When telling a story how do you make it worthwhile to read? Remember… there are very few of us who have 10 to 15 minutes of free time to read cool new stories and articles. How do you captivate your audience? How do you encourage them to turn the page?

The same thought process should apply to every form of marketing leaving the door of your company or organization. How do you tell your story? How does it encourage people to act?

One thing to keep in mind when writing your story is the focus. As storytellers we can easily go off on tangents and get distracted. Stay on track by sticking to the main point of the story. If your having trouble finding your focus then stop and think….

and think some more…

It’s easy to forget a fundamental key in storytelling…thinking.After some reflection and thought… the focus may come. And remember that  the focus is what the story is about…why it was told… and how it will encourage your user to act.

Remember the following five tips to better understand marketing and how to tell your story:

1. Remember why your story matters. Why does my story matter? Why are you telling your story? You think it matters but who else does? This goes hand and hand with understanding your audience and telling them a story they’d connect with… emotionally.

2. Do you have a point to your story? What’s the purpose of the story. To teach something? To share an experience that changed you? This is your focus. You should be able to define what that is with only a few words.

3. Why do you tell your story? Original content comes from people who are simply willing to tell their story not attention seekers. So what’s your motivation behind the story?

4. How do you relate to the story? What does this story say about me? Does it reflect you in a good light? Does it tell you audience who you are? Does the story flow? Is there a clear understanding? You want to make your story understandable and relatable. You want to be liked but you want to leave them with something to chew on.

5. What daily activities could I use to better tell my story? Reflect on your daily activities to look for life experiences to help reach and engage with your audience. How do your use your life experiences to shape your story?

Why is it important to focus on the five steps? Because we want to know what the story was about.

We want to know why the story was shared.

We want to take something away from it… connect with it.