Stories Sell
But the real secret to connecting with people (i.e selling) isn't communicating advice - it's communicating that you understand.
People don't care how much you know until they know much you care. And in many cases, that's what stories give you the opportunity to do.
As humans, we want to hear about ourselves - we want to feel understood. If you write about your problems and it's exactly what someone is experiencing or something they can relate to, you're almost guaranteed to have their attention - even if you're not even talking about a solution.
Also, it's very important to note that people perceive someone as more authentic when they reveal their shortcomings and failures. Of course, there's a right way to do that in order to preserve credibility but the fact is that it just flat out works.
US Weekly and OK magazine make a fortune on this principle alone. People love reading about the challenges of successful people.
I once sent something to a Billionaire requesting that he take a look and review it. He finally wrote back and the one piece of advice he gave me was to use more stories to illustrate the points.
Simple, profound and pretty much exactly what I needed to hear.
That's why Trump's books become bestsellers. They're a giant collection of interesting stories - including his failures. It's also a big reason why the Bible is the best selling book of all time.
A great book to read to see this in action is "The Last Lecture". It's a very powerful book because it's filled with detailed stories that all indirectly teach. It's interesting because as soon as the author tries to directly give advice I almost tend to tune out a little. But when he's just recounting an experience I tend to be much more receptive.
The book does have a little bit of "it's spiritual to be broke" nonsense but I know it's written with good intentions and I highly recommend you read it if you want to learn how to write in a way that connects with people.
Amazon.com: The Last Lecture: Randy Pausch,...
It's also a very inspiring book.
"Sell the Magic of A Dream"
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