“17 Steps” Really!? 😖

I visited an online marketing forum this morning and saw this headline:

“My 17-step process for writing really good blog posts that people will ACTUALLY read.”

Wow! 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12 – 13 – 14 – 15 – 16 – 17 steps to write a blog post!?

The first comment below the 17-step treatise came from “whnthynvr” who said, “16 steps is my limit.”

 Well played, whnthynvr.

That is some Grade A Prime snark.

(Sometimes a little snark says 1,000 words).

This 17-step nonsense reminds me of the “experts” who have devised their own complex processes to create business stories.

They liken business storytelling to writing a screenplay.

They say your emails and blog posts should be like “Star Wars,” “The Godfather,” or “Casablanca.” You have to load your content with all the elements of a good screenplay – like backstories and heroes and villains and conflicts and resolutions and so on… and on… and on… and on.

Good luck.

There’s one “expert” who wants you to master “12 Storytelling Brand Archetypes.” Another offers a “simple 10-step system” for business storytelling.

Call me simple. But a “simple 10-step system” seems like six or seven steps too many — which is one of the three Story Power Marketing Principles is:

Keep it SIMPLE

When I sit down to write an email or blog post, I don’t want to worry about Aristotle’s plot formula, the seven steps in “Freytag’s Storytelling Pyramid,” or the 12 stages of “The Hero’s Journey.”

And, say it loud and say it proud:

You don’t need to know a thing about ark-UH-types to captivate prospects and inspire them to buy.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe in storytelling. And I believe you’ll create captivating, client-attracting content and HAVE MORE FUN if you harness storytelling’s power.

But I also think – check that, I KNOW – storytelling for business does not have to be so darn complicated.

I’ve boiled down this storytelling thing to a four-step framework. Every client-attracting story (email, social post, blog post, etc.) has a P.L.A.N.

Next Friday, May 24, I’m hosting a masterclass where I’ll share the P.L.A.N. framework and reveal how you can use it to create client-attracting, profit-generating content quickly and easily — without writer’s block.

I’ll even show you how to use AI to simplify and speed the process in ways that weren’t possible just two years ago.

If you’d like to know more about the masterclass…

…reply to this email with “Show me the plan.”

I’ll send you the details and a registration link after I hear from you.