Storytelling:
Your Autoresponder Secret Weapon
What makes you read a blog post or article or email?
Interesting stats? A clever turn of phrase? An attention-grabbing
headline?
All of those things can pique your interest, but they won’t keep
your eyes on the page. For that, you need a story.
As a coach, service provider, or blogger, your job is to craft a
narrative that draws your reader in and keeps her interested. Do it right, and
she’ll share your content with her friends and colleagues, greatly expanding
your reach. Do it poorly, and she might read your post or your email, she might
even buy from you. But she won’t remember you, because you won’t have made a
connection.
Share Your
Personal Stories
One of the best ways to build a relationship and grow your
audience is to share your personal stories. Tell your readers how you got
started, what lessons you learned along the way, and how your life and business
were improved because of them.
Personal anecdotes don’t even have to be business related to have
an impact. Did you notice a fantastic marketing strategy while standing in line
at the supermarket reading the magazine headlines? Share the story. Did you
learn how to treat customers better by dealing with your cell phone company?
Tell your story.
By making the connection between a memorable event and your
coaching business, your readers will remember you long after they click away
from your site or close your email.
Write Case
Studies
Another powerful story telling technique is case studies. Tell
your readers exactly what your coaching client did to double her income last
year, or how another client took your advice and grew her mailing list by 150%
in six months.
These beefed up testimonials (because that’s all a case study is)
will keep your readers interested in learning more from you.
Connect
Unrelated Stories in New, Interesting Ways
Want to really make an impression? Make unusual connections in
your story. Share the struggles Frodo faced as he made his way to Mordor to
destroy the ring, and how that relates to business today. Or talk about the
squirrel in your yard that bravely defends his territory every time you take
the dog out, and how it reminds you of your early days in business when you
were convinced that competition was bad.
By making a connection between completely unrelated topics, you
can quickly craft a blog post or email that will get readers thinking, and that
they’ll remember for a long time to come.
Avoid the Awkward
Segue
One word of caution though. Don’t toss in a story just because you
think you need a “hook.” You’ll know you’re doing this if you can’t easily
transition from the story to the purpose of your post or email. If you find
yourself saying something like “Ok, that’s enough personal stuff, now let’s get
back to business,” you’re trying too hard.
Your stories should naturally flow into business, if you want to
make a big impression. And trust me, when you get this right, you’ll suddenly
find your posts going viral and your profits soaring.
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