Relating To Your Target Audience | Storytelling in Content Marketing (Part 1)
Crafting an effective story starts with the audience you want to reach with that story.
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Alexa Curtis has been a serial entrepreneur since age 12 — and is the former host of Fearless Everyday on Radio Disney. She helps young professionals get out of their comfort zone through fearless content. Her weekly newsletter, Stay Fearless or Die Trying, pushes you out of your comfort zone with content about entrepreneurship, running a startup, and being a founder in your 20s. Subscribe here.
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“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.”
This quote from the legendary Seth Godin shows that your product, service, or brand is no longer enough.
Today’s marketers — Copywriting Storytellers — must go back to a practice that has been a part of the human race for centuries: storytelling.
We are hard-wired for stories—and the emotional bonds we form with those telling them.
Over the next four weeks, we’ll discuss why storytelling is effective in content marketing by reviewing 4 key areas:
Relating to your target audience.
Helping that audience along the buyer’s journey.
Supporting your story with data.
Building your brand story.
We’ll start with your target audience this week.
Relating to Your Target Audience
Crafting an effective story starts with the audience you want to reach with that story. It comes down to answering the classic marketing question, “What’s in it for me?”
There are ways of conveying meaning and ideas that will most resonate with who you’re targeting—and that will be what you want to focus on as you compose your story.
I did this with my company Run The Money—a site that’s a combination of my interest in money and my love of running.
My branding caught the attention of a Forbes editor and I had an opportunity to write for them for a while. Run The Money’s story revolves around my personal story of making cost-effective lifestyle choices for our family—which my target audience relates to.
All of my content — both for Run The Money and Forbes — related back to personal finance and entrepreneurship. This helped my content become recognizable and identifiable to my audience — providing credibility and other opportunities.
I did the same thing when I went “all in” on Copywriting Storyteller. Coupling this brand with my personal brand gave me a chance to redo my LinkedIn profile. In becoming the “Copywriting Storyteller” — I received an offer to write for the University of Phoenix about business and entrepreneurship.
It’s all because I shared my story — and positioned my brand and content around specific themes.
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Case studies are great for telling your brand stories. Use the Case Study Storyteller to brainstorm your storytelling ideas in an organized way. No matter what product or service you’re offering — this template can help you understand how to position it for sale. It’s time to tell stories that sell with case studies.