The 1,982nd Greatest Story Ever Told

Some experts say that headlines are the most important feature of a blog post. They might suggest that The 1,982nd Greatest Story Ever Told is not the best choice and recommend we use an alternative that is more likely to attract readers.

Those of you who have heard me tell the story about swimming with the whales in the picture above or who have heard me talk about h0w I was given the key to Cleveland for stopping the river from bursting into flames again and for convincing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to stay might agree that storytelling is far more important.

A good headline is important but what is the point of bringing people to your blog if the content doesn’t hold their interest. It is why I focus on learning how to become a better storyteller because once you arrive I want to make sure you stick around for a while.

You can always compare it to owning a restaurant and the work that goes into trying to make sure people eat at your place. If you hand out coupons for a free meal there is a good chance you’ll fill some tables but if the meal is burnt or unsatisfactory those people will never come back.

Headlines & Stories

Pinterest helped influence my perspective on headlines and stories too. That’s because when I heard about how effective it was at driving traffic to blogs I figured it was probably something I should look into.

Prior to that moment I hadn’t spent a lot of time looking for photos or imagery for my posts because I just didn’t. Can’t say if it was because I didn’t want to pay for stock photos or if it just didn’t occur to me which is silly because it is obvious that images can be a very effective way to tell or enhance a story.

If you go back to slide number 11 on the prior post it talks about the value of deconstructing a story, of pulling it apart to see what you like. If you are one of the regular readers you know I am a fan of that and of marketers writing fiction.

I am also a fan of looking at the tools and resources we are using to see if we are making full use of the functionality.

Why?

Because if you take a hard look at the tools you use daily you will probably find that one or more of them can do far more than you realize. One of the best examples of that is the average smartphone which can do far more than just serve as a device for texts and telephone calls.

You can use it as a calculator, word processor, pedometer, music player, dictionary, encyclopedia, cookbook etc.

And that my friends brings me back to our old friend Pinterest and another way to use it to help you drive traffic to your blog and or grow the number of Pinterest followers.

Group boards.

My friend Carolyn has a post about how to find them and how to use them to make your pins go viral.

I am very intrigued to see if the power of many can help the one to increase their reach and not just do so in theory. Time will tell.

The 1,982nd Greatest Story Ever Told

Speaking of stories on a personal level the video below probably ranks further down the list than 1,982 but I don’t care because it is interesting to me.

Those of you who know me well can attest that grace and I aren’t usually talked about in the same sentence. You won’t mistake me for Baryshnikov but if you need a wall torn down, couch moved or any sort of heavy lifting than I might be your guy.

I love watching the World’s Strongest Man contests and have always wondered what would happen if I could dedicate myself to training for them.

Let’s ignore that at 45 I am slightly older than the guys who are truly competitive and focus on the size difference between them and I.  Guys like the dude who plays The Mountain on Game of Thrones have a size advantage but if you know me you know I am confident I can find a way to compensate for that.

After all a guy who can stop a river from spontaneous combustion must know a trick or two. What do you think?