This Doesn’t Have to be “so Darn Complicated”

Riddle me this, Batman…

…What’s the difference between “easy” and “simple?”

I’ve been pondering that since Tuesday when I toured Redirect Health in Phoenix with its CEO, David Berg.

Redirect helps companies find and deliver affordable healthcare plans without sacrificing quality coverage.

For more than 10 years, the company’s slogan was “Easy and Affordable Healthcare.”

A few years back, at Berg’s insistence, the company dropped “Easy” from the slogan.

“It’s a promise we shouldn’t make because it’s a promise we couldn’t keep,” Berg told us.

I know lots of marketers and software vendors who promise “easy.” It’s a promise they shouldn’t make.

Growing a business is NOT easy. It requires effort. It requires time. It requires investment. Even with AI, there’s no such thing as a client-generating “Easy Button.”

But growing a business can be much simpler.

My client Shawn once told me he likes my approach to marketing because I “keep it simple.”

On page 24 of my new book — available on Thursday on Amazon — I tell Shawn’s story:

(Shawn) told me he had spent lots of money and time on other consultants and courses. They made his head spin. “I want to write better emails and blog posts,” he said. “I don’t want to keep track of whether I’ve put all the story elements in the right places. I’m fed up with systems that are too complex and require a master’s degree to implement.”

I feel Shawn’s pain. I see too many marketing “experts” present storytelling for business as if they’re teaching (a) Screenwriting 101 course. They liken business stories to Star Wars, The Godfather, or Casablanca. They encourage you to load business stories with all the elements of a good screenplay—like backstories and heroes and villains and conflicts and resolutions and so on and so forth.

Good luck.

There’s one guy who wants you to master “Twelve Storytelling Brand Archetypes.” Another offers a “Simple Ten-Step System” for business storytelling. Call me simple, but a “simple ten-step system” seems like six or seven steps too many.

Which leads me to Story Power Principle No. 3: 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 five steps in Freytag’s Pyramid, or the twelve stages of the hero’s journey.

Trust me, you don’t need to know a thing about “ark-UHtypes” 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.

The book is loaded with strategies, tactics, and frameworks to create story-powered, client-attracting content.

I show you how to make it simple and predictable. But that’s not the same thing as easy. You still have work to do. Sometimes, hard work.

If you read the book, though, and implement its lessons, you won’t feel stuck. You won’t stare at a blank screen, thinking “What now?” You’ll know the difference between content that works and content that doesn’t. You won’t feel stuck in the marketing maze.

You can get the book on Thursday, November 14.

On that day (only), you can get a copy on Amazon for just 99-cents. And first-day buyers will get special bonuses — including access to The Anecdote Finder.

If you requested an early-bird .pdf copy, you’ll get that tomorrow.