Have you ever noticed in life how when we are focused on a topic or a goal or aspiration, we often come across exactly what we need just when we need it?
Well, there are a few certain books that have stood out to me over the years that in nearly every single instance I have known within the first few pages of reading them that I would consider a classic. This was one of those titles for me. Its no epic - at just over 200 pages its a quick read, but if I had to compare it to Car brands, this is most definitely a Lexus not a Lada. Trust me.
And I know we all get so jaded and feel that we have heard it all before sometimes. But this is not that. Where so many other books of a similar theme and nature are also excellent, I have always found it a bug bear that very few offer many actual practical examples broken down into definite and actionable creation strategies. Not this time Bucko.
So I found the fact that the Author ends each little chapter with an exercise to practise a real bonus for me. Im a hands on dude, and that was exactly what I was looking for.
Literally every page is engineered with insight and deft, practical applications, ideas and exercises of exactly how to structure the stories that we will be/are already creating in order to propel prospects forward towards a definite buying decision through the compelling medium of the written word. (Thought the techniques within this book can be applied to any form of media content)
Written by esteemed marketer David Garfinkel (@GarfinkelCoach) the whole idea of the book being about exactly how we go about crafting compelling and effective sales stories. Which David actually denotes as $tories. (The type that actually sell products and make money, our favourite ones) As opposed to the ‘Hollywood’ stories that are created to entertain us.
We may well think deeply about our life if a particular movie or tv series resonates with us, but how often after watching a movie do we feel immediately motivated enough to go out and buy something immediately afterwards? Yes, it happens, (rarely) think Star Wars toys and fan memorabilia for the hardcore dedicated, but think about the average movie goer and the 'average' movie. Think about yourself. A movies message is not for you to go out and immediately to make a purchasing decision. The stories that we will be creating as marketers, however, have to.
And that was the very first key distinction that I got from this title. From personal experience it has always been a challenge of mine. Large overarching concepts and theories -whilst interesting, have rarely if ever led to any meaningful sales. So I was fully open minded to exploring where I had been going wrong…
And for anybody who saw my first Tweet yesterday, I picked this book up the evening beforehand and had it finished by 4am the next morning, and then posted excitedly. I spent almost the entire rest of Monday re-reading the title and working hard to apply the learnings to my own creative output and marketing efforts. Then wrote this review today.
I will post some of the marketing messages and stories which I have come up with based on my new found knowledge in the next few days. I encourage any aspiring or even current content creator to check it out, I will welcome any critique, suggestions or comments)
So essentially, yes, this review is going to be gushing, so I may as well start with my one and only criticism, in that I would have loved to have seen even more examples of Davids actual ads work throughout the book, even though I have consequently absorbed his twitter feed with passionate zest and enthusiasm, the example copy he provides and uses as practical applicable examples of his craft are short, simple and incredibly effective. But even more would have been even better. Perhaps for a consequent digital edition this is something David may consider.
The bottom line is though, the stories in the book were so powerful I was left craving more of them. But in the main I am a happy man. Very much so in fact, because in summary what I was actually looking for even before i ever heard of this title (and thanks to @KenGuient for switching me on to it) was effective ways - a system or a method if you like to improve upon my storytelling in a business context. This solidified and clarified my thinking so much in exactly that regard.
I knew that stories had to be different when we are persuading rather than just entertaining but I wasn’t quite sure how to go about doing this in a repeatable or scalable manner. And although after reading the entire title I can see that I was on the right track, but having read this thoroughly now, I have recognized that the gaps in my knowledge were actually much larger than I initially imagined. But thats ok too! In fact, this in itself is the value that i was both anticipating and expecting.
This book did not fail to deliver. Sometimes we just need to hear some details from an ‘expert’ or somebody ahead of us in the game rather than simply keeping to try and figure it out piecemeal from a tweet here, a blog post there and a podcast, er, there too. So I was under no illusions that storytelling in the context of persuasive influence was ever going to be just simply entertainment when its entire modus operandi is to sell.
But I was confusing myself with convoluted versions of the Heros Journey which were ending up with more plot twists than an episode of Lost. (Do you remember that show?)
So this book just helped give me massive clarity and most importantly a structured set of exercises and frameworks that I am absolutely certain will help elevate my marketing efforts beyond a shadow of a doubt.
And the proof as they say is in the Pudding, so if you are interested in reading (or watching if i decide to make a video) more about what I have learned and to even see some examples of the type of content and marketing stories that I will be creating now, follow @Insight_Architect on X.
Or jump on the Youtube channel and become a part of the discreet content creation revolution and subscribe to the Creator Economy today.
If you would like me to consider reviewing your book title (from the genres of self development, business or marketing) then send me a DM and a copy of the book and I will be happy to do this and write an honest long form review similar to this one.
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Michael Masters (@Info_Architect)
Helping you Master the Elements of Mindset, Coaching, Content Creation, Writing and Personal Branding.
By Bulletproofing Brains, Businesses and Bank Balances.
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