No story lives unless someone wants to listen

In an era when content is king, the written word is one of the most powerful and essential tools available in marketing. 'Yes', images and video are also crucial ways to connect; however, if you have a complex or high-value product or solution to sell, the written word is still the best way to tell your story.

Stories of my demise…

When asked about rumours of his death, Mark Twain was said to have responded by saying, 'Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.' The same can be said of the written word. For more than a decade, many marketing pundits have been shouting that 'the written word is dead!' What nonsense. What they should have been saying is that there is no place for bad writing in marketing. The truth is there's never been a place for bad writing in marketing.

Bringing your businesses story to life

Have you ever noticed that the great written works live in your mind? That's why there's debate about how characters or places should look when they eventually come to the big screen. Froddo Baggins probably looked different in your mind before seeing him on screen in the first Lord of the Rings movie. That's because J.R.R.Tolkein did a fantastic job creating a world in your mind that never existed. That's the challenge when you're writing your businesses story. It doesn't need to be a new world you are imagining, but you need to tell a story that connects readers and makes them want to listen.

Business is pragmatic. There's no room for fun or frivolity!

If you think there's no room in business for storytelling, then you haven't been paying attention. From the world created by Coke to Avis's stories on 'why we try harder' storytelling has been at the heart of marketing since….well, forever. Sure, you need to be pragmatic in your management and sales meetings; however, if you want to stand out and win customers over, you need to get into the storytelling business. Remember, you're always writing for the one reader…and that's not you.

 Our world

On average, we're spending the equivalent of 100 full days online every year. Most of this is listening to other's stories or creating our own. It's made us quicker to judge what we will read. Yes, we have become more gullible, but we have also become more cynical and have a much shorter attention span. We have more choice on what to read and what to ignore, and we exercise that choice with ruthless precision. Your challenge is to be heard over the noise. 

Your competition 

A world of choice is available to readers, even in your business niche. You must find ways to capture attention, hold and engage the reader and tell your story compellingly and expressively. Boring is the one sin that is not forgiven in the online world, so there is no doubt that great storytelling becomes an essential business skill.

The role of the Narrator

A Narrator is an essential tool in writing. A Narrator can tell a story with passion and yet seemingly without an agenda. They can provide a bird's eye view of the world they see, and at the same time, help you see the smallest detail. Having a Narrator telling your story allows an effective way to broaden your story to include the reader and even help you see your business from a new perspective.

The journey to find your Narrator

Writing for business is a highly specialised skill. Anyone can try, but it takes decades to truly master. You must be a student of human nature and someone with the ability to distil volumes of information and experience into a single, simple, concise and compelling story. The alchemy of creative writing and pragmaticism demands an editor's ruthlessness with the wonder of a reader. 

Telling your story is a mighty responsibility and a decision that should not be taken lightly. Finding the right Narrator for this task starts by reading the other stories they have told.

The spaces between 

Your businesses Narrator is not a business writer, and they are not your marketer. They are something that occupies the spaces between. They're skilled enough to write a headline that instantly captures attention, as well as the hundreds of pages of content that keep readers coming back for more. 

They can write on the same subject repeatedly, each time providing a new perspective for the reader. Distance, skill, passion, knowledge and experience are all essential, but its the elusive 'X factor that makes the real difference.

Listen to the man with the 180 IQ

Einstein once said that 'the only source of knowledge is experience'. Few organisations in Australia can boast the decades of writing experience that Digital Storytelling Collective brings to the page. Even fewer have such a depth of knowledge in visual storytelling or have had such exposure to so many industry sectors. If you'd like to understand the potential of your story, contact us today.