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Storytelling

Where I'm Headed

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Chris Brogan

I’ve been thinking a lot about you. I want to be helpful. I want to do more to see you successful. This is what’s on my mind.

More and more over the last handful of years, I’ve found that my work with larger companies and my work with solo and smaller businesses is aligning around certain core elements, and that the parts of the puzzle that both fascinate me and that I find to have the most business value for you are almost (almost!) identical for the big guys and the little guys. I wanted to take a moment and give you a preview of what’s to come for me and my business plans for the next many months (give or take any course correction that happens along the way).

In Pursuit of Human Business

The single most potent negative business trend of the last several years has been the systematic dehumanization of business processes and the steady push towards transactional sales over relationship-based partnerships. When I say “human business” is the solution to this, I mean that sustainable (you must be able to make a living), relationship-minded (put the people first) business is the path to revitalizing our own economies. What we lose in volume, we will make up for in depth of experience and the ability to help that yields longer term buyers. Think concierge-class service – service craftsmanship if you will – for most businesses that are built around more than a transaction.

Those Who Understand The Impact Equation Will Prosper

When Julien Smith and I wrote Trust Agents, we felt we’d given a guide to how to be human on the web. Our new book, The Impact Equation (affiliate link), covers what we evidently didn’t explain well enough the first time around. We believe that ideas with a lot of contrast, spread across significant platforms of our own creation, into communities that care is the way to build business. (That’s the rough sketch of the book, by the way.)

We Need a New Set of Plans

A lot of people fall into one (or more) of these buckets). See yourself on this list?

  • I work for a company and nothing I’m doing seems to get traction any more.
  • I lost the map for my career plans.
  • I have a day job, but I hate it.
  • I have a day job, and I’m barely hanging onto it.
  • I have a day job, but I can’t pay all my bills.
  • I’m trying to make money on the web, and that’s not working.
  • I started my own business and I’m scared to bits.
  • I’m using all these online things but not sure why, and I feel overwhelmed.
  • All my life, I feel like I’ve been settling.
  • I’m 30-something, 40-something, 50-something, 60-something, and I still haven’t really lived my own life yet.

Did any of those ring a bell? I think there are a lot of contributing factors to all this. One is that almost everyone you know was raised to be an employee in the industrial economy, and that economy no longer exists. Have you actually looked at the game of Life playing board lately? Does anyone you know have those jobs?

We need a new set of plans for our own lives. We need to accept that our lives, our work, and our ability to produce what we want and need require some new plans and skills that we don’t already possess, and that aren’t exactly on the curriculum at college, either.

Storytellers, All of Us

I want to continue to explore the intersection of creativity and business. I want to talk about storytelling, about creativity, about music and art and video games and everything that we’ve been told will rot our brains or rob us of our edge, but that defines us to our very core. I’ll help you tell better stories.

Your Future Requires Bravery

Over the past several weeks, I’ve posted interviews with the leading authority on tea, with a retired US Navy SEAL, with the creator of an iPhone app, and with a very successful author. What did they have in common? No one gave any of these people permission to be who they became. These people all demonstrated success in their fields, though they chose non-traditional paths to accomplish what they had done. All of these people were risk-takers of varying degrees.

I will continue to find brave people doing interesting work and share it with you. I will find those who are on their fifth or sixth completely different career. I will find those who failed and then got back up again. I will find those who have a unique way of being themselves and still succeeding in business. Because we have surrendered a lot of our intentions and our goals and our beliefs, instead of daring to be brave. I want to help with that.

We Need the Vision And The Steps

Like many, I fall into the trap of just spouting off ideas and visions. These are wonderful, but you can’t often do much with them. I want to double down on my effort to show you the practical side to go along with everything I share about the potential paths one might take. If we are going to talk about building platform, I’ll work on developing resources for it. I’ve already started by creating courses, like this one for how to improve your writing and blogging. But I’ll be doing more.

As a publisher and media maker, I will provide you with the best materials I can to help you succeed.

That’s Where I’m Headed

I’m not interested in talking about social media. I’m interested in helping you build your business. I’m not curious about emerging technology. I’m fascinated by how we can implement what we have to solve a problem. I don’t want to debate whether or not your business should be marketing on Pinterest. I want to talk with you about how to make customers love you enough to keep your bills paid and the lights on.

And I fully intend to help with your own personal bravery.

That’s where I’m headed.

Future Scratches

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Graffiti or Art

Are you a collector? If so, of what? I’m not, but I know the culture. I grew up reading comic books and buying music and haunting bookstores. in all cases, there’s always a sub-tribe of collectors, the kind who scour bins, sometimes seeking the rare and expensive, but other times, seeking the rare and cast off. These are the bin-pickers, the type who must stop at yard sales.

I had all these thoughts, random thoughts, and they could all be blog posts, or they could be nothing. Some of them take time to absorb. Not all of these apply to you. Pick through these as a kind of bin full of tapes and bits you could use to mix into your own stories and songs.

Future Scratches: The Discount Bin

You, the talent, must find the business that supports your storytelling. The studio no longer knows. Replace “studio” with “publisher,” if you’re an author.

No platform? No problem. It’s just harder that way. Start somewhere. Get known for something. Nurture that community and grow it slowly.

If you’re not serious about content creation as a tool of your business-making, you’re not serious about using the web as a business tool.

It doesn’t matter if you’re not serious. The web can just be fun. Relax, if that’s what you want.

Strange Bedfellows

You can be the creator, the distributor, the servicer, or maybe the commentator. You can even be all. But knowing which brings you business is the whole value game.

Start. Start. Start somewhere. Worrying or thinking or doubting are all soap without a bubble wand.

On my phone, I can create music, read a magazine, have conversations, write stories, sell things, accept payment, and more. If you’re not configuring your business to face the mobile everything-maker, then you’re skipping the most obvious big sector of potential digital growth for your company.

Picking any one thing and working on that is better than thinking about working on something.

Lonely without a plate

If you’re not making it easy to buy, people will oblige you and not buy.

Stop waiting for your big chance. Those come when you make them happen. They come when you dare to say what you really think.

You can read about sex all day. It’s still not as fun as having it. Same thing with most business experience.

I love olives

The world is tapas. If you’re waiting for the perfect amount of time, you’re going to miss the big meal.

London Closes as 6pm

If you fancy yourself a business owner, start thinking like a business. And by that, I mean, “how do I grow relationships with my best potential partners?”

The most successful people I know lead with, “Tell me more about you! I’m dying to know.” They rarely talk about themselves. That’s why they’re successful.

You are very wonderful and worth it. Here’s a cookie. Now, do the hard work that it takes to eat off the bigger plate.

We are filming you. Everywhere.

If you think your product or service or YOU are boring, it is (you are). That’s your vote first, and you’ll help influence us.

None of this matters. What matters is you taking action.

Lastly

If you’ve had even one or two little twinges of “a-ha,” then I’ve done my job. Thanks for picking through the bin.

Lastly, I want to ask you to sign up to my free newsletter that comes out weekly. I promise to challenge you even more in there. We get up to some really interesting things there weekly, and it’s a very personal back and forth experience. If you’re seeing the word “newsletter” and thinking “information about social media” or “news about chris,” then you’re missing the greatest trick the devil ever pulled.

And thank you.

Google Plus as a Storytelling Platform

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One great value of Google+ is that it makes a great platform for cultivating visibility. If your organization is hoping to “save a seat at the table” in between sales calls, one way to do this is to create compelling content that nurtures your business relationships by educating your community and by making them the hero in their own story. Said differently: If you want to nurture leads while they’re still at the wide end of the sales funnel, using Google+ is an effective addition to your content marketing strategies.

Using Google+ for Content Marketing

First, realize that Google+ indexes any post you submit to the “Public” sharing option, meaning that the information in such a post is searchable in Google (the search engine, not the social network) within a few hours. This means that if you wanted to write about being the “best restaurant for kids in Milwaukee,” as part of your post, it would become searchable content. So, let’s extend that.

It’s not enough to write a post that just says “AJ Bombers is the best restaurant for kids in Milwaukee.” I mean, you can say that, but it won’t be that interesting for people coming along to read it. Instead, you might consider writing a post about “7 Reasons AJ Bombers is the Best Restaurant for Kids in Milwaukee,” wherein which you talk about the features of the restaurant such that a parent would be able to recognize the value for themselves. Because you can include videos, I would do so. For instance, I’d show off the “P-Nut Delivery System”:

If you can’t see the video click here.

Why? Because any kid seeing that thing will immediately start pestering their parents that they MUST go to a place that delivers peanuts via a steel BOMB flying overhead and smashing into a target.

Mix It Up A Bit

You can post text, video, photos, links, and place information on Google+. Using a combination of those post types is probably the best way to get the most attention. For instance, in my tests, if I post only text, I get one level of response. If I add a photo to the post, I get almost 50% more engagement, every time.

You can’t post video and a photo, for instance, but if you post video, I’d include a few sentences about what the video is about, and/or maybe some useful search text. I’d also include a link to whatever might be pertinent, as well. If you do place data, be sure to include a photo, maybe something candid. This helps people engage a bit further, as well.

Build an Editorial Calendar

If you want to incorporate Google+ into your content marketing strategy, I’d consider building an editorial calendar, even if you use it just lightly. For instance, if you post something like the post above, that comes off as a bit heavy-handed in the self-promotion department, I might do an interview with a restaurant guest as my next post, or maybe something off-topic, or maybe a non-work-related video interview with a server or a chef. I don’t know about you, but wouldn’t it be a bit more interesting to know that the person who made your burger is also a competitive street luge racer?

You can build an editorial calendar in a spreadsheet, or on a Google calendar, or wherever. The point is, when you lay out the month in some kind of visual format, you’re less likely to overwhelm your audience with a specific kind of post. Would it be helpful to see a sample? Here’s something super simple:

Editorial Calendar – Sample

Monday 1: Post photo from weekend showing leaves changing.
Monday 2: Video clip from ESPN College Game Day coverage.
Monday 3: Article link to post about grass fed beef findings.
Monday 4: Re-share a community member’s post (pass it forward).
Tuesday 1: Write up new menu changes (w/photo of new fries).
Tuesday 2: Congratulate Tim on winning local “Best Of” award with link.
Tuesday 3: Video post about watching baseball at our bar.
Tuesday 4: Off-topic. Anything.

Break That Down

You’ll see that, in this example, I recommend 4 posts a day. That’s to cover a 24-hour community. Also, posts on a service like Google+ flow through the stream pretty quickly. It’s probably not overwhelming to your readers to see 4 posts from you a day, and judging by the content I mentioned above, it wouldn’t be that hard to get those kinds of posts up.

So, in my example, I’d map out at least a week worth of content, and maybe use that as a way to look at how this ties to the rest of my marketing efforts, too. For instance, if I’m trying to get more people onto my email newsletter, maybe I’d make that the “call to action” on one or two of the posts, and see if I could get more takers from my Google+ community. Also, if you’re having a seasonal event, you can spread content about that event between your email newsletter, your blog, and also your Google+.

Feel like too much? It might be, to start. But it depends on what you’re doing, your goals, and what you’re hoping to accomplish with Google+.

Does This Work for Your Industry?

Technically, yes. You can post content of whatever kind to whatever industry. If you’re selling storage to big tech companies, this works. If you’re selling legal advice, this works. If you’re selling education to students, this works.

But How Does This Get Me New Prospects?

However, what this doesn’t accomplish is that it doesn’t rustle up all kinds of new customers. This isn’t lead generation work at this point. This is community nurturing work. This is helping to cultivate visibility. However, when you have prospects, and when you have people looking around to better understand you, and wondering if they should do business with you, can you see how the above content might help the process?

Save Your Seat at the Table

In between sales activity, we have to have something to talk about. Sometimes, we use that time to seek referrals. Other times, we use that time to nurture our existing customers. Some times, we use it to help guide our prospects closer to a sale. It’s up to you what you want to do with it. But this is one way of building up that content.

Are you on Google+ yet? If not, it’s free. Swing by Google+ and claim your account.

And if you want to connect with me, you can find me here, or just follow me via this Widget:

My 3 Words for 2011

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Every year, I come up with three words that will be my guiding pillars for what I will focus on in the coming year. Instead of resolutions, which don’t usually help me very much, I work hard on using these words as a lighthouse for my actions and efforts. Here are my 3 words for 2011:

Reinvest. Package. Flow.

Reinvest – I will reinvest in my efforts in all areas of life that matter to me. I won’t phone it in. I have some fitness goals. I can’t keep playing at it. I have some financial goals that will be met. I have community goals that require me to reinvest in my projects and not take on new things.
Package – I just wrote about packaging the other day. Essentially, I’m going to get my own marketing house in order. I’m going to make sure things make sense, make sure they are easy to understand, and make sure that the right people know about them. Packaging will have other meanings, too, but this one is important to me in 2011.
Flow – In the last few months of 2010, I came to realize that I’m still doing too much. I went into redrawing mode yet again. One thing I have to do much better in 2011 is manage flow: that state of working on the most important stuff and eliminating distractions. I’ve cut a lot out of my original plans for 2011. I’ll surely cut a little more. The end result? Things will come out much better. I’ll have less stress. Things will flow nicely.

3 Words Aren’t Goals

The three words idea is built so that you can have something to reflect upon. As you know, goals should be SMART ( Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely). The way you use the two together is that you think up goals that will match up to your words. For instance, one goal of mine in 2011 that ties to “reinvest” is to lose 50 pounds over 10 months. 5 pounds a month is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.
There you go.

Your 3 Words

I asked the people who read my free newsletter about personal development and business growth what their three words are for 2011. Here’s what they answered:

  • Alexandra – Creativity, Growth, Simplicity
  • Martha – Focus, Connect, Momentum
  • Debbie – Touch, Storytelling, Create
  • Rebekkah – Reclaim, Rewrite, Renew
  • Vicki – Passion, Confidence, Balance
  • Debra – Clients, Reputation, Smarts
  • Nick – Smile, Fight, Create
  • Ginny – : Basics, Balance and Gratitude.
  • Marge – Perseverance, wellbeing, manifest.
  • Justin – Kitchen, owners, stories.
  • Laurie – Launch, Interconnect, Allow
  • Sue – Bold, Tribe-Mesh, Be.
  • Paula – Action, Collaboration, Freedom
  • Joanna – Love, Passion, Action
  • Sonya – Publish, Productive, Value
  • Gail – Write, Speak, Read.
  • Robin – Ask, Do, Share.
  • Jill – Blog, Persevere, and Brand.
  • Patti – Grow, Contribute, Action.
  • Meghan – Mind, Body, Spirit
  • Margot – Integrate, Connect, Finish
  • Dana – Creativity, Independence, Outreach.
  • Jonathan – Quality, Help, and Perseverance.
  • Sam – Ship. Learn. Collaborate.
  • West – Servitude, Submission, Integrity.
  • David – Renew, Rethink, and Remove.
  • Chrystie – Focus, Follow-Through, Grow.
  • Jennifer – Relationships, Flow, Growth
  • Shayna- Secure, Execute, Close
  • Christian – Ideas, Love, Consistency.
  • JoAnn – Relationship, Health, Productive.
  • Jeffrey – Integrity, Wisdom, Patience
  • Anne – JUICY. SO WHAT? and WORTHY
  • Shel – Columns. Book.  Leverage.
  • Mike – Ask, Do, Share.
  • Louise – Pleasure, People, Publish, Practice.
  • Andrew and Donna – Process, Content, Leadership.
  • Roland – Story, Partners, Sales.
  • Bryony – Write, Listen, Action.
  • Michael – Produce, Plan, Ask.
  • Debbie – Honor, Stretch, Organize.
  • Robin – Let Them Talk, Or, Listen Listen Listen.
  • Jason – Execute, Learn, Share.
  • Conga – Discernment, Enjoy, Educate.
  • Kathy – Integrity, Accountability, Tenacity.
  • David – Development, Solutions, Digital.
  • Leon – Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin (needs to learn all three).
  • Julie – Create, Execute, Deliver
  • Melissa – Create, Care, Promote.
  • Sara – Study. Pursue. Persevere.
  • Benji – Prospect, Follow-through, Integrity.
  • Adam – Project, Resolute, Legacy.
  • Christopher – Commitment, Connecting, Caring.
  • Kathy – Focus, Produce, Balance.
  • Mike – See, Imagine, Show.
  • Zane – Keep. Moving. Forward.
  • Jill – Ask, Grow, Matter.
  • Sharon – Dream, Do, Gratitude.
  • Kimberly – Health, Truth, Thrive.
  • Dimitri – Move, Grow, Share.
  • Susan – Focus, Grow, Connect.
  • Amruta – Ask, Do, Share.
  • Eric – Adapt, Support, Teach.
  • David – Remarkable, Share, Understand.
  • C.C. – Create, Inspire, Teach.
  • Beth – Challenge, Empower, Collaborate.
  • Lisa – Passion, Balance, Giving Back.
  • Barry – Focus, Consistency, Write.
  • Heather – Wealth, Freedom, Fun.
  • Siobhan – Learn, Stretch, Give.
  • Eileen- Enlighten, Do, Grow.
  • Laurie – Wholeness, Notice, Release.
  • Michelle – Own, Reflect, Try.
  • Christian – Select, Execute, Review
  • Pam – Prioritize, Empathize, Collaborate.
  • Adam – Create, Connect, Move
  • Jack – Freedom, Authority, Conversation.
  • Phyllis – Connect, Undaunted, Execution.
  • Alex – Responsibility, Integrity, Civility.
  • Thomas – Love, Live, Laugh.
  • Bella – Embrace, Act, Care.
  • Jamie – Give, Go, Be.
  • Deb – Innovation, Recognition, Sustainability.
  • Diana – Courage, Relationships, Focus.
  • Josh – Epic, Sustainable, Togetherness.
  • Daniel – Exponential, Residual, Communal.
  • Eric – Ecosystem, Momentum, Hero Frame.
  • Kristelle – Breathe, Stretch, Irresistible Influence.
  • Serita – Exceed, Grow, Gratitude.
  • Lori – Intuition, Motivation,Organization.
  • Bill – Remarkable, Memorable, Valuable.
  • Mat – Listen, Learn, Develop.
  • Margie – Teach, Learn, Live.
  • Sue – Get OUT There!
  • Rebecca – Grow, Connections, Balance.
  • Julia – Freedom, Fascination, Fun.
  • Caren – Innovate, Engage, and Generate.
  • Rex – Discipline, Delivery and Sharing.
  • Glenda – Transformation, Freedom, and Instincts.
  • Jeff – Finish.
  • Jacqueline – Centralize, Bulldoze, Infect.
  • Mark – Create. Connect. Give-Back.
  • Chad – Learn, Reflect, Act.
  • Marcy – Live, Love, Lead.
  • Barbara – Stop. Talk. Live.
  • LaTara – Life, Love, and Liberty.
  • Joel – Focus. Expect. Exercise.
  • Jim – Customers, Content, and Strategy.
  • Christine – Expand, Focus, Nurture.
  • Gin – Iterate, Beauty, Home.
  • Colleen – Process, Detail, Faith.
  • Stephanie – Faith, Family, Collaboration.
  • Matt – Trajectory, Triples, Diamond Filters.
  • Ardath – Story, Grow, Teach.
  • Allan – Learn, Implement, Blossom.
  • Jessica – Integrate, Focus, Expand.
  • Gail – Ask, Receive, Free Spirit.
  • John – Start, Stop, Continue.
  • Daniel – Concentrate, Collaborate, Deliver.
  • Lynn – Connecting, Articulating, Performing.
  • Gilda – Speaker, Author/Book, Information Products.
  • Diane – Focus, Educate, Produce.
  • Hadass – Move, Learn, Seek.
  • Jody – Relationships, Grow, Build.
  • Julianne – Responsibility, Exercise, Passion.
  • Tom – Conscious, Present, Mirth.
  • Jennifer – Save, Invest, Choose.
  • Angela – Connect, Lead, Mentor.
  • Chrissy – Energy, Passion, Knowing.
  • Eugen – Grow, Build, Ecosystems.
  • Ray – Proactive, Punctual, Relationships.
  • Jessica – Bones, Breath, Reach.
  • Hubertus – Storytelling, Grow, Stuff.
  • Nick – Grow, Create, Community.
  • Jim – Believe, Do, Own, Family.
  • Tomasz – Learn, Love, Lead.
  • Glen – Do, Increase, Expert.
  • Darren – Engage, Create, Learn.

And You?

What are your three words for 2011? How will you guide your actions?

Storytelling for Business

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I’ve written about storytelling before. In one post, I wrote about the velocity of real time storytelling. In another, I wrote about the storyteller’s promise in presentations. In another, I wrote about at least one way that stories help your community. Stories also work well for business.

Storytelling for Business

Right off the bat, let’s accept that press releases aren’t stories (at least not necessarily). They’re just information formatted to be absorbed by a news organization. That’s okay. They’re not meant to be stories. Stories come out of a narrative that usually involves experiences, actions, and a change of state. They take place in a setting, have characters, and often have a theme about them.

Advertising knows this. They do it often. This piece by Levi’s really moved me. It worked perfectly as a story. And that story got me interested in buying more Levi’s products, because I saw myself as part of the story. I loved what they were talking about in the story, and I was moved.

So, how do YOU do this? And why would you?

What Stories Do For Us

Stories are how we learn best. We absorb numbers and facts and details, but we keep them all glued into our heads with stories. I was with AJ Leon (and Melissa and Tony) for their latest project. He brought up old blog posts of mine as part of his interview process. In each case, there was a story wrapped around the post, and a story to share with the idea he asked me about. Stories let us convey wisdom, and/or explain information in an entertaining way.

How To Tell a Story

I’m going to explore this in an interview with Jennifer Aaker, Andy Smith, and hopefully Oren Jacob for 501 Mission Place shortly, but I’ll tell you my simple view of it, before that experience.

How to tell a story:

  • Start with a character and a point of view. Harry Potter is the story of a young boy who feels he’s very different and very left out, discovering that he’s not where he was meant to be, and then it grows into this larger epic about defeating evil. Now, if you run an air conditioning installation company, you might not be able to talk about a secret school, owls, and a weird game, but you can start with a story about Samir, and why he came to work for the company, and what he loves most about the job.
  • Have a point to the story. Samir, the air conditioning installation person can give an interview, but just asking him questions and getting the answers isn’t a story. It’s an interview. The point might come out from the interview, or the point might be to gear the questions so that Samir tells the story of how Ace has the best service.
  • Make the story useful. If you’re hoping the story will help your business, make it useful. What if Samir showed us how regular six month maintenance on our air handling systems saved people thousands of dollars a year, and what if he showed us that it takes only 20 minutes start to finish? That’s useful.
  • End with a “next action.” This is a little different than stories, which like to stop at “the end.” In storytelling for business, you want your reader to take an action. Thus, the story should end with a sense of what the “reader” (who becomes a character of another kind) can do with what they learned in the story.

Different Media

Telling a story on YouTube is different than telling a story on Facebook is different than telling a story on Twitter is different than telling a story on a blog. It’s all different than an ebook, and a paper book, etc. The different types of media make the storytelling a different experience. Think of how you’d do an audio interview versus a video interview. Think of what comes from writing clear and useful prose versus having a video experience. See how it’s all different?

Be sure to pick the right medium for the job.

  • Audio is intimate.
  • Video is expressive and illustrative.
  • Text is faster to read than audio or video is to consume, easier to transfer, and simpler to produce.

Experiment

The best way to start learning about storytelling is to practice. Think up storylines. Look at the points I’ve made above and see which ones resonate with you. Think about how you could tell a story with the experience you want your buyers/clients/customers to have. What’s the story that you think will resonate with the people you need to reach?

And what did I leave out of this that you’d want to know about?

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