How to ensure your audience sticks to your content

Unblock yourself

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When I started creating content in 2008, all I had to do was pick a keyword, write about it, and it would rank and drive traffic.

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The most important thing these days is not what information you post, but how the audience engages with it and reacts to it. You have to create something that is worth a person's time and attention. In this email, I'm going to give you a system I use to make sure your audience will stick with your content.

Whether it's for a blog, podcast, video, book, presentation, or even a sales page, this article will forever change the way you create content.

The story

Let me start with a simple question:

Where's the best place to keep your money so it's safe and always easy to access?

If you think the answer is a bank, then…

You're right!

Another question:

Where's the best place to keep your stories so they're safe and always easy to access?

The answer is…

A bank of stories.

Using stories is the secret to creating compelling content. The problem is that we don't have an accurate system for capturing and categorizing our stories so we can invoke the right story at the right time.

And by stories, I don't just mean the life-changing stories we use in our content (like how my life changed when I was laid off from my job as an architect in 2008), but the short stories — seemingly irrelevant stories that, when unpacked, are actually interesting, useful, and hold the audience's attention.

Even if they may not seem impactful to you, your stories still work because they are truly personal, unique, and equally relevant when used in the right context.

Like the time my son asked me to play Minecraft in the car on my iPad when he was 8 years old. Instead of saying no, I asked her, "Why should I say yes?"

Eventually he came to say, "Dad, if you let me play Minecraft, I can learn about building and teach you how to be a better architect, because I know you were one. "

Capturing this moment in my life allowed me to turn this little story into a huge lesson for my audience about knowing who you are talking to and understanding the language that will resonate with them. I even shared this story on stage during my closing speech at the Youpreneur conference in London a few years ago, and people still remember this story and lesson today.

Another story was about when I worked as a waiter at the Macaroni Grill, an Italian restaurant chain. There was a person who came at the same time every week, a very busy businessman, and I soon learned that he ordered the same thing every time. Eventually I became the waiter he asked for because I knew what he wanted before he even asked.

This story and the lessons I learned from it ended up in my book, Superfans.

All of these examples were just small moments in my life, but after capturing, analyzing and detailing them, they became two of my favorite stories to tell on stage.

Sometimes I've even used the stories from my story bank in person at dinner parties and meetings, and I have to tell you, they always seem to leave a lasting impression.

Your call to action

Start your story bank and try to build it for one week. If you like it, keep it up!

Here's the step-by-step process. I like to keep things simple because if I complicate it too much, I underuse.

Step 1: Pick a tool or app that works for you to capture those moments that happen in your day.

You can use anything you know: Notion, Evernote, or even just the Notes app on your phone (that's what I use). The most important thing is that whatever you use, make sure it's easy to access. It doesn't take long for a moment to pass and be lost forever.

Step 2: When an interesting or curious event happens, record it in its own record or page.

You don't have to capture every second of every day. Simply, if something interesting or curious happens, add a new recording for it. Also include anything that worries you about this moment. And no editing. Just a brain dump so it's there and you can come back to it later.

Here is an example of my recent captures on my Notes app: