Engage
your readers.
How
do you do that?
By
telling stories.
And
the first story you need to tell is your own- how you went on a journey, had a
crisis, which you overcame, and how it transformed you.
But,
it's not enough to tell your story. You also have to tell it in a compelling way
that makes the audience feel the emotions you felt as you experienced that
journey, which means digging deep, allowing yourself to feel what you felt at
that time, and being willing to be vulnerable enough to share what it was REALLY
like.
And
that is the rub. I know, because for a long time, I told my story the wrong way.
I rattled it off like it was a chronology of events, no real emotion in it. It
never occurred to me to tell it a different way, until one day when I was
watching a Russell Brunson presentation in the One Funnel Away Challenge and I
got it! People weren't FEELING the pain I had felt when I was in the crisis or
the exhilaration I felt when I made the transformation.
I
had to change THE WAY I told my story.
But,
that's just the beginning.
Next,
you have to tell additional stories, stories about how your clients got the
results they got and possibly success and failure stories of other public
companies if applicable. And you have to decide which structure you are going to
use in your storytelling.
Are
you going to tell stories that illustrate points that you are trying to make
throughout your book? Or, are you going to write the book using one story like
Michael Gerber does in The
E-Myth? In this case, the entire book was written as if he were walking one
client through the process they need to go through to understand the process he
teaches.
Or,
are you going to write it likeThe
One-Minute Millionaire, The Enlightened Way to Wealth where the story is
told on one side of the page and the how-to is told on the other side of the
page throughout the book?
Once
you know your story-telling structure, make a list of your stories. Write down
as many stories as you can think of so as you write your book you can refer back
to your list and pick the best story that brings the point(s) alive!
If
you aren't sure which stories are the best ones to tell, test them out. Share
them in social media. Share them when you write articles. Share them on podcast.
See which ones get the most response. Your audience will let you know what
resonates with them the most.
If
you want to write books that people will read and get them to take the next step
(whatever your call to action is in your book) learn how to tell stories; your
books will sell better and your business will grow!