The Art of Storytelling
We’ve been telling each other stories since the beginning. Since we wrote on cave walls and sat around campfires. It’s in our DNA. We shouldn’t forget this. We can’t forget this.
Yet, so many websites, so many marketing campaigns, spew features and benefits and forget storytelling, or narrative. This is a major reason why marketing efforts don’t work.
We all talk about branding or differentiation or our USP (unique selling proposition) or we need to get attention. The ONLY thing unique about you is your story. The ONLY way to differentiate yourself is through your story. Your brand is your story. Your Unique Selling Proposition is your story.
I want you to find and tell your story and start using narrative in your marketing, and you need to do this because nothing in marketing makes sense except in the light of story.
Do it with me or find another way, but do it. You owe it to yourself and to all those people out there you can help who simply don’t know you exist.
Story is powerful because…
- Reconnecting with yours gives you an acceptance that you are good enough, you don’t need hype.
- Telling yours early and often attracts people who are looking for your type of company.
- These people — the RIGHT people — are halfway sold from the start. So, again, you don’t need hype.
Make sense? The keep reading.
My world deals with the art AND the realities of business storytelling:
First you have to rediscover what your story is, and it’s probably not what you think it is.
It has to be true.Yeah, I know, small detail, the whole truth thing. But your real story is enough. And a cool new story slapped onto the same ole thing is an insult to your customer and just plain bad business (see next reality).
It has to be consistent with the customer experience that comes behind it. Little is accomplished by telling a great story that creates unrealistic expectations(see previous reality).
And you have to tell it quickly.You don’t have 20 minutes around a campfire anymore. Actually, you have about two minutes, based on the average online visitor session.
Make no mistake, story isn’t some esoteric “nice to have” thing.
It’s creates a connection that catches and keeps people’s attention. It is the shortest path between where you are now and doubling or tripling your sales.
It’s the thing that’s likely missing from that new website or new brochure or new email or new anything that doesn’t work. Because you’re one click away from losing each prospect, and if they don’t know and feel why you’re different – if they don’t “get” your story – they don’t stick around.
I’m glad you’re here. Storytelling is a simple, delicate, hard-to-do-really-well thing. Something that can take a while to get good at. So, you may as well get started!
If you’re serious and need to make things happen, I’d be happy to talk with you to learn more about where you are. You can email me or call 602-369-1009. Or if you’re a form person, complete the form here and I’ll get back to you.
Enough! Let’s see some great storytelling:
