As always, I am interested in new products and services that will help family historians to document their finds for future descendants and associated family members. Recently I became aware of a service called Memorygram. It is a service that builds a biographical/autobiographical book for you based on a prompted set of questions. There are quite a few services like this in the market, but this one has some distinguishing characteristics.
I interviewed the founder, Sara Damiano. The following is the interview.
What prompted you to start Memorygram?
As a clinical social worker and gerontologist, I dedicate my life to helping others in need with a focus on individuals and families living with severe illnesses in the healthcare space. With over ten years in the healthcare field, I have found quite a bit of distress, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder that can arise when patients and families cannot share in meaningful conversations about what matters most. Memorygram was formed as a legacy building and memory-making tool to help individuals and families connect on what matters most. Memorygram is a digital storytelling platform that helps increase connection and self-reflection through the experience of sharing life stories with the culmination of all of the memories being captured in a beautiful hardcover customized book.
Tell me a little about Memorygram
A Memorygram purchase includes access to our digital storytelling site to create a personalized book. The book can be written by yourself, or you can have stories written by a loved one.
Users can choose from hundreds of inspiring questions in easy-to-find categories or write their own custom questions and even reference a specific memory (tell me about that time when you…)
Every week, Memorygram will email out engaging questions, and the storyteller can reply with their story and attach their favorite photos. Also, stories can be written, edited, and photographs uploaded directly on the Memorygram site. Once complete, all stories will be bound together in a beautiful, customized book, and the user can customize the cover by selecting a cover design and adding a photo!
A purchase also includes one printed book of the stories with a full-color cover, black and white interior pages, and free shipping. Once the book is ready, we welcome users to upgrade to a full cover interior for $38. We also invite users to order additional books for the price of $39 each for a full-color cover, black and white interior, or $78 each for a full-color cover, full-color interior.
How does it work?
We have made the process very simple with a stepwise approach:
- Select inspiring questions from the Memorygram platform to be emailed weekly.
- Simply reply back to the email to share your memory and photos
- Choose from customized covers to build your book
- Enjoy your memory book to be cherished for generations!
Please also check out our YouTube video on how Memorygram works https://youtu.be/tuZXmo7Q8f4
What has been the response to Memorygram so far?
Very positive! We started our business in August 2021 and launched our services in November 2021. We have received over a hundred thousand views to our website memorygram.com and customers are giving us amazing feedback.
There are multiple autobiography “creator” websites that ask many questions and then produce a published book. How is Memorygram different?
As a social worker, I am committed to health equity and culturally competent services. We are dedicated to also catering to the over 350 million people worldwide who speak Spanish as their primary language.
How many pages is an average book based on your experience?
The average page length is 280-300 pages.
Are there many people who sign up and then drag their feet in responding to all the questions? Or never finish?
We have found that everyone who signs up is highly engaged in the process and answers all of the weekly questions.
Have you changed the set of questions much since you started this?
Yes! We continually add to our curated and categorized library of questions.
Where can I find out more?
Do many people decide later to buy additional books after they have received their first one?
Yes! We have so many customers who have added additional “storytellers” to their book who will also answer questions (think both grandma and grandpa in the same book). These customers will be purchasing additional books for the entire family so their grandparents’ memories will live with them forever.
Thank you, Sara, for introducing Memorygram to my readers. Good luck with this exciting service. Any way that we can document our ancestors’ life stories is a true benefit to history.
