How Do You Decide What You Want Your Story to Say?

When I don't know what to say, I sit down in a crowded room and listen to the sounds around me.

I soak in the movement and the activity.

Sometimes, I drink an energy drink.

Red Bull is my totally innocent-and-not-in-any-way-guilty pleasure 😇

When that doesn't work, I people watch.

I once wrote a paper for a college course about people watching.

It took me hours and hours and hours...

And HOURS to come up with a topic for this paper.

To this day, I have no idea what the subject was supposed to be.

But I know I got a 98%.

All I had to do was sit down and look around.

If none of those tactics work, I ask myself a set of questions:

1. What do I want to say?

2. How do I want people to feel?

3. What do I want to be known for?

4. What action do I hope people will take?

5. Is there even an actionable goal involved or is this educational, info dumping, or sharing the juicy good stuff?

I also think back on moments in life where I felt very, very strong emotions.

And if you know me, you know by now that many of the most moving moments in my recent history are all tied to my daughter, Emerson.

She's my little golden string, tying me to you.

When I look back on my social media and the writing I was creating right after I lost her, I always cry.

Yes, it's easy for me to cry, I know what I lost, I know how I felt, and I know how I feel.

But I also find myself, quite honestly, marveling at the beauty of what I created - in a time when I was blinded by pain.

For me, the decision is easy:

I decide what I want to write based on what I've been through.

And the times I'm experiencing burnout, grief, or writer's block?

(yes, we all experience blocks - whether they're mental, physical, or emotional.)

To be perfectly honest,

Sometimes, I let the block get the best of me.

I don't write.

Sometimes, I let my mind stay blank and empty.

Those days, or weeks, always make me feel more sad, more blocked.

I find myself missing the opportunity that I have to create, to write.

I find myself sleeping wayyyy too much.

I find myself avoiding my laptop.

I don't pick up a pen.

When those moments hit, I have to take a step back and look back at the things I've done.

I remind myself how far I've come.

I remind myself the life I'm building.

And I can't help but always feel proud of Emerson's Momma.

That girl's been through a lot.

She's strong.

She's resilient.

She's crazy capable.

And she's me.

So, the bottom line is, always, always, always review your work.

Days, weeks, months, YEARS later.

Always go through the content you've created - especially in those high emotion times.

You never know what you might find.

Take a peek at this snippet of a post I made a few days after losing my sweet Emmi girl:

"I keep looking for pictures & videos of you holding onto me.

Your dad and I made it out to eat breakfast a few times.

Today, a family of four sat next to us.

They had a son and a little girl, very young.

The girl was old enough to say: “Mommy, I want you”,

But not old enough to form complete sentences.

With curly blonde hair,

Split into two pigtails.

She smiled at me over the back of her chair.

Her huge blue eyes with tiny black stars striping from her pupils, staring deep into mine.

I kept thinking about your eyes.

The hazel/blue/grey with a golden cream starburst in the center.

I thought about how I couldn’t wait for them to be as big as the eyes boring into mine.

I started to cry over a half-eaten omelette.

I quietly pushed it down and looked outside,

Grateful we waited to sit in the corner window table.

I paid for their food and we left.

Every day is just a regular day.

...

I kept imagining someone would call and say you’re not actually gone,

Even though I was there, holding you.

Even though I saw with my own eyes,

Felt with my own soul.

'It just doesn’t make sense,’ I’d say in my head,

‘It doesn’t make sense’ I screamed in my bed.

"It doesn’t make sense. this can’t be real.”

I told God, and everyone who asked if I was okay,

I said:

"I'm looking into someone else’s windows.

I see their living room, their dishes, their messes, their pictures.

It looks familiar somehow, like it's mine, all mine, all my things,

My dogs, my house, my clothes, my disheveled face, my baby girl...

But it belongs to someone else.

It's not really mine.

Is my name even Melynda?"

The Path to Success: How to Navigate the Customer Journey

It is time...

To dive into the customer journey!

Understanding your customer journey is crucial for success.

Whether you're a pro or you're just getting started, optimizing your approach can significantly impact your results.

This article is all about exploring how to navigate the customer journey - with precision - and leveraging the power of storytelling to create compelling marketing content.

If you're looking for specific steps to take to build on your existing strategy, look no further.

Understanding the Customer Journey

Before we get into the art of marketing and copywriting, it's essential to grasp the customer journey as a concept.

This is the path a potential customer takes from first becoming aware of your brand to making a purchase and to then becoming a loyal brand advocate.

Customer Journey Stages:

Awareness: Your audience becomes aware of your product / service. It's crucial to employ various marketing channels to reach potential customers effectively.

Consideration: Potential customers evaluate your offerings. Incorporating highly persuasive copy that highlights the unique benefits of your products or services can, and will, sway your potential customers' decisions.

Conversion: The moment of truth. Converting a lead into a customer requires a compelling call to action in your copy.

Post-Purchase: The journey doesn't end after a sale. Nurturing relationships with customers post-purchase ensures they return and also encourages them to refer others.

The Power of Storytelling

I keep saying it, but effective storytelling is a secret weapon - it's an art form - in both marketing and copywriting. By weaving storytelling into your brand and content, you will start to see more opportunities to engage, connect, and persuade your audience.

Quick and easy storytelling breakdown - I have to keep it short here otherwise this article will become novel -

Craft Your Brand Story: Start with your brand story. Share the 'why' behind your business, your mission, and your values. Customers love to support brands with a compelling story.

Customer Success Stories: Feature customer testimonials and case studies in your marketing materials. (Called user-generated content) Real-life stories build trust and demonstrate the value of your product or service.

Create Engaging Content: In blog posts, social media, and emails, infuse your copy with stories that resonate with your audience. Stories make your content memorable and relatable.

Tailoring Your Copy

Once you've embraced the art of storytelling, it's time to tailor your copywriting to the various stages of the customer journey.

Awareness-Stage Copy: Attract attention with informative and engaging content. Use compelling headlines, catchy taglines, and visually appealing graphics to spark interest.

Consideration-Stage Copy: Focus on the benefits and unique selling points of your product or service. Create comparison guides, testimonials, and how-to articles to help potential customers make informed decisions.

Conversion-Stage Copy: Craft persuasive and action-oriented copy. Use strong CTAs, limited-time offers, and clear value propositions to encourage prospects to make a purchase.

Post-Purchase Follow-Up: Keep the customer journey alive by sending personalized thank-you notes, recommendations, and exclusive offers. Show appreciation for their business and maintain a positive relationship.

Measuring and Optimizing

No customer journey strategy is complete without ongoing measurement and optimization. And of course, us marketers love to see these numbers.

Analyze Metrics: Regularly monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to understand how customers interact with your content. This data can inform your future marketing and copywriting efforts.

A/B Testing: Experiment with different approaches to see what resonates with your audience. Test headlines, CTAs, and content formats to refine your strategy.

Customer Feedback: Encourage feedback from your customers to understand their experiences and identify areas for improvement. Use this insight to enhance your copy and offerings.

Continual Learning: Stay up-to-date with the latest marketing trends and copywriting techniques. The digital landscape is ever-evolving, and ongoing education is key to staying competitive.

To sum it all up:

In the ever-changing and dynamic world of marketing and copywriting, mastering the customer journey is a continual process.

By understanding the customer journey stages, realizing and UTILIZING the power that storytelling brings to your marketing, tailoring your copy, and consistently measuring and optimizing your efforts, you can and will enhance your marketing strategy to build lasting customer relationships.

Incorporate these tips to your strategy and watch your marketing and copywriting game start to grow and in return, you'll start seeing long-term successes as a result of your efforts.

Why The End is One of The Most Important Parts

“I remember working rubbing alcohol into Emerson's blood stains.

I remember asking myself: 

‘How fucked up is it that washing blood out of her blankets feels normal?’

I remember the sun shining through her window.

I remember it was a good day for her.

I remember it was a good day.

Washing blood out of blankets.

It was a good day.”

Direct. Sincere. Emotional. Descriptive.

Creative Storytelling in Marketing HAS to be moving.

If you’re not moving your audience to feel an emotion or to take an action, then you’re not marketing. You’re just writing.

And writing is great, don’t get me wrong, but if we have a goal in mind, to sell, then your writing has to be tailored to that goal.

The goal in my quote above wasn’t to sell anything. It was to shine a ray of sunshine onto a very dark aspect of having a terminally ill infant in the Neonatal ICU.

With my words, you start to visualize your own hands working rubbing alcohol into the fibers of baby blankets.

You start to think about how my ‘normal’ was absolutely anything but.

You can feel the stress. You can hear the anger.

You can see the sunshine. And you can feel the hope.

Not only did I end my story in this way, I also let a very deep and emotional story end on a positive note.

How?

I talked about sunshine.

I talked about my sweet Emmi having a good day.

And because it was so for her, so it was for me.

Washing blood out of blankets isn’t my favorite pastime. But I was happy to do it for her.

Happy to care for the most beautiful girl in the world.

Happy to watch her nap while I worked.

Incorporating emotion into your marketing storytelling strategy is the fastest way to relate to your audience.

And it builds a very strong bond between you, your brand, and them.

They become invested in the story you’re telling.

Once you learn how to get your audience hanging on your every word, you can start to end your stories with cliffhangers.

You can start incorporating open-ended statements.

You can start making your audience think about what you just said – And if you do it well enough, they’ll be thinking about your story for DAYS.

And they’ll keep coming back for more.

That's Why The End is One of The Most Important Parts - it gets your audience hooked.