Why Tell a Story?
People like reading stories. They’re a great way to engage your audience.
As an example, here’s a little story of my own:
Once upon a time, there was this young, intelligent woman named Diane.
Diane was a web designer and developer. She designed and coded gorgeous websites that got her clients noticed online by showcasing who they are and what they do.
Diane had a blog called TipsandSnips, to help website do-it-yourself-ers. She liked the idea of storytelling, so she decided to start using it on her blog. She hoped more people would enjoy her posts and that she would also grow her audience.
After just a short while, she found it to be a casual, fun, laid-back way to engage her audience. Her blog’s visitors and followers loved it too and her subscriber-list grew by leaps and bounds!
1. Tell a story to give an example
For a quick way to get a feel for storytelling, try telling a short anecdotal story in place of an example. Short, entertaining anecdotes can absolutely make a blog post more fun to read, and they help create a feeling of connection between blogger and reader.
2. Get inspiration from your personal experiences
Generating ideas for stories doesn’t have to be difficult. Use your own personal experiences for inspiration. A laugh with a co-worker, a funny thing your cat did, something that happened during yoga class; these are your stories!
The stories I use in my own posts come from my own life experiences. Stories are everywhere.
3. Align your story with your post
Every story has a message, usually it’s something you want people to take away from that specific story. Your story’s message should align with and support your blog post’s message.
I did that above, in the story about Diane (me). I used that story to show how storytelling can be used in blog posts, which is what this particular post is all about.
4. Use the elements of storytelling
A good story requires 4 elements: a character, a problem, an action, and a solution.
-The story needs a character. In my story that’s Diane.
-The character should have a problem: for example, the character is aspiring to become something, or to overcome an obstacle.
-The story requires the character to take an action to overcome the obstacle or to solve the problem.
-The story needs a solution which is actually the message you want the reader to understand. The message is the take-away of the story.
5. Make it relatable
Stories are powerful if the reader can emotionally relate to the main character. Make your character relatable so your readers naturally understand your message.
6. Use images or color
Adding an illustration or graphic to your story will make it easier to identify with. It can make your message clearer and easier to grasp. Colors help convey emotion, so using blue can help to convey trust, orange conveys creativity, green is calming, yellow is happy.
Questions?
Other articles you might like:
-How Your Personal Brand Makes the Difference–
-Use a Thank You Page to Grow your Subscriber List or Customer Base
-Using images: Tips to improve your SEO rankings
About the author
I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.
I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.
I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.
I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.
‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.
Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options
Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.
