The story a business tells about itself heavily weights our opinion of it. Indeed, purely based on its story we may or may not purchase its products or service. We quickly read beyond its what…what it sells. This is the ‘head’ bit we readily take onboard. We really want to know who the business is. … Continue reading Your first story should reveal your purpose
Category Archives: Tagline
Your first story after the business name, a value proposition, has to do a lot of heavy lifting. And there may be a temptation, driven out of desperation, to merely state what you do. But a business (or an individual for that matter) should always try to move beyond such a ‘what’ statement. Potential customers … Continue reading How to perfect a heart and soul and value proposition statement
It’s all too easy to complicate the plan(s) we have for our business. ‘Strategy’ can often devolve to a knotty mishmash of ‘goin to’. For many people though, a clear statement, in your first story, of who you are, what you do and why you do it – is also a very succinct business master … Continue reading Your story is your strategy, your strategy is your story
A business is, inevitably, many stories. But we can tell only one story…at least initially. Your first most important message therefore has to shoulder an awfully large amount of heavy lifting. Because, this first story is essentially the promise we make to our customers. It is a headline that invites a website visitor to explore, … Continue reading It’s unearthing your one story, of many, that’s important
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
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
We are all self-interested at heart. Our own fulfillment, in a myriad of ways, is what we seek. From chocolates to tyres, consultants to travel, we desire the best we can get at a price we can afford. ‘You’ and its travelling companion, ‘your’ are among our favourite words. We can’t help it. You and … Continue reading Why ‘you’ and ‘your’ are bloody useful in your Million Dollar Message
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 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