Strategic Storytelling

"There's a gap between what I know they need and what they think they need." As a service-based business, you probably recognize this problem.   For instance, you know your clients mostly need to build their confidence. They need to jump in and take action.   But when they come to you, they say, "I don't have the right technology." Or "I need to learn copywriting." That's the topic of this episode...

Almost every business coach on the planet will advise you to start telling stories. They'll encourage you to use storytelling for your blog posts, email messages, and just about any content you create. Deciding to tell a story is the easy part. Choosing a story that will help grow your business is much more difficult. That's mostly because you get conflicting advice from different mentors.   "Go a...

When you're a small, service-based business, you are selling yourself and your ideas. I call this marketing when the brand is YOU.  Most service businesses brand with what we call the story archetypes. You can read more about story archetypes here at this link . I've interviewed several Role Model archetypes. On this episode we get a rare look at an Educator archetype.  Role Models have the messag...

When you run a service business, you need clients...the right kind of clients. Clients you can work with. Clients who will be successful when they follow your instructions. Your instructions might take the form of coaching. Or you might need to get clients to cooperate by filling out forms or simply delivering papers to you. If nothing else, you don't want them to make things worse by interfering...

Your story has a hero and a guide. Sometimes your story has cheerleaders and a villain. But your story doesn't have a wizard or fairy godmother or magician. And you probably know the reason: Your story doesn't promise magic. But sometimes clients expect magic and you have to correct them, This episode looks at 3 reasons clients falsely expect magic.  But can you make magic happen for your clients?...

What's the most difficult page to write on your website? Your About Page. People don't like to write this page because they don't like to write about themselves. It feels like boasting.  It violates the rule: "The nail that stands out gets pounded down." Your About Pag has to answer three questions: 1 - Why are you in this field?  2 -Why are you passionate about what you do? 3 - How do we know you...

Your most important story isn't about you. It's about how you work with clients to help them reach their goals.  This is your success story.  Your success story has 4 parts:  hero, crisis, solution, and outcome. We'll walk through examples of how these parts come together for a lead-generating success story. You don't just share a hero's journey story. You can introduce a plot twist.  You'll see e...

https://www.marketingwords.com/blog/write-copy-future-pacing/?ref=cathy_goodwin I recently came across a workshop on writing creative nonfiction. And that made me ask the question: What is the difference between creative writing and business writing?  What about a course in film script writing?  ? Of course the more writing you do, the better you get. And you'll get better a storytelling.  But som...

Can you become an extremely successful online marketer by telling stories? Connie Ragen Green has several best-selling books and courses, as well as an international practice in business coaching. She's accomplished this goal with strong, consistent marketing and an abundance of content creation. Connie has used stories extensively, especially personal stories. She has entire books where the subje...

  What is the stage of your client's awareness? You may think it's not important—but a customer stage can be like a specific niche. You target that stage of awareness. If you target the wrong stage, you lose the customer…maybe forever.   For example, when I was looking for a software company, I narrowed down my search to three companies. I knew a lot about the functions of marketing. I knew why I...

How many times have you gone to a website and found it was just plain boring? Like, it felt like reading one of your old college textbooks? In this episode, we explore ...why there's so much wimpy copy out there ...parallels between writing wimpy copy and getting stronger by working out ...why stories solve the biggest problem of writing wimpy copy: saying good things about yourself ...two micro-t...

What's a cat story? People who have cats tend to be fanatical about them. They tell stories about how cute the cats can be, how spoiled they are, and how they drive their owners crazy.  If you're been on Facebook for more than 5 minutes, you realize that people can't get enough cat stories.  But there are 3 lessons a solopreneur from cat stories, even if you're not a cat person. Why do these stori...

Want to improve your learners' experience of your course? Get them to remember your course content? Teach complex concepts in a framework that makes sense to them? When learners have a good experience, they return for more. As a marketer, that's what you're hoping for!  Course designer Lisa Yoder shows us why and how to incorporate stories into course design. Even if (like me) you already have suc...

Have you ever heard a story that was so memorable you couldn't forget it? A story that taught you a hard lesson -- but made you smile at the same time? This week I'm doing something a little different. I've collected three of my favorite stories that appear over and over again. I see them in business books, in blog posts, in articles, and in speeches. And yet they're not about business.  These are...

How do you introduce yourself to prospective clients? Nicole Kepic introduced herself to her email list with a traditional origin story -- solid credentials, burnout, and reinvention as a copywriter to female entrepreneurs. Nicole tells that story to show us the person behind the website. She also highlighted her deep experience with copywriting. But she's got a better story: she can tell an origi...

A few weeks ago I was attending a special event when someone asked "How can I explain my service to other people? I'm going into a new market and people don't get what I do." Of course, the answer is, you explain with a story. But what kind of story can you use?   Besides having a new market, you may be challenged in your business because you have a very specialized niche. You might have a brand n...

A recent article in Inc magazine asked this question: What makes you look better? A story like, "I started with no talent or luck and worked my butt off;" Or, A story like, "I had lots of talent and I got lucky." Believe it or not, audiences valued luck and talent more.  This episode raises the question: "When do you tell a story of luck and when do you tell a story of hard work?" Most people can...

  How can I write about myself without sounding like a conceited jerk? That's the subject of this podcast.   You may have internalized messages like, "The nail that sounds out gets pounded down" You may have been criticized or ridiculed for doing well.   But in business, you have to brag about yourself. In fact, your clients expect you to!     Here is what we cover:   —why your clients want you to...

Numbers can be extremely powerful when you know how to use them -- and sooner or later you have to use them. You use numbers in your stories and also in your copywriting, especially on sales pages. The way you present your numbers can make your price seem small and your outcomes seem large. You can also seem to presenting honest results rather than made-up, imaginary numbers. In this short episode...

Lots of business owners have been advised, "Just tell a story. Any story." Or they're told, "Stories hold your audience's attention. Stories captivate your listeners." All that is true. Absolutely. But stories can do a lot more than entertain your audience. And when you tell a story as a solopreneur, you need a specific reason.  In this podcast. we first look at 4 key reasons to tell a story. You'...

Storytelling for service-based solopreneurs isn't just for fun. It's not a device to gain attention and draw in a crowd of people from your niche.  So what can a story do for your business? In this episode, you'lll learn how to use stories to make y.our marketing easier. You will learn... ... 4 ways you can use stories to complete marketing activities - with samples ...Why every story you tell is...

Episode 151 - The second-most important character in your selling story is—drumroll, please—the guide. That is you!   The guide is the person, spirit or animal who helps the hero solve their problem or problems. The way you write yourself into your story will have a huge impact on your audience. They're considering hiring you as a guide and they want to know several things.   You want to convince...

We've talked about the hero in your story. We had an episode about the villain. And today we're going to talk about the character nobody mentions: the cheerleader. You can't be with the hero all the time, no matter how good you are. The cheerleader helps the heroes achieve their goals by just being there. You as the guide can help the hero find supportive cheerleaders. Sometimes people have to pay...

    In this podcast episode we are going to look at casting the characters in your story. We've already talked about the villain. The other characters are the hero, the guide and the cheerleaders.   Who is the hero of your story?   The hero has a problem. Often it's a serious problem. Sometimes it's trivial, like a leaky faucet. You have a more dramatic story when the hero has a serious problem th...

Do you want to create a story that sells - a selling story?  In this episode of Strategic Storytelling, you'll see an example of the way we can transform a "good enough" story into a strong story that delivers sales.   The business owner (a financial executive - a corporate controller, to be exact) found a need for a product she could create. She needed a story to get prospective customers involve...