3 articles tagged ‘Conversations’

Story Complete: 17 days of daily digestible posts March 31st 2010

As Blaise Pascal (sort of) said: it takes longer to write a long post than a short one; ‘Writing is rewriting’ is so true.

Today I’m looking back on Story Complete’s first month. This is the 17th consecutive day I’ve posted. While at first I found the daily schedule difficult, I’m hoping practice makes perfect.

Written preparation is often the path to success, whereby the writing part is essential. My daily schedule forces me to click that scary WordPress publish button. On the other hand, sharing my thoughts in writing helps me clarify what I’m trying to say.

Life’s too short to read long posts. If they happen to say anything important, I’ll see it elsewhere. I’m a strong believer in “If the news is that important, it will find me.”

Agile storytelling: Ship new content and moves on March 26th 2010

The waterfall model for content creation is too slow. You need an agile process to create and ship your storytelling content.

To sell a product you must know what your target audience wants, not just what they need. Wants changes; worldviews are not static. Every message and conversation with peers has an impact, moving the story along.

The software business is quickly picking up qualities of the fashion industry. Both satisfy wants, not needs. Does anyone need designer sneakers? No. Do they want them? Yes!

Worrying about the slippery slope of fashion isn’t new. Windows 3.0 lead business users to want GUIs for their apps. They didn’t need a GUI for their B2B apps, but it was obvious they wanted one. They got what they wanted.

Target audience: They’re waiting for you to show up March 20th 2010

Talking with people paying attention and seeking you out is a lot more fun than continuously interrupting people who’ll ignore you!

Don’t waste your time interrupting people not paying attention. Instead, focus on those few special people who are paying attention.

Those few special people are discussing your domain on forums, blogs and newsgroups. Your first job is to find and join these continuing conversations.

Don’t barge in, interrupt and start selling; that’s the best way of ensuring they’ll ignore you. Instead, start by listening for a while before contributing.

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