EP80: Crafting Your Story - Part 3
Welcome back, my friends.
We are at Part 3 in our series on Crafting Your Story.
I hope you are enjoying it.
While not all of your broadcast newsletter emails need to have stories included, it would definitely make it easier to read.
And of course, until your audience truly gets a sense of who you are, and why you are there, there will be believability issues.
Your audience basically wants to know - “what's your story”.
Can you blame them?
Isn't that what you want anytime you decide to place trust in someone else?
Letting your audience get to know who you are is one way to build rapport with them.
And I’m sure that is important o you as well.
But…
This doesn't mean you have to write a memoir to let people know everything about you - no, nothing like that.
But, slowly and deliberately, let them get to know you.
Just as you would anyone else you just met.
Such as:
“Hi, my name is James, what is yours? I don't think we have met yet. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? What started you on this path you are on?”
or...
“How do you think you could help me?”
If you wait for them to ask you those questions, self-doubt about your motives will creep in.
Not good.
So to avoid that, rip off the bandaid yourself.
You can do it best via stories you share with the audience.
Your nurture sequence is the best place to start. It is where you “nurture” people and indoctrinate them to know you, your business, and why it exists, right?
Use this time to let people get to know your personality, and have an opportunity to draw closer.
Let them know your fears, and doubts too.
Talk to them like a cherished friend.
The easier you make it for them to know who you are, the better.
Share your mistakes and failures along the way.
No one likes a know-it-all that appears perfect.
Show your imperfections.
Let them see that you are a real person, who has walked in their shoes, and has struggled to gain the knowledge they seek, and now they can do so as well. Through your example.
If you treat your audience as you would a friend, your style of writing will already be in your voice. Writing just as you speak, helps them feel more connected to you.
When you are trying to teach them something that would benefit them, always try to wrap it inside a short story. It helps them retain the knowledge much longer.
These emails need to be something that you would want to receive yourself.
As mentioned before, as soon as possible segment your audience.
Early in your marketing career, you will find that it is a bit harder to nail your audience exactly.
Sure you're doing your best…
But no matter how hard you try, anything you start doing for the first time will not be the best you will eventually do.
It is a matter of time and perseverance.
To help yourself with that, ask QUESTIONS a lot. And don't be mysterious. Let them know you want to understand where they are in their business or in whatever niche they may be in.
It's only reasonable to assume that if YOU knew more about them, their circumstances, and their struggles – YOU could help them even more.
Right?
If only you could find a way to get them to help you, help them!
You know that you can help them more if they would just click on a link or answer a few questions.
Such as:
- what are they struggling with right now?
- are they mostly men or women?
are they in just the starting up phase, or have they been working online for quite a while?
In case you were wondering…
I know I would be…
You don't need to buy any special app or sign up for a service [unless you want to].
You could just simply segment them whenever they click on a link that makes sense to them.
Let's assume you want to know if they have any of the following:
- an email list
- a website
- landing pages
- marketed for less than 6 months
- marketed for more than a year.
- what do they need to know how to do to move the needle, right now?
They could click on one or all of them and their profile would be updated to include that information.
Segmenting your audience will make you a stronger and more helpful marketer in the long run.
So, segmenting your audience should be Step 1, your starting point for changing your email strategy.
Step 2 would be, writing better emails, by telling better stories.
And it works because people love storytelling.
Storytelling is a fundamental human experience that unites people.
Storytelling enables you to create deeper and more personal relationships with your audience. Just think about your favorite TV show and why you glue yourself to the screen every time a new episode comes out.
I'm not sure what shows are your favorite, but “breaking bad”, and “stranger things”, are at the top of my list right now.
Others of you may say “GOT” [game of thrones] is the best and are looking forward to more with the release of “house of the dragon”.
Or even the new Lord of the Rings series “the rings of power”, may be your cup of tea!
They pull you along and develop stories that captivate the audience.
Books are the same way.
Stephen King or J.K. Rowling.
Their books sell by the millions.
Because…
They tell stories that engage the audience to feel as if they are participating. They become engaged with the protagonist. They become lost in the story. They root for the underdog. And they feel as if they are a part of the story.
As we all do.
The question is, how do you write powerful stories? And more specifically, how can you leverage those stories in your marketing emails?
How to Write Story-Based Emails
Writing good story-based emails is challenging because you have less space to work with than you do with, say, a blog post.
But it’s not impossible.
And…
Many could argue that the 2-word sentence in the Bible itself also qualifies as a story.
“Jesus wept” – John 11:35
There are five crucial elements behind a good story-based email.
Here’s a quick overview:
- Increase opens with a curiosity-driven subject line
- Capture attention in the first sentence
- Tell a story
- Transition into your call-to-action
- Close with a Call-to-Action
In our NEXT Podcast, we will be looking much closer at crafting your story-based emails.
I hope to see you then.
Talk to you all, next week.
James "Mastering Story" Brown
P.S. - In the event, you DO find that once an episode has been produced and posted, that YOU really would like more information, just let me know. Use the Podcast Questions link, click on the link here. Or you can just leave a voice message here.
