Libsyn Directory

117 Interview with Cindy Bidar: Finding Success With A Role Model Archetype

Strategic Storytelling

Release Date: 09/21/2023

178 Strategic Reinvention: The Best Story to Explain How You Got Here

Strategic Storytelling

177 Storytelling Prompts for Business Stories

Strategic Storytelling

Have you ever faced a blank page, saying to yourself, “I know I need a story…a good story…for business. But I keep drawing a blank.” And most of the story prompts—those questions beginning “Tell me a story about” are not designed for business. They’re designed to get your personal stories. So you get prompts like, “What was your proudest moment…” which rarely helps your business. As I’ve said many times, a business story serves a purpose. It doesn’t just amuse and entertain. It supports your strategy…which is rarely about helping you feel good about yourself....

176 How To Generate Buzz For Your Products With Client Backstories

Strategic Storytelling

If you’re a small service-oriented business, you want to get people to talk about you! But how do you do this? Small companies—especially service-based solopreneurs—can’t generate buzz the same way as big companies. They need to dip into their client’s backstories. When someone says, “You seem to be talking to me!” -- that's how your buzz begins! In this episode, I talk about what it means for a solopreneur to create buzz. It’s not the same thing as big-company buzz. You’ll get examples of stories that never became the subject of conversation, and how...

127 How to Demonstrate Your Expertise By Telling Stories (Encore)

Strategic Storytelling

"You're the expert." How do you feel when you hear those words? You'd better get used to hearing that sentenence if you're a service-based solopreneur! Because when you sell a service, you’re selling expertise. You’re offering knowledge and skills beyond what “everybody” has. You hire a licensed electrician because a handyman might do the job...but you want to be sure they won't set the place on fire by mistake. You hire a professional decorator because you want someone with flair who adds something to the project…something your best friend just can't do. So how do...

175 Three Ways To Create More Powerful Headlines With Storytelling

Strategic Storytelling

You’ve got a nice draft of the copy, all set to go…but will your audience ever read that copy? The answer is: Not unless you’re reeling them in with a strong headline! The truth is, most people don’t get past the headline when they’re reading a sales letter. And yet headlines can be incredibly hard to write…unless, of course, you start with a good story. In this episode you’ll get three tips for using stories to write headlines. It’s one of my favorite topics because we tell business stories to help the copywriting—not to entertain or amuse the audience. You will learn: The...

174 2 Straightforward Topics To 2X Your Selling Story

Strategic Storytelling

Telling the right story, the right way, can lead to more clients and more sales. You don’t have to come up with a story that keeps you in suspense--a story that could be made into a movie or a slick Superbowl commercial. The selling story for a solopreneur calls for two key ingredients. You don't have to dig into your life story to come up with edge-of-the-seat excitement. In this episode, I'll share two ways you can tweak your story to turn listeners into buyers. You will discover... ...the two tricks to get increasing sales from your story ...when a memorable story can...

114 Which story attracts clients for entrepreneurs: natural talent vs. hard work and struggle (Encore)

Strategic Storytelling

You've heard it over and over. Success come from hard work, not talent. You're not a good writer? Not a natural business person? Just work, work and work some more. So hard work is admirable, right? People are most impressed by hard workers? Wrong. Research studies asked this question directly, "What impresses employers and investors most?" Employers and investors listened to stories of people achieving success by hard work...and stories of people who were so talented, success came easily. And the winner? Listeners reported greater respect for people who found success...

173 From story to sale: How Solopreneurs Can Connect With Their Audience: An interview with Angela Wills.

Strategic Storytelling

Angela Wills created her Life Style Freedom business by making connections. She believed business doesn’t dictate your lifestyle: your lifestyle creates your business. “I’m really passionate about helping business owners find a business model that supports their lifestyle.” - Angela Willis Angela is a very down-to-earth business owner who’s built her business by understanding her clients. She understands the juggling act of being a parent and a business owner. “That is a skill," she says. "To me, it comes naturally now…the ability to connect with telling...

172 What's wrong with the advice, "Tell a story to be authentic"

Strategic Storytelling

Solopreneurs often get advised to show their real selves--to come out from behind the website and reveal who they really are. And one way to do this is to tell stories. What's wrong with this advice? First of all, "Just tell a story" means, "Curate a good story portfolio." A story may represent your self...but you have many selves. The first part of this podcast talks about this point. Which self is the Real You? At about 5.0, you'll get 3 tips to share authentic stories: 1 - know what "be yourself" really means 2 - why "I understand where you're coming from" can mean "I'm clueless" (and what...

171 - How A Financial Behaviorist Uses Stories To Illustrate Our Financial lives: Interview with Jacquette Timmons

Strategic Storytelling

When you tell stories, do you ever think, "That's all well and good for life coaches with personal stories. But I'm a technical person who wants to help people discover new ways of thinking about their actions. Talking about finance seems to call for discussions of numbers, trends and charts with percentages in three colors. Jacquette Timmons brings a different perspective. She's a financial behaviorist, someone who helps people deal with issues related to money, income and investments. Money reflects what's going on in people's personal lives. If you want to understand money conflicts, you...

More Episodes

There's a lot of confusion about branding for small businesses and solopreneurs. Your brand influences the stories you tell, the promises you make, and even the advice you give your clients.

Cindy Bidar has achieved considerable success in a relatively short time frame. Her brand builds on her story archetype - the Role Model.

Cindy didn't set out to brand with this archetype. Very few people even know this framework exists!

But, like many successful businesses, her marketing consistently reflects this archetype. She shares personal stories to support her promise, "If I can do it, you can do it." Her decision to start her business was based on this principle.

You'll enjoy Cindy's warm, down-to-earth style as we dig into her storytelling decisions and reveal how she uses stories to build her marketing success.

Some highlights from the episode:

9:23 - how Cindy decides what to share and what to hold back on

11:48. “That’s my sweet spot!"

13:20 - Ask this question when you’re having trouble coming up with ideas for emailing your list (I've never heard this one before)

14:40 - "Best way to write interesting content? Do interesting things.”

15:30 - Using Julia Cameron’s “artist date” to refill the well

17:15 Deciding what to discuss and not discuss (the key is business alignment)

18:30 - Common story mistakes in email marketing (based on bad advice)

20:20 - What Cindy teaches that's completely in sync with the role model archetype

21:30 - The heart of Cindy’s message about success…”If I could share just one thing…”

24:30 - When Cindy just got started: what was her guiding principle

30:00 - You don't want to hear, "That's not what I signed up for."