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According to Royale Scuderi, Life Fullfillment Expert, there are 6 types of motivation:

Incentive
Fear
Achievement
Growth
Power
Social

I couldn’t agree more, but let’s not forget to put these principles back in their moorings; motivation moves many of us through the context of a good story.

 

 Like many of us, clinical explanations are often lost on me. They tend to be dry, boring and lose my interest right quick. The really important stuff in my life I remember best in terms of stories. I retain and recall information through the context of the people and the events, the emotions, the imagery. So when it comes to powerful content marketing, it’s clear that a great story is one of the best ways to grab attention and to motivate people like us. Like Tom Clifford says: The best stories always include a dragon.

This is the 6th of my content marketing blog posts inspired by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman’s book “Content Rules,” and by far my favorite. Storytelling is an amazing way to share content. Here’s why:

A dragon is a threat to your way of life; hell to the whole feudal village. It’s treacherous, unpredictable and has a voracious appetite. Moreover, it’s going to take someone really amazing to slay that dragon. The hero who takes that sucker down will get the respect of the townspeople, a big party, the nod of the king, the hottest babe in the land and he will be remembered favorably forevermore.

The Best Stories Always Include a Dragon

When it comes to motivating buyers, you need a dragon in your story. There needs to be an unmistakable threat to their way of life, and maybe to the whole damn village. Many decisions will get put off until the next full moon, but if the village is threatened, everybody snaps to. Grab your torch and pitchforks.

Now that the town is in an uproar, you have the opportunity to be the knight in shining armor, with that special silver arrow and the skill to plant it on it’s mark, right between the scales of the dragon, piercing it’s ugly black heart.

This is where the townspeople raise you up on their shoulders and parade you up and down the square, bellowing your praises and slugging back mead by the flagon. You did it! You saved the village! The dragon is now only remembered as part of a great story, and you can move on to the next village, the next dragon, and the next victory blowout. Booyah.

Just remember though: no dragon, no booyah. In content marketing, the best stories always include a dragon.

 

If you’ve not read Ann and C.C.’s book: “Content Rules”, I highly recommend you get a copy right now. What a tremendous collection of great ideas for growing your business!