Why Do We Ignore The End?
Some thoughts on the way we structure our content.
A story is made up of a beginning, a middle, and an end.
That basic story structure, first outlined by Aristotle around 350 BCE, has been the foundation of most creative writing since.
Yet, as I’ve pointed out during many of the discussions I’ve had on applying storytelling techniques, it seems to get forgotten when it comes to the development of business content.
We keep leaving off the end.
Think about your marketing content.
How often do you produce content that starts with what it is that you do, and then talks about how great your product is. But then ignores what the result of using that product is. Too much marketing is features and function centric and fails to explain the benefits to the customer. Without knowing the result of using your product, why should I purchase it?
Why do marketing folks tend to leave off the end? Largely due to internal pressure that places the product at the center of communications rather than the customer.
Think about your technical content.
How often do you produce technical content that starts with a short description about the task ahead, then is followed by a detailed set of steps to complete that task. But then fails to tell the reader what the expected result is, or how to proceed to the next step (if applicable).
Why do technical writers tend to leave the end off? Mainly due to the fact that they are given focused assignments to write a procedure around a particular feature set. They may not have a more holistic view of things from the customer’s perspective where that one task is part of a larger process.
If you think of your content in terms of the three piece jigsaw above, you may be telling customers how great the seed is (marketing), and how to plant it (technical documents), but are you letting them know the result is a lovely looking flower?
I have a well-worn phrase when it comes to describing content - that I dislike “so what?” content. Content that a customer will consume and then say “so what?” - Content that doesn’t tell them about how products or services will make their job easier, or doesn’t help them along their journey.
Leaving the end off will only result in “so what?” content.
It’s time to start thinking about how our stories end.
Alan
A Note of Appreciation
Last week’s newsletter “Am I The AI Luditte?” outlining the questions that companies should be asking before they jump on the Generative AI bandwagon seems to have struck a chord with many people. Within just two days of posting it had become my most read newsletter to date. Thanks to all who read it and sent comments.
And a special welcome to those folks who subscribed after reading it.
Welcome abroad to all our new subscribers following my webinar on Customer Focused Storytelling that was hosted by The Content Wrangler / Heretto and the discussion on Delivering Persona-based Content on the Content Matters podcast from the folks at Ingeniux.
Thanks to all the folks who took up new subscriptions recently or read the newsletter since its launch. We really appreciate the support.
We hope that you will enjoy what we have to offer, and remember if you haven’t yet subscribed the easiest way to receive the newsletter each week is to hit the SUBSCRIBE button so it gets delivered straight to your email inbox.
Talking About Storytelling
This upcoming Thursday, November 14th, I’ll be joining Larry Swanson on his Content Strategy Insights podcast to chat about Enterprise Storytelling. I’m really looking forward to continuing our conversation from the recent Lavacon conference. I’ll post the link in upcoming newsletters once it’s available.
Weekly Thought
How often do you review personas to ensure that they keep up with new technologies and changes in how customers interact with your brand?.
Customer Focused Storytelling Workshops
THE CONTENT POOL is pleased to announce that we are now offering our popular Customer Focused Storytelling Workshops
We are now taking bookings for Q1/2025, and we wanted to make sure that as a newsletter reader you got an early opportunity to lock-in a date.
“Weaving storytelling into the mix makes the content more compelling, accessible, and effective!”
Learn how to deliver content-driven experiences that your customers relate to on our two-day Customer Outcome Focused Storytelling workshop.
In this workshop, we will:
Examine content from the customer’s perspective.
Plan how to adapt content delivery to meet the needs of a rapidly changing marketplace
Examine why every business transaction is a story
Outline the 10 Rules of Storytelling as applied to Customer Experience
Apply proven storytelling techniques to your content.
Identify potential opportunities for incorporating storytelling techniques
into the production of your customer-facing content assets.Facilitate an interactive feedback session on your existing customer-facing content.
If you would like more details, or you like to discuss reserving a date for yourself and your team to benefit from a Customer Focused Storytelling Workshop, just email us at ajp@4jsgroup.com to reserve your date.
In The Bookstore
If you enjoy the contents of this newsletter and would like more, we have three books always available from XML Press.
You can also check out The Content Pool website or follow us on FaceBook . You can also find Alan on most of the social media platforms @alanjporter.
Please feel free to share the newsletter and pass it around to any friends or colleagues you think might find it of value.
Till next time - have fun paddling in The Content Pool.
Alan J. Porter
The Content Pool™ is a division of the 4Js Group LLC