Why stories make better blogs
This post is part of the #letsblogoff collaborative blog community.
A few days ago, my friend Stan (@pushingsocial) published a post called What if you only had 20 posts left? The post is about Wael Ghonim, a man who started a Facebook page that helped inspire the revolution in Egypt. The point Stan makes is that we really don’t live our blogs to the fullest, right? We put in content, and we shovel it out, and we entirely take it for granted. We may not always put our best work out there.
Now, Stan could have just created a post that said that stuff. But instead, he overlaid his message with the story of Wael Ghonim. It’s a great story, and a great technique.
“Stogging”
One could say that storytelling via blog posts is an increasingly common recommendation. If you skim the most popular posts at Copyblogger.com, for example, you see advice on how to make your copy sticky, how to envelope your readers in what you’re saying, and how to infuse your personality into everything you write. One of the most popular posts, and one of my favorites from 2010, uses the story of Eminem to make immensely important points about blogging.
But why do we need these stories? Why can’t we just take good advice and motivate ourselves to use it?
Five reasons to tell a story in your blog posts
Here are five reasons why I think people gravitate towards stories in blog posts.
1. When a writer tells a story, he or she edges a bit more into being who they really are. The temptation to be entirely button down and professional seems to drift away, and in its place is a real live human being sharing thoughts and experiences.
2. Stories prove we’re not making it up. If Stan had written the post he did about how a single post or action can create a revolution without the story he wove into the post, it would not have had the punch. But he told not just a story, but a true story. A current events story. We now see that he has a really important point to make backed up by reality.
3. Stories build bridges. We all come to our blogs with our own personal experiences, our own “baggage,” as it were. By telling a story, whether it’s about ourselves or someone else, we build a bridge between ourselves and our readers. “Here,” we seem to say. “You may not have lived my life, so let me tell you a little about it so we can start in the same place.”
4. Stories can be passed on. There are so many tidbits of wisdom floating around in the online world. Stories, however, well, they are like snowflakes. No two are exactly alike. They stick with us and we want to share them. We want to see how other people react to them. We want to see if they are moved the same way we were.
5. The Bait and Switch. A lot of bloggers will approach blogs from the standpoint of being an expert. “Here’s why you should do things my way, and here’s why I’m right and you’re dumb.” You’ve seen those posts before, I’m sure. If you tell a story though, you lure readers in. It’s like fishing – you’ve got a real nice and juicy worm just hanging out there, and people can’t resist clicking “Read more.” Then, you bring in the moral of the story, just like Aesop, and the person has learned your feelings about something without even realizing it.
You and stogging
Do you tell a lot of stories in your posts? Do you try to bring in other people, other experiences, and other perspectives, or do you keep the spotlight on the point you’re trying to get across? Have you found that people respond better when you weave a story into your regularly scheduled programming, or do you think this is all a bit of hogwash?
I’d love to hear your story!
image by Andre Larsson. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Didi90
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Margie – cool post, as usual 🙂
I agree with your main story here, which that storytelling humanizes posts by making them easier to relate too. What I wonder is how proven storytelling techniques can be woven into our blog writing – and by that I don’t mean “including real life anecdotes”, bur rather “having a hero, an enemy, a plot, challenges, risk, and a transformation”. That’s a much tougher one, but there’s a reason why storytelling works, and has worked with pretty much seven basic plots since the dawn of times.
Do you know anyone who does that really well today in the blogging world?
Tom
@tommoradpour
Thanks, Tom! That’s a great question.
I have to go back to Stan – he tends to start of his posts by presenting the reader as the hero of the story. The monster can be anything from writer’s block to not feeling “awesome,” and following Stan’s advice equates to your continuation of his story. I think it’s extremely effective.
Lisa Petrilli is also good for stories – she tends to really bring the reader in to what she is trying to teach, and I think that’s one of the reasons why her blog performs so well.
Stories have always been vehicles for education because of the general forumla they follow: Protagonist encounters change, goes through trials/tribulations, comes out with new knowledge – that kind of path.
However, I’ll also play the devil’s advocate here: You shouldn’t try too hard to create a story out of nothing. And I also believe that some bloggers believe analogies are stores (How is a dead carp like social media?)
Good storytelling feels like sharing, not education, as well.
I agree with your analogies comment. Most bloggers think they are telling stories when they are really creating analogies. But then most people of a certain generation think they know what “ironic” means thanks to Alanis Morissette 🙂
Interesting point, Paul. I think a blog can tell stories just like Mr. Rogers did. You have some fun, or maybe you’re really touched by a story, but afterwards you realize, “Oh, hey, I learned something!”
I think a lot of bloggers feel like they need to knock you upside the head with their point. Don’t use 10 cent words just to use them, but give your readers some credit too. They’re smart 🙂
@Paul: I definitely agree with you there. Stories are great sources of information, but oftentimes more than a narrative is required to make a compelling point. When it comes to reaching out to a specific audience, I’m actually of the opinion that it depends exactly on what you need to communicate. Context is everything, and if you slap together a story that doesn’t resonate, you could hurt th power of your voice.
@Margie: “Give your readers some credit too. They’re smart.” I think that’s a very powerful thing to remember, which is why paying attention to context is always so important. Readers (especially readers of corporate blogs) know the difference between genuine outreach and an attempt at market buzz. But a narrative or analogy that is compelling enough can often foster actions, if not increased mindshare or an emotional connection. Now, being able to do so depends solely on the writer’s ability to understand their target audience. In doing so, they must learn how to use the same language and communicate in a manner that the audience will be most familiar with.
Margie Strikes Again! Good post! As you know I am a Cummunication Major; and, one of my classes this past semester was “Advanced Public Speaking.” I had a VERY inspiring professor for this class and she focused on the use of storytelling in adding value, persuasiveness, and merit to the spoken word. The same is true of blogging. Margie, you hit a home run, storytelling builds what the textbook calls “ethos, pathos, and logos” and what we in the real world call “Authenticity.” The most powerful tool in persuasion is enabling your audience to see your point of view. Storytelling is exactly that! Thanks for the insight!
Thanks, Kyle. I appreciate your support, as always. I agree that storytelling can add an element of realism and authenticity, but as the other folks here have pointed out, you don’t want to go overboard, which can create a situation where your blog is hard to believe. It’s always a delicate balance 🙂
Well, OK, I’ll be odd man out. I don’t think relating an anecdote is the same as telling a story, and I don’t think including some of the elements of storytelling into a blog is the same as writing a story. Storytelling requires considerably more work and talent than one is likely to see in a blog. And once you’ve written a good story—if you have—why in the world would you post it in a blog and just give it away! I certainly would not use that medium to tell stories!
Fair point, Joseph. I think the storytelling we are talking about here is different from a “once upon a time” kind of literary story. Here, we are talking about storytelling as a tool rather than the finished product. It’s a mechanism to help illustrate your point in case your own perspective results in you taking for granted that your readers are right where you are on an issue.
Does that make sense?
Hi Margie,
You know my story Margie. I only know the story tellers way of telling things. I have lots of stories to tell. I learned what I know about telling stories in church. When the preacher was just preaching everybody was wrestless in their seat. When he started telling a story people settled in to listen and were all ears. I could tell that even as a small child. Are you listening to me? 😉
Yours truly,
Gaga
Huh? What? Were you saying something? 🙂
I think the sermon is a good analogy here. You don’t want to be all fire and brimstone in a blog – which could be anything from “Do this or you’re stupid” to “Do this now or you’ll be left behind.” You also don’t want to just preach moral after moral. But if you tell a story, like the story of teaching someone how to fish rather than just giving them fish, it’s a much more compelling way of getting your point across. At least I think so anyway 🙂
Dear Margie –
I love stories and I tell lots of them on my blog.
I think it started when I saw how my little grandchildren would ask me to tell a story.
One of Veronica’s favorite, at three, was about a plastic bag that was caught in a tree. What he was thinking and planning how he could get loose. And where he would go next.
She loved it when the story always had a new ending.
We never really grow up. We all love a good story.
That sounds like a great story 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
This is an interesting string. Most responses relate to one’s personal experience with stories. Certainly stories can run the gamut from anecdote (a fledgling story) to personal narrative to carefully constructed fiction. The power of stories comes from our experience of our own individual life story – we relate to other people’s stories. Storytelling may be in our genes. Even cultures without written languages tell stories. Cultural traditions and history are passed on through stories. Students in composition classes are usually told that to make something interesting and to make a strong point, put that thing into the form of a story. Isn’t that the purpose here, to make a stronger point in a blog?