'm trying to cram everything into six frames.

It's, "Oh my gosh, did you guys know you could do this quick little thing?" Or, "Here's a reminder that you could try this or do this." Or, "Here's a mistake I keep seeing a bunch of people make."

That's the kind of story that's gonna build authority without making your audience feel like they need to sit down and take notes. And that's really part of the magic. Stories can be helpful without feeling really heavy.

🙋 Story Bucket #5: Easy Engagement

The engagement side of stories matters too, but I have a very specific philosophy here. I like easy engagement. That's probably the simplest way to put it.

I love a poll. I love a question box when it makes sense. I love inviting people to reply when it feels really natural. And when I want someone to be able to respond quickly if they want to, I'm saying, "Just hit reply and tell me this."

I'm really not interested in turning engagement into some weird obstacle course where people have to prove that they read from top to bottom. It's just not me.

⭐ Story Bucket #6: Proof and Testimonials

This one especially matters if you're selling anything. People wanna see that what you do actually really helps people.

Stories can be a really nice, natural way to share that proof. Share a screenshot of a testimonial from a client or a member. The screenshot of a DM where somebody had a win. Resharing what somebody said in the Coven membership.

I actually got a message last night right before we were about to have dinner, and I said, "Oh my God." And my husband's like, "What?" I'm like, "Somebody just sent me a message that said they're about to tear up. They had just joined the Coven and they're about to tear up at how much value is inside this membership."

I was like, "Oh my god, that's crazy." And I was like, "I gotta screenshot that." That's something I need to share in my stories. Because someone else saying something kind about me is gonna go so much further than me saying kind stuff about myself or about my product.

🔄 Why This Approach Is Actually Sustainable

What I like about all these story types is that they blend together really naturally. This is why I don't plan stories in some overly detailed way.

I just know the kinds of things that work well for me, and then I stay open to what's already happening. A thought that pops in my head becomes a story. A funny or annoying thing that happened to me? I'm gonna hop in my stories and talk about it. Something I'm working on behind the scenes? I wanna share a little bit of it. A member in the Coven said something great? I'm gonna share it. A new podcast episode goes live? I'm gonna mention it.

This is a rhythm that feels so sustainable because it's rooted in my real, everyday life. It's not a manufactured, planned-out bunch of story content from scratch every day. I'm just paying attention and sharing what feels natural to me. And that's a lot easier.

I think that's why I've been able to stay consistent with stories for so long. Every Monday through Friday, pretty much every week, you're gonna see me. And it's often also sharing what I posted that day in my feed, because I know a lot of people are story watchers and not feed consumers.

That's actually more me. That's my style of consuming. I love a story. I don't love scrolling my feed. So I gotta hit those people up too. And the reason why a lot of my posts do better is because I'm sharing them in my story.

I'm not reinventing the wheel. I'm just staying visible.

And that consistency really matters. Not because every story needs to perform super well, but because familiarity is built over time. People start to feel like they know me based on seeing little pieces of me and my life on a regular basis. And that is the job of stories, if you ask me.

I don't obsess over the numbers. I don't even notice when views are down because it's just not part of my routine or life. I will not put that pressure on myself. I already put enough pressure on myself with my newsletter open rate and how my posts perform. I don't need to add stories to that list.

🛠️ Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• My Instagram Story Strategy episode (Episode 5) - where I talked about being nervous and uncomfortable with Stories when I first started

• My monthly analytics tracker ($19) - the tool I use to track my top six most-viewed stories each month (free for Coven members)

• Insta Stories That Sell Masterclass ($27) - my bestselling 90-minute masterclass with a full workbook on creating Stories that build trust and drive sales

✨ The Sweet Spot Between Strategy and Chaos

If you tend to overthink stories, the biggest thing I want you to take away from this is that they do not need to be a giant production. They also do not need to be random chaos.

There's a really happy middle ground where you know the kinds of stories that build trust, and then you give yourself permission to show up a lot more casually. And I think that's where the sweet spot is.

Stories should feel like you. They should feel alive. They should make your audience feel like they're getting to know a real person, not consuming content from a brand.

And when you nail that? Everything else gets easier. The trust builds. The relationships deepen. And yes, the sales happen too.

Comment below and tell me: what's your biggest struggle with Instagram stories right now? I wanna know what's holding you back from showing up consistently!