Which seems like a strange thing to say, considering that the blogosphere is rife with people telling their stories. Person X blogs about their new cat, Person Y blogs about where they went to dinner last night, and honestly, readers could care less about both of those people.
There are two types of bloggers out there. The first type talks about themselves in diary fashion, writing ad nauseam about cats and dinners. (If you want examples, of what I mean, surf Blogger.com randomly. I’d guess that 99% of personal blogs on Blogger are written for Grandma’s interest, if anyone’s.)
The second type of blogger writes about business, and only business. You might actually say they’re hyper-focused on business because they don’t want to be confused with the I-write-about-my-cat crowd. What’s your blog about? Why, it’s about circuit board repair. Today we’ll be continuing our exploration of the many different kinds of solder.
Most of the people who hire me as a coach are blogging about finance, or human resource management, or fashion, or any number of other specific topics. Usually, these people are trying to sell something, and turn their blog into a living. Usually, they’re very good and knowledgeable about what they do — and in a fair world, they’d be considered authorities that people interested in that speciality topic should listen to.
But, despite all of this, they’re not really getting anywhere, and the root problem always boils down to the same thing:
They don’t stand out. They’re one of a million people doing what they do.
The internet is a big place. You want to write about finance? So do five million other people. I don’t care how much you have to say about the very best no-load index funds; I can find similar opinions in dozens of other places just by typing a few words into Google. This speciality thing of yours? It’s a commodity.
If you want people to stick around — and read your thoughts on finance instead of those of any one of the other financial blogs — you’ve got to realize a fundamental blogging truth:
Readers don’t form a loyal bond with the information in your blog. When things work, it’s because they’ve formed a loyal bond with YOU.
And that’s where your story comes in.
How to sell with stories
I’ve been fortunate in my blogging career, and saw a lot of success very quickly. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I owe that success to the fact that I instinctually understood two principles:1. Blogging is selling
and
2. Stories are a great way to sell
Let’s say you run a charity blog. Or it’s a “movement” blog, trying to generate momentum for some thing or another. Or let’s say you do run that circuit boards blog, but you’re not selling tech consulting or an e-book. You’re just trying to establish some expert status, by getting a lot of readers and followers.
None of those blogs are about selling, right?
Wrong. All blogging is selling.
I sell blog and website setups, coaching, and information products (including one on how to sell using stories, ahem) on my blog. I also refer other trusted folks through affiliate promotions. So you’d look at my blog and think, “This guy sells stuff.” But in the above examples I just gave, the tendency is to totally miss the fact that you’re selling simply because money isn’t changing hands. And that would be a mistake.
You’re selling yourself as an expert. You’re selling someone else on the idea of promoting your cause, or talking about you. You’re selling readers on finishing the post, leaving a comment, or coming back. Want to guest post? Well, I personally had to sell Daniel on accepting this one, and that’s true of any guest post, or JV, or anything involving another person… which is everything.
The problem with selling is that it’s ultimately one person trying to get another person to do what they want. If you’re selling right, what you want that other person to do is something that will benefit both of you, and if that’s true, selling becomes far easier. But you’re still selling. You still have to overcome resistance, or maybe just inertia. That person flitting by your blog? They have other things on their to-do list. Why should they read your stuff?
If you engage them first with story, you disarm people. You catch them in a tale first, and instruct later.
When I was promoting my course Question the Rules, which is an instruction manual for being a punk rock entrepreneur, I didn’t try to lay out the course’s benefits up front. Instead, I told the story of my days as a punk rock kid. What did that kid learn? And how is it exactly like what an entrepreneur has to learn when working outside of the nine-to-five, straightlaced life?
People would read that story and instead of thinking, “This guy is trying to sell me something,” they thought, “Hmm, I’m not unlike him. I guess I am kind of a punk rock entrepreneur.”
The guy writing about circuit boards might talk about why electronics fascinated him as a kid, and why he’s so passionate about circuitry. Try to make the readers feel just as passionate, rather than merely try to interest them in the technology.
The finance blogger should eventually spill his “origin story,” and talk about how he used to work in a brokerage, but got tired of the greed and corruption and yearned to get out there and tell the real, no-BS, no-hype truth about how real people should manage their money for maximal returns.
Your stories should have a point, of course. But the most important thing is that you should tell them.
Give it a try. As you get the hang of it, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the way your stick times and readership numbers increase.
About the Author: Johnny B. Truant is the creator of Storyselling 101. He coaches, sets up websites for clients, and writes about ninja sharks at JohnnyBTruant.com.
Original Post: Why Your Story Matters
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