It’s over. In fact, it’s been over for a while.
Info marketing is dead.
Now, I’m not saying this to freak you out. And you probably want to call me out for the irony of this blog:
“Wait, isn’t this info marketing?”
In short, yes – but here’s my answer to your question. In the online world, content is STILL king. But if you’re serving your audience straight-up info, they’re going to scroll on before you’ve had chance to say,
“Hi, my name’s Anna and I he….” Oh crap, lost them already.
Because in the age of Google, knowledge is cheap. Think about it for a second. How easy is it to get your hands on ANYTHING you want in milliseconds? Too easy, right? There are YouTube videos, Blogs (hey there), Podcasts, Ebooks.
It’s all out there – and most of it’s being given away for free. Or for a very low price. Hell, you can even find super niche subjects like this in less time than it takes you to grab your knitting needle:
How to Make Clothing for Your Pot-Belly Pig
I’m serious. Did you click the link?
What’s a girl to do?
It’s all about emotion. It’s about grabbing your audience’s attention and making them laugh, cry or seethe in shared venom. It’s about them going on the most epic road trip across the internet ever. With you.
Because without emotion, you’re nothing but words on a screen. Or a mass of totally replaceable information your buyers could get from somewhere else.
So, how do you tell stories that trigger an emotional reaction? And what are some of the key emotions you can trigger to help you connect with your clients? Sit tight – I’m about to tell you.
Pick ONE key emotion
When you’re sharing stories online you should go after one emotion at a time. You might be tempted to hit as many as possible in the hope one might stick.
DON’T
If you do, you’ll confuse your reader. And in the words of the great, Donald Miller,
“If you confuse, you lose.”
You already know that your marketing should only share 1 key message at a time. The same is true of emotions. Pick one. And go ALL IN.
When you’ve had more practice – you can afford to be fancy – and play around with secondary emotions. But let’s not jump the gun just yet, OK?
Now that you’re all set with that crucial lesson, here are 5 juicy emotions you can play with in your marketing:
1) Curiosity
Curiosity is one of the most powerful ways to get potential customers to pay attention to you.
Have you ever read one of those click-baity headlines and followed its trail all the way down the rabbit hole of procrastination? Even though you knew it was going to lead to some online rag?
That’s because a great headline plays on your natural curiosity to find the answer to an open question. Our brains are wired to hate leaving story loops open. We feel compelled to find out the ending.
So use curiosity to spark interest in your story. And your readers will be dying to find out what happens at the end.
2) Vanity
Do you have a story that revolves around a lusted-after material possession? Desire for something you couldn’t afford? Or extreme ambition to hit an unattainable goal?
Although vanity isn’t a positive emotion, it’s universal. And relatable.
We’ve all had moments when we’ve wanted something desperately. Or perhaps you can remember a time when you felt insecure about your appearance.
Being raw and honest about the uglier parts of ourselves makes us human. It shows your audience that you’re human too.
3) Fear
Fear comes in many forms. But you’ll never meet anyone who hasn’t felt fear at some point in their life.
For me, fear comes in the form of fear of judgement or failure. So I often share stories about being bullied by my peers or the bouts of performance anxiety I suffered as a figure skater.
Fear is powerful because fear feels lonely. If you can share stories about overcoming your fears, your buyers will be comforted and inspired.
4) Envy
The ugliest of all the emotions. This is one that very few people will ever admit to feeling in private. Let alone in public.
Everyone feels it sometimes. Whether it’s envy over your best friend’s new Mulberry handbag, or your sister’s sky-rocketing career. It’s natural.
But it’s uncomfortable.
If you’re willing to be open and vulnerable about something as unappealing as envy, you create trust with your buyers. Because no one likes to buy from someone who’s depressingly perfect. We like to buy from people like us who suffer occasional attacks of the green-eyed monster.
5) Embarrassment
Have you ever had one of those moments when you wished you could crawl into a cave and never come out again?
When you did something so cringe-worthy you wondered if you’d ever be able to go out in public again?
Embarrassing stories are another great way to be vulnerable. But this time, with a side of funny.
You don’t always want your audience reaching for the Kleenex. So if you have a funny story about peeing yourself on a trampoline (no judgement) – make sure you share it. And give your customers something to giggle about.
For years you were told that providing valuable tips and information is the key to building relationships with potential clients. And while that’s still true, the demand for attention is so enormous, that knowledge alone isn’t enough any more.
If you want to keep your audience interested, you need to build an emotional connection. Fast.
So next time you sit down to post a piece of content online – make sure you ask yourself this crucial question, ‘What’s the ONE key emotion this is going to strike?’
Is your messaging drowning in a sea of BORING content?
Want to find precisely the right stories to help you build an army of raving fans and obsessed buyers?
Download my Super Simple Story Marketing Framework and discover the secret to building an army of raving fans and obsessed buyers.
(I mean, if you’ve got the ammo – it totally makes sense to use it, right?)
Click the button below and download my FREE Super Simple Story Marketing Framework