How to tell powerful stories that sell

Yo! Welcome to The Content Strategy Reeder, a short newsletter designed to help you create content that raises eyebrows and revenue.

This is the monthly LinkedIn version. If you'd like the weekly edition delivered straight to your email inbox, you can subscribe below for free.

???? Join 6k+ sales and marketing pros here.

“Your newsletter is literally the only one I read.” - Justin Welsh, Founder, JW Strategic Advisory.

“This newsletter is a game-changer for marketers looking to level up their content game.” - Nick Bennett, Director of Evangelism & Customer Marketing, Alyce

"A marketer who understands sales people. His newsletter is a no brainer." - Morgan Ingram, VP of GTM Talent and Development, Sales Impact Academy & 3x Top LinkedIn Sales Voice

***

Today you’re going to learn how to tell powerful stories.

If used correctly, your content will immediately graduate from good to exceptional.

And it’s OK if you don’t consider yourself a natural storyteller.

With the following framework, you’ll go from novice to expert in minutes.

Even better, you can use this tactic across ALL of your sales and marketing efforts — making them infinitely more relatable and persuasive.

So… what is this powerful style of storytelling?

Well, I’ve already used it twice in this post.

And you’ve seen it a million times before.

Learn to tell Before and After stories

Before and after stories are incredibly effective for conveying the value of your offer — e.g., your product, event, sales meeting, ebook, course, etc.

That’s because they focus on benefits.

Most people misstep by describing the offer. For example:

This book is easy to read, it’s only 214 pages, and there are interesting data points inside.

That’s about the book. But no one cares about features.

Instead, describe the tangible outcomes your offer provides:

This book will fast track your career by giving you decades of career advice that you can use immediately to negotiate a raise.

Which sounds most interesting to you?

Next, describe starting point, AKA the Unwanted Current State.

This is where you detail your reader's present problem or state of being for which your offer solves.

Before and after stories are effective because they transport your reader from Unwanted Current State to Desired Future State. That's incredibly important because...

Your goal is to describe the transformation

Before and after stories are powerful because they focus on the contrast between where the journey begins and where it ends.

Remember, people are interested in their Future Desired State more than your content itself. Your content is a means to an end. So focus on the end — specifically, what changed.

Clearly show where your reader is, then detail where your offer will get them.

The larger the gap and the shorter the timeframe, the more intriguing and persuasive the story.??

Steal this framework

In its simplest form, here’s how to structure your story:

From Point A to Point B.

It’s that simple.

You’ve seen it before:

Diet plans: From 300 pounds to 200 pounds in 12 months.

Invisalign: From crooked teeth to a perfect smile in 8 weeks.

Proactiv: From oily skin to clear skin in weeks.

Notice the pattern of (1) describing the Unwanted Current State then (2) describing the Future Desired State.

It’s not describing the product.

Otherwise it would read:

-From 300 pounds to daily cardio and weight lifting

-From crooked teeth to 24/7 retainers

-From oily skin to a daily ointment regiment

That sounds like work. And people want results. Focus on the transformation and you’ll tell powerful and persuasive stories.

Now that you have the formula down, let’s go into an advanced example — and one that isn’t pressuring you to become better looking (because FWIW, I think you’re great just the way you are.)

(PS: Want more actionable advice for creating eyebrow-raising content that converts? Join 6,134 professionals who are using content to grow their business and personal brand. Sign up here, for free .)

How to use before and after stories in your writing

You can build on the “Point A to Point B” framework by adding detail and specificity.

I intentionally use before and after stories in my welcome email when folks sign up for my newsletter.

My goal is to build anticipation and clearly articulate the value you can expect.

Here’s a blurb. See if you can spot the “before's” and “after's”:

How many did you find?

I labeled them here:

The more detail and specificity you add, the more persuasive your story becomes.

And the more you understand your reader, the easier it is to create the Unwanted Current State and Desired Future State.

TL,DR (Too Long, Don't Remember):

Before and after stories a powerful because they convey contrast, and you can use them to make your offer irresistible.

Use them correctly, and you’ll go from good to outstanding results overnight.

(See, there it is again.)

Holler at you later,

Devin

Before you go...

Content is THE growth lever hiding in plain sight.

Problem is, almost no one knows how to create content that delivers significant results.

So I decided to create The Content Strategy Reeder — so you can turn your content into a strategic growth lever for your business and personal brand. Here's the 411:

-Delivered on Saturdays

-Less than 5 min to read

-Completely free

Join 6k+ content creators who get actionable writing and marketing advice every week ????