Bonus - How Stories Happen #3 - Ann Handley, Bestselling Author

6 snips

Jun 6, 2024

Ann Handley, a bestselling author and a pioneer in content marketing, shares her insights on the art of storytelling. She emphasizes the power of noticing everyday moments to create meaningful content. Ann delves into her morning routine and idea capture system, showcasing how personal experiences fuel creativity. The discussion also highlights the importance of authenticity in storytelling, especially in an age of automation, urging marketers to focus on emotional connections rather than generic content.

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ADVICE

Use Frameworks then Fly Freely

Use frameworks as training wheels to learn storytelling, but aim to eventually find your own natural flow.
Knowing the rules lets you break them creatively and develop your unique voice.

ADVICE

Capture Everyday Story Moments

Pay attention to small, everyday moments as a source of creative inspiration.
Capture these observations in a personal notebook to build a rich catalog of story ideas over time.

ANECDOTE

Pizza-Eating Squirrel Story

Ann observed a squirrel eating pizza in a tree, a random moment that delighted her imagination.
She stored this moment mentally until she found a way to share it as a story.

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🟢 Dear Unthinkable listener: Thank you SO much for your support over the years! I invite you to find and follow the new show, How Stories Happen, in your preferred podcast player in just 2 taps right here:https://episodes.fm/1736586770

Every episode, an expert, entrepreneur, creator, or communicator dissects a single story or draft piece by piece. Hear how they found it, how they developed it, how it might improve, and how they're using it to build their business and leave their legacy.

You'll walk away thinking more about the power of your words and less about the volume of your content.

Find the show here: https://episodes.fm/1736586770

ABOUT THIS EPISODE OF HOW STORIES HAPPEN:

When so many people are excited to create a higher volume of content, shouldn’t we think more about what gives our work greater power? That’s what our guest today understands better than most, and she draws that power from everyday moments she hunts out, like a squirrel finding nuts in the yard.

Meet Ann Handley—she’s a best-selling author, a pioneer in content marketing, and a popular B2B speaker with a knack for imbuing ordinary moments with extraordinary meaning.

Ann reveals her morning routine, her idea capture system, and most importantly, her process and practice of becoming a word-class noticer of stories during a time when so many people simply stuff a screen in their face or turn to cheat-sheets to produce generic content.

In this episode, we dissect a signature story shared to her newsletter, Total Annarchy, which she sent to just over 50,000 readers. We zero in on a pivot point in the middle that makes the work resonate, and we find plenty of existential debates that unfolded in her writing process.

Together, we discover how to connect with an audience on a more personal level and leave a lasting impression, ensuring your stories aren’t just heard but felt. The best part? You don’t need to experience anything groundbreaking for your words to hit hard. But you do need to become a notice.

Jump into the conversation:
(04:48) Meet Ann
(19:36) Ann’s Story
(26:21) Dissecting the Story

Resources:

⚫ Follow Ann on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhandley/

⚫ Check out her website and subscribe to her newsletter here: https://annhandley.com/

⚫ Read Ann’s book, Everybody Writes: https://annhandley.com/everybodywrites/

🔵 Follow Jay: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayacunzo/

🔵 Subscribe to Jay’s newsletter: https://jayacunzo.com/newsletter

🔵 Learn about Jay’s coaching and consulting: https://jayacunzo.com/

🟢 Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://shareyourgenius.com/

🟢 Cover art designed by Blake Ink: https://www.blakeink.com/

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