Incisive & Insightful stories are back!

I don’t know Winnie Kow.

I get to know that she has failed in keeping her promise.
She made a promise to her mentor that she would write a blog every day for one full month.
Just write something that has a perspective and ship it.
But she failed in keeping her promise.
She started a campaign where in she asked us all to write something every day and ship it.
Every single day of a week.
She asked for a promise in a video she posted.

I don’t know where she stays, what she ate for the dinner yesterday, what’s her background.
What I know is, we all fail to keep promises.
I tried to make up for all the promises I have broken by helping her keep her promise.
I signed up for Winnie’s campaign
I wrote everyday. For her. For me.
In the video she speaks about the book her mentor is launching.
The book’s central idea is: It’s always your turn to act and you can’t shy away from it.
The guy could have bought reviews on Amazon.
He could have been any other marketer we find in those cozy C-suits.
But he is Seth Godin-The Father of Inbound Marketing!
He knows that stories is what takes the word across in the fastest way.
More importantly, they have characters to whom you can relate to.
I saw myself in Winnie Kow and hence I shared the story with a couple of my friends and colleagues.

Why do we invest in marketing?

Be it those visually attractive fliers and brochures.
Be it those logically convincing and self-praising websites or case studies.
Why do we need these things at all?
To get the word across right?

But we miss the story here.

A story is memorable. The characters in it connect to the listener/reader.
The message in a story stays with the reader and goes everywhere with him/her because of this relatedness he/she feels.
A story can take your brand to places.

Do you know Winnie Kow?
No. but you will google her now or click the link above, you will talk about Seth’s Book.
Seth’s marketing has worked, without any “bought” reviews.

Is there a story in your marketing campaign-one with real characters to relate to?