Storytelling in blogging is the secret of a great blog and strong blog traffic. Most of us have forgotten what young children know: stories sell. The Storytelling in Blogging series is going to provide a framework for any blogger to strengthen their offering and use stories to grow.
The Power and Profitability of Great Stories
One of the strongest marketing forces in the history of the world is Disney. How much do your kids love the Disney movies? The Disney dress-up outfits? The Disney figurines and toys? The Disney vacations?
Disney tells stories because they know stories sell. Disney also knows they don’t even have to tell original stories! This proves to content creators that even if the story has been told before, your story has not.
Your kids become engaged in the story. They relate to the characters and can understand and learn from the struggle and the journey.
And Disney literally takes it to the bank on the fact that stories sell.
Speaking of sales…
Storytelling in Blogging – Stories Sell and You’re in Sales
If you’re a blogger, you’re in sales. Don’t believe me? Consider what you’re trying to do every.single.day you write, promote, curate, and schedule.
You are trying to “sell” people on your:
- Writing
- Advice
- Humor
- Tips
- Printables
- Hacks
- Newsletter
- Products
- Affiliate Partners
- Courses
- Click through from social or email to generate ad revenue
- Facebook Page interaction
- Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter follows…
- Sponsored Posts
See? You’re in sales. And it sure is a crowded place.
Blogging is a Noisy World
You’re in a noisy environment. There are more than two million blog posts published every DAY.
That’s a lot of noise, friends.
And consider that if your promotional efforts are primarily social media, you’re in a damn-noisy environment! We have so many choices, sources, opinions, and information to sort through on social. So does your potential reader.
How do you get their attention? More importantly, how do you keep it?
You grab their attention AND keep it by telling them stories. But not just any stories.
Telling the Right Story Isn’t Only Telling YOUR Story
Telling the right story goes far beyond a tale. Telling a story to captivate includes incorporating the reason a reader is there in the first place.
A good blog will tell a story but will never stop there.
Consider this: You notice spots on your daughter’s back when giving her a bath before bed. At 1 am, you think, “Just one quick search” because sleep eludes – you just can’t stop thinking about those spots! So, you go in with a purpose: to name those spots on her back. But that’s not the only thing.
You want to relieve your fear, uncertainty, and anxiety.
And if you don’t get a definitive answer (you won’t because Dr. Google is always a bad idea), you will keep searching.
Your reader is no different. They are there for a reason.
#1 The Reason for Writing and the Reason for Reading
Our purpose is to identify the problem and the reason why someone needs to search for an answer to the problem. Doing so will grow traffic and followings. Sure, we also need to:
- focus on SEO to get the search visitor.
- use targeted subject lines to get the click from social media.
- find new audiences who will soak up our content.
But our goal is to turn a first-time visitor into a fan so they keep coming back. After all, our purpose is to grow traffic and influence.
Example: Everyone wants to read about how your potty-training 3-year-old smeared poo all over the bathroom wall while you put the baby down for a nap. They’re thinking, “This is hilarious and I’m SO GLAD it didn’t happen to me.”
And they’ll get a laugh.
But why would they stay around? Why would they follow your site or social profiles?
Before writing, you must consider why they would be reading. Why did they click on the link in the first place? What did they want or need from the story?
Considering your experience and their reason for reading, your story could transition into tips to make sure a little one is ready for potty training or give them a recipe for a really great DIY wall cleaner solution. It could share with them calm-down breathing techniques you’ve learned, because seriously – we’d all be losing our proverbial poo in that situation.
Takeaway – When you tell a story, build a post only after considering the reason a reader would be reading it in the first place. Then, make sure you offer something of value instead of just telling a good story.
The Storytelling in Blogging Series
As you can imagine, there is a great deal to this topic and this is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve written an entire series about using storytelling in blogging with each section coming with an actionable task to help you improve your blog’s writing.
In storytelling in blogging series:
- #1 – Telling the Right Story (this article)
- #2 – The One-Time Stories You Need to Tell and How to Use Them to Turn Visitors into Fans Using Trigger Anchor Text
- Why You Should Never Start Your Writing with an Emotion (and How to Write Instead)
- Visual Storytelling (Using Images, Fonts, and Videos)
- How to Use Bucket Brigades in Storytelling for Posts and Sales Pages
- How to Use Storytelling Off-Site
Take Action
In our example, you would want them to get the chuckle but you also want them to see you have them in mind when you’re writing. There is a reason they want to read a potty training article. Identify that reason and incorporate it into your writing.
Your readers NEED to find value in your humor and your authority.
But that’s not all your readers need. Next up in the series, we’re going to address the one-time stories you need to create in order to turn visitors into fans.
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