Category: Storytelling

Sometimes I wonder why I spend so much time blogging … and at other times I get a sincere joy out of the interactions, conversations and ideas that come from the process of writing and reading. And then I came across this post over at Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger site — a group writing project where Darren encourages his readers to write about their blog goals.

I am a fan of eating your own cake — not just talking about a technology, a tool, an idea … but actually engaging with it, trying to figure it out … and putting your own creativity out into the world. Of course, that is a little terrifying — but that is part of the fun. So when I started thinking about blogs and blogging and how it was changing the way that we all communicate and engage with brands, with stories and (on the other side) with companies, then I thought I should learn by doing.

Diego over at Metacool talks a little about this in this post on CEOs and the need for them to "get technology". And while I don’t entirely agree, it is clear that business leaders do need to have an understanding of technology — but more importantly — they need to be able to spot the innovative use of the technology to achieve a business goal. And while I am not a CEO, the lessons I have learned by actively writing and engaging with this blog have been suprising.

And while this blog and the lessons I have learned may not change the world, it has certainly been very tasty.

S.

It is funny the way the difference between how you see yourself and how others see you. For example, I consider myself quite shy, but others think of me more of a "serious" person. So as a shy-serious person I often find it difficult to make small talk.

So imagine my joy at finding this. Mike Wagner (I am sure nobody has ever accused him of being shy) provides the following questions that will engage people while simultaneously provide you with those small talk topics that can be so hard to think of:

• Family – Where’s home, originally, for you? Do you have brothers and sisters? Where do you fit in the pecking order?
• Occupation – How do you make a living? Has it been a good experience working there?
• Recreation – When you’re not working, what do you do for fun?

Write these down, memorise them, and then go talk to someone you don’t know! Woah … I am getting cold shivers just thinking about it.

S.

There seems to be a lot of chatter about "landing pages" at the moment … and yet here I am adding to the noise (again)! And while I do believe that we need to treat every web page like a landing page, it is also important to remember that NOT all landing pages are (or should) be created equal.

To start with, a landing page may be related specifically to an area of expertise. Or, it may have been developed to support a marketing or promotional program that you are working on. In both cases the focus of the (specific) landing page should relate to the upstream reason that visitors arrived there … the important thing to remember is that you know WHERE your visitors came from, and the context within which they chose to visit you. When it comes to telling your story, this can make all the difference.

For example, if you are running a print ad that links through to your promotional landing page, then you already know what your visitors have been reading. You know partly what they expect. You know the call to action you used. And you probably know the demographic profile of this visitor. This makes your visitor more "knowable".

BUT a visitor coming through an AdWords link presents a whole new challenge. Thankfully, there is a great article here about creating good information/communication design for use with an AdWords program (thanks to Seth Godin for pointing this out). Now I am quite partial to a glass or two of a fine Pinot Noir, but it wasn’t just the subject that made me read … it was the context. It came from Seth Godin with a simple, but effective headline, and then the article itself contained an excellent title — "Google AdWords for Wineries — How NOT to Do It". There are a lot of tips and tricks available on the web, but sometimes you just want to know how to avoid the problems.

And the advice that The Winery Website Report blog provides can be easily applied to any website … you don’t even need AdWords to learn something about good landing pages. But just make sure that those landing pages continue the story that your ad started. Keep the funnel narrow and you will keep your interested visitors flowing through your site.

S.

It is easy to get carried away by a good story. It doesn’t matter whether you are reading or writing, when you are "in the zone",  when you are caught in the undertow of a story, it can sometimes take great effort to re-engage with the outside world. This is why, as readers, we have authors that we love. It is also, why as writers, we are sometimes confused about where the writing comes from.

It can become hard to tell what comes first, the story or the audience!

Marketers face a similar challenge. When trying to create a new market, the story comes first. The story must create a pool of gravity that will attract an audience. And the story must also be able to spread far and wide, going out into the world and returning with new reader/customers.

But the same also applies to existing markets. If your product or service dominates a market, then all your competitors will be seeking to draw your customers away. They will be seeking to create niche markets or new categories that are going to appeal to your customers. And make no mistake, we all love novelty, we all love something new, and we all love to be first with something new/cool/exciting/exclusive. Can your tired old story compete with this?

If you are constantly looking at the way your story plays out for your audiences, then you will also be seeking to constantly refine it. Don’t wait for your customers to ask for it, or simply go somewhere else. Make YOUR story the one that they love … keep the tale kicking and your brand alive. So what comes first? The story everytime.

S.

When I first started working on web projects many years ago, everyone was running around, clucking that "content is king". This fueled the growth of many "internet companies" and also led to their failure. But now, as we are entering (or in the midst of) a second dot.com expansion, there are many conversations that sound very familiar. I am getting a sense of deja vu.

Seth Godin neatly points out that, while content is important, it is the context that is MOST important on the web. And while we had an inkling of this importance many years ago and corporatised it with statements like "levelling the playing field", marketers are now becoming aware of the power of the conversations (and recommendations) delivered via blogs, social networks/bookmarks and lenses such as Squidoo. But, of course, not all marketers — there are a number of ostriches out there masquerading as marketers — are interested. But, hey, they don’t read blogs.

Do a small test on this. Write a story on your blog about someone. Put the link into the post and provide some context. Also put that link into your blogroll list in the margin. Then send your friend an email and ask how many referrals occurred via each of those links. I bet you can already guess which one performed the best.

S.

I have always been drawn toward poetry. It interested me at school, and captivated me during my university studies. You have probably even read some of my own buried here on the blog.
But the thing that continues to draw me into poetry is the ambiguity that it offers. You can use words powerfully and playfully to create many meanings, some which you may intend, and others that appear between the words (and only in the minds of some readers).
So it was an unexpected joy today to find this small piece of poetic writing that eloquently captures the challenges that marketers face every day. If only we all had such noble causes and clear results!
With thanks to Seth Godin for pointing it out.
S.

There is always something new to learn on the web. The challenge of course is to have enough time to read/learn all there is to offer (never going to happen), and after failing/accepting this, learn to quickly select useful content. Most people have the same problem … but it is comforting to hear that others with more experience find the same thing.

There is a great article on Rebecca Blood over at the C for Chaos. Rebecca is famous for having a great blog and writing the Weblog Handbook. I was interested to read about her take on storytelling, and that she views this as a form of sharing. I also liked the way that she keeps notes during the day and sits down later to write her posts.

There are as many different approaches to blogs as there are bloggers. What are your tips? How do you work it all out? Or haven’t you tried yet?

S.

I was reading this great post from Nat over at Decisive Flow and it reminded me of working as a technical writer and dealing with a particularly verbose computer analyst (let’s call him "George").

Now George was an intense young man and was having some difficulty in working with a writer. It was nothing personal … it was simply that we were working through some procedural documentation and it was very important that the document was correct. It was, after all, a "mission critical app, man" (who says that anyway?).

We had almost completed the document when George came to my office and explained that there was a new function that we had to urgently incorporate into the document. So I pulled up the document, ascertained the best place for the material and turned to George who began dictating some text. As I typed it became obvious that the text was becoming, with every word, a veritable hodge podge of jargon, keywords and acronyms that made no sense had no punctuation and was becomingvirtuallymeaningless. (Sorry couldn’t resist.)

So I stopped.

George kept going. Then stopped.

I looked him in the eye and asked him to describe the task. He looked at the screen and began reading what I had written. "NO", I said, "what is the task?". After a deep breath, George was able to explain the task that needed to be performed. I was then able to write it in a procedural format.

It made me realise that many people don’t write for clarity, they write in a way that is "designed to be clear". Unfortunately, this often means that extra words and jargon creep into your writing. It is only by listening first that you can write clearly … so when you are writing, try to listen to the sounds that are made in your own head. Don’t write for clarity … write for understanding.

S.

To tell a story you have to be able to spell. If you have errors in your text then it becomes easy for readers to not engage with your content. It can appear sloppy or careless. Even I am guilty of this … a former editor and writer — someone who cares about writing and language — can also fall into the trap of laziness.

And while I know that Typepad comes with a built-in spell checker, I very rarely use it … and the result can sometimes mean that I find errors in my own writing. These errors rarely change the meaning of what I am saying, but it does effect the way that I read my own text.

I was reminded of this after reading SplaTT’s weblog and trying out this cool Flickr spelling tool. Another one for the Web 2.0 junkies … but it appeals to my interest in technology and words. So, what does your name spell in pictures?

S.

I don’t know why, but I am always surprised when I see a movie script or a manuscript typed out in double spacing. It is even more surprising when you see some storyboards for multimedia presented in the same fashion.
Come on, people … WordPerfect went out in the 80s!

Well ok, I can admit that there is something cute and retro about the use of the courier font, but it seems to me that there are a whole heap of writers out there who go OUT OF THEIR WAY to layout the pages of their writing as if the Olivetti was the latest technological innovation seen.

These are the same guys who are writing eBooks, sending out podcasts and blogging in the name of science. They even write while listening to iPods.

So what is it that is going on here? A strange love affair with Courier?

No … these guys are in it for the business of writing. They know what their audience expects … and their audience is not you and I, it is the exec or publisher who needs to see clearly and without fuss what the story is about. It is worth remembering that a good story will sell itself … it does not need to be pretty. It just needs to be compelling.

Now, all I need to do is change this site’s design from black to something a little funkier. Damn typepad has got me in handcuffs!

S.