The secret bedtime skill is storytelling, which has been a part of business throughout history. Storytelling has stood the test of time in marketing and sales, generating billions. Smart online marketing leverages the skill that earns billions.
Let’s Begin With the Bedtime Skill that Earns Billions
About a century ago, the street was a public place open to everyone. It was shared by pedestrians, horses, streetcars and bicyclists. But as cars become popular, they would drive through the streets at top speed and mow down pedestrians.
Public outcry called for laws to be passed against these new automobiles to save lives. Naturally, fearing their product would become outlawed in cities, the auto industry fought back.
How did they do it? By controlling the story.
They told people that the streets were for cars only, and if a car kills you, then it’s your own fault. They even called pedestrians by a nasty, humiliating name – Jay walking. Back then ‘jay’ was a truly offensive name, meaning ‘dirty hillbilly.’
To publicize this new insult, the auto industry planted stories in newspapers blaming pedestrians for automobile deaths and calling them by the offensive name.
Today thanks to this blame shifting propaganda, jaywalking is a crime. Think about it: A group of businessmen created stories and coined an offensive slur to promote their product.
And it worked so well, this offensive slur is now a legal term.
As a result of this storytelling on the part of the auto industry, the street went from being a public place where everyone was welcome to a terrifying off-limits death trap for machines.
I suppose if there’s a moral to this story, it’s, “S/he Who Crafts The Story, Wins.”
Early this month I blogged why storytelling is so effective in business and how to use it to engage with customers and make more sales.
We told how simple storytelling increased the eBay bids on cheap ordinary items by 6395%.
And we covered how there are basically two types of stories in business: The entertaining story that might have little to do with your product, and yet they create clicks and sales…
…and the stories that are custom crafted to your particular business.
Now I want to follow up and tackle this second type of story.
We all love a good story. And as we’ve seen, stories are great for marketing. That’s because stories are the best way to engage your brain, according to neuroscientists.
That’s why if you’re looking for a way to make your marketing more engaging, using a storytelling template is a great place to start. And of all the storytelling templates out there, one of the most popular is the hero’s journey.
The hero’s journey is a template that’s been used for centuries to tell everything from myths to movies including Star Wars. And it’s also a powerful tool for content marketing.
The Hero’s Journey Storytelling Template
The hero’s journey template is all about following a character on a journey. Note that each step corresponds to a different stage in the character’s development.
1: The first step is the “call to adventure.” This is where the character is first introduced to the problem they’re going to have to solve.
2: Next comes the “refusal of the call.” This is where the character tries to resist getting involved in the adventure, but eventually they realize they have to face the problem head on.
3: After that comes the “meeting with the mentor.” This is where the character meets someone who helps them prepare for the challenges ahead.
4: Then comes the “crossing the threshold.” This is when the character finally commits to the adventure and starts taking action.
5: From there, the character faces a series of challenges, which leads to the “climax” of the story. This is the moment when the character overcomes the final obstacle and achieves their goal.
6: Finally, there’s the “return home.” This is where the character comes back changed from their adventure. They may not be the same person they were before, but they’re better for having gone through the journey.
Let’s see how this formula was used in Star Wars:
First you see the main character with a boring, everyday routine. Then they get pulled into conflict reluctantly and fall into the unknown, which is doing something for the first time such as leaving home.
Then everything seems too overwhelming. The main character hits a point of no return where it looks like all they can do is give up.
Against all odds, they choose to go forward. This transforms them into new people – typically Jedi – and they can now accomplish seemingly impossible goals such as blowing up the Death Star.
Finally, the main character returns to a comfortable life with much celebration with their friends.
How might this look in marketing?
Let’s imagine that you teach Facebook advertising, or perhaps you do Facebook advertising for businesses.0
Using the Hero’s Journey as the framework, there are an infinite number of variations to the story you could write. Keep in mind there is no right or wrong way to do it. Test your story and refine it over time to make it even better.
Hero Story Example
Here’s an example story and notice that some of the Hero’s Journey steps are overlapped.
Bob was shocked. “What do you mean you make back $4 for every dollar you spend on Facebook advertising? I don’t believe it!”
Bob had his own online business, so he wasn’t completely naïve about how things worked. Still, he preferred using ‘free’ methods to drive traffic, which meant putting in long hours for results that might not come.
I showed Bob exactly what I spent and how I earned it back times 4, and after an hour of listening to Bob tell me why it wouldn’t work for his business, he finally agreed to let me do a small series of trial tests for him.
I’ll never forget how he called me numerous times a day for the next few days to see how it was going. Bob thought for sure paid advertising would fail for him, and initially it did. It wasn’t until the fourth try that we began to get it right, and by the seventh try we had it down cold. Bob was earning almost $5 for every dollar he spent on Facebook advertising.
Over the next few weeks we further refined his campaign until he was earning $7.12 for every dollar spent. Skepticism gone, Bob was so thrilled with the results, he brought over a bottle of champaign and we celebrated his good fortune together.
Now Bob spends his time playing golf instead of chasing ‘free’ traffic. His income is three times what it was before we started working together, and he plans to expand his business into related products to further increase his profits.
The hero’s journey is a great way to structure a marketing story because it’s proven to be engaging and effective. And best of all, it’s easy to follow. When you’re looking for a way to take your marketing to the next level, using the hero’s journey template is a great place to start.
But what if you need something a little different?
The Television Sitcom Story Template
The Hero’s Journey is great but it’s not always right for what you want to convey. In those cases, you might want to try a story template that many sitcoms use, and it goes like this:
1: First the main character is in their comfort zone but then they want something.
2: They enter into an unfamiliar/uncomfortable situation but then they begin to grow and adapt.
3: They get what they want but not without having to pay a heavy price for it.
4: And then they return to their familiar situation as a changed person.
Returning back to our earlier example of Facebook advertising:
Bob was working 40-50 hours a week driving ‘free’ traffic to his website through writing content, creating videos, building links and asking other marketers for JV deals. Sure, he was making money, but what he really wanted was to play golf every day.
This is Bob. Don’t be like Bob.
That’s when Bob asked if I could help him. We worked together to convert his business to paid advertising, and at first Bob felt uncomfortable because Facebook advertising was new to him. But I took care of the details, created and tested the campaigns, and when we started to see results Bob was fully onboard with the idea of paying for traffic.
After 6 weeks we had his Facebook campaigns refined to a point where Bob was making $7.12 for every dollar he spent.
And while the process was not cheap, Bob says it’s the best thing he’s ever done for his business and his life. He now plays golf 5 days a week and he’s making plans to expand his business with new products and new markets.
See how easy that is? Mind you, these stories are completely off the top of my head. I’m simply following the outline. When you make your own stories, you’ll want to try them out on people and refine them over time to get it just right.
Finally, I want you to have what I believe is the easiest storytelling template to use in business, and it comes from storytelling masters who have made a lot of money with this exact formula.
Pixar Films Bedtime Skill that Earns Billions Template
This is so simple, it really needs no introduction.
1: Once upon a time, there was…
2: Every day…
3: But one day…
4: Because of that…
5: Because of that…
6: Until finally…
Pixar’s rate of success with this formula is about 94%, which in the film industry is unbeatable.
Ready for an example story? Let’s do it…
Once there was an online business owner named Bob who spent his days and even some of his nights driving ‘free’ traffic to his website.
Every day he worked on link building, SEO, content creation, video creation, courting affiliates and looking for JV deals.
Bob was exhausted, but one day he heard about this guy who was helping businesses to use paid advertising on Facebook to earn at least $3 for every dollar spent.
Bob didn’t think it was possible, but just in case it was he contacted the guy and asked for his help.
Because of that, six weeks later Bob was getting as much traffic from Facebook as he could handle, and every dollar he spent on Facebook advertising was earning him $7.12.
Now Bob was golfing 5 days a week, earning more money than ever.
And he has plans to use his fast growing profits to expand his product line and even venture into new markets.
Again, this is an imaginary business, an imaginary Bob and I made this up off the top of my head.
Imagine how much better you will do when talking about your own business, your own products and your own customers.
Have a conversation with your best customers and take notes. Then plug what they told you into any one of these three formulas and use it as a mini-case study, a testimonial or even the beginning of a sales letter or blog post.
You can also use these stories anyplace you post content, including in videos, articles, podcasts, social media and more.
Let’s close out with the best storytelling tips I gleaned from storytelling experts:
12 Best Tips for Bedtime Skill that Earns Billions in Business
1. Start with the climax.
This is the most important part of the story, so make sure to start with it. It’ll capture attention and keep people engaged.
2. Make it personal.
Your story should be about you and your experiences. It should be relatable and inspire others.
3. Use concrete details.
Talk about specific times, places, and people in your story. This will make it more interesting and believable.
4. Use strong verbs.
Choose verbs that are descriptive and vivid. This will help paint a picture in the reader’s mind.
5. Use dialogue.
Use quotes from conversations you’ve had or overheard. This will add flavor to your story and make it more realistic.
6. Keep it simple.
Don’t try to cram too much into your story. Stick to the important details and make sure it flows well.
7. Make it intriguing.
Your story should make people want to know more. Leave them wanting more at the end.
8. Be yourself.
Tell your story in your own voice. Be honest and authentic, and people will connect with you.
9. Use body language.
Your body language can convey a lot about how you’re feeling. Use it to emphasize certain parts of your story.
10. Be passionate
Tell your story with conviction and feeling. People will be more likely to believe you and be moved by your story.
11. Tell it like it is.
Don’t try to sugarcoat or hide the ugly parts of your story. Be raw and honest for maximum impact.
12. Have a moral.
Your story should have a point or a moral that you want people to take away from it.
And one last note. Stories are a great way to lead to passive income.
Dave
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