THIS is why you put your audience above all else:

31%.

That’s how much Nike’s online sales went up in the two days following the release of their “Just Do It” ad featuring Colin Kaepernick.

Thirty. One. Percent.

That’s no effin’ joke. Which is fitting, because when Nike dropped this bomb during an NFL commercial break, they weren’t playing around.

If you haven’t watched the ad yet, please stop reading and do. I’ll even embed it below.

~*~*~chills~*~*~

It gets me every time, man. And apparently, it gets enough other people that Nike’s online sales boosted by just shy of a third. (I still can’t get over that.)

I like to believe that a large reason why Nike launched this campaign was that it’s the right thing to do. But I’m also a cynic. So, this post is going to dig into why Nike chose to do this from a strategic and marketing standpoint.

As the official White House statement implored:

What was Nike thinking?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2018

The answer isn’t “any press is good press.” This is not like when a company “accidentally” (how can an entire marketing team approve it and it still is “accidentally”?) runs a “tone-deaf” (just say it: racist) ad.

(Looking at you, Dove. And Intel. And Nivea. And Qiabi.)

Nope. Nike’s ad is not a “controversy.” It is intelligent, intentional, practical, FIRE storytelling. Let’s look at why.

Choose your audience over a vocal minority.

The NFL players are at it again – taking a knee when they should be standing proudly for the National Anthem. Numerous players, from different teams, wanted to show their “outrage” at something that most of them are unable to define. They make a fortune doing what they love……

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2018

…..Be happy, be cool! A football game, that fans are paying soooo much money to watch and enjoy, is no place to protest. Most of that money goes to the players anyway. Find another way to protest. Stand proudly for your National Anthem or be Suspended Without Pay!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2018

. . . An era in which Kaepernick has been blackballed by the NFL (yes, openly) for exercising his first amendment right (that’s right, the one just before the second) . . .

. . . An era in which white nationalism (the thing we hoped was at least frowned upon by now) is at a modern high . . .

. . . And, apparently, we’re also in an era in which Nike chooses to stand in solidarity with their audience, no matter who rage-burns their socks over it (yes, as in, lights their already-purchased Nike socks on fire).

 “Ahhhh my money! Wait. You already paid me. Lolz.” -Nike

Nike came out on top because, despite the cacophony of loud, obnoxious people siding against Kaepernick, they knew that their audience, their target market, supported the protests. And by boldly broadcasting their alliance with that cause, they won even more passionate support from their already fired-up base.

It may seem like throwing your business head-first into an issue that divisive would take guts. But really all it takes is fully knowing your target market.

The riches are in the niches.

So. Who’s in Nike’s niche, anyway?

In 2017, Nike launched what they called “Consumer Direct Offense.” Basically, they planned to target 12 Key Cities across the globe which they estimated would generate 80% of their projected growth by 2020. So, basically, all of their growth. From 12 cities.

What United States cities were included, you ask?

Los Angeles and New York. Two of the most progressive cities in the United States.

The people most likely to support Drumpf’s outrage over Kaepernick’s protest fall into a few notable demographics. Namely, they tend to be white, older than 35, and not in New York or Los Angeles.

In other words, they aren’t Nike’s target demographic. In other-other words, Nike doesn’t give two shits about losing Mike Pence’s once-a-year sneaker purchase.

And, the thing is, Nike has taken progressive anti-racism stances before. Just last year, in 2017, they did an entire campaign called “Equality” that showcased talents like LeBron James, Serena Williams, Kevin Durant, Megan Rapinoe, Dalilah Muhammad, Gabby Douglas, Victor Cruz, Alicia Keys, and Michael B. Jordan.

It was powerful and bold but didn’t cause anywhere near as much of a charged response—likely because being for equality feels less threatening to white people than being against police brutality towards people of color, but I digress.

The moral is, Nike knows their story’s protagonist exactly. And if someone’s pissed off about their Kaepernick ad—well, then, they’re not their protagonist.

So, think about it: who is your protagonist? Or, more relevantly, who isn’t? Is there something you’d avoided saying because you’re afraid of pissing off people who don’t ultimately make or break your brand?

If so, maybe being bold would help you stand apart.

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Stop it. Close Fiverr. Shut it down.

It’s tempting, I know. You have your business idea. You come up with the world’s cleverest name. And next thing you know, you’re browsing logo artists on Fiverr, deciding if you can push your budget just a litttttttle higher.

I’ve done it.

You’ve done it.

We’ve all done it.

Now, let’s get over it.

The truth is, your logo doesn’t matter—not yet, anyway. Not when you don’t have a client to look at your logo. Especially not when you don’t even have leads looking at your logo.

No, at this point what you need is a solid, powerful, compelling story.

So, get off Fiverr. Close the color swatch generator. And listen to why crafting your story is the strongest foundation you can possibly build for your new business.

1. Without a story, you’re like a plastic bag.

Your story—the unique narrative you tell about what you do and why you do it—is what distinguishes you from the thousands of other online business folks out there vying for your audience’s attention. Especially when your business is brand new and you don’t have a track record yet.

Think about it like this. Imagine you are a film student and, to pick up some extra cash, you want to coach people on how to create better YouTube content. BUT, you’ve never done this before, so you have no testimonials or direct experience.

Without a story, you’re just giving leads the “what.” You might say, “I’m a film student and I can help you make better videos. I can teach you about lighting, sound, editing, and how to choose good content.”

…

Did you hear that?

Instead, why not tell your lead the truth? Why not let them in on your “why”?

Here’s what that might look like:

“I’m a film student who has spent many hours in classes with top experts in their fields. My passion is film production, and I want to help content creators elevate their videos to reach a bigger audience. My goal is to grow alongside you by teaching you everything I know about lighting, sound, editing, and how to choose good content. In the end, I guarantee that you will have more views, more subscribers, and will be happier overall with the quality of your videos.”

Not bad. Not perfect, but definitely more compelling than a plastic bag. Would people take you up on it? If the price was right and the need was there, somebody would.

At this point, you may be wondering how I know. I know because, when I was a film student, I applied for an eff-ton of freelancing jobs while manning the door of my work-study.

In the beginning, I applied like a plastic bag—I told them (all serious-like) what I would do for them. I thought, the more serious the better. But nobody would take me up on anything.

Eventually, I got really pissed off and said, “eff it.” Instead, I wrote an honest letter that explained who I was, why I was doing this, what I hoped to get from it, and what I could help them achieve. And lo-and-behold, they bit.

2. Stories make you work work work work work.

But how often do we tell ourselves that same thing?

How often do you try and fail to make yourself eat healthier, go to the gym, call your mom, practice guitar, or whatever else you think you “should” be doing? I’m guessing a lot.

The reality is, even when it’s us telling it to ourselves, we hate hearing “because I said so.” We hate hearing, “because you should” or “because it’s good for you.” It’s not a good enough reason. It’s not motivating. It doesn’t inspire you to get off the couch and act.

When you’re building an online business, you’re going to have to do a lot of nitty-gritty crap you don’t want to do. You’re going to have days when you’re exhausted from your 9-to-5 and just want to crash and watch Scandal or play Pokémon Trading Card Game Online ( . . . just me?). But if you want to find success in this thing, you have to hustle.

Stories are there to light a fire under you, knock down writer’s block, sap out the laziness, and destroy any other obstacles that stand in your way of success.

When you have a story, you have a purpose. You know where you fit within the landscape of your life and what you want for yourself, and you know what chapter of your life’s narrative you’re roughly on.

Think about it like this. Say you need to write a blog post. So, you tell yourself, “I should write a blog post.” But then, the lazy, procrastinating half of your brain says, “Yeah, I shouldddd…but I also want to watch Scandal.” And that’s the end of that.

It’s a struggle—if not impossible—to motivate yourself to act when you don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing. But if you have a story to hold onto, you can make yourself endure nearly any struggle, pain, or trial.

Case in point? When John McCain was a POW, he was able to endure years of horrific living conditions and physical and psychological torture from his captives. Whereas other men (understandably) broke, he refused to give up information and refused to go home, even when the Vietnamese offered to send him back.

Why?

Because McCain’s narrative was that he was there for his men. He was there to serve his country. And in this story, he believed his role was to give the other men a strong role model to look to and derive strength from.

Obviously, this is an exceptional circumstance. But if John McCain could use story to withstand years of some of the most terrifying conditions imaginable, you can surely use story to motivate yourself to write a blog post. You just need a good enough reason.

With a story, you might tell yourself, “I’m going to have a successful coaching business that will pay my rent once I get out of school, and everybody is going to ask me how I did it. My clients are going to love me, and I’m going to provide a ton of value to them. I’m going to have the kind of business that creates awesome content every day, so I need to write this blog post.”

That’s a lot more motivating than, “because I said so.”

3. Stories will help you pick your stupid effing logo.

I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve browsed artists just imagining what different designers could create for me. And, yes, fine, one day you will need a logo.

And it will be glorious.

You will finally have total creative control and some cash to get an awesome artist to create something that looks effing sick on your business cards.

But here’s the deal. Without some sort of guidance or values system to rail you in, the process will be a total crapshoot mash-up of what art styles you happen to like this Tuesday: “I want something flat and minimalistic but also with a ton of detail and 3D. Something modern but classic and maybe add in a little dinosaur.”

Maybe you get lucky. Or maybe, a month from now, your excitement fades and you realize your logo isn’t as cool as you thought it was.

The thing is, when you’re building a business, you have to make a lot of decisions. You’ll have to choose between clients, if it’s time to scale up, who to hire, what platform to build your website on, what to specialize in, and what logo designer to go with on Fiverr.

But if you have no guide rails, no structure, no story to inform your decisions, each choice is a shot in the dark. You have no unifying principles, no rhyme or reason. Your project brief is just “make me something I like today.”

With a story, your brief starts to shape itself. You can tell the designer who the target audience is, what mood you want to convey, what sets you apart from your competitors, why you’re doing this in the first place, where you’re coming from and where you want to go. And a killer designer can make you something that plays off of all of that.

That’s how you get a logo that’s truly timeless and memorable. Not just clever or beautiful.

So, what’s your story? What puts fire in your business’ engine? What helps guide every single decision you make and keeps you grounded?

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If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Don’t give me none of that “I like me just the way I am” BS. This is a hypothetical.

For those of you struggling: imagine a pissed off genie is demanding that you make a wish to change something about yourself right now. Before he smites you or whatever genies do.

What’s your answer?

Maybe it’s because my coffee cup is empty and it’s super gray outside. Or maybe it’s because I was born lazy. Who knows. But either way, right now, I would love to be magically transformed into a person with boundless energy.

Short of hard drugs, I’d do about anything to accomplish that.

The truth is, we all wanna be something we’re not.

Think about it: we buy a burger to transform from hungry to full. We buy a new mattress to transform from sore to well-rested. We buy a yacht to transform from peasant to elite.

We wanna be cooler, fitter, smarter, funnier, prettier, tougher, faster, richer, calmer, safer, freer, happier, whatever-er.

But it goes even deeper.

We also love watching others transform.

It’s not the person with the most screen time.

It’s not the “good guy.”

And it’s not the one who “wins” in the end.

The protagonist is the character who transforms. 

All the most successful, timeless films on the planet follow “The Hero’s Journey.” Which says that the entire reason a protagonist goes on an epic journey is to resolve some internal flaw. And guess what?

The audience eats it up.

We effing LOVE movies about transformation. About underdogs. Redemption. Overcoming adversity. Growing up. Settling down. Falling in love. Moving on. The list goes on and on and on.

You may be wondering now, “How does this relate to copywriting?”

Your audience, also known as the protagonist, wants to transform. And if they want it bad enough, they will do anything to achieve it—kill climb a lava mountain to get rid of a weird ring, kill a baldheaded snake-nosed guy, or blow up a highly-flawed moon-sized space station.

As their mentor, it’s your job to guide them towards their needed and desired transformation. But how do you do that?

Entering…

QWCT #4: Show your audience their dream come true in a Transformation Narrative

Good testimonials take that one step further.

I say “good” because some awful testimonials will be like…

“McDonald’s is soOOOooOOooo good it’s my favorite I love McDonald’s.”

…which is worthless.

A good testimonial uses a Transformation Narrative. It shows your audience how your business changed a previous client’s life.

The basic format usually is something like: “Before, I *blah blah blah*. But then, I tried *blah*. And now, I *blah blah blah*.”

Here’s a blah-less example of a transformation narrative as a testimonial:

“Before, road trips were exhausting. I had to fix tons of snacks for each of my kids, and we always ran out, which of course, led to obnoxious bickering.

 

“But then, I tried the McDonalds drive-thru. It was so cheap and had such a good selection!

 

“Now, I have five full bellies, a quiet car, and my sanity back. Thanks, McDonald’s!”

More persuasive than before? Definitely.

The good news is, you don’t need a great testimonial to have a transformation narrative at your disposal. You can create one.

A transformation narrative is a story that bundles pain points and desires together.

It shows your audience how your offering helps them go from who they are to who they want to be.

So tell them how life sucks. And then show them their evolved form like BAM!

• “Can’t ignore that toothache any longer? Let the #1 dentist in all of north-central Cleveland give you your smile back — without emptying your wallet.
• “The last thing you want is for your raft to pop when you’re towing your kid behind your boat. Keep the family vacation going strong with the most trusted raft in Minnesota.”
• “Ever get stuck standing in front of your full closet thinking, ‘I have nothing to wear’? Feel confident and comfortable every day in your new go-to shirt.”

Now let’s take ‘em inside that transformation process with QWCT #4. Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride.

The dentist:

Toothaches are miserable.

 

It’s a nagging pain that never entirely goes away. It rears its ugly head at times when you most want to relax. When you’re trying to savor some ice cream. Crunch down on some popcorn. Or even just go to sleep.

 

But even more miserable than a toothache is the damage fixing it does to your wallet.

 

At the #1 dentist in all of north-central Cleveland, we understand. We help give you your smile back—without emptying your wallet.

 

So you can go back to enjoying what you love.

The raft:

Imagine: you and your family are out on the lake.

 

The boat’s motor is growling, your wife is laughing, the wind is in your hair. Your kids are screaming happily on the raft as you tug it over the water behind you.

 

All is going great, the dream vacation, until—POP! The raft rips.

 

You wind the boat down and check out the damage. “It’s ruined,” one of your children says as they saunter onto the boat. You putter back to the shore, wondering how you’re going to salvage the weekend getaway.

 

Don’t let this be you.

 

 

Keep your family vacation going strong with the most trusted raft in Minnesota. It’s made of a super durable material that will never rip, ever, guaranteed. Plus, your kids will love it’s super comfortable grips.

 

 

Now, the fun never has to stop.

And finally, the shirt:

I used to stand in front of my closet every morning with a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. Even though I had so many articles of clothing to choose from, I had nothing to wear.

 

 

 

 

I’d try on one thing after the next, but nothing felt right. Too tight. Too loose. Too casual. Too formal. And each time I pulled down a new thing to try, I felt my anxiety growing. Maybe I’m just weird…

 

 

 

 

Then, in the back of my closet, I found an old, plain shirt I’d completely forgotten about. It was soft, comfy, simple, and looked great. It was an instant relief. And to my surprise, I got so many compliments from my friends and colleagues. “Where’d you get that?” they’d ask.

 

 

 

 

Eventually, I got asked so much that I set out to replicate it. I found the perfect materials. The most flattering silhouette. The most versatile design. And created the Cool Shirt.

 

 

 

 

Now, every morning is a breeze. And yours can be, too.

Your immediate thought might be “That’s nice, but isn’t the copy a bit long?” If so, I encourage you to check out some of the massively successful long-form sales letters.

Like this one by Jay Abraham. It digs into the transformation an entrepreneur will undergo by attending his $5000 Abraham Factor Weekend.

Or this one by Martin Conroy. Many copywriters consider it to be the greatest sales letter of all time. It generated more than $2 billion for the Wall Street Journal! His technique (which is now widely copied) asks the reader to imagine two men who transform in vastly different ways.

Or even this infamous bad boy by Gary Halpern. On page two, he launches into his own first-person transformation narrative. It’s insanely compelling.

Action Steps

 1. Who is your audience? Describe them.

This is the Before picture. It’s usually the pain point you identified in QWCT #2, realized.

2. Who does your audience want to be? Describe them.

The After picture. The simplest way to identify it is the complete opposite of the Before. But there’s a catch: it has to be believable.

If you paint an After that’s too incredible, your audience won’t believe you.

3. Weave it into a Transformation Narrative.

Paint a picture. If you get stuck, work your way through the five senses. This isn’t a creative writing assignment—you’re just stating the facts.

And that’s it!

How did it go?

I’d love to see what you come up with! Send me what you’ve got at alexie@spacek9.com, and I’d be happy to give you some quick feedback.

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What is something you would do ANYTHING to have taken care of?

We’ve all got something.

A little while ago, I would’ve kicked myself in the face to not be so freaking anxious in social situations.

If the room was too crowded, too loud, or generally too people-y, I would get dizzy and not be able to breathe. Full on panic.

A big reason why was because I was hyper-aware of my lacking social skills. I thought I was uncool and that I’d mess up every conversation. So my body revolted and tried to keep me far, far away. 

It wasn’t a huge deal when I was growing up in Kentucky. But when I moved to NYC to study film, it definitely complicated things. (I’m looking at you, Times Square.) 

. . . and suddenly, who appears in my inbox but my good friend Ramit Sethi.

My good friend Ramit was promoting a new IWT course called “How to Talk to Anybody.”

In his sales emails and sales pages, he talked about how he used to be crazy awkward. He talked about how much being socially anxious sucks. He KICKED ME IN MY PAIN POINT.

And then, he turned it around.

He promised me he could get me to the point where I could talk to anybody.

If that was true — if he could really give me that “benefit” — that would’ve been an absolute Godsend. It was like the skies parted, angels sang, and my good friend Ramit descended from the heavens offering me the social fluency I’d always dreamed of.

I bit the heck out of that course.

Which brings me to the next QWCT… 

QWCT #3: Use benefits to show AWESOME their life will be.

• “Can’t ignore that toothache any longer? Let the #1 dentist in all of north-central Cleveland give you your smile back.”
• “The last thing you want is for your raft to pop when you’re towing your kid behind your boat. That’s why you want the raft Minnesotans have trusted since the big flood of 1972.”
  
• “Ever get stuck standing in front of your full closet thinking, ‘I have nothing to wear’? Meet your new go-to shirt.”

After implementing QWCT #3 to slather on the benefits, it might come out something like this:

• “Can’t ignore that toothache any longer? Let the #1 dentist in all of north-central Cleveland give you your smile back — without emptying your wallet.
• “The last thing you want is for your raft to pop when you’re towing your kid behind your boat. Keep the family vacation going strong with the most trusted raft in Minnesota.”
• “Ever get stuck standing in front of your full closet thinking, ‘I have nothing to wear’? Feel confident and comfortable every day in your new go-to shirt.”

Slowly but surely, we’re getting somewhere with this copy.

Notice how the little ego-boosters we started with are getting weeded out. There’s just not room for them anymore, now that we’re putting all our focus on the audience.

What does that mean? It means we can’t guess. We need to go straight to the source.

Action Steps

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What keeps you up at night?

Last night, I couldn’t sleep to save my life.

I kept tossing and turning, thinking about the best way to travel from NYC to Kentucky with our two crazy dogs for a wedding.

Since it can be pretty dangerous to put a pup in the cargo hold of a plane, we don’t want to fly.

There’s no trains between NYC and KY, and you can’t bring huge dogs on a bus (especially one with special needs).

So really the only option is driving.

But we live in NYC. So we don’t have a car. And we don’t want to get hit with the “driver under 25” fee for a rental…

……Probably you right now:

Which brings me to…

QWCT #2: Pain points MUST keep your audience up at night.

You can bet that if someone had busted through my window at 2am offering me a personalized NYC to KY pup-shuttling service, I would’ve told ’em to shut up and take my money.

But here’s the thing: by the time I finally woke up, I’d chilled out. I’d mellowed. It wasn’t as pressing anymore.

If someone had busted through my window then, I’d probably be more pissed that they busted through my window.

Overall, this is a problem for entrepreneurs. We make products that solve burning pain points — but if a person’s burning pain point isn’t at the forefront, then you lose leverage.

So what’s any good salesperson to do?

Kick ’em in the pain point.

Some of you might be thinking “What!!! That’s so violent!!” And you’re not wrong. But the famous copywriter Dan Kennedy uses the phrase “bleeding neck,” so “kick ’em in the pain point” is pretty conservative by comparison.

• “Your teeth deserve to be treated by the #1 dentist in all of north-central Cleveland.”
• “The raft Minnesotans have relied on since the big flood of 1972.”
• “Meet your new favorite well-made shirt. Our shirts are the best!”

Now, let’s kick ’em in the pain point with QWCT #2:

• “Can’t ignore that toothache any longer? Let the #1 dentist in all of north-central Cleveland fix you up.”
• “The last thing you want is for your raft to pop when you’re towing your kid behind your boat. That’s why you want a raft so trustworthy it survived the big flood of 1972.”
  
• “Ever get stuck standing in front of your full closet thinking, ‘I have nothing to wear’? Meet your new go-to shirt.”

Again, is this copy any good? No.

But is it better? Yes, much.

And it’ll keep getting better when we hit it again next time with QWCT #3.

Action Steps

Why do they want a fishing rod?

 

So they can catch fish.

 

 

Does “catching fish” keep them up at night?

 

No.

 

 

Okay. So, why do they want to catch fish better?

 

To make the fishing experience as stress-free as possible.

 

 

Does that keep them up at night?

 

Not really.

 

 

Then, why do they want their “fishing experience to be as stress-free as possible”

 

Because they want nice bonding time with their kid.

 

 

Ahhhhh. Does THAT keep them up at night?

 

Eh, not exactly.

 

 

So why do they want “nice bonding time with their kid”?

 

Because they want to be a good dad and help their kid grow up well-adjusted.

 

 

Does that keep them up at night?

 

YES! They’re constantly worried they’re messing up!!!

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But you also have an offer you know would genuinely benefit your target audience, and you want to share it with them in a way that compels them to action.

How do you strike that balance?

We call them “Mentor Personas.”

Check out our newest Entrepreneur’s Guide. It’s chalk full of actionable information, like:

• The critical mistake most new entrepreneurs commit when determining their brand’s voice and personality (fixing this can revolutionize your relationship with your audience).
• A 3-minute quiz to help you narrow in on the best persona for your ideal client, fast.
• How to make the most of your Mentor Persona — and, most importantly, what pitfalls to avoid.
• Concrete examples of brands that use your specific Mentor Persona with incredible results.

CLICK IT!

↓ ↓ ↓

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Welcome to the first inaugural Quick Win Copy Tip!

These bad boys are going to be chock-full of valuable copywriting tips you can implement to drive conversions, increase revenue, and become an influencer in your field…

…Even if you’re not a copywriter.
…Even if you have no interest in becoming a copywriter.
…Even if you only have 5 minutes. 

Booyah.

(Psst. We’re all about that sweet 80/20. So these posts are gunna be super action-focused. And hopefully a little fun.)

Because I’m not one to keep you waiting, the value starts right now.

QWCT #1: Ain’t nobody care about you (but they care about themselves and we can work with that)

When somebody stumbles upon your website, the first thing they ask is “What’s in this for me?”

If you don’t answer them within 5 seconds of them landing on your page, then they’re gone.

You’re this picky, too. Even if you don’t know it. Here’s an example:

Have you ever gone on someone’s website and immediately been blasted in the face with a bunch of stuff you couldn’t care less about?

• “We’re the #1 dentist in all of north-central Cleveland!”
• “Pa started our raft store back in the big flood of 1972…”
• “We’re super good at making shirts! Our shirts are the best! Buy our shirts!”

Me in response:

So, what can you do about it?

Make everything about them.

Let’s make some very minor tweaks to those 3 pieces of copy using QWCT #1:

• “Your teeth deserve to be treated by the #1 dentist in all of north-central Cleveland.”
• “The raft Minnesotans have relied on since the big flood of 1972.”
• “Meet your new favorite well-made shirt. Our shirts are the best!”

Is that copy good? Lol, no.

Is it better? Yes.

The best way to learn is by doing, and so over the next few weeks, we’re going to be returning to this example step-by-step until we get some high-quality copy.

Action Steps

1. Open up your homepage
2. Tally how many times you talk about “you” (your customer)
3. Tally how many times you talk about “me” (yourself / your business)
4. Find your EGO QUOTIENT (or EQ).

Here’s the formula:

Divide ME by YOU to get your EGO QUOTIENT

Example: 6 me’s / 3 you’s= 2EQ

If you want to succeed, keep that EQ at 1 or lower. Preferably lower.

So, how’d you do?

Comment and let me know!

If you got a score of >1, tell me what you can change to make it better.

If you got a score of 1 or lower, tell me what you can change to make it better (hey–we’re never done improving, are we?).

If you’re ready, hop over to QWCT #2 to dive into improving that EQ.

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“If you build it, they will come.”

This is what you tell yourself as you code for the 72nd hour straight, surviving off nothing but Hot Pockets and Soylent in your parents’ dusty basement.

You have a brilliant idea–world-changing. Future generations will flock to your Wikipedia bio in reverent awe. Soon, time will be divided into two epochs: Before Your Awesome Idea and After Your Awesome Idea. This is going to be monstrous.

As you pound the enter key with a triumphant “click,” your creation goes live for the world to see.

You drum on your desk eagerly, waiting for the interview requests from Wired, Oprah, and Jesus Himself to come pouring in. Waiting for the thunderous applause. The raving fans.

Or even just someone–anyone–to recognize the decades of effort you put into this thing.

…They never come.

The Truth About World-Changing Ideas and Storytelling Strategy

The sad reality is, nobody is sitting around waiting to be disrupted by your idea, no matter how amazing it may be. And believing they care enough to seek you out is wishful thinking at best, self-sabotage at worst.

People are selfish–not only do they want you to make their life easier, they want you to deliver solutions to them in a nice bow.

What’s that nice bow, you ask? Storytelling Strategy.

When I say “Storytelling Strategy,” what I’m talking about is a combination of things. Yes, it’s content marketing–that is, creating engaging, compelling content like blog posts and helpful videos to lure people closer to your startup. But it’s so much more than that.

Storytelling Strategy is the entire way you package your startup.

It’s everything you say about your startup and around your startup, ever. From the copy on your website and your social media accounts, to what you tell your friends that you do and the job title you list on your apartment applications, everything matters. Everything counts.

A failed storytelling strategy can be as obvious as no hits, no clicks, and no buyers. But it can also be more subtle, like your startup never achieving its full potential. You may never even realize your strategy is holding you back.

Below, we’re going to break down the 5 most common ways your storytelling strategy could be shooting your startup in the foot…and how you can fix it.

1. You Don’t Have a Strategy

A bit obvious, isn’t it? But you’d be surprised how many founders overlook having a storytelling strategy at all.

Instead of planning and thinking, these startups just “do.” And naturally, just “doing” leads to a lot of “hoping.” That is, hoping their business actually catches on after throwing it into the abyss. At best, it will be utterly ignored. At worst, it can be misconstrued, twisted, and manipulated by whoever encounters it.

Deciding upon a storytelling strategy helps you retain the integrity of your original idea: how you envisioned it being used and what your startup stands for. It also helps to establish YOU as the creator behind it.

This ties into the now-insanely-famous Simon Sinek “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” TED Talk. Sinek believes that companies like Apple are so successful because they sell their story–not their products. Without a strategy, Apple would just be selling expensive phones. But instead, they’re selling ~*~the future~*~.

Not sure if you have a strategy? Check in by asking yourself how much of what you do is intentional. Have you ever thought about what you tell people about your business? About what you say to the horrible “what do you do” question?

If your answer is yes, then good. Even if you’re having problems, you can just adjust the ship and be on your way.

If not, you now is the perfect time to get on course.

If you don’t have a strategy, the solution is simple (but not necessarily easy): get one. Start being intentional about what you say and do. It can start as small as writing out your company’s central value proposition and then making sure everything you do plays into it. Or you can get as big as content calendars and brand consultants.

Either way, awareness is key.

2. Your Story Isn’t Cohesive

The objective of a good storytelling strategy is to give leads and clients a “cohesive brand experience.” That is if one of your readers sees your content with your startup’s name removed, it shouldn’t be too hard for them to guess it’s from you.

To accomplish this, it’s important your story strategy is consistent in its tone and perspective.

Ready for an example? Here is one of Fisher-Price’s recent quote Tweets.

Now, imagine that, for their next quote Tweet, Wendy’s Twitter team (aka the best team in social media) took over.

That would be a bit jarring.

The problem with incoherence is that people inherently like predictability. But predictable doesn’t mean lame or redundant–it means that what you’re doing is aligned with people’s expectations.

For example. For a time, we expected Lady Gaga to pull crazy stunts. She certainly wasn’t boring when she wore her meat dress (which apparently has its own Wikipedia page), but she was acting in accordance with our expectations–so we weren’t thrown. We were surprised, but not caught off guard.

This is important because we are programmed to instinctively avoid unpredictable. To the ancient parts of our brain, unpredictable reads as dangerous, and as much as we all like to pretend we’re James Bond incarnate, we’re all just fear-avoiding simple folk at our core.

To find out if your brand has a cohesive identity, write out a list of adjectives you’d want people to use to describe your startup. Then, take a look at your recent content.

Do these adjectives fit every single piece you’ve put out? For example, if you say “professional,” are you using memes in your Tweets? I’d certainly hope not.

For all future content, it can be helpful to plan out exactly what you want your brand’s message and vibe (or voice) to be. Use your list of adjectives to give yourself a refresher right before you hit “post,” and do a final read through to make sure everything is in order.

3. Your Story Doesn’t Vibe with Your Audience

This ties back in with our Fisher-Price and Wendy’s example: think about who you’re talking to.

Wendy’s can get away with being savage because they’re appealing to an audience who lives for that stuff. But you may not be. What does your audience want?

Everything you do should be in service of your audience–even your story. Yes, it’s true, you can’t change your story. While I suppose you could technically make up some fake origin story, I would always recommend a healthy restructuring of the truth rather than complete fabrication. And the way you structure it is entirely dependent on your audience.

Your startup’s story should reveal how you would be the perfect mentor to help your audience achieve their deepest desires. Do they want to be the best parent? Show them how you can be their guide. Do they want to eat cheap? Show them how you can be their sidekick.

You’re going for peer or mentor. Not boss or savior.

Nike does this exceedingly well. I just popped over to their website now, and this is the first thing that came up.

“You have a goal.” See how that treats their audience as the hero of their own story? It’s their objective Nike will help reach–no the other way around. Brilliant. Good work, Nike.

The thing most startups get wrong is that instead of empowering their audience, they try to be the hero. They show how they overcame some obstacle and are now the best…and that’s it. Nobody wants to work with a showoff.

Find a way to tell your story to make it about your audience. Sure, you can show how you used to be just like them–but then make sure to carefully call out how you are going to walk alongside them to help them achieve their own goals.

4. Your Story is Just Like Everybody Else’s

This is something that often happens when startups fall into the trap of being a follower.

You see it all the time in media: Twilight is a blockbuster success, so now everything on TV is about bloodsucking lovers. Instead of putting (potentially) good writing talent to work, they waste it trying to be someone else.

It’s that old saying your Kindergarten teacher told you: Be Yourself. Everybody Else Is Taken.

In startups, this can happen at the idea stage–you see someone is making an eff-ton of money on bitcoin, so now you’re going to make an ICO goshdangit!–or in the story stage. The story stage is what I’m talking about here.

Maybe you were on the subway and you saw a quirky Purple mattress ad. So naturally, the next thing your startup tweets is some quirky thing with crazy dudes eating subs in it.

No bueno.

Now, it’s not wrong to be inspired by another brand. You should look to other brands you love for ideas and motivation. The same rule applies as in high school essays: copy from one source and it’s plagiarism; copy from dozens and its research.

(Is that kosher to say? Oh well.)

If you’re wondering if your story has fallen into this trap, try this old screenwriting dialogue trick. Take a peek at some of your recent content, and ask if anybody else could have possibly released it. Would it have made sense?

Now, realistically, somebody else could have released something similar. So the question here really comes down to specifics. Are you injecting your brand’s personality and backstory into all of your content? Are you taking advantage of a unique point of view, or saying something new?

If you find that your content is bland and untethered to your brand in some way, think about ways to insert some originality. Are there personal anecdotes you can add to spice it up and put your stamp on it? Do you have an opinion or idea on this topic that may interest your readers? Toss it in!

5. Your Story Tries Too Hard

This final problem is one of the scariest because it’s the hardest to avoid. But screenwriters know it all too well.

Sometimes, we overwrite.

We draft, revise, draft, revise, and draft again until we’ve spent hours fixating on the most minuscule, irrelevant details. (Should I spell “gray” like an American or “grey” like a Brit?)

In the end, the final product feels contrived and lifeless. What personality our story once had has been sucked away.

Most often, we see this happen in a corporate setting when there’s too many cooks in the kitchen: Johnny thinks we should be more formal, HR is worried about paragraph three, the intern said she heard em-dashes are out, and so on. But it can happen anywhere.

Worried you may have overwritten? Give yourself a time limit. Decide that you have to finish a piece of content within a reasonable amount of time. After the time is up, you walk away. Once you’ve taken a meaningful break, you can come back and make a few tweaks. Then you’re done. That’s it.

It’s better to put something out there with too much personality than too little. As you can see if you read through some celebrity scandals, we will forgive minor misjudgments. But we will forget boring. And as they say, any press is good press, amirite? 

In the end, what matters most is being in command of your startup’s Storytelling Strategy. It’s never too late to get intentional.

Which of these five fatal storytelling flaws do you think your startup is most guilty of? What is one step are you going to take today to make your storytelling strategy better? Share in the comments!

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