How this CEO’s stories became commercial gold

5 ways to ensure you're never short of ideas

Contents

• Context
• Part 1) How to generate ideas
• Part 2) How to make them relevant
• Part 3) Ensuring your story's told authentically
• Recommended Viewing
• Recommended Reading

Context

This isn’t a story about how stories build brands & revenue.

That's a given.

When Alan came to me, he already knew storytelling would level up email marketing for his wealth management firm:

? Increased open rates

? Better click through rates

? Improved conversions

?? Fewer unsubscribes

and transform social media content, blog posts and live pitches .

He was aware people are 22 times more likely to remember information presented in a story, than as mere facts and figures.

He wasn’t surprised to learn of 'Significant Objects', where a 3100% average return was achieved over 200 transactions, using fictional stories as the only driver of sales.

Rather, his concerns with stories were threefold

1. How to continuously come up with ideas
2. How to make them relevant to his business
3. If a ghostwriter (me) could tell them authentically

Resolve these, and even emails about inheritance tax, positive alpha and the intricacies of decumulation would be emotionally engaging, not deleted before the reader had finished the first paragraph.

This Article shows how we achieved all three

• Alan recovered his entire four figure investment in the Executive Reputation Accelerator by month 2.
• Or you can do it all yourself at zero financial cost by following Parts 1 and 2.

Why are stories so potent at inspiring action?

“No one ever made a decision because of a number. They need a story.”

- Daniel Kahneman, Nobel prize winning psychologist and economist

Part 1. How to come up with ideas

We humans are fantastically bad at multi-tasking.

• Professional writers are unanimous you should write on one day, then edit on another.
• Edward De Bono's Six Thinking Hats , the legendary management tool for decision making, separates the types of thinking so you only do one at a time.
• I trained as a classical violinist from the age of 8 to 18. Much of practise is isolating a single dimension of technique or musicality to focus on, before moving on to the next, then the next.

Similarly, we generate ideas for stories separately from creating the content they will be used in.

• Use any combination of the following 5 techniques to create a "Story Bank" of ideas, then top it up at regular intervals.
• The more you have in your Story Bank (I recommend at least 30), the more likely you will find 'just the right one' for your tactical needs.
• These are just ideas - one or two sentences describing the essence of the story. You don't have to expand on the story until you come to use it (see Part 2).
• You can (should) use the same idea more than once.
• See Part 2) below for how to use these ideas within a marketing message.

5 techniques for a neverending supply of story ideas

1.1) Your Life Journey

1.2) Homework For Life

1.3) Personal Story Prompts

1.4) Company Story Prompts

1.5) Chat-GPT (or similar) Prompts

1.1) Your Life Journey

• Start a document with two columns: Professional Journey & Personal Journey.
• Under each heading, list the major chapters of your life.
• In each chapter, bullet point any interesting experiences or lessons learned. Each one is a potential story.
• Many find it easiest to do this in several rounds - with each round, note whatever comes to mind, then move on to the next chapter when you feel the well running dry.

The example below is my first round:

1.2 Homework For Life

(from Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks)

At the end of each day (or the following morning), write down one storyworthy moment.

• You can have more than one, but the key is to have at least one a day.
• This technique alone adds 30-31 new ideas to your bank every month.

This is a week from my Journal in March 2024

1.3 Prompts

1. What motivated you to start your business or pursue your current career path?
2. Describe a time when you overcame a significant challenge in your life or career.
3. Can you share a moment when you made a big, unexpected change in your life or career?
4. What’s an instance where you failed at something important and what did you learn from it?
5. Who has been the most influential person in your journey and how?
6. What’s the most crucial piece of advice you’ve ever received?
7. Describe a time when you had to make a tough decision in your professional life.
8. What was a pivotal moment in your career or personal life?
9. Share a story about a time when you helped someone else succeed.
10. What are some of the lesser-known struggles you’ve faced on your path to where you are today?
11. What achievements are you most proud of?
12. Is there a particular event or incident that significantly shaped your professional philosophy or personal values?
13. How do you balance your personal life with your professional ambitions?
14. What’s a piece of wisdom you’ve gained through your experiences that you wish to pass on?
15. Describe a moment when you felt like giving up, but didn’t.
16. What’s the most adventurous or spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?
17. How has your background or upbringing influenced your career and aspirations?
18. What’s a misconception people often have about you or your profession?
19. Describe a time when you went above and beyond what was expected of you.
20. What’s a personal habit or practice that has significantly contributed to your success?

1.4) Company Story Prompts

• Origin story - how your company was started, or how you joined the company
• Key developments - a fund raise, a key recruit, awards won, team days away, the company Christmas party etc.
• Success stories - take your readers on the journey an existing customer went through.?
• Behind the scene stories - show how your business works, for example in production, marketing/design, or customer services. This creates a sense of insider knowledge and community.

1.5) AI Prompts

Copy and paste the prompt below, starting from the word 'Imagine' into Chat-GPT (or similar), or use any similar prompt.

For variety, replace the first sentence (Imagine you are...) with another role.

Prompt for Generating Brand Storytelling Ideas:

Imagine you are a legendary copywriter from the golden age of advertising, reimagined as a modern-day creative strategist. As an expert in the art of persuasion and brand storytelling, your task is to help a client who is keen on building a compelling personal brand using their life experiences. The client seeks to connect authentically with their audience but is struggling to identify the right personal stories to share.

Objective: Develop 20 diverse and engaging storytelling prompts that explore various aspects of personal and professional life. These prompts should encourage deep reflection and showcase a range of emotions and experiences that resonate universally.

Examples of Storytelling Prompts:

1. Describe a moment when you turned a failure into a significant learning opportunity.
2. Share an experience where you went out of your comfort zone to achieve something extraordinary.
3. Recall a childhood memory that significantly influenced your professional values today.
4. Tell us about a mentor who changed your perspective and how it shaped your career path.
5. Narrate an instance when your unconventional approach solved a complex problem.
6. Explain how a personal setback strengthened your professional resolve or focus.
7. Illustrate a time when teamwork led to unexpected success, highlighting your role.
8. Detail an experience where understanding a different culture or community greatly impacted your work or life philosophy.
9. Discuss a pivotal decision in your career and the factors that guided your choice.
10. Reveal a hobby or passion that parallels lessons in your professional life.

Guidelines for Brainstorming:

• Think broadly and diversely about the range of experiences that could appeal to a wide audience.
• Focus on moments of transformation, decision-making, and personal growth.
• Ensure the prompts are open-ended to allow for rich, detailed storytelling that engages and inspires.

Deliverables:

• 30 compelling prompts that can be used to craft personal brand stories.
• Each prompt should open avenues for stories that are not only personal and authentic but also underline the values and unique perspectives the client brings to their field.

Part 2. How to make them relevant

1. Define your marketing objective / message.
2. Browse your Story Bank for an idea that can relate to #1.
3. Tell the story ? then a transition paragraph ? then the marketing message
4. Or tell the story with the marketing message woven throughout (this is harder than #3, but more powerful).

Before writing content, I recommend working through this 6 point checklist:

• What problem am I solving?
• Whose problem am I solving?
• What benefits am I unlocking?
• What promise am I making?
• What emotion am I generating?
• What’s the next action my reader / listener / viewer should take?

Checklist created by Dickie Bush, founder of Ship30for30

Part 3. Ensuring your story's told authentically

The exact protocol is determined during our Identity Framework Call (then refined as we learn to work together efficiently and effectively)...

But broadly speaking:

• I help you establish and maintain your Story Bank on a shared document.
• As and when I need to draw on the Story Bank (presentation / social media / email marketing), I email you a proposal of which story is being used for which marketing message.
• I already have your tone of voice and preferred style from your Brand Plan .
• For longer pieces, we may have an additional conversation where you tell me the story in your words. This helps with conversational flow, so I'm writing as you speak.

Recommended Viewing

• Made To Stick (summary)
• Dakota Robertson - How To Use ChatGPT To Make 3 Months Of Content In 3 Hours

Recommended Reading

• The Persuasive Pitch Formula: A CEO's Guide to Winning Hearts & Minds
• Data Storytelling: The Skill Every Analytics Pro Should Master
• Storytelling for Brands: The Ultimate Storytelling Guide

If you found this of use, the Executive Identity Accelerator Playbook is a step-by-step manual covering all 7 P's of a CEO / Founder brand that adds value.

Or for the 'Done-For-You' concierge service, join the waitlist here .