Storytelling has been a part of humanity for thousands of years. From oral tradition to the manuscript, stories are a part of humanity that will never go away. Young kids listen to bedtime stories as they fall asleep. They read about fictional characters and then explore nonfiction stories. Whether we read books or hear it from someone else, we will never outgrow our need for good stories.
But what about your story? Chances are you have a remarkable story. You have lost a lot of pounds, been more productive than ever before, got a big accomplishment, went from rags to riches, or something.
In order to get the optimal impact from your remarkable story (word of mouth marketing, an increase in sales, etc), you need to implement the elements of a remarkable story.
The first element of a remarkable story is struggle. When, where, and how did you struggle? Were you struggling to get work done, were you struggling to put meat on the table, or were you struggling in another way? People need to know the struggle in order to get an idea of how far you have come.
The second element of a remarkable story is the life changing moment. There was a day in your life when you decided the way you were living was not good enough. This turning point allowed you to get to where you are today. Talk in detail about the life changing moment. Many people remember their life changing moments as if they were yesterday.
The third element of a remarkable story is implementing the life change. Maybe you had to put in some extra hours at the office, or you decided that you needed to do a new workout.
The fourth element of a remarkable story is the results. Where did the work get you. Did you get thousands of followers, sell a business for over a million dollars, or something else? The more positive results you can come up with, the better.
The fifth and final element of a remarkable story is your philosophy. Now that people have read your remarkable story, tell them your philosophy. This gives you a chance to write a mini blog post in your remarkable story. If your philosophy makes a lot of sense, people will come to the conclusion that your blog posts are quality content that also make a lot of sense.
Those are the 5 elements of a remarkable story. What’s your story?
Is that a feature of iContact, having the ability to put your subscribe form at the bottom of your blog posting? Or, do you just paste in the HTML code, or, do you use a plugin? Always looking to learn more about wordpress and what others are doing. Always a student to teach those who want to learn.
It’s great to be a student. I’m still a student, and some of the most successful entrepreneurs refer to themselves as students. I use a WP plugin to get the opt-in box at the bottom of my blog posts.
Marc, I love storytelling, and I think you’ve caught the elements just right. In place of “philosophy” I talk about “take-away truth.” Good stuff.