Great storytelling is a gift to your audience.

You can give them this gift by studying the principles that have helped stories shape culture. I've used these ideas to craft stories that have reached millions.

Here's 7 ways to improve your storytelling:
The Gift Of Curiosity

Our curiosity gap is the most powerful practices online for creating stories worth reading. It's the gap between what we know and what we want to know.

Don't reveal everything in the headline or require 'prior reading' to see if a story is worth reading.
The Gift Of Simplicity

Bruce Lee once said: Simplicity is the key to brilliance.

Don't overcomplicate your story. Don't try to sound smart just for the sake of sounding smart. Speak plain english and communicate clearly. Remember:

It's better to use 5 words than 10.
The Gift Of Reflection

Push your readers to reflect on their own situation. Speak often about the things others avoid. Describe the emotions that make us human. Describe the feelings that make us real.

When you connect on an emotional level; you connect on a human level.
The Gift Of Inspiration

The best thing you can do for a person is to inspire them - Nipsey Hussle

The desire to inspire or help others is one of the main reasons people share content. It's why motivational quotes and blog posts spread so quickly.

Leave your readers inspired.
The Gift Of Shock

Want to hook someone? Start with an intro that has the potential of making their jaw hit the ground. Start with:

A shocking statement.
A hilarious message.
A contrarian take.
A surprising stat.

Or something completely different from expectations.
The Gift Of Community

People want to feel a part of something. If you can tell a story that makes people feel part of a group -- You're telling a story that could evoke a feeling of pride.
The Gift Of Connection

The internet is a noisy place and the world can be a lonely place. But your stories can connect with people in a way that makes them feel like you're a close friend.

The best way to do this is to let you guard down and be real. This is a super power.
You might have noticed a trend in these gifts...

A lot of them are rooted in psychology. This is because storytelling and marketing are applied psychology.

Here's a great thread on that exact topic:
If you enjoyed this -- I'm glad. It's my gift to you!

I hope you'll give me a follow @TheCoolestCool or retweet this so more people can unlock the opportunities that come from great storytelling.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays 🎅🏿
Oh...

One last thing. If you want to more in-depth thoughts from me on topics like marketing, SEO, content and strategy - Check out the @FoundationIncCo newsletter:
content.foundationinc.co/insights

Two emails a week. Filled with value 🔥✌🏿

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More from @TheCoolestCool

16 Nov
Winter is coming.

November and December are known in B2B as months where leads slow down and deals take forever.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Here’s 11 ways to secure the bag and make the rest of the year count.

[THREAD] 💰 🧵
USE ADVANCED TWITTER SEARCH

Every single day someone puts up a post that they’re hiring or buying.

Hiring agencies, designers, cleaners, real estate agents and more. Buying SaaS, gifts, plants and more.

Find your buyers using search and engage with them.
FOLLOW UP WITH THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WENT COLD

Remember back in September when you almost closed that deal but they didn’t bite? Follow up.

Remember that prospect that ghosted? Follow up.

Send an email asking how things are going and see if it makes sense to re-engage.
Read 15 tweets
2 Nov
Let’s be honest.

Content & SEO are the most underrated & disrespected part of the marketing mix. We’ve got…

CMOs getting laid off each week. ai companies claiming to replace content writers. And traditional media budgets still getting more love than SEO.

Here's why👇
We spend too much time talking about things that CEOs don’t care about:

DA35 Links. Do Follow Links. Trust Flow. Open Rates. Time Spent On Site. Engagement. Alexa Rank.

When we should be talking about:

SQLs. MQLs. Assisted Revenue. Leads. Sales. Pipeline Growth. Etc..
We don’t embrace the idea that content can contribute to a long term competitive advantage.

The power of an SEO moat is real.

If you can own the SERP across multiple keywords in your domain; you will be able to print money for years to come.
Read 12 tweets
5 Oct
If you’re a SaaS marketer, you need to study Airtable.

The SEO & growth strategies they used become a $5B startup and reach 1M users are so impressive.

Here's a few things you can learn from them 🧵
Every month, an estimated 10-15M visits hit their Airtable's website from various sources.

Organically (SEO) more than 245k people reach the site through search. That’s a lot of people.

One of the major attraction spots on Airtable’s website is the templates landing page:
Here's some key metrics:

The templates rank for 16.4K organic keywords
Attracts over 9500 visitors each month
The organic traffic value is $42,000

Meaning... You would have to pay Google $504,000 to capture that much traffic through PPC a year.

This is why SEO is important.
Read 12 tweets
24 Sep
Spoiler: Remote work doesn't mean working from home.

Remote work means: having the flexibility to work from a co-working space, a local cafe, that restaurant up the street, next to the beach, a cottage in the woods or your parents backyard before a BBQ.
Remote work means having the ability to take a midday shower after a run, a spontaneous catch up with a friend, a tea party with your kids and a moment to just relax and chill after a big deliverable.
Remote work means skipping that long commute in the morning, avoiding road construction, reducing your carbon footprint, reducing your budget for gas & not being forced to sit at a desk for multiple hours a day.
Read 7 tweets
10 Sep
I've had social posts reach 100,000+. I've had blog posts reach millions. I've created strategies that have made millions. All because:

I've studied Content Marketing for YEARS 🧠

Grab a coffee and enjoy 👉 Here are 23 resources and techniques for fast tracking your skills 🧵
Use Wayback Time Machine to See The Golden Era Of Marketing Forums 🧠

You can learn a TON by browsing through old marketing AMAs in forums like GrowthHackers. You can literally find old AMA's between the community and the CEO of Zoom discussing their growth plans. So valuable.
Study & Research The YouTube Archives 📺

Go to Google and type in "Interview [Brilliant Mind]" and listen to a bunch of their interviews. For example, you can go to YouTube and find a TON of @aprildunford interviews that will arm you with a ton of value.
Read 17 tweets
25 Aug
B2B Marketing Lessons 💻

I’ve helped SaaS companies create a content culture that drives:

Millions in revenue. Millions in leads. And millions in visits.

Grab a coffee, save this thread and dive in 🧵

Here’s the stuff they didn’t teach us in school but really should have...
B2B Marketing Is More Similar To B2C Than Most People Think

It might not always feel as sexy as selling Yeezys or the latest Fenty line but at the end of the day — You’re still selling to people.

People who have challenges and are on the hunt for solutions.
Top Of Funnel Marketing Isn’t Always Needed To Create A Massive Company

Some marketers will hate me for this BUT… It’s true.

Some businesses make a ton of money on the back of just sales teams & a good product that fills a gap.
Read 14 tweets

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