Using Fiction Writing Techniques to Create Engaging ContentPR Network Half Day WorkshopApril 21, 2016 – 9:30 a.m.

Why Care About Engaging Content?• Top three things that make content effective: Audience Relevance

(58%); Engaging and Compelling Storytelling (57%); Triggers a Response/Action (54%). (LinkedIn Technology Marketing Community)

• 77% of marketers will increase content production in the next 12 months (end of 2014 into 2015). (LinkedIn Technology Marketing Community)

• Top five B2B content marketing challenges: Producing Engaging Content (60%); Measuring Content Effectiveness (57%); Producing Content Consistently (57%); Measuring the ROI of Content Marketing Program (52%); Lack of Budget (35%). (Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs)Source: http://www.curata.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics-the-ultimate-list/

Character Sketching• Talk to one ideal reader – Really!

– Physical Description– Demographics– Professional– Personality, Lifestyle, and Habits

Character Sketching• Free Write

– Let go and forget about grammar, punctuation, spelling, and quality (for now)

– Set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes and don’t let your hand stop moving

– If you get stuck, write, “I don’t know what to write,” or “This is stupid,” until something comes to you.

Character Sketching• Prompts

– Write about a scene in which your ideal client is doing business with a firm/person similar to you/yours OR one of your specific, direct competitors, focusing on how you’re different/better.

– Write a letter from you ideal customer’s point of view to yourself about his/her problem and how your product/service solved it.

Show – Don’t Tell• Consider this rough, short-short story:

– Gladys woke up, her heart pounding. She looked at the clock on her nightstand; the red LED numbers glowed 3:17 a.m. She thrust her hand under her thick covers and felt for her right foot. It was still there. She threw the blankets off to the side of the bed, heard a high-pitched meow, and savored the cool air washing over her. Slipping her feet into the purple plush slippers she’d lined up on the floor beside her bed, she got up and shuffled to the kitchen. She grabbed a low ball glass from the clean side of the sink and filled it with frosted-over ice cubes from the bread bag in her freezer. She dug in the back of her refrigerator for her half empty bottle of whiskey, filled her glass to overflowing, and threw it down her throat in one gulp.

Show – Don’t Tell• What does the story tell you?

– Gladys had a bad dream about losing her right foot.– She lives alone and has a cat. – She’s cold when she goes to bed but gets hot as the night wears on. – Maybe lining up the slippers means she’s neat, organized, and

particular. – She’s frugal, recycling a bread bag for her ice cubes, which she

doesn’t use much. – She likes her whiskey, but must not drink it too frequently if it got

buried at the back of the fridge. – What does the fact that the glass is on the clean side of the sink

mean? Or that she drinks the whiskey in one gulp?

Show – Don’t Tell•What a telling story might sound like:

– Gladys had a nightmare that her right foot was cut off. She woke up at 3:17 a.m. thirsty for whiskey. Her cat meowed, she put on her slippers, and drank a glass of her old whiskey.

Show – Don’t Tell• With practice, you can make readers feel

things, compelling them to follow your call to action• Balance is important

– If your reader is likely to have an intimate picture in their mind about something, just name it. (i.e. Everyone knows what getting out of a car looks like or grandma’s house.)

– Practice and share with others to learn what works best

Infusing the Senses• Using the senses helps people to get into the story and engage with it.• Consider sight, smell, taste, sound, and feeling (physical and emotional)

Infusing the Senses with an Imagery Chart

The Thing Looks Like

Feels Like Smells Like

Tastes Like

Sounds Like

A Massage Lying on a padded table with a draped towel, lots of green plants, dim light

Comforting, relaxing, squeezing muscles

Lavender N/A Soft music, birds chirping outside

Active vs. Passive Writing• Writing actively instantly makes your writing more engaging and

compelling• Passive verbs convey no action: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been• Use active writing as much as possible (passive is appropriate sometimes)• Active writing = Sentence’s subject performs the action; Passive writing =

Sentence’s subject receives the action• Make sure the sentence’s subject is performing the action (Joan baked the

cake. vs. The cake was baked by Joan.)• Search for “of the” when editing/revising and rearrange to make the

sentence more active (implemented for patron safety vs. implemented for the safety of the patrons.)

Active vs. Passive Writing Practice• Students must respond promptly to the driver’s instructions and obey

any rules the driver feels necessary for the safety of the students. • The Teller began as our newsletter that was mailed along with

quarterly statements and has evolved to be Ascentra Credit Union’s digital home for everything that is newsworthy!

• With an emphasis on role play and interactive learning, the Family Museum invites families to Play and Learn Together! Our classes and special events are a great compliment to our hands-on exhibit galleries.

• The 1775NT Drawn Planter is a 12-row, 76.2-cm (30-in.) planter that attaches to the drawbar or 2-point hitch of the tractor.

Active vs. Passive Writing Practice• Students must respond promptly to the driver’s instructions and obey any

rules the driver feels necessary for the students’ safety of the students. • The Teller began as our newsletter that was mailed along with quarterly

statements and has evolved to be into Ascentra Credit Union’s digital home for everything that is newsworthy!

• The Family Museum invites families to role play and learn together interactivelyWith an emphasis on role play and interactive learning, the Family Museum invites families to Play and Learn Together! Our classes and special events greatly are a great compliment to our hands-on exhibit galleries.

• The 1775NT Drawn Planter is a 12-row, 76.2-cm (30-in.) planter that attaches to the tractor’s drawbar or 2-point hitchof the tractor.

Uses• Blog posts, sales letters, landing pages,

About Us pages, social media posts, brochures, case studies• Use more or less depending on length

limits and piece goals• A 6-word novel attributed to Hemingway:

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Thank you!

Jodie Toohey, jodie@wordsywoman.com

Learn more about how-to tell stories for marketing at my blog at storytellingformarketers.blogspot.com