Become the blogging Taylor Swift by telling your story

Do you ever press publish on a post and wonder whether anyone will actually read it? Those who do read, do they actually care? What will it take to make your blog stand out? How will you create content that will make people remember you and help you start to create relationships with your readers?

 

It can be really hard when you create posts, especially those which you know will help others, and you don’t get the readers you hoped for.

 

Do you worry that your writing is not good enough? Maybe all the other bloggers out there are more talented? Why do they seem to get traffic? What are they offering their readers, that you aren’t?

You know what you have to do right?….

 

You have to share your story

The power of your story 

 

Words have the power to inspire, to motivate, to evoke emotion and move people to action, to creativity and to achieve great things. Words also entertain and make people feel connected to others.

 

Stories are such an important factor in human communication. We have a need to hear stories and to close the psychological loop they leave before we have finished them. This need makes us always want to hear a story to the end. This is the reason we watch TV, read books or chat to friends about what we have been up to.

 

 

Stories give people the chance to experience, albeit second-hand, so many new experiences. Stories, if told well, can evoke those feelings of ‘I’ve been there’ in others which will strengthen the bond between the story teller and the person reading the story.

 

Stories give information much more context and meaning and it’s those things which makes sharing your story so important.

 

How to become unforgettable as a blogger

The fact that stories allow us to connect in a much deeper way with the readers emotions means that blog posts using stories will be much more memorable than simply giving facts.

 

Therefore, so you message to get through and be retained my your readers sharing stories around the information you are presenting becomes vital.

 

We are all busy and we read so much content online each day, if we’re honest we probably forget most of it my the time our kids have thrown the 20th tantrum and we have laid our heads on our pillows a night, but what we will remember is the stories we read that we identified with. Your stories make you memorable.

 

Also it’s human nature to like people who entertain us and most of us read for entertainment, so if you tell stories, your posts become more than just words, they will become entertainment too. They might not be funny, they might be heart warming or dramatic, but they will entertain. This will help you develop the ‘Know, Like and Trust factor’

How to get the know, like and trust factor

6 MAIN REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD USE STORY TELLING IN YOUR POSTS

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

 

People love to be entertained.  Share something fun, heart-felt, surprising, motivational.

The list goes on. There’s so much potential to reach your audience through stories.

INSPIRE ACTION

 

Through your stories you will create a picture of a future situation that the reader will now be invested in. Then you can use a call to action to inspire the reader to follow through and take the desired action.

 

VULNERABLITY

 

People connect with real people and sharing your stories, even the vulnerable parts, makes you even more relatable and real to your readers.

 

CREDIBILITY

 

Stories help you illustrate a point. They make content meaningful & memorable.

Think of testimonials. You love reading them & trust them. They are stories about a product or service and they give context & often inform our buying decisions.

 

KEEP ATTENTION 

 

Tell you story in such a way that it creates an open psychological loop. Then the reader will want to keep reading to close the loop (to find out what happens). A catchy title which grabs attention and makes the reader want to close the psychological loop works well.

 

IDENTIFICATION

Sharing your story can really help readers identify with you. Maybe they’ve had a similar experience. They feel understood and supported.

 

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF STORY TELLING IN ONE OF MY POSTS.

TO READ: 5 IMPORTANT REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

 

How to weave stories into your blog posts

 

You can use stories in any blog and with each and every topic you write about. No topic is too abstract for a story as there will always be a way to make this story relatable to your readers.

 

How do you find the right stories?

 

Now you know that you need to incorporate stories into your blog posts, where do you find your stories.

 

How do you find that fabulous story that will bring your post to life?

 

 

We’ve all had millions of experiences in our lives. Not all earth shattering, but they are stories which share more of you with your audience. So pick a story which sums up the point of your post.

 

If you want to join my mailing list and get access to my epic Blogger’s Resource vault of cheatsheets and downloads (INCLUDING HOW TO TELL YOUR STORY WORKBOOK) as a welcome gift, you can do that here.

 

The following are a few different story types you could think about;

 

PERSONAL STORIES

 

Maybe the easiest and hardest thing is to share your personal experiences. It’s easy because no-one knows your story as well as you, but potentially difficult as some stories are painful to tell. If you are able to put these emotions into words, it makes for a very powerful story.

 

STORIES YOU FIND THROUGH RESEARCH

 

You can simply use the internet to find a story which illustrates your point. Be sure to be clear that this story is someone elses.

 

 

STORIES FROM FRIENDS/FAMILY

 

You may be able to use a story told to you by a friend or family member to add life to your post. Never name the person and always check with them before writing!

 

STORIES FROM YOUR READERS

 

What feelings are your reader experiencing with regards to the topic you’re writing about? Use this to create a story that you know will resonate with them.

 

STORIES YOU’VE CREATED

 

A stories purpose to to entertain, be a vehicle for a message and create moments of resonance, but the story doesn’t have to be real. Think of all of the ficton books out there. People don’t refuse to read those because they are not true. So create a story which illustrates your point, but never claim a story is ‘real-life’ when it isn’t.

 

So now that you understand the power of telling your story you will be able to reach your audience in a new way and a way which will make them want to come back to read more.

 

Whether we believe it or not our own story can and will inspire others, so that story needs to be told. Your audience needs it.

 

Do you use story telling in your blog posts? Are you going to start doing it more often?

 

If you want to join my mailing list and get access to my epic Blogger’s Resource vault of cheatsheets and downloads (INCLUDING HOW TO TELL YOUR STORY WORKBOOK) as a welcome gift, you can do that here.