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The relevance of storytelling when you’re writing content for the B2B market

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The image shows a man telling a story with great passion

Storytelling when writing content for a B2B brand

Storytelling in the context of content writing and copywriting means putting across your point through a story.

You offer a great product or service. Instead of talking about your product or service, tell a story of someone who was going through a difficulty before doing business with you, and then, various circumstances led that person to your website, the person was convinced about what your product or service delivers and then bought it, and then how, his life was changed for the better.

Stories are relatable. They also give a live example instead of using oblique arguments. Everybody can relate to a story.

Does it mean you need to write fiction?

Not necessarily. Of course, you can create a hypothetical narrative to explain why people should use your product or service, but you can get plenty of real-world examples among your own customers and clients if you approach them and find out how they have benefited from your business.

The way they share their experience with you may not be as thrilling as a Mission Impossible plot, you can use your own creativity and writing skills to make the story interesting and immersive.

In fact, this Skyword blog post titled The Role of Fiction in Brand Storytelling says that there is no harm in creating fictional narratives to put across your point.

The above blog post links to a fictional IBM film in which an engineer restores the power supply using IBM technology. Quite gripping.

The image shows a caption from an IBM movie as an example of brand storytelling

A storytelling example from IBM

Recently I used storytelling for two of my clients and it was an interesting experience.

For one client, I wrote about this IT head who needed to revamp the HRM (Human Resource Management) system of his company. He couldn’t decide whether he should get an in-house HRM system installed or he should go for a cloud-based HRM system.

So, he goes through various options and weighs various pros and cons (the blog post was about whether he should go for an in-house or a cloud-based solution) and eventually makes a presentation in front of the board in favor of the cloud-based solution (provided by my client).

In another example, in which I needed to promote an Uber app clone script, I used a story of a man who had built his traditional cab service from scratch but now, since most of the people prefer to book cabs from their mobile phone apps, all his customers were leaving. In the story, his misconception that building his own custom cab booking app would be an expensive affair, holds him back and also creates lots of problems with for him. Then he comes across the Uber app clone script and his business completely transforms and in fact, he also starts a local food delivery service with the same mobile app script.

Storytelling when content writing for the B2B sector

Storytelling can be used for any segment.

A few months ago, I wrote about a Netflix series in Hindi. In the series they haven’t even directly promoted mutual funds. But the story is about a family where the main earner of the family, the father, provides consulting services about mutual funds and when he meets various people, he tells them why mutual funds are good.

Otherwise, the entire story is about the travails of a 14-year-old kid. In the series, the product, mutual funds, becomes a part of the story rather than being an add-on or piggybacking upon the narrative.

In the 7-episode series, only in three episodes, and that too, for just 2-3 minutes, the father interacts with people regarding the benefits of investing in mutual funds. Nothing else about mutual funds happens in the series.

72% B2B marketers say that they use content marketing in one form or another, which means, a ton of content is being created to promote various B2B products and services.

B2B content is usually considered drab. Hence, writing content for the B2B segment is always challenging especially when you don’t like writing drab content.

In the B2B segment, case studies are very prevalent. These are nothing but stories. You can create engaging case studies in story format and tell how you solve people’s problems.

How storytelling through content writing helps your B2B brand

Your B2B partners are also people, just like customers of consumer goods and services. They also have the same emotions and they also have the same need to connect.

It’s just that their information needs are different. The stakes are higher when they’re seeking B2B partners because the investments are greater. Therefore, they prefer to read elaborate case studies and white papers before settling with a B2B partner. So, yes, accurate representation of information is very important.

But why not present that information in the form of storytelling?

This Think with Google blog post says that

To stand out, B2B marketers need to create excitement — anticipation of both professional and personal rewards. How? By building emotional connections with their customers, which can drive important purchase outcomes like purchase intent and pricing power. B2B purchasers are almost 50% more likely to buy a product or service when they see personal value — such as opportunity for career advancement or confidence and pride in their choice — in their business purchase decision. They are 8x more likely to pay a premium for comparable products and services when personal value is present.

The main highlights of the observation are:

  1. 50% of B2B buyers are more likely to do business with you if they can feel an emotional connection with your brand.
  2. Nearly 50% B2B customers are more likely to buy your product or service if you provide personal value.
  3. 72% of buyers are ready to pay you even a higher price if they believe in your brand.

Hence, emotional, personal connections do matter even in the B2B sector and these emotional and personal connections can be made through storytelling.

Aside from establishing a personal connection and an emotional connection, storytelling through content writing also makes it easier to understand what you are communicating. As the saying goes, “show, don’t tell” – and it is also applicable in B2B storytelling.

Instead of telling how great your product or service is, tell about a person who used your product or service and benefited from it.

Main elements of storytelling

Depending on who is giving you the advice, a story normally has 5 elements, namely

  1. Characters
  2. Setting
  3. Plot
  4. Conflict
  5. Resolution

As I said, different people may have a different take on what these elements are, but basically, when you are telling a story about your brand as a B2B marketer, think of a few characters who are going through a situation.

To make it realistic, put them in a setting. Maybe they work in a hospital. Or a technology company. Or an advocacy group. Whichever setting suits your narrative.

Then there is a plot. They’re trying to achieve something.

The conflict is, they cannot achieve what they want to achieve. They either must change themselves, the things that they are using, or find something totally new (something that you are providing).

Resolution happens. They find the solution. The job is done. Everybody lives happily for the rest of the day.

We are all storytellers. And we are all suckers for stories. From the days of the cave paintings to Kindle books, we have been telling stories forever. The stories have the power to create and sustain civilizations. They can also help you promote your B2B brand.

How to write a high-impact sales copy without sounding salesy

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The image shows a greedy salesman prompting you to buy from him immediately

Avoid being salesy while writing your sales copy

When you are convincing people, you are basically selling. Whether you are promoting a political idea, or urging people to adopt a social change, or prompting them to hire your content writing and copywriting services, for example, you need to convince them, and when you convince them, you are selling. Whenever you are convincing, through writing, you are writing sales copy.

When you are writing sales copy for business, the convincing part takes a totally different level because you are not just telling people to change their behavior, you are also asking them to spend money, and spend money on you – the hardest thing to achieve.

The “hardest” part is actually a misconception, and this is why people begin to indulge in a salesy sales copy instead of actually making a point. They simply want people to buy, instead of offering them something that can transform their lives.

Selling is not difficult if you have something worth buying.

You need two things to sell:

  1. A good product or service that is of great use.
  2. Your ability to convince people that you have got a great product or service that is of great use.

Sales copy comes into the picture during the convincing part. When you overdo the convincing, it becomes salesy.

This Forbes article advises you how to avoid being salesy while promoting your business, I’m writing my post in terms of content writing and copywriting without sounding salesy. Here are a few points we can take from the article itself:

Make a connection with your sales copy instead of immediately starting to sell

Selling is no longer impersonal. We live in a social world. We have always lived in a social world, but now we can socially connect like never before. According to the latest Mary Meeker report on Internet trends, by 2018, 3.8 billion people were connected to the Internet.

Even though you may say that the amount of information available on the Internet is overwhelming and ends up confounding people instead of making them feel more aware, personal recommendations generate more business than conventional advertising and marketing.

Making a personal connection means, talking to the person as if he or she is actually sitting in front of you, through your copywriting.

For example, while writing copy to promote my content writing and copywriting services, instead of constantly harping about how great a copywriter I am, I should address your concerns such as your need to improve your conversion rate and have better search engine rankings.

You want your visitors to come across highly professional and convincing copy on your website. You don’t want to sound unprofessional. You don’t want to sound someone like who doesn’t know how to communicate through writing.

Through helpful content writing and copywriting, you also want to make your visitors aware and educate them on the benefits of doing business with you. Only after that you make a pitch for your product or service.

My preferred way of making a connection is publishing lots of helpful blog posts such as this one. Most of my clients have read my blog posts. They like what I write. By the time they contact me to hire me as their content writer or a copywriter, they are already convinced that they want me to write for them.

Constantly obtain feedback from your prospective customers and clients and update your copy accordingly

The first version of your copy doesn’t have to be your last version. Though, when you are paying for content writer or a copywriter it becomes kind of a hassle, but even if it is a hassle, it is a necessary hassle.

What are the problems faced by the people for whom you are writing your copy? What are the things that trouble them? What are their apprehensions when they want to use your product or service? What sort of language do they use when they are searching for information on your product or service?

The way they talk about your product or service constantly changes according to the rapidly changing cultural and social nuances. Even what they want from you may change over the months. Keep making changes to your copy accordingly.

Offer transformation instead of your product or service

What is the biggest benefit of doing business with you? Make that the central point of your copy instead of your product or service.

I will again take an example from my own content writing and copywriting services. I write great, but so what? You are not looking for a Donna Tartt or a Martin Amis. You are looking for a content writer who can improve your conversion rate and give you better SEO.

You want a copy that converts maximum number of people who come to your landing page. You want the maximum number of people to download your e-book. You want to engage people on social networking websites. You want to establish yourself as an authority in your field.

These are the transformative things I should offer you instead of constantly telling you how great my content writing services are and how prodigal my copy is going to be once I write for you.

Is being salesy totally bad and counter-productive?

I wouldn’t say always. It depends. If you totally ignore selling your product or service, your prospective customer or client may miss the point. He or she may end up thinking that you are simply educating and informing, and you don’t intend to sell your product or service.

So, yes, if I want you to hire me as your content writer or a copywriter, I need to convey to you that I offer these services. I also need to talk about why it makes sense to hire me instead of another content writer or copywriter or another content writing a copywriting service.

But before I can do that, I should establish a connection with you. You should appreciate my writing. You should understand what advantages I bring to the table by going through the information available on my website and blog. After that, even if I sound salesy, you will be more receptive.

How I save time while running my content writing and consulting business

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Saving time while running my content writing and consulting business

I must confess that I’m not one of those highly organized and focused online marketers and entrepreneurs writing books and publishing podcasts on how well they optimally manage their time.

What happens at my desk is quite random. I’m not saying that it is ideal and I’m continuously trying to improve it, but having somehow successfully run my content writing and content consulting business for the past 12 odd years, I can at least say that within that randomness, there is some sense of regularity that keeps me going.

I was reading this blog post in the morning, 5 Practical Time Management Tips for the Chronically Time-Poor, and I was just wondering, do I have a take on this? Do I manage my time in a way I can share my experience with my readers?

What do I do to save time, or better put, organise my time? On an average day, I need to take care of the following:

  • Work on content writing and copywriting assignments from clients.
  • Reply to email queries from existing clients and new clients.
  • Update existing website pages.
  • Write blog posts for my content writing and content marketing blog.
  • Engage people on social networking websites.
  • Broadcast email campaigns.

Now, I don’t do all these activities every day. Regrettably, sometimes highly important activities like publishing new content on my blog, updating my content and broadcasting my email campaigns don’t happen for days, even for weeks. Sometimes I get distracted, sometimes there is too much client work.

Distractions can take their toll and how I try to put a leash on them

Talking about distraction – we have a politically charged up atmosphere in the house. My wife is very political. Being a writer first and then a content writer, I definitely enjoy writing political, cultural and social blog posts and consequently, end up spending lots of time tracking such conversations on Twitter, and even reading opinion pieces and news reports.

Our brain has limited resources. This is truer if you are passionate about something so much that you end up spending all your brainpower on a subject that has got nothing to do with your professional work.

This happens unfailingly: when I check my Twitter timeline in the morning, the entire day spirals down.

Multiple times I have experimented, just to see whether my conclusion is right or not, and unless something exceptional has happened (a client whose business is going to collapse unless I immediately submit some documents), within a couple of hours I feel drained, demotivated, and confused. I cannot focus on content writing.

Hence, I stay away from Twitter during workdays.

For this, I use ColdTurkey. It blocks the websites you want to block and once it is activated, you cannot even accidentally open those websites. Once activated, the program is so rock-solid that unless you reset your operating system, it is not going to allow you to access those websites. You cannot even uninstall during the period when the websites are being blocked.

I have used the program in various ways. Last year, I had set it to block all the social networking websites from 7 AM till 7 PM, Monday to Friday.

This was good, but the problem is, for work also sometimes I need to access websites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, especially when I’m posting content for my clients.

Now, I use 2-hour blocks. When I need to focus on something, I activate ColdTurkey for 2 hours and just focus on the work.

I keep on expanding this 2-hour block if I don’t need to access the websites.

Taking care of distractions gives you lots of time in a day. Still, you need to manage your time to make sure that you are able to achieve whatever that needs to be achieved.

I don’t check emails in the morning, instead I focus on my task list

I have been playing around with task lists ever since I started doing my own business. It doesn’t matter what app or what medium you use to manage your tasks (these days I use Microsoft to-do list). I have experimented with them multiple times and now I have concluded that creating very long task lists is always a waste of time.

Anyway, before that, the topic of not checking emails in the morning.

Almost every time-management guru advises you to avoid checking emails in the morning, and this is a good advice, especially when you want to preserve your brain resources for creative work and for work that requires uninterrupted focus.

About task list, these days I don’t add more than 5 tasks. I don’t necessarily have to do 5 tasks every day and there can be more tasks, but on the list, if I need to add a task, I make sure that I remove one task (by making sure that it is done). Relentlessly adding tasks is not just distracting, if you cannot tick off all the tasks, it is also demotivating.

Managing energy and priority instead of boxing various activities into various parts of the day

I’m more passionate than methodical. If I suppress my passion, my energy begins to drain out, especially when it comes to writing.

Hence, these days, I work according to the energy level that I have, and the degree of desire that I have to do that work.

For example, writing this blog post is not “work” in the sense that I don’t need to submit it to a client. But I’m writing it the first thing in the morning because I want to write it. Previously it used to fill me with guilt that instead of working on a client assignment, I was working on my blog, which shouldn’t be a priority. That was counter-productive.

Of course, I know there is work to be done and clients are waiting to receive their blog posts and articles, but I also know that if I don’t work on this blog post, there is a 90% chance I won’t be able to work on it, and then, I won’t even be able to focus on the client work.

On the other hand, if I’m able to complete it, or at least, write all the thoughts that are coming to my mind, I will know that I have done something that I want to do, and now, I can fully focus on the content writing project at hand.

So, I don’t have any elaborate time saving or time management technique I can write about. These things help me:

  • Removing distractions.
  • Strategically using my energy levels.
  • Not checking emails and social networking updates first thing in the morning.
  • Having a clearly defined task list not going beyond 5 tasks for a day.
  • Giving priority to writing that energises me.

Why your business needs more written content

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Your business needs more content writing

You know what? Written content isn’t going anywhere no matter how avant-garde video and infographics become.

I provide professional content writing services.

Every day I get queries and phone calls from business owners and entrepreneurs who want content for their businesses.

From my website they can easily make out that I provide written content: I don’t provide graphic design services or video production services.

I provide content writing services.

Nonetheless, they have this strange attitude: fine, they have no option but to contact someone for their writing needs, otherwise, they don’t believe writing is worth paying for.

That’s why many would-be clients balk at my rates.

No, I don’t mean that my rates are outrageous – my rates are just enough to make my content writing services affordable to a wide spectrum of business owners while allowing me to make a decent living.

Would I like to charge more? Of course. That’s a different story and right now I’m not going into that.

The point that I’m trying to make is, publishing written content is inescapable, whether you like it or not, and not just any sort of written content.

You need quality content writing.

Constantly, you need to provide something really valuable.

This is because, if you are not providing valuable content, then there are scores of other businesses providing more or less the same products and services as you, providing valuable written content.

Hence, it’s your loss if you don’t. Your choice.

Why does written content matter in the age of video and graphics?

When we need to prove that something matters, we either resort to some research and statistics, or we give our own reasoning.

Statistics are good, and psychologically, they are reassuring, and they also tell us what the rest of the world is doing about a particular trend or tendency.

This Entrepreneur article refers to Zazzle Media’s 3rd annual State of Content Marketing Survey that shows that there has been a 78% increase in the content marketing spend since 2018 (this is May 2019).

This is no surprise, because, a greater number of businesses are discovering the benefits of content marketing.

The interesting finding was, 98% content marketers surveyed said that written content is their main output to achieve content marketing success.

Written content in the form of webpages and blog posts is going to be the main priority for 77% of the market is throughout 2019.

Why written content is important?

Search engine algorithms use text as main source while evaluating your content for ranking

With much more advanced artificial intelligence it is becoming easier to tell what is there in a video or a photograph, but programmatically, when it comes to analysing content, text, or written content, still rules the roost.

Most of the search engine algorithms are more comfortable analysing your written content and then ranking your content accordingly.

You can focus more on video and graphics and then bet on the possibility that in near future search engines will be able to analyse videos and graphics and then rank your content based on the information given in those video and graphics, or you can put your money and effort into publishing lots of written content that is already preferred by the search engines.

Your choice.

Voice search converts voice to text and then text to voice to help you find information

Here is my web page on copywriting for voice search.

You must be aware that in recent years there has been a big shift from PC/laptop to mobile phones.

Even to search information people use their mobile phones and often, people who are not used to typing all the time, speak into their phones.

Voice-controlled devices like Amazon Eco and Google Home have further boosted the use of voice commands and using voice to find information on search engines.

Technology to convert voice to text and then text to voice is quite old now. Every basic mobile phone allows you to convert your voice to text and vice versa.

Hence, on the web, and also, on my own blog, you will find lots of information on how to optimize your content writing and copywriting for voice search.

For voice search to work, when you issue a command, for example, telling Google to find you something, whatever you have said is turned to text, and then the text string is used to find the information on the search engine, and when the information is found in the form of text, the information is turned to voice and communicated to you.

The backbone of the entire operation is, the ability of the technology to process text.

If you don’t have text, there is nothing to process.

Many people find reading more convenient compared to watching videos

In the times of abundant bandwidth and highly efficient screens, watching HD videos and graphics might be fascinating, but reading written content is convenient, and more satisfying.

Reading is more personal and less invasive. You don’t need extra tools to read.

Someone wants to check out your website to know what all services you provide: he or she will prefer to read about your services rather than watching a video or a collection of graphics.

Though, I’m not saying videos and graphics are not important – they are – but they have a limit.

We have been reading since childhood. The habit is embedded. Everybody prefers to read.

Written text is more accessible

Written content makes your content accessible across multiple devices.

All the screen readers can read text.

All screen sizes can accommodate text accordingly.

You can copy/paste text in any basic text editor to read it or edit it.

It is the lightest form of content.

Does any form of content writing help you?

Depends on what you want to achieve.

If you want to publish lots of junk content, who am I to tell you not to do so? Go ahead.

For better search engine rankings and for a good conversion rate, your content writing needs to be purposeful, relevant and of good quality.

Search engine rankings these days are all about efficiently providing information people are looking for.

You see, search engines like Google don’t produce and publish their own content. They have outsourced the service to the masses.

But, if they don’t provide good information to people’s queries, they lose users.

Hence, let’s focus on Google for a while, the search engine is not going to rank your content well simply because you have “strategically” used keywords and hyperlinks.

It ranks your content high only if you provide information people can really use.

To help Google achieve that, a group of 300 odd maths PhDs is constantly working on the algorithm.

If you think you can beat these maths PhDs with some SEO tactics without ever intending to publish high-quality content, well, as I said, who am I to tell you not to do so?

How to write a sales message with great conversion rate

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Writing a sales message with great conversion rate

Writing a sales message with great conversion rate

In this blog post you’re going to learn how to plan and write a sales message or a sales letter with great conversion rate.

Point-wise, this is how to write a great sales letter:

  1. Write from the customer’s point of view.
  2. Have a well-defined flow to lead your reader through the entire sales process.
  3. Make it easy to read.
  4. Use call-to-action words and expressions to prompt your readers to take a decision.
  5. Keep your readers interested so that they want to read more and know more about your business.
  6. Cater to their sense of urgency.
  7. Remain truthful.
  8. Always sell the benefits, not the features.

No matter what you publish on your website, on your blog, or even elsewhere, ultimately what matters is your conversion rate: how many people become your paying customers and clients?

A big part of business writing or online writing is writing sales messages or copy that intends to sell.

Although, the entire essence of content marketing is not selling and simply providing useful information to people so that they can make up their minds about whether they want to do business with you or not, selling is a part of everything.

Selling doesn’t mean “come, come do business with me because I’m great!” but somewhere, you need to tell your customers and clients that you are open for business and you are a professional.

If all the time you’re educating your prospective customers and clients, they may end up thinking that you are an educational website and you’re not interested in getting paid assignments or selling stuff.

Here is an interesting take on how to write killer sales messages to improve your conversion rate. The gist of this blog post is:

  1. Write your sales message or your sales copy the way you talk.
  2. Cut the hype and tell the truth.
  3. Write in a language people understand, avoiding jargon as much as possible.
  4. Stick to the point.
  5. Get to the main point as quickly as possible.

Let’s now expand the points mentioned above quickly.

Write your sales message or your sales copy the way you talk

When you write the way you talk, people feel as if you’re talking to them. They get a sense of engagement.

How do you talk normally?

You don’t use difficult words. You don’t go on and on. Your sentences are shorter, crisper, and to the point.

Don’t manipulate words.

Cut the hype and tell the truth

There is reason why most of the “money making” email messages go to the spam folder automatically.

This is because they make big, unrealistic claims. Spam filters can read such messages.

Stick to the truth.

I’m not talking about lazy and greedy people, but everybody is a realistic person. They can see through your tall claims.

Write in a language people understand

Every target audience has a different way of talking and writing. You will know that people in the fashion industry talk differently. Doctors talk differently. Scientists talk differently. Writers talk differently.

Although in most of the writing advises you are advised to avoid jargon, I’m not averse to using jargon. Just make sure people are comfortable when reading your sales message and they don’t have to refer to a dictionary.

Stick to the point

This is very important when you are writing a sales message. No scope for rambling or for making irrelevant points or references.

Remember that anything can distract your reader. There are already so many distractions around him or her. There are also distractions within the device and you don’t want to add to those distractions by including information that is not needed or that distracts.

Get to the main point as quickly as possible

The same as above. An average reader is in a great state of distraction so say your thing as quickly as possible.

It is recommended that your reader should be able to understand the gist of your sales message above the fold – he or she shouldn’t have to scroll to understand what you’re trying to promote.

Concluding remarks on writing sales messages with great conversion rate

This is standard advice – the points mentioned above.

A sales message – a message that you use on a landing page or in a promotional email, or anywhere you need to sell a product, a service, or an idea – is a mode of convincing.

It is rightly said that one of the most difficult tasks in the world is making someone give you money for your product or service.

On the Internet it is more difficult because when people come to your website, you are not directly talking to them. It is your text. It is your sales message that needs to convince them.

This is why it is very important to appear truthful.

Spell out the benefits of doing business with you in as plain a language as possible. By “plain” I don’t mean using very bland, uninspiring language, what I mean is, don’t mince your words and don’t ramble.