The carpenter’s dictum of “measure twice, cut once” is both a time and resource saver. It’s very difficult to add to a length of cut-too-short timber. The same ‘consideration’ aspect applies to nailing your first most important story. It’s all too easy to rush, and accept the first (what initially may seem like good) words … Continue reading Measure twice, cut once
Category Archives: punchline
It’s a daunting challenge for anyone to invent a new value proposition, or change a slogan. Whether big or small, capturing the essence of who you are and what you represent in as few words as possible is mightily difficult. This is particularly the case when your flagship product is a bad boy in the … Continue reading Pepsi’s new generic ‘for the love of it’ slogan underwhelms
If the world stayed the same, and what you sold in your particular niche didn’t vary, you’d keep hold of a good value proposition. But the world, customers, expectations change; and so inevitably must the products and services a business sells. What was the right story for yesterday’s environment no longer dovetails with today’s requirements. … Continue reading Businesses change, and so why shouldn’t your first most important story?
Getting to the nub of what problem your business solves can be a challenge. While we do many things, sooner rather than later, we have to highlight one thing to sit at the top of our story pyramid. Brainstorming your way to One Central Truth of what your story should be is essentially impossible. Brainstorming … Continue reading Only questions reveal your One Central Truth
A good story is obvious…once you see it The best stories appear effortless. Whether it is someone spinning a yarn, telling you in less than 10 seconds why you should be interested in what they’re selling, or the first thing read on a website, a good story captivates us. As Lisa Cron outlines in her … Continue reading A good story is obvious…once you see or hear it
Occam’s Razor is a principle from philosophy which can be applied to writing – all writing, including your first most important story. In Latin Occam’s Razor is sometimes called lex parsimoniae, or “the law of briefness”. This Latin roughly translates as “more things should not be use than are necessary.” For example, if there’s two … Continue reading Applying Occam’s Razor to your writing
The worst possible brief for the lucky person who has the task of putting your messages down in words, is ambiguity. Trying to nail the first story, or 1001st, but not being clear what the one key idea is you’re trying to say is dead-on-arrival stuff for a writer.By being clear what it is you’re … Continue reading Do your copywriter a favour, only give them one idea to illustrate
The worst possible brief for the lucky person who has the task of putting your messages down in words, is ambiguity. Trying to nail the first story, or 1001st, but not being clear what the one key idea is you’re trying to say is dead-on-arrival stuff for a writer.By being clear what it is you’re … Continue reading Do your copywriter a favour, only give them one idea to illustrate
If a website has an ‘About’ video, 90% of visitors will view it. But don’t make the mistake of trying to put too much in it. A script for a 90 second video will be about 10-12 sentences long – with the pictures supporting this written/spoken narrative. Ten sentences means you only have the opportunity … Continue reading Why your video can only tell one story
The truth won’t kill your business, but a non-truth my well push it down that path. Having a value proposition which doesn’t resonate with who you are, or who people think you are is extremely counterproductive. You’re not only trying to fool your customers, you’re trying to fool yourself. As an example, for a few … Continue reading Why you should tell the truth when naming your baby