Mastering the Art of Storytelling: 10 Steps To Making More Money on Medium

In my article I wrote recently, Anatomy of a $100 Medium Article, I discussed what it took to put together a $100 article on Medium. The main thing that Medium wants is personal stories. Therefore, we need to give our readers what Medium says we need to be giving to earn more money on their platform. Now good storytelling doesn’t just help on Medium. Good storytelling also helps your business to grow. Good storytelling creates trust.

Trust sells whatever it is that you are trying to sell. Say that again.

Everyone loves a good story. Good stories usually convey messages, entertain or ignite fires within your readers.

A lot of people believe the art of storytelling is something complex and difficult, only reserved for specific skilled society members. That could not be farther from the truth. The skillset needed to tell a good story may be obtained through practice and with the proper toolkit, anyone has the ability to become an outstanding storyteller.

Whether you’re attempting to attract new readers or engage your existing ones, high-quality storytelling is the best way to go. It goes beyond just words, encompassing videos and photographs — the principles are the same.

Here’s 10 steps to master the art of storytelling:

Know who your audience is

Step one is critical and will decide how long your story ought to be and what type of language you should use. Before you begin any story, spend about five minutes considering who you are targeting.

How old is your target? Who are they? What do these people care about? Should you come across in a friendly, conversational tone or do you think they would prefer a more professional tone?

Make your readers care

Whether aesthetically, intellectually, or emotionally, the key is to make your readers care. It’s crucial in our world, in which folks usually skim through content and gloss over posts.

Why should these people be interested in your story? How is it actually relevant to them? Make it clear when creating your story, because if it is not clear to you, it won’t be clear to them.

Set the scene

All of us experience the world through our five senses and therefore, if you really want to capture your target audience, you have to engage these senses. Immediately set the scene and give your audience context for your story.

Where did your story take place? Describe how the air smelled. Was it a cloudy, rainy day? How did the keyboard feel against your fingertips as you wrote the story? Did the coffee you drank as you wrote the story burn your tongue? Were your kids in the other room screaming and raving as you tried to concentrate on churching out intriguing content? Was the dog begging for your attention, trying to get in your lap at your desk?

By setting the scene and engaging their senses, you’ll accomplish a more immersive experience for them.

Use chronological order in a creative manner

Sometimes it’s possible to catapult your audience directly into the middle of the action, or to the story’s end to grasp their attention. Also, it’s one of the best ways to arouse tension, suspense, and curiosity in the story. Since they don’t know what’s about to happen, they’ll read further so they can solve the missing puzzle pieces.

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Know the punchline

What’s the whole purpose of telling your story? Don’t forget that even though you’re doing it to ultimately sell a service or product, it shouldn’t feel this way to your audience. The story may be emotional, meaningful, funny, or a mix of all three. Be creative; however, do not forget to always make it interesting and relevant.

Be engaging

Delete the boundary between your story and your reader. Engage them with one or two questions and drop them right in the midst of the story. That way, you develop a first-hand experience of your narrative, and ignite the need for a reader to have the same experience you had.

Slowly build tension

Have you ever read a book that was so good you couldn’t put it down? That’s the goal you’re trying to accomplish. Be descriptive while you tell about the climatic times in the story. Be expressive; get excited!

End the story with a grand finale

Unless your story is to continue and you’re building the suspense on purpose, there has to be closure. Whatever storyline you have built must finish and leave no stone unturned.

Add a bit of magic by leaving the readers with a feeling of awe, the type of feeling received when you leave the movie theater after watching a fantastic movie. Do that by leaving behind something to ponder as they return back to their regular lives.

Do not limit your words

A picture can be worth a thousand words; videos all the more. These have the ability to support written words. Remember, people love to be entertained. Don’t just tell good stories, think of your article as something that needs to be decorated. Decorate your posts with plenty of images, videos, quotes from social media, anything to get people to stay on the page and get your read ratio up.

Make sure you enjoy yourself

Really enjoy reliving this experience. The journey you relive lives on forever and may be vicariously enjoyed by all those who read it.

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