How to market using story (and create genuine connections with your audience).
The below is from my weekly newsletter. The goal of each and every email is to deliver thought-provoking and actionable prompts that help you market to your audience in a way that feels true to your creative self. Learn more and sign up here.
This weekโs email is a bit of a copy lesson, so get out your notebook!
Iโve talked with you before about how important storytelling is for non-icky marketing, but without the other two ingredients (clarity and value) even a good story can quickly turn into a ramble.
Here are thoughts your audience might have with just two of these three ingredients:
๐ฉ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ + ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ = "I feel like this business/brand is just trying to sell to me but I don't even know what they stand for." ๐โฃ
๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ + ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ = "This business/brand is so fun/cool/relatable! But I don't think I really need their product." ๐โฃ
๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ + ๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ = "Wait, what are they saying/selling again?" ๐ค โฃ
And with all three:
๐ฉ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ + ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ + ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ = "This business/brand is so relatable and I understand exactly how their offering/product will make my life better!" ๐ฅณ
When Iโm writing copy, I usually start with story (thus the prompts!), but I always know in the back of my mind what I want my audience to do (clarity) and how that action will benefit them if they do it (value).
Said in another way: Story is how you create connection, but there must be a point to your story, and that point must benefit the reader.
โจ Letโs look at an example (hereโs your prompt) โจ
Here are my ingredients:
Clarity: I want my audience to book a call with me.
Value: In 15 (free) minutes, they gain actionable steps to improve their messaging in a compassionate and safe space.
And hereโs my story:
Did you know I used to be an adjunct professor? My students were mostly nursing and accounting majors โ meaning they were not too thrilled to be in a required writing class.
It didnโt take long for me to realize that these students didnโt actually hate writing, though. They had amazing stories in them. So many joys, losses, and huge life transitions (I mean, they came of age during COVID. How could they not?).
They just thought they hated writing because they had never had a safe space to try.
For them, writing had been taught as some perfectionist fantasy. If they didnโt follow the right 5-paragraph format, have 0 spelling errors, and use templated language to argue their point, they lost letter grades.
Meaning they lost opportunities.
So I made room for the mess โ because writing is 90% failure and if we arenโt allowed to absolutely revel in our messy writing, weโll stop trying.
And writing is the #1 way to grow. In business, in life.
If one of my nursing students started writing articles that led to thought leadership, book deals, her own businessโฆ
Sheโd be unstoppable.
And if you start sharing your stories, mess and allโฆ
what would be possible for you?
Letโs have a quick call and find out.
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.
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See what I did there? ๐ Now itโs your turn. Let me know how it goes!
Until next week,
Nicole
