HOW TO TELL STORIES TO WARM UP COLD TRAFFIC | PART 4: Choosing The Best Topic For Your Story

HOW TO TELL STORIES TO WARM UP COLD TRAFFIC

PART 4: Choosing The Topic That Will Resonate Best With Your Audience

Have you ever tried to start something? 

Stupid question. Of course you have. 

So you already know that starting something can be freaking difficult! 

Otherwise we’d all be at the gym on the daily, new year’s resolutions wouldn’t exist, and everyone would be a phenomenal dancer/painter/under-water-basket-weaver or whatever hobby you’ve been meaning to get into for ages. 

Writing a great sales story is no different, and even the best writers have trouble coming up with great topics or ideas when inspiration calls in sick. 

Great copywriters know that the best stories – the ones that make a deep personal connection with your audience – all revolve around a single, emotionally-driven theme or topic. 

We call this “The Big Idea” (I know… Original, right? You’d almost think we’re professional writers or something)

The challenge is…. pulling a creative ‘big idea’ out of thin air doesn’t always happen on demand. 

If you feel like you don’t have a creative bone in your body… don’t panic!
You can STILL create powerful stories that sell.

Here’s a quick video about how to choose the best sales story topic for your particular audience:

As you can see, the best way to find a killer story theme is by paying attention to your audience. (Who knew?)

This may seem obvious, but so many times we make marketing WAY harder than it needs to be. In fact, humans are great at complicating pretty much everything. 

Paying close attention to what your audience is talking about will make your life SO MUCH easier…. because most of the time…. they write your stories for you!

Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, right?

Contrary to popular belief, the best stories – the ones that REALLY get our juices flowing – do NOT come from your imagination.

They come from real life. 

For example, have you ever heard someone tell a ridiculous story and thought: “This is crazy. You can’t make this stuff up!”

It’s because reality is often more intriguing than anything we could invent ourselves. If you don’t believe me, just Google “People Of Walmart” and see what happens.

Life is a wild ride. And thanks to online forums, blogs, and social media – now you can get a front row seat to MILLIONS of people’s stories.

Spend some time in places where your audience members hang out online. (Just like you would when researching for a sales letter.)

Go to Facebook groups, the comments section of relevant blogs, Reddit (if you dare…and only if you can handle a few trolls).

Or better yet – If you REALLY want to take it to the next level – Go talk to these people in real life!

I know… in today’s digital world, some people wouldn’t even think about talking to a potential customer anywhere except through the screen, but if you go sit on a bench outside your local cafe then I guarantee you will here some insane stories after asking a few leading questions.

Regardless of how or where you’re doing your research, pay close attention to what people in your target audience are saying.

Listen to the words and phrases they’re using.
What are they worried or concerned about?
What are the overarching topics (*hint hint* THEMES. Ideas. *hint hint*) that keep coming up again and again?

And what you’re looking for is that one sentence – or passing little comment – that catches your attention and hints at a story.

“It’s like that one time my sister and I….”
Or “This happened to me!” or “This happened to a friend of mine!”

You’re going to hear these trigger phrases that warn you that there is a story in there if you dig a little deeper.

It may not be a full story. You may have to pry that story out of someone’s comment like a bizarre game of verbal tug-o-war.

But if you can twist out the skeleton of the story then you can flesh out the details and embellish it later if needed.

This way you’re telling REAL stories instead of a made-up scenario that feels forced or salesy.

Then, once you’ve got your engaging and interesting story, you’ll just need to connect it back to the offer you’re selling.

So check back for the next part of our series where we dive into how to tie this great story back to your offer in a way that lets you transition smoothly into your sales pitch.

Until then, let me know what questions you have about creating persuasive stories that sell! Leave a comment below or message me here and let me know what you’re working on.