Using Storytelling and Word Banks for Easy Content Creation with Toby Myles

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When it comes to creating content, there is one thing that may be missing…the art of storytelling.  Yes, sharing part of your story and being vulnerable can be hard, but it’s also necessary to create the know, like, and trust factor.  You can also use storytelling to create an experience for your customer. Another great way to enhance your content is by utilizing a word bank.  Let’s dive in to learn about easy content creation.

 

All About Toby…

Toby is a copywriter and owner of Toby Myles Copywriting, where she writes content for her small business and solopreneur clients. Toby listens to not just what her clients say, but how they say it. She takes her time getting to know their business and pain points so she can write comfortably and authentically to their audience so the copy is effective, on brand, and converts to sales. 

 

How Toby got started.

Toby has been writing since she was very young, but never really thought that it was something that she would do for a living. She’s done many other things like being a graphic designer and even a personal trainer. And then she got into the Direct Marketing Response industry, where she worked for a company for 15 years managing large scale projects, direct mail, email and campaigns. That was really where she started to understand how you get into the mind of your audience to be able to pull at their heartstrings and persuade them to do what it is that you want them to do. 

At the end of 2019, she had enough work on the side that she decided it was time to take the leap. She needed something different. She left a couple months before the pandemic hit. Ironically, it was actually a really good time because a lot of the clients that she was working with, a lot of their in person shows were cancelled and they were having to move their businesses online. This meant that they needed a lot more content. 

 

What is that number one tip that Toby gives to business owners/solopreneurs? 

You have to know who your client is, what their problems are, and what their pain points are before you can even begin to figure out how to speak to them. There’s a lot of different ways that you can speak to them once you know who that person is. Before you hire anyone else to help you in your business, make sure that you’ve done the foundational work and know who that your ideal client really is.

 

Storytelling has an important place in the content you create.

Storytelling can be down in different ways.  It can be difficult for a lot of people because it usually means sharing something personal. A lot of people are not comfortable with that or they are not sure where it fits in the whole big scheme of things. Not everything you put out there should be something super personal.  But storytelling helps to build that trust factor between you and your ideal client. 

People want to do business with other people that they know, like, and trust. By being real and sharing stories about your own journey, you build those connections with other people who say, “Yeah, that’s totally me! I get that.”

 

How does storytelling work in product based businesses?

You want to set a scenario where they can imagine themselves using your products. You utilize storytelling by creating that scenario.  So one of the examples that Toby uses with her clients is this…Imagine you’re shopping for candles. You go into the candle store and you come across an apple scented candle. All of a sudden, you remember walking into your grandmother’s house, and she had just put the apple pie in the oven. You know that it’s going to come out, and she’s going to put vanilla ice cream on it. So you build this whole scenario to really put that person into that setting where they can actually feel like they smell the candle. 

So if you really struggle with storytelling, just create more of that experience. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a story that’s so personal or deep rooted. Share something that your clients can relate to. We’ve all walked into grandma’s house and smell something that smells delicious. We can relate to that. Your audience doesn’t have to necessarily relate to a personal story of yours.  Instead, they can relate to and experience that you’re talking about.  

 

Action item for creating easy content.

One thing Toby does with her clients is she has them start a word bank.  She does this because it helps them to narrow down all of the words that they could possibly use. These are the words that are really going to resonate with their clients. They’re words that their clients would use depending on the age group and what your clients do. These things are important to how you show up in your business with your content. 

Having her clients start this word bank helps her dramatically. But even if they’re not hiring her or another copywriter, it also helps them to refer back to these words that they can use that are going to not only resonate with their clients, but also be consistent within their brand. They’re the same words or phrases that they use over and over again. It helps clients and prospects know exactly who you are as a business owner.

 

What’s a way to start a word bank?

Toby says that you have to stalk your people.  Not in a creepy way. But where are they hanging out on social media? What types of language are they using? And what types of brands are they following? In your interactions with your actual clients in person, how do they say things? What phrases do they use? The other part of it is your own vocabulary. What are things that you would say? 

I personally always tell my clients that sometimes it’s easier to identify all the things you would never do.  The same would be true for words that you would never use.   Hustle is that one word I hate. It is a word that I will never use in my content because I hate it. This tip is a great tip.  So just grab a Google doc, or your notes in your phone, and just start keeping that word bank. 

 

Toby has a really amazing freebie called From Blocked to Blogging. 

It’s a simple 5 step system to get you out of your head not knowing what to write about to actually start to write. Or if you already know you’re not going to be the one writing it, we’ll get into the point where you can hand over the whole system to a team member or a copywriter that you hire. 

The first step is choosing your buckets or your categories.  Depending on your business, you choose things that are going to resonate with your dream client. So it could be interviews, case studies, listicles, behind the scenes, or how to do something. Any of those might be categories so there’s no right or wrong way.

Then, the next step is to fill those buckets. So within each of those categories, you just brainstorm topics that might fit within those categories. Brainstorming is literally just writing everything that comes to mind. Do not edit yourself. Just let it out. 

Then, the third step is to put everything into your planner so that you never are sitting there wondering, “What am I going to write about this week?” Get it all into your planner, and at that point, if you’re not going to do the writing yourself, you can take what you’ve done and hand it over to your copywriter. This way they know exactly what your deadlines are for each thing that you’re going to write about. 

Once the blog post is written, you take that blog post, and you can share it throughout all your social media. You can break it up into little snippets. Share one little tip each day. You can repurpose it into graphics for social media or as an email. 

 

Working smarter, not harder…

Your content doesn’t have to always be new because your audience is constantly changing. So something you said 6 months ago, your new audience probably hasn’t seen it.  

 

One last tip…

If you’re feeling stuck, just get that first draft down on paper. Don’t edit it. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Get it down on paper, step away for 24 hours, and come back to it and start working your refined draft. Sometimes the getting started part and getting it out of your brain is the biggest block. Once you get past just getting started, it usually goes pretty smoothly.

Apple |  Spotify | Google | Stitcher | Youtube| 

 

Connect with Michelle-

Connect with Toby:

 

Have Questions? Let’s have a Cup of Virtual Coffee!

 

 

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