After relating this event, leaving out specific details due to a confidentiality agreement, Darren points out that it was the powerful story this man and woman told that was their real selling point. It wasn’t just the fact that they were making so much money with their business, but the fact that they told a story that everybody wants to hear. Not only do people want to hear it, they want to live it.

Darren ends his post by talking about the power of telling stories in a blog post. He includes a link to CopyBlogger: Tell a Tantalizing Story to Kick Off Your Blog Post. I’ve mentioned a number of times before that Brian Clark’s CopyBlogger is a true authority and work of reference for anyone interested in copywriting or even writing in general. This article is no exception.

I know that I personally am interested in reading and hearing stories. An important part of blogging success is to set yourself apart from all the other millions of bloggers out there. The information we blog about is something that could be gotten from a number of different sources. There will almost always be someone more articulate, more knowledgeable, or more experienced, though. What sets you apart is your story.

You don’t have to lay out your whole life in front of your readers if you don’t feel comfortable with that. You do want to include a personal touch, a piece of your self, your personality. This is how you create your own brand in blogging. Your readers get to know you through your writing. The blog posts you write and the comments you reply with will tell visitors a lot about you.

Don’t be afraid to be yourself and reveal a little of your own story. Your story and your personality are what make you unique in an internet world swarming with blogs. The information on your pages may be what has drawn visitors in the first place, but your style and your voice and your passion are what will keep them coming back.

I’m signed up for a few of these type of email newsletters, many of which are just thinly veiled sales pitches. Those I’ll get for a couple of weeks and then usually I unsubscribe when it’s clear that I won’t be getting any value out of them. Perry Marshall’s emails are different.

Yes, many of them contain a sales pitch of some kind for one of his products or affiliate products he’s promoting. The difference is that almost every email I get from Perry has a story or lesson for internet marketing or copywriting or using AdWords that’s really valuable. Some are great just for the entertainment value because of the stories they tell. Others hold some deep insight that really makes me think.

The bottom line is that I may someday buy his eBook (really), but I’m still planning on staying on the mailing list and reading every email I get from Perry Marshall. I’ve already gotten plenty of value from his free materials. If you’d like to find out for yourself, check out the original free eCourse on Google AdWords. Be advised this is an affiliate link, but I don’t get anything out of it unless you purchase something. I think you’ll find the free eCourses and newsletters to be valuable without even spending a dime.

I think people are full. They have too much to do, too much on their plates, no room for new ideas, new tasks and new challenges (or at least they think they’re full). So when all those ads are hurled at them, they ignore them. They ignore them because they can, and because they don’t perceive that they have a problem that the ad will help them solve.

He’s talking about the deluge of political advertisements this election season. I blogged about the way this type of advertising can affect credibility, but when you look at it from a marketing perspective, which is what Seth’s blog is all about, this makes a lot of sense. He goes on to say:

And then suddenly, election day arrives (or you run out of flour or need to hire a consultant or fly on a plane to Singapore or whatever). And now you have a problem. You don’t know how to choose. So you let some ideas in. You’re momentarily unfull, and then, when you’re full again, you go back to ignoring the world.

This really struck me as being true in a larger sense than just politics or marketing. We receive so much sensory input each day that we can’t possibly process it all. This is what being ‘full’ is all about. We can only soak up a certain amount before we can’t take anymore. It’s like pouring water into a cup. The cup only holds so much and soon begins to overflow.

So what does this mean? In Seth’s post, he’s saying that we stop listening after we become full and then only start to listen again, or open ourselves to new information, once we have a problem that needs to be solved. Isn’t that an interesting way to look at human existence? A series of problems that need to be resolved.

Problems might be too strong a word, though. We have needs that we want to have fulfilled. We open ourselves to looking for solutions in the environment around us as these needs present themselves.

The information that’s there when we open ourselves back up is what will most likely be what we accept and process and then incorporate into the solution to our needs. The ad that’s in front of us when we realize we need new tires is much more likely to be the one that gets our attention.

So what do we do with this knowledge? In the context of Seth’s article, he’s talking about repetition and this is how it works. Companies hope to put themselves and their products in front of you often enough that they happen to be there when you discover you need them. If you want to sell something then, a product, a service, or even an idea, the timing and the perception of need are vital to your success. Taking these factors into consideration will greatly improve your chances.

Many of us don’t have much time to surf the web and soak up information, so it’s great when that information is given in such a way that it can be understood and absorbed quickly. Brian’s post is a great example of utilizing this style. In just a couple of minutes, the reader can get all the important details of the post and begin digesting the information. If CopyBlogger isn’t on your list of must-reads, add it now.

Last week in my writing class, my students were lamenting my request that they make their essays a little longer than a page or page and a half. I remarked that the more you write, the more you tend to write. For me as well as for a lot other writers, I’m sure this is true.

I started out scratching my head after a paragraph, wracking my brains for something more to fill up the page. Now, I have trouble keeping the length of my articles short. I’m often surprised at how much I’ve written in just a few minutes of pounding the keys. OK, time to get rid of some needless words…

The tips that he gives are valuable ones for any writer who wants his or her work to be read. After all, whatever we’re writing is something we want to share with others. Otherwise, we would write it in our diary and hide it under the mattress. If we want people to read our words and spread them around, we have to sell our work and sell ourselves in the process.

Every human interaction is essentially a sales pitch if you think about it. We’re representing our own needs in some way every time we come into contact with another human being. It may be very subtle, but we each have an underlying purpose for everything we do. We do everything for a reason. That reason is what we’re selling.

The article mentions the book Influence (aff) by Robert Cialdini and it’s one that I’m adding to my must read list. I’m very interested in how to make my own writing more compelling and if you are, too, then start by checking out Copyblogger’s article.