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We offer guests and thought leaders who wish to introduce their blog on our LinkedIn Discussion Group and link all their LinkedIn Discussion posts in the different LinkedIn groups to their blog here.

Business owners and certain executive/corporate employees have to find ways to attract the right kind of attention. I don’t mean ‘marketing’ in the plain-jane commercial context, but in a deeper, longer term manner of creating credibility for self while attracting positive attention, interest and engagement in a business, organization, or brand. In today’s world of online searching and social media, writing a blog is one of the best ways to accomplish this goal: it is inexpensive, relatively easy and quick to get results. Of course, this is only true if you write a good blog.

Here’s a post that lays out how to write a fantastic blog post every time, designed for today’s audience. Learn these rules and then go apply them.
 

The Rules for Storytelling for Writing a Business Blog
Author: Chang Han (Google+)

There are a lot of different ways to write a blog.
I don’t just mean finding an exotic location, or choosing a great laptop.
I’m talking about the different categories of writing itself.  Writing, as a form of communication, has a few basic essential purposes.  You might be writing a blog in order to inform your audience.  You might be writing to entertain your audience. Of course, there is the purpose of persuading your reader: to agree with you or to buy your product or service. And finally, you may simply have a need to get something off your chest – in other words your writing can be the product of your drive to express yourself.
No matter the purpose behind your blog, the most effective way to communicate whatever it is you are trying to communicate is by storytelling.
Recently, I gave a hands on workshop on blog writing at a local networking event in the greater Vancouver area. At this blog writing workshop one of the attendees a small business owner and a friend of mine named Curtis S. mentioned that I had recommended a video to him in the past. Curtis asked how to incorporate the blog writing tactics I was demonstrating to the principles espoused in that video.
Why did he ask that?
Simply because the video he was referring to is one I had recommended as an essential introduction to the importance of storytelling in the modern online era. This short video is one of the most important videos of this decade for anyone over the age of 40 and interested in business.
In other words, the video that Curtis referred to is one that I absolutely adore – and you simply have to watch it to understand.  In fact – as strange as this may be: leave this blog at this point here, and go watch that video, and then come back.
Now, don’t ever do this on your own blog – don’t send people away from your blog right in the middle of it!
However, in this rare, exceptional case, it is ok to leave this blog.  Click here for the video and come back after you have watched for an enthralling 4 minutes.
Ok – welcome back. So now we are on the same page, and the idea is pretty simple.  We have now ‘left’ the broadcasting era – where we were captives of those companies with big enough budgets to put content in front of us via television – and we are now fully in the social media and email era.  This era is reminiscent of the old caveman days where stories were told and were re-told – or not, depending on whether the story was worth re-telling in the mind of the listener.
We are again in the era of story-telling and if you tell a story that is worth re-telling, you have a winning blog!  If you don’t, then no matter how much effort and money you spend on getting people to come to your site and read your blog, it is wasted time and money.  This is Curtis’ point – and it is an entirely valid point!
So we need to tell stories that are worth re-telling.  How do we do that?  How do you do that?
Here’s how – follow these simple Rules for Storytelling.
These rules are the result of compiling, curating, and condensing what is ‘out there’ online and are the ones that I believe will help you win in the new online competitive landscape.
Rule Number 1: YOU are not the hero of your story
Every good story has a protagonist – a hero.  You are not it.
Make sure in your blog your story identifies a universal archetype that allows your reader to put themselves squarely in the hero’s shoes and become the hero.
That’s right – your reader, your audience, and ultimately your customer IS the hero!
Rule Number 2: Hero’s are admired more for TRYING than for their SUCCESS
The climax of your story is your Hero trying despite overwhelming odds – the result is the anti-climax.  Don’t confuse these two important but distinct points in your story.
Rule Number 3: What’s interesting to the reader/audience/customer is not the same as what’s fun to write about for the blog writer.
Rule Number 4: If you don’t know where to start, always follow the story formula.
(1) Once upon a time there was…
(2) Every day…
(3) One day…
(4) As a result of THAT, …
(5) THEN what happened is…
(6) Until FINALLY…
Rule Number 5: Make your hero uncomfortable and write about how they deal with it.
Don’t give your hero challenges that are within your hero’s ability to overcome.
Rule Number 6: The best ending is one that exists.
Don’t get hung up on not having the perfect ending.  Finish it and move on, already.
Rule Number 7: Give your characters opinions.
Rule Number 8: What is at stake for your hero, and for you?
Be honest – it shows in your writing.
Rule Number 9: Keep the essence of your story in mind.
This is always write-able in one, single sentence.  If you don’t have a single-sentence essence, you can’t write the best story you have in you.
Good luck!
Want to hear the story behind this blog?  Send me a message on LinkedIn – you can connect with me by joining our LinkedIn Discussion Group and you’ll even find an entire community!

View Chang Han's profile on LinkedIn