(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)
This is about collecting small stories or anecdotes, and then using them as a way to sell your clients or colleagues on the power of stories in marketing.
So… imagine you are trying to pitch a group of marketers on your idea for an upcoming campaign.
You want to use the company’s origin story. But first you have to persuade the marketing group this is a good idea.
Once again… stories to the rescue.
Watch the video above and you’ll see a photo I took while on a visit to Austin, Texas.
I was walking down the sidewalk, and there was this panhandler. He didn’t ask for anything, he just held up this piece of card.
It’s a very short story.
Actually, most of it doesn’t seem to make much sense.
But he starts by saying he lives in Lubbock, Texas.
But here he is in Austin. So what happened? His origin… or the little slice of his origin story we have – is Lubbock.
So now we have the start of a story… what happened to this guy? What drove him from Lubbock to Austin?
Very short. Very simple. But enough to engage us. And enough for me to stop, read the card and give him a little money.
A simple anecdote like this is social proof.
It shows that stories work.
You can collect simple stories like this to illustrate their power.
The simplest of anecdotes can be used to persuade your clients or colleagues to tell stories as a way to engage an audience, connect with them emotionally and ultimately drive more sales.
NOTE: If you’d like to use the power of storytelling to increase your skills as a web content writer, online copywriter or social media writer, learn more about my course… Selling With Stories…
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