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Cutting Chai Stories: Write copy that feels good — Fiction
Cutting Chai Stories: Write copy that feels good

Click. Click. Click.

That’s the sound of you doing anything OTHER than writing your copy.

Sales page needs to be written? Ummm, *after* my second cup of chai.
Emails are underperforming? Maybe I’ll skip the weekly email.
Blank page mocking you? Let me scroll other accounts on Instagram…

When you’re feeling stuck with your copy and are in avoid-or-ignore mode, copywriting can feel like a dark art practiced only by mysterious scribes in secret ways.

That’s when you either give up on your copy and pay for a template or a copywriter to take the whole damn thing off your plate.

Trouble is, you often end up sounding wooden or like someone else entirely — if you’re even putting copy out there at all.

But what to do when you don’t have a fancy writing degree and you haven’t the first clue what to write about? You know the words are important — your words are the primary way your audience gets a taste of you, after all — and you know that you need to use them more effectively so your audience can find you, hire you, and PAY you.

So what’s a marketing-shy, overthinking business owner like you to DO???

That’s where I, and Cutting Chai Stories, come in. I’m Jayati Vora, a recovering journalist who brings two decades of editing chops, my love of chai, and my style of storytelling to the world of marketing and copy.

In episodes of just 15 minutes or less, I’ll walk you through the basics of writing your copy yourself, in a voice that your grandma would recognize, and how to be your own brand’s wingman without slimy marketing tactics.

Cutting Chai Stories is jam-packed with highly actionable tips on writing, editing, and storytelling, with a dash of masala, so you can sell your services and products with confidence.

Episodes air on Thursdays and feature occasional interviews with business owners who’ve learned to harness the power of copy, and the marketers and copywriters who work with them.

Start connecting with your customers in your copy with my free mini course, delivered to your inbox when you sign up for my twice-weekly email newsletter, Chai in my Inbox: www.cuttingchaistories.com/subscribe

Copyright: © Jayati Vora

Latest Episodes:

S2 Ep 13: Choosing your words, reclaiming your narrative Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

In today's episode, the chai is made with a different recipe. I'm working with a coach and doing a lot of internal work, and I wanted to share an insight with you today. We all have our own internal narratives of ourselves as people, as entrepreneurs, for our businesses. These are words that others have called us, or that we at some point in our lives have called ourselves. These words can define us, knowingly or unknowingly, and can and likely do affect every aspect of our lives, personal and professional.

When our own stories are the most important that we'll ever get to tell, why are we letting others define our narratives by choosing our words? Today I offer my own example and give you a suggestion for how to tweak the story of your life by changing one small word.

And a note on The Words Will Come, the program for entrepreneurs I've been teasing for a few weeks now.

S2 Ep 12: Future pacing and the origin of you stories Jan 07, 2021

Show notes

Hello hello and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories. This is the first episode of 2021, and I want to start it off with a great big hug of a thank you to all of you, my listeners, who tuned in to nearly 250 minutes of episodes, stuck with me through the hiatus between Season 1 and 2, from 37 different countries! Plus, Cutting Chai Stories was #19 in Spotify's India charts for a whole month in 2020! I can't think of a better way to start the new year than with this validation that you all are liking what you're hearing. So thank you.

In today's episode, I want to give you back a sense of control over yourself in a time where things seem to be spinning OUT of control. We do a future pacing exercise -- a fun one, I promise! -- that's an origin of the YOU you will be in 2021, and it all starts with choosing a word of the year to set your intention for 2021, for how you want to show up these next 12 months, the energy you want to bring to the world.

I also share an excerpt of a powerful column by Bombay-based journalist Sameera Khan, who was inspired by a Season 1 writing prompt of mine; her story was published in The Indian Express. You can read the entire piece, and follow her, on Instagram @samjourno123.

As always, if you feel inspired to share what you wrote, or how it made you feel, I'm on Instagram @cuttingchaistories and on Facebook in the Cutting Chai Stories Facebook group -- come join us!

S2 Ep 11: Don't force the words; the words will come Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

It's the end of 2020 and it feels like a momentous occasion, given what a hellish year this has been. But all that pressure to produce something profound bottles up the words instead. Here's a short piece about another moment like that I had this past summer, when I had promised myself and all of you to write something original every single day for 31 days in a row.

What I'd like you to take from that is that sometimes, if you go with the flow, you might get something different than what you had originally planned, but it might still be good. If you have writer's block, try to talk it out, take a break, take a walk, or just release yourself from those expectations and go with the flow. (But if you have a deadline, please meet it -- that's the editor in me talking!)

And if this frustrated feeling sounds familiar to you; if you, too, have stared at a blank page in frustration because the words just won't come, and if you're an entrepreneur who wants to write better for their business, I might have something for you. I'm launching a new digital course on January 25, 2021, called "The Words Will Come." In it, I will help you channel your natural speaking voice in written form, and teach you the art of storytelling. You'll need both to stand out from the crowd and sound inimitably YOU.

Visit my new website, www.cuttingchaistories.com, for more information.

S2 Ep 10: How to speak to your customers Dec 24, 2020

Show notes

Hello from Jayati, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories! Today I talk about how to speak directly to customers in an authentic way, with plenty of examples of how other companies are doing it, and a path for you to figure out what your own natural voice sounds like.

Think about unexpected places you can stand out with your copy
Write from a place of genuine feeling and you won't sound fake
Write down the bones (and this exercise will help you whether you're trying to tell your entrepreneur's or brand's story, or whether you just want the words to talk about why you do what you do, whatever that is)

Head to my brand-new website for more information on how else I can help you with your writing struggles: https://www.cuttingchaistories.com

And if you want to get in on my limited-time, small-group founding member discount, sign up for the waitlist to The Words Will Come, my new digital course for entrepreneurs who want to learn to write better for their business, and email me at cuttingchaistories AT gmail DOT com for more information.

S2 Ep 9: Immersive Description and Writing from Memory Dec 17, 2020

Show notes

Welcome back to Episode 9 of Season 2 of Cutting Chai Stories! It felt like it had been a while since I had stuck to my original structure of story, writing technique, and writing prompts, so I made this for all of you who were missing it. In this episode, I share a short story about jumping puddles in the rain in New York, and how that evoked memories of splashing about during the monsoon in my hometown of Mumbai. I try to recreate the feeling of monsoon -- the sounds, the smells, even the tastes it brings back -- while also carefully choosing my words to make them pleasing to the ear.

Writing from a place of strong emotion, as I did, can often unblock your creativity. But using these writing techniques will help elevate that writing and give it more of a punch. A dhishoom, even, you could say!

Connect with me on Instagram @jayativora and @cuttingchaistories

And if you like this podcast, would you consider leaving me a review at Apple Podcasts?

S2 Ep 8: Words to Edit Out of Your Copy Dec 10, 2020

Show notes

Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories. I'm your host Jayati Vora, and today's episode is short, sweet, and oh so necessary! I talk about five kinds of words or phrases that we need to CUT from our writing. There are unnecessary introductions, ungrammatical phrases, long-winded ways of writing that we need to rewrite, adverbs that should be on the chopping block, and excessive description.

Listen in for explanations of each point, along with examples of what I mean. Then look back at your OWN copy and do this exercise — what did YOU cut out of your copy?

ANNNNND, I have an actual website. We're still working out the kinks, but I have some freebies up, and an exciting announcement to make in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out the site at www.cuttingchaistories.com.

If you like this podcast, if anything I've ever said has helped you become a better writer, or a prompt has inspired you to write something, would you please take a minute and rate and review Cutting Chai Stories on Apple Podcasts? It helps to grow our community, and I would be ever so grateful.

S2 Ep 7: Storytelling Tips for Entrepreneurs Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

Hello hello, and welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora. If you haven't already listened to last week's episode, my interview with Zahir Janmohamed chock-full of tips and strategies on how to do personal storytelling better, you're missing out. Stop right now and go listen to that one first. If you did already, wonderful. I thought Zahir's tips were so useful that I adapted them for entrepreneurs.

Click here to download your FREE guide for an entrepreneur's storytelling cheatsheet: https://cuttingchaistories.com/storytelling-cheatsheet/

I found them so valuable that I wanted to share three of those tips in this episode: namely, it's a snapshot, not an autobiography; the self is a stand-in for something larger; and anchor your story in specifics.

In this episode, I take you why these pointers are important, and how to incorporate them into your business content (*cough* About Me page *cough*).

If you'd like my eyes on your About Me page, you can book your About Me Page (AMP) Audit here: https://cuttingchaistories.com/product/about-me-page-audit/

As always, if you like this show, if you find it valuable, will you consider rating the show on Apple Podcasts and leaving me a review? It helps other people find Cutting Chai Stories, and maybe they'll like it just as much as you do. :)

S2 Ep 6: Harness the power of storytelling Nov 26, 2020

Show notes

On this extra-juicy, supersized episode of Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora, I interview Zahir Janmohamed about the art of the personal essay. (If his name sounds familiar, it's because I mentioned him on last week's episode.)

Zahir Janmohamed is a Zell Writing Fellow at the University of Michigan, where he has received awards in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and playwriting. He is currently the artist-in-residence at the Arab American National Museum.

Zahir and I go a ways back: I was his editor many moons ago when I was working at Al Jazeera America, and I knew he would have a ton of writing tips for you, and he didn't disappoint.

There are too many gems in this episode to list here, but if you want a handy PDF guide to all the tips he mentioned here, you can grab them here: https://mailchi.mp/e56685294c6b/personalessay

As a bonus, I also took some of his tips and created a cheatsheet for you on how to use his writing tips when writing your About Me page, or a social media post, or an email to your list. Grab those here: https://mailchi.mp/8296ca2d0bcb/storytelling-cheatsheet

You can connect with Zahir on Twitter @zahirj and on his website: www.zahirjanmohamed.com

And here are his recommendations for reading excellent personal essays:

James Baldwin essay: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1962/11/17/letter-from-a-region-in-my-mind

Kiese Laymon's Heavy: https://www.kieselaymon.com/heavy

Jesmyn Ward on her husband's death: https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2020/08/jesmyn-ward-on-husbands-death-and-grief-during-covid

Jen Choi on not loving Paris: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jenhchoi/i-wanted-to-love-paris-but-it-didnt-love-me

Viet Thanh Nguyen on didaticism: https://vietnguyen.info/2017/4232

Caroline Paul's "Fighting Fire": https://www.carolinepaul.com/fighting-fire

Charles D'Ambrosio on doubt: https://tinhouse.com/the-art-of-the-sentence-charles-dambrosio/

"There was and there was not" book: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/books/review/there-was-and-there-was-not-by-meline-toumani.html

Chris Abani TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_abani_on_humanity?language=en

Anelise Chen on being a clam: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/04/13/clam-down/

You'll need Annelise Chen's essay, above, to do the writing prompt.

And if you want to join the free reading at the Arab American National Museum on November 30th, register here: https://arabamericanmuseum.org/event/telling-our-2020-stories-a-live-reading-hosted-by-zahir-janmohamed/?event_date=2020-11-30

Happy reading! And as always, if you liked this show, if you found it useful, please do subscribe and leave me a review. We have over 15,000 listeners so far, and that's just on Spotify!

S2 Ep 5: The liberating use of "you" for business and pleasure Nov 19, 2020

Show notes

Welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora! Today I make good on something I've been talking about the last few episodes, which is to also give writing tips to entrepreneurs who are struggling with how to write copy for their business.

I also share not one but TWO stories, both produced during a class on writing the personal essay. The first one is by Sara Afshaar, a former immigration attorney and current MFA candidate at the University of Michigan. Sara's work has appeared or is forthcoming in Slice, McSweeney's, Sporklet, and has been installed in Boston City Hall.

You can find her on Twitter: @afsharknado.

The other story is by me, and both of us wrote about the uncertainty and anxiety and pressure we were all feeling the week after the U.S. presidential election.

What makes the stories different is their use of "you"; both of us talked about ourselves in the second-person perspective. That was the prompt by the teacher of that class, Zahir Janmohamed (interview with Zahir coming soon on the show--stay tuned!), but what felt so good was how liberating it felt to dissociate yourself from the "you" on the page. I was not me, I was an anonymous you. Try it yourself and see!

For entrepreneurs who are wondering how they can use this writing tip, I say, use it in your description of your ideal client--and be specific. It's how your target audience will know you're talking to them! If you're the kind of entrepreneur who is helping people who have the same problem you used to have, you can even use this technique to write about yourself, back when you were struggling with this problem, and capture even more effectively the challenge that your ideal client is facing right now.

Meanwhile, if one of the things that you, dear listener, are struggling with is even getting started, if you're thinking, How can I write? I didn't go to school for this!, well, I have something for you. Here are my top 5 myths of good writing that need to be busted, and I'm giving it away just for you: https://mailchi.mp/c800156aa787/busted-5-myths-of-good-writing

Finally, if you liked this episode, if you learned something from it, would you please subscribe and share it with a friend? If you tag me on IG @jayativora and @cuttingchaistories, I'll reshare your post.

Season 2 Episode 4: Finding Inspiration in Art Nov 12, 2020

Show notes

Welcome back to Cutting Chai Stories with Jayati Vora. In this episode, I speak with multidisciplinary artist Racquel Keller, who participated in my monthlong writing #onestoryaday writing challenge in July in the Cutting Chai Stories Facebook group. Except, instead of responding to my writing prompts, she chose to write a poem a day that was inspired by a color. She also overlaid the words on a carefully chosen image, and helped us interpret the poem through her artist's eye. She reads one of her poems from that challenge, Rose Madder.

Racquel talks about her art being inspired by writing, and vice versa, and offers her top tip for seeing the world around you as an artist. PLUS, she has not one but TWO art-inspired writing prompts this week.

Speaking of which, I have my own word + image collaboration to announce this week -- a series called Backscatter that features the street photography of @hersh.img with my stories, all on Instagram. Check them out on my feed @jayativora. Did any of the pairings surprise you? Which one's your favorite? Write and let me know.

The artists Racquel mentioned on the show can be found here:

Gustave Moreau's abstract preparatory drawings: https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS809US809&sxsrf=ALeKk034r6si4fQjbgnJdVEPQ6bMgD1yNQ:1605038991679&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=gustave+moreau+art+abstrait&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjY5suX5PjsAhWhmOAKHZrcCjoQjJkEegQIBBAB&biw=1396&bih=656&dpr=2.75

For active backgrounds, look at the works of Walt Kuhn's "Plumes," Franz Kline, Clyfford Still and John Singer Sargent.

More about Racquel Keller:

Racquel Keller is a multidisciplinary artist whose work is found in many forms, including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, and assemblage. She constructs imagery inspired by her collection of natural specimens and vintage objects. These seemingly disparate pieces are put together to tell a story that captures the feeling of nostalgia these objects evoke. She works as an Art Instructor at the Greenbelt Community Center, the College Park Arts Exchange, and for select workshops at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. She regularly offers classes and workshops in a variety of mediums and subjects. She actively exhibits her work in the DC Metropolitan area and is a current Artist in Residence at The Greenbelt Community Center (Maryland, USA).

Keep in touch with Racquel:

Podcast: Pure Fire Creatives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/racquelkellerart/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/racquel.keller.7
Website: http://www.racquelkeller.com/shop.html
For the month of November, 30 percent of all of Racquel's art sales will go to Elimu Girls: https://elimugirls.com/

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