Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.
Everyone enjoys a good story. Stories are the best way for businesses to get their messages across to customers.
As a business journalist, I often get people calling me saying they’ve started a new business with no idea of what to say about it. I’m always interested in why someone starts a business, especially in these tough times, so I ask them what inspired them.
This simple question is often the key to unlocking the story of their business. They tell me about their life, the barriers they’ve come up against, their dreams and how they’ve pursued them, and a lot more.
Suddenly, they’ve gone from being just someone who’s opened another business to someone with an interesting story. It usually says a lot about their business too, revealing their ethos and how they operate.
Not all journalists are ready to put the work in to discover the story, so it’s good to discover your own story and tell it for yourself.
What drives you to run your business? What has happened along the way? What thoughts struck you so you decided to make your business that bit different from everyone else?
Capture the imagination of your audience as you tell the story of your journey to success.
Great advice, Robert. I’ve only ever written one press release – and not a good one, I might add. I sent it to three newspapers, two didn’t even bother replying, but one made the effort. He kept on phoning until he got hold of me, asked a few questions and then turned my bad attempt into a beautiful article. I’m sure my next one will be a lot better, but I am so grateful for the journalist’s extra work that time!
Thanks, Angelika. I’m sure you’ll be fine next time.
I love this. Yes, it is our stories that captivate people more than our business. People can connect with stories and become inspired by your story. I started my own online tutoring company teaching kids to read because I was missing my own children at home. They were very young at the time, and I not only wanted to help kids with their reading, but I also wanted to be a mom to my children.
I just spoke at a reading convention last week, and I found that the most engaging stories that people had to tell were the ones that spoke about how they got started doing what they are doing. Thanks for the great post.
Thanks, Joanne. People’s stories always captivate me.
Thank you. I have a story of why I started my site. I guess I will have to share it more. 🙂
Yes do, Betsy. People love stories.
I am trying to find “my story” this month.I never thought of that in a business context until our local newspaper started to run articles about local businesses and the “story” behind them. I never knew, for example, that a local electronic store I did business with was owned by a man who had become a paraplegic in a car accident. He had started the business prior to the accident and had thought about giving up but didn’t. Then his building was flooded but he didn’t give up then, either. What a wonderful story and I was happy to spread the word about the business.
That’s a wonderful story. People were telling stories before writing was invented and we’re still telling them now.