Selling with the stories we tell.
We are story-driven beings.
We are constantly bombarded with the endless drone of content screaming “Buy this! Look over here! I’ll bet none of my friends will share this post…” but good stories are the only messages that break through the noise and truly stick with us. By the way, the only way for us to kill those stupid posts is to scroll past them. Don’t take the bait. That’s right… you know who you are.
The moment someone starts to say something like “You know, just the other day I…” we all know a story is about to unfold. Those are generally the moments even the guy on the back pew snorts awake long enough to see if the tale will be any good, and those are the kind of moments we need to infuse into our marketing campaigns to see success.
We invest ungodly amounts of time and money into developing our products. All the parts fit, all the packaging is done, and the graphics are on point. But when it comes to building a compelling marketing campaign we trip before reaching the end zone. There are great ways to make lasting impressions on your audience, and no Victoria is not the secret solution. No amount of cleavage can trump the brand loyalty and steady sales that clever storytelling brings.
So when it came down to finding an expert marketer and storyteller it make perfect sense to reach out to my friend Brian Nissen. You might not recognize his name at first, but you likely have seen the film he’s best known for writing- The Swan Princess. He shared a wealth of advice on how to find freelance work, how to price out projects, and how to avoid red flags. But the most thought-provoking feedback I got from him wasn’t a script-writing exercise or formula, it was simply a question.
What do you want people to feel or say when they’re done watching your video?
If this point isn’t clearly defined, you are setting yourself up for failure. You’ve put so much into making your ideas a reality, don’t make the story you tell in your marketing just an afterthought.
Be sure to get the full story from episode 4 of The Variable!
May your stories be compelling and your sales skyrocket.
Russ
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About Brian-
Brian Nissen is an expert marketer and storyteller. Among his many great accomplishments he's most noted for writing the animated musical The Swan Princess (1994) and its ten sequels (and counting!) He received a bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University and a Master of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts. While at CalArts he wrote a one-act play called Oscar (1989) that won the National Short Play Award for the American College Theatre Festival. He’s also written almost a hundred screenplays for an animated series about the Bible and heroes of world history. In 2004 he created a live stage show called Citrus Valley Playhouse. Performed in the style of old-time radio, it highlighted Arizona history, politics and culture. It appeared as an occasional special on KJZZ (NPR) and in 2007 its production of The Napolinator won Best Play of 2007 from the East Valley Tribune. Today, Brian creates political ads, web videos and spoof songs performed by his mulleted alter ego, Dwain. Make America Great Again aggregated several million views.