Storytelling is one of the most powerful marketing (and recruitment) tools we have for our businesses. 
Real, honest stories. Stories that your clients, customers, and donors can connect with, and in turn, let you connect with them.

Great stories bridge the gap between you and your audience and create lasting, raving fans. I love those, don’t you?
You’ve probably guessed I’m a pretty big fan of storytelling by now, after all, I'm fortunate enough to lead a team of talented storytellers every day as a profession.   

I could fill a novel about my love of storytelling and how stories have impacted my life, but I’ll rein it in a little for this email and focus on what and how stories impact your clients, customers, and donors.

• Identity - A relatable story guarantees a captive audience. When a customer can identify with something in your story, they are far more likely to be engaged with what you have to say. There’s a saying amongst writers: “Make your reader the hero of the story”. This applies to the stories you tell your customers. If they feel involved, they will be eager to read more, continue watching, and most importantly - take action.

• Emotion - Emotions can be a tricky thing when it comes to business. Storytelling allows you to express emotion in a way that your clients, customers, and donors can instantly identify with. As much as we love to deny it, much of our decisions in life are based on an emotion. It’s what makes us human. 

• Connection - Storytelling humanizes you. Humans love to connect with other humans. When an audience connects with your story, they are connecting with you too. With connection comes trust.
  
• Conversation - When you share a story that really resonates with your audience, they are far more likely to reach and connect with you. You will have established a common ground with whom you are trying to reach, engaged them, and started to build trust. The best thing about this, is that they will likely have a story to share of their own - one that may involve you and how your brand has impacted their life!

Do you have a story you could share with your customers? One that would resonate with them? I bet you do, and I’m sure your audience would love to read/see/hear it. In a world of copy-cats, your story is the one thing people can't copy - it is your fingerprint, yours alone, and yours to share... So tell it...