Why Telling A Story Must Be More Than Just Telling The Story
How I Learned To See Marketing From A Different Perspective
You probably have thought about writing about your story before, and perhaps you’ve even given it a try (or, more likely, about 82 tries, if you’re further down the road already). It’s not as easy as it might look, or even as easy as it should be. It is your own story, after all. Shouldn’t you be able to write it?
Well, not necessarily.
Writing your story can be one of the most difficult things to do, especially if you need it for a website or any kind of marketing material (such as an ‘About Me’ page or a ‘Short Bio’).
Where it’s easy to get stuck…
How do I get out of my own head?
Do I start in the first person, or go for the third person?
What do you I say about myself?
How do I get away from sounding stiff or artificial?
What kinds of stories or information do people want to know about me?
And, will people even read it? Or care?
Or, perhaps you simply don’t like to talk about yourself. Maybe what comes across on paper (or the screen) doesn’t sound like how you would like to come across: warm, knowledgeable, funny or witty. And, even if you’re able to do that in real life, it doesn’t mean you can pull it off in writing.
When you read a good story, it looks like it’s just about the story being told as it is. However, one story can be told in many ways. When you start from scratch and come up with your own story, there’s a lot to consider.
What To Think About When Writing Your Story
The most important consideration when writing about yourself is that you have to translate your world into a language that enables you to connect with another person’s world.
(Who exactly? Your ideal client, if you’re writing for your business).
You have to think about how your audience is going to relate to the story you’re telling, as you’re telling it. Show them who you are with written imagery they can understand; don’t tell them (have you ever read a website where all the references were things that didn’t make sense to you? You probably weren’t the audience for that website).
Obviously, learning to connect with other people is not only a good skill for writing marketing copy, but also it can help you go a long way in life.
Does Your Writing Feel Effortless or Artificial?
Being able to speak directly to someone else’s reality is what makes good writing feel effortless, and bad writing fall short. If you can learn this skill, your writing will be able to connect with people. The’ll never be a doubt in their head about if you’re authentic or not, since it will feel like you’re speaking directly to them (and reading their mind).
Lots of courses out there teach storytelling with blueprints and templates, emphasizing the steps or patterns above everything else. And, to some degree, that works quite well. But, in my experience as a copywriter, it only gets interesting when you allow for the story to develop itself as you’re writing, finding out where it’s going, and how it works, along the way.
Try This Next Time You Write Your Story
What they don’t teach you in copywriting school is that when you don’t know where your story is aiming you can go in interesting, new directions. You can, and likely will, make connections that you never thought of before, or perhaps no one ever thought of before. Sometimes, there are no maps to tell you where to go, because no one has ever done exactly what you are planning to do, with the background you have. And even if you’re probably going to feel lost at some point, your story is likely to work out, eventually (the one you’re writing, and the one you’re living). That is, if you keep going to find out where it’s taking you. Telling your story can change your story, and you can upgrade yourself at the same time.
Yes, Your Story Is Really That Powerful
Telling a story that truly connects you to your potential buyers is not so much about using a structure that could be used for anyone, but about finding those unique parts to make your story different from all other stories. If you’ve never thought about your story that way, give it a try.
There is a certain level of curiosity that is required while writing this way, which will enable you to get results that may even surprise you. There are no maps to tell you where to go, because most likely, no one has ever connected the dots in the way that you need to in order for your story to make the most impact.
This All Sounds Great, But I Have No Idea What It Should Look Like
You’re in luck—here are three examples from my clients and myself:
My About Me story
How Marketing Brought Light Into The Darkest Place I Ever Chose For Myself To Be
“For the first half of my twenties, I was under the unfortunate impression that I knew everything. Or, at least, better than anyone around me. I still like to believe this attitude was helpful, at least at times. Then again, it was this attitude that got me into one of the darkest times of my life.”
Adrianne Hunt’s About Me story (written by me)
The Path To House Of Hens And Grit
“Years ago, I was probably further away from becoming an expert in natural healing than anyone can ever be. I was 18, struggling with a negative self-image and lost in a Texas University with shallow interactions and heavy drinking. I wasn’t learning anything I was excited about and I didn’t have a lot of positive or valued relationships. It was a complicated and somewhat dark time in my life, yet, as it turned out, I had to get to a dark place to say I wanted something better for myself.”
Julie Mirise’s About Me story (also written by me)
How I Got Into Bodywork & Abdominal Therapy
“After giving birth to my children, I really wanted to be a good mom. I wanted to have fun with my kids and enjoy our lives. But I was exhausted and at times, in pain. I noticed that I could still feel some part of the trauma of my birth in my body, especially in my womb, and I could even see some of it in my first-born child. I realized I needed to take care of myself, not just for me, but also for my children and for my family.”
