The surprising strategy @stitchingsabattical is using to engage her audience feat. Michelle from Stitching Sabbatical

As an embroidery person myself, I am naturally attracted to other fiber artists - and Michelle Staub of Stitching Sabbatical creates such incredible work, it's hard to ignore. But also it totally catches my eye and I love it so much every time I see it. Michelle has an insane talent - she stitches photo realistic pet portraits. YES, STITCHES THEM. With thread. It's insane. So it's easy to see why people would love following her to begin with, but Michelle wasn't going to rest on her laurels when it came to Instagram. She went about approaching her account in a very specific and intentional way (it might surprise you!) and she created an atmosphere where people could EXPECT something from her. She made herself a reliable party and people kept showing up! What Michelle has done with Instagram might surprise you in a lot of ways. A lot of it was really refreshing to me and served as a good reminder that what we see and what we infer about what we see isn't already ... well, correct. After chatting with Kim of Daisy Faye Designs about her IG debacle, and having this discussion with Michelle about her Instagram experience, I have firmed up my conclusion that Instagram is useful for connecting with an audience, and it's fun to use... but it's not the be all end all. (Personally i actually find it is NOT fun sometime haha.) Both Kim and Michelle shared with us that while Instagram assists their business - and they are both using it in completely different ways - their businesses are reliant primarily on their talents. IG helps them share that talent and that's awesome. For full show notes and links mentioned in this episode, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/103   For more free handmade business advice, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast   To learn about our handmade business community visit the jointhecouncilnow.com