Today I met up with a friend and went out into central London. There was a huge political march that ran through the centre of the city from Mayfair over to Parliament.
As we were pushing through the crowds, trying to get a good look at what was going on, I noticed a small child walking behind his mother. Then, all of a sudden, a huge guy carrying a banner stepped right in front of the kid—not intentionally, just because he wasn’t looking where he was going.
‘Hey’, I said, but the guy didn’t hear me—and now the child was momentarily separated from his mum . . . and lost in central London.
The look on his face was truly heartrending. All of a sudden his security was gone. All of a sudden, that huge source of love he had come to rely upon—his mother—-had disappeared.
Little surprise, then, that the young lad was distressed. Almost immediately, his little mouth curled into a frown and tears glinted in his eyes.
‘Hang on,’ I said to my friend. I ran forwards and tapped his mum on the shoulder. She looked back quickly and then, seeing that her son wasn’t by her side, looked suddenly terrified.
‘He’s here,’ I said, indicating behind us. And when the few people in between had passed by, sure enough, the boy was revealed. He ran forward to his mum and they both fell into one another’s arms.
It was a tiny incident. And yet it touched on some of the most profound aspects of being human—family, the stresses of parenthood, fear of abandonment, love and the need for protection and certainty. Even though I didn’t know the others involved, and will likely never see them again, it touched me.
Deep Emotions
Why am I talking about this? Because those tiny moments can trigger deep emotions in us—and triggering emotions, through storytelling, is precisely what you have to do when you’re building a personal brand online.
The great news is that they happen around you every day.
And that’s why literally anything can become the basis for a piece of content. All you have to do is find the humanity in it and then tell your audience.
Just the other day I received an email from a well-known marketer that I follow. It was all about how he was late for a flight, and the nightmare of a day he’d been having.
Now, why the hell would I give a crap about that? Well, the truth is I wouldn’t…except that he told the tale with enough emotion (anger / frustration) to pique my interest. So I read it through—and then read his sales message at the end.
If you can move your audience in any way—whether that’s making them laugh, making them cry, exciting them, or even scaring them (within reason!)—then will have connected with them on a deep level. That means that subconsciously they will feel drawn to you, and, over time, will be more likely to buy from you as well.
Which is exactly why I say that anything can become the basis for a piece of content. All you have to do is keep your ears and eyes open throughout the day, and make a note of whatever makes you feel something.
Then all you have to do is tell your audience about it and make them feel that same thing too.
Yes, it’s a difficult skill to master at first. But as you get better at it you will find that more people love, rather than merely like, your work, and your sales will increase exponentially.
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