The Storytelling Framework Your Digital Marketing Is Missing (And How to Fix It)

[00:00:00] You know how we're always told to tell stories in our marketing, but nobody really explains exactly how to do it? Well, today's guest went from raising $5 million and making eight films to helping entrepreneurs turn their words into wealth through the power of storytelling. And she shares this incredible example of how she took a yacht dealership and transformed it from a six-figure to a seven-figure business and doubled their profit margins from 12% to 24% just by distilling her message.

[00:00:31] Instead of burying people with 100 pages of data, she created one clear emotional message that sold the transformation. If you want to learn the hidden structures behind effective communication and how to trigger the right emotions that actually lead to conversions, this episode is packed with frameworks you can use right away. So make sure you stay tuned until the very end of this next episode of The Your Digital Marketing Coach Podcast.

[00:00:57] Digital, Social Media, Content Influencer, Marketing, Blogging, Podcasting, Vlogging, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, SEO, SEM, PPC, Email Marketing. There's a lot to cover. Whether you're a marketing professional, entrepreneur, or business owner, you need someone you can rely on for expert advice. Good thing you've got Neal on your side.

[00:01:24] Because Neal Schaefer is your digital marketing coach. Helping you grow your business with digital first marketing, one episode at a time. This is your digital marketing coach. And this is Neal Schaefer. Hey everybody, welcome to episode number 439 of this podcast. I am Neal Schaefer, your digital marketing coach.

[00:01:53] And today, we're going to be talking about storytelling. A topic we've talked about before, but I think with the emergence of AI, we really need to lean more heavily into these types of human elements. And if there's one human element we've been responding to since we were babies, well, without a doubt, it's storytelling, right? We also know from a marketing perspective that storytelling can be truly impactful when done right. But here's the thing.

[00:02:19] When I look at advice on writing blog posts or social media content, everybody says tell a story. But they don't really tell you how do you exactly do that. What are the best practices? What are the nuances we need to understand? Well, today, we have an expert on storytelling who brings a really unique perspective. She's the author of 10 books, including Turn Words into Wealth and The Marketing Fast Track.

[00:02:46] She launched a film and television company where she raised $5 million and made eight films. So she understands story structure at a really deep level. And now she helps entrepreneurs and businesses just like us leverage communication to attract their ideal clients. So without further ado, here is my interview with Aurora Winter. You're listening to Your Digital Marketing Coach. This is Neil Schaefer. Hey, everybody.

[00:03:15] Welcome to another edition of the Your Digital Marketing Coach podcast. Storytelling. It is a topic that we have talked about before on this podcast. But I think it's really important with the emergence of AI that we need to lean more heavily into these human elements. And if there's one human element, something that we've been listening to since we were babies, it is storytelling. And we also know from a marketing perspective, storytelling can be truly impactful when done right. And I don't know about you.

[00:03:43] When I look at advice on writing blog posts or books or social media content, that concept of telling a story of that messaging can truly be impactful. And it is something everyone recommends. But how exactly do you do it, right? What are best practices? What are some nuances that we need to understand? Well, today, we have an expert on the topic of storytelling. She's an expert on way more than just that. She's the author of 10 books.

[00:04:11] And I'll let her introduce herself to give you more information. Just to give you an idea, two of the books, the Marketing Fast Track, which I know we're going to be digging deep into today, as well as Turn Words Into Wealth. Someone who's written 10 books has truly been able to turn words into wealth. So I think you're going to get a lot out of today's episode. Without further ado, Aurora, welcome to the podcast. It's great to be on the show with you, Neil. And I look forward to giving people tips they can use right away to turn their words into wealth. Awesome. So let's begin.

[00:04:41] You've written 10 books before we began this interview. I already did a pre-interview. And I realized that Aurora wrote her first book really, really early on. I mean, I thought I was early writing my first book in 2009. But Aurora did hers in 2005. But before that, she had another career in Hollywood. So Aurora, the concept of storytelling, turning words into wealth, where did this all begin? Well, as you pointed out, my first book was published in 2005. But before that, I was in film and television, all roads lead to Hollywood.

[00:05:11] I'm in Hollywood right now. We're in Hollywood adjacent in California. And I got really inspired by movies. I still love movies. I think there's so much power in film to transform people, to put them in a different emotional state, and to inspire them to be heroic. So I love that. And I got really frustrated that in order to turn a screenplay into a movie, I had to raise $20 million and get all this cast and the producers and the broadcasters.

[00:05:40] And then the thing would fall apart at the last minute in development hell, and you have to start all over again. So I decided, you know what, I think I will go back to books, because at least books are intellectual property. They're a complete thing. They can inspire. They can inform. They can create transformation. They can be useful. And they can still be turned into movies later. Amazing. So it's all about the IP, something that I think, you know, we talk a lot about digital marketing being your digital marketing coach podcast.

[00:06:07] But we also have a slew of content creators that listen to the show. And in the creator economy, there is nothing more valuable than your IP, but also understanding that that is something that you own your asset, that you monetize and you control, right? So from Hollywood to storytelling, term words and wealth, writing books, has that just stayed with you? You love movies and just this concept of stories and how it applies in business.

[00:06:33] Is that something that you've, you know, you've planted a flag on or what happened after that? I've definitely planted a flag on it. I'm basically obsessed with communication. I'm a communication nerd. You know, in my spare time, I read books or study communication. It's just what I love. It's who I am. And I noticed, but I'm also an entrepreneur. I've launched several businesses. The film and television company that I launched with a partner in London, England, we raised $5 million and we made eight films.

[00:06:59] So I'm definitely a very strong entrepreneur and I got really sad for people because I noticed that time and time again, they would have a great product or they would have a great service, but their business would fail. They would fail completely and go bankrupt or they would fail to achieve the potential because they just didn't understand storytelling and they didn't understand how to properly leverage communication to invite their ideal clients to work with them, play with them, hire them.

[00:07:25] And so I realized, wow, I could make a big difference helping people just break apart. What is the structure hidden behind effective social media posts or digital posts or videos or books? Like there's a hidden structure. As a screenwriter, it's very obvious what the structure is. It's very formulaic. You know, in the best screenplays, you hopefully don't notice the structure, but it's that same way in all kinds of communication. There is a hidden structure. I can share a few of these recipes today. Awesome. Yeah.

[00:07:55] It's funny coming down to Hollywood. There is a, have you ever gone to Author Nation, the conference? Yes. Were you there last year? I was. Okay. So was I. Yeah. Are you a fan of James Blanche? Do you know him? The self-publishing formula? Yes. I'm a fan of his. Okay. I am as well. Did you see him speak? I'm not sure. It's kind of a blur now. So he spoke about, just about storytelling, about that there is, there is a formula, right? Yeah.

[00:08:20] He was talking about your book cover and how when you go to see a Hollywood film and he was showing Hollywood posters, it's very clear what that movie is going to be about. It's very formulaic, but it works. It works. And you need to be doing the same with your book cover, was it? You need to fit that niche, that genre. You need to broadcast very clearly what category your book is in or your movie is in or your products or service are in.

[00:08:43] And so many people make the mistake of they jump in at step number 14 and they haven't even communicated what problem do you solve? Yeah. Yeah. And it's funny. I have a paid mastermind. I have a member working on his first book, which I encouraged him to write. But it's also, what are other books out there? Like this concept of comps and understanding when your reader goes to Amazon, what else do they see? Who are you going to be compared to? And what are your advantages? So anyway, lots of Hollywood analogies today. And I also want to throw out the concept of story.

[00:09:13] I'm working on a book on personal branding. I teach a course of this at UCLA Extension. And one of the elements of personal brand is story, right? And it's really understanding. It's first understanding your story or why. And then obviously being able to tell that to people. So everybody, I guess what I want to say is what we're talking about today is really central and elemental to anything you do in business, right? It's fundamental. Branding, marketing. So let's move on then.

[00:09:36] You talk about, as we were prepping for the interview, how small shifts in messaging can lead to big jumps in conversions. So I wanted to ask you, have you seen subtle changes in working with your clients or in your career? Subtle changes that made a big difference in your own messaging or in your clients? Some little tweak where it's like you see if you do something like this, these are the results you can get.

[00:10:03] I have a simple little tweak that's part of a recipe that everybody can use right away. So one of the things that you want to do in your digital marketing or your book or your TED Talk or your videos is focus on the message from where they're starting, which is the problem, to the solution, which is the other side, and that you are the bridge between these things. Most people spend too much time talking about the bridge and all the cobblestones on the bridge and what kind of a bridge it is.

[00:10:34] Don't do that. Just talk about where they're starting, the problem, the hell, and then skip to where you get them to. So for example, a lot of people use help words. So an example of done the wrong way for me would be I help people write books. People don't really buy help. They buy transformation. So a better would be I help people turn their words into wealth. Listen to the difference. I help people write books.

[00:11:02] I help people turn their words into wealth. Big shift. So sell the shift from where they are now to where they want to be. Another quick tip. I noticed that I studied brain dominance. So people have a default setting that they will tend to talk about who, what, why, or when. So for example, one of my clients, I'm helping him create his million-dollar message.

[00:11:28] And he's got a nonprofit, which is dedicated to helping people get clean water in disasters, such as what we had with Katrina. But his messages are all what, what, what, what, what, what, because he's an engineer. Not who or why or when. So a simple thing to look at is look at your messaging and make sure that you cover all of those points. Because different people will only listen for why. Until you've answered why, you haven't got their attention.

[00:11:57] Other people will only listen for who. Until you've answered who, they're not paying attention. And then correct for whatever your default is. Does that make sense? It does. So this is sort of a filter that you can use for any sort of messaging then, would you say? Exactly. So we started talking about the story and storytelling. Where does that fit into what you've just been talking about? So everything is a story. Even the sentence, I help people turn their words into wealth. There's a little mini story in there.

[00:12:26] There's people and they're turning words into wealth. It's a little tiny, little tiny story. Or for my client with the water, he helps people in disasters, that's the when, get clean water within 72 hours. So that they can be healthy and recover instead of getting ill from drinking muddy water or infected water. Or no water. So everything is a little story.

[00:12:53] And I invite everybody to collect stories. Not only your stories, but the stories of your clients, the people whose problems that you solve. And these are all of your assets, especially in the age of AI. Your stories are more valuable than ever. You know, we and I are both fans of Gary Vaynerchuk. And he was talking about how your IP and your brand is really the most valuable asset. It's the only thing that sets you apart from others.

[00:13:21] If we don't have a story, then we don't have a brand. You were talking about branding and you teach people branding. Well, I like to emphasize that unless you have a brand, you're going to be competing on price. And that means you're going to be competing with AI, China, and Walmart. You do not want to go there. On the other hand, if you have a brand like Coca-Cola, you can command a premium price. And when it comes time to sell your business, you're selling mostly the value of the brand.

[00:13:50] So don't ignore the value of brand. Take meals course. Yeah. You know, the concept of, you know, not just story, but also that branding, the differentiation. I sort of lost my thought of what I was going to get into there as you were talking. But these are the story bank is what I wanted to talk about. So this is also a concept, something that not original. I've heard it before from other speakers. But the concept of really creating a database of your stories. And it could be at an individual level.

[00:14:19] It could be at a corporate level. But it's really these stories that you can dig back into. For me, it's when I'm speaking or teaching. For you, it could be the same. Or when you're writing or, you know, throughout your career, your resume, whatever it is. But those stories, especially with AI, right? I have another, my membership community, Digital First. He has sprinkled his database LLM of choice with various stories that then the LLM just, you know, when it finds a connection, will naturally bring that story into the content

[00:14:48] when he has forgotten to. So just, you know, cannot overemphasize the importance of actually creating a database. Because we're all going to forget these. But anytime you helped anybody, and it could be something trivial, it could be something that you realized some insight that you had. But those things are critical. But if you don't write them down, you're going to forget them. Exactly. And then you're going to repeat the same three stories all the time when you actually could have had hundreds of stories.

[00:15:14] Another tiny tweak that can make a big difference that most people don't know about is it's really important to remove credibility clutter. So people remember the neuroscience of it. People do not remember the sum of all of your accolades or credentials. They remember the average. So it's better actually to give three stellar examples than 30, where you dilute the value

[00:15:41] of those really kick-ass examples or credibility with the kind of okay. And I struggled with this myself last week. Just published the third book in my fantasy series, which is called Multiverse Mayhem. And I have so many great reviews. And I just loved all the things people said. I'm like, I want to put all of this online on Amazon. I'm like, no, Aurora, you can't do that. Even though it made you happy to hear all those wonderful things, less is more.

[00:16:10] So just one sentence from each of the professional book reviewers like Literary Titan or Kirkus reviews or whatever, one sentence is actually more powerful. Less is more. So I even struggle with this. So that's a kind of a surprising tip. Yeah. It sounds like talking about a story and messaging and all this, a lot of it comes down to just being very aware of what you're doing. So I think this goes to say when Instagram just started, people were just posting photos.

[00:16:40] It's like, no, let's be conscious of what we're doing here. Let's have a strategy. Let's be clear in everything that we do. So it leads to a certain path. And I think when it comes to messaging, obviously, if we're a big corporation and we have a whole team working on our web copy, it's one thing. But for a lot of the small businesses and entrepreneurs, they're just happy to get a copy up on a website, right? And it's really being a little bit more, let's take a step back and let's put these filters on that messaging, whether it is a social media post or web copy or whatever, and just

[00:17:09] make sure that it checks these boxes. I assume this is something that you already have embedded in you and that you teach other clients to do as well. Is that a correct assumption? Exactly right. So be strategic with your communication is what we're both saying here. So being strategic doesn't necessarily mean that you're trying to sell something every post, but I recommend that you're always reinforcing your message of the transformation you provide and how it impacts people.

[00:17:37] And a lot of those messages can just be intended to inspire or encourage others. It doesn't have to be buy now, buy now. And I like, you know, just yellow highlighting about the brand there. Your brand is the story other people tell about you. And there's not very much space in their brain to hold stories about other people. So your story has to be very clear. So, you know, Neil's brand is very clear.

[00:18:05] We're coming to him for digital marketing coach coaching, right? That's very clear. So while you can post random content about your cat or your puppy, I think most of your content should be strategically designed to reinforce who you serve and the transformation you provide. Yeah. The word I was looking for be intentional in your actions and your words. Intentional. Yeah, exactly. I like strategic because I have a YouTube channel called Strategic Basic and I am very strategic.

[00:18:32] That's my default, but intentional is nice too. Awesome. So, you know, we've talked a lot about messaging in marketing. I think there's another sort of angle to words that you had hinted at in your book, Turn Words into Wealth. So we do have, you know, entrepreneurs and others who listen to this podcast. A lot of them reach out to me. Hey, Neil, I'm interested in writing a book, what have you. As I mentioned in my digital first membership, I do have, he's actually an IP patent lawyer who is working on his first book.

[00:19:01] He has a unique angle to IP patent law that is very, very interesting, I believe. And I think others will as well. So for experts or authors who want to monetize their message, it could be for their company. In this lawyer's case, it obviously is. He's worried less about speaking gigs and more about getting more business for his company, right? Through a book. What are some of the most effective ways you've seen this type of thought leadership? And maybe that thought leadership online isn't out there yet because to become a thought

[00:19:31] leader, you need to be thought of as a thought leader, which often requires you to have more and more online content, right? To be thought of that way. But what are some effective ways you've seen others and probably some of your clients as well turn this sort of, when people have a problem, they go to this person or they go to this company of turning that into multiple revenue streams? Well, I love this question. And I have a client who is actually a litigation attorney. And it's interesting because we were, initially we were going to create a nonfiction book,

[00:20:00] but then I just loved all the stories he had. And I'm like, hey, let's turn this into a series of fiction books. And you can find them on Amazon. They're the Jake Fox series of books. We're now creating nine more books in that series. He's got over 2 million, almost 3 million page reads, over 100,000 readers, bunch of awards. But why am I telling you this story? So the surprising thing, if you write fiction, the mystery thriller suspense category is the strongest, highest demand category, save for romance.

[00:20:29] So a lot of people will want his book. But the curious thing is that as people are hiring litigation attorneys, his book is not about how to be a better litigation attorney or it's not about legal tips. It's a fun, fast-paced thriller. But nonetheless, he's already finding that he's landing more seven-figure deals because when the person hiring compares all the other litigation attorneys, they all kind of look like the same kind of boring suit. And then there's Michael Stockham.

[00:20:59] He's like a best-selling, award-winning author. Oh, that's kind of fun. That's an interesting brand. Let's hire him because he's as good as the others at his legal career. But he's also got this fun flavor. So I encourage people to think about developing your brand can actually result in more business, even if it's one step or two steps or three steps to one side. It makes you more interesting and more compelling.

[00:21:24] But to address your example of your lawyer, most people don't realize it, but Amazon is the number three search engine. Neil, you know this. You've got six books. So if you have a book with a very clear title about the problem that you solve and the transformation that you provide, people can find you around the world and they can get your book and download it basically instantly. And then a certain proportion of those people will want more. So I'm sure, Neil, you've experienced this probably with people reading one of your books

[00:21:53] and then joining your mastermind or hiring you to help them or whatever the case may be. And also, when you have a book on Amazon, you'll usually get reviews on Goodreads. So why that's important is that LLMs seek out data from places like Amazon or Goodreads when you type in ChatGPT or Clode or whatever LLM you might be using. You know, tell me about a digital marketing coach. You know, Neil's name will probably come up because he's a published author.

[00:22:23] So he's on Amazon, which means he's on Goodreads and he's got a podcast and he's got a lot of marketing content out there on social media. I was kind of surprised. I had the first prospect come to me who found me because they, you know, they put, oh, they're looking for somebody to help with their book into ChatGPT and my name come up. I'm like, all right, that's interesting. So the number two search engine is YouTube. So this is why I have a YouTube channel called Strategic Basics. And because it's the age of AI, I wanted people to see my face.

[00:22:52] Now we've enhanced the videos on YouTube because I have a background as a filmmaker, so I can't help myself. And we use AI to make it more than just a talking head, make it kind of fun. And then the number one search engine used to be Google, but now more and more, I think it's shifting to GEO instead of SEO. So we want to make sure that you can be found by ChatGPT and Clode and other things like that.

[00:23:17] So I think the trifecta is what can you do to make sure that you're on Amazon, on YouTube, and that you are on Goodreads or you can be found by the search engines? Yeah, that's awesome advice. And for me, the YouTube and the Amazon, anybody can just type content and publish a blog post or post updates on social media.

[00:23:41] But to publish a book on Amazon and indeed to constantly produce video for YouTube, those are not so easy, right? There is a little bit of a wall that you have to jump over to get onto those platforms and to be a regular there and to be recognized there. So that is where there is still, I would say, a lack of supply. Now, there are some genres when we talk about books like certain fiction genres where there's tons of books about fantasy and romanticity and all that.

[00:24:07] But when you get to nonfiction, it gets to be a little bit more less competition, let's say. So I think there's tons of opportunities. And I would encourage everybody listening to this that you should all be writing a book as part of your business. It is a big, fat business card. It is a differentiator. And it's funny. I have a cousin who is a lawyer and she wrote two books. They're young adults. They are fiction books, but they're really about legal concepts like sexting and things

[00:24:35] that young adults really need to be aware of that could really ruin their lives. And that has opened doors for her to speak at various associations, right? Or to speak at universities, which then turns into more book sales. And then which also turns into more business for her as a lawyer. So there's a lot of different ways to look at it, but a book and I agree 1000% Aurora. It is this really amazing strategic vehicle for your brand, for your career, for your business that people just... And with AI, I'm not saying you should have AI write the book for you.

[00:25:05] AI cannot write your story. But AI can certainly be a great sidekick to help you keep organized, to help you keep on track. And at the end of the day, to help accelerate your creation of this, which we could not have done just a few years ago. So there's never been a better time, I think. Exactly right. And as you're pointing out, when you have a book, you can oftentimes be sought after as a public speaker. There's so much value in creating your book even before it's published, because it forces

[00:25:32] you or invites you to gather together those stories, to gather together your wisdom, to put it and articulate it in the clearest form. And then once you've got your book and you've nailed your message and what you really want to say, you've honed it and polished it, then you're ready to go on podcasts or radio or TV or keynotes. Or when somebody just catches you in the elevator and they ask you, what do you do? You don't have a lame answer because you've thought it through. And how I help people is I actually...

[00:25:59] We create a structure for what's the problem that you solve and who is your ideal client and what outcome would you like from this book? So we have a structure. Maybe there's, say, 12 chapters. And then I just interview the expert. So then they can go deep into answering that question. They know that we're going to be talking about that particular slice of their expertise. And it's fun and it's easy for them. Most people can talk 8,000 words an hour, but most people cannot write 8,000 words in a

[00:26:28] week, especially if they're not professional authors. So it just makes it fun and easy to create the book. And then I transcribe it and then polish it up and give them back the second draft, which is already pretty polished. And then they can correct it or add stories or add data or whatever the case may be. So it turns the whole process of writing a book into something fun. And then what also happens with this spoken author method is that you have a bunch of videos and content.

[00:26:58] So even before the book comes out, we can slice and dice the video or the audio or just turn it into text. And it can be leveraged on social media. So people have, by doing this, they avoid the most common mistake I see people make, which is they put all this effort into writing their book. First time authors on average, it's been three and a half years writing a book. And then they don't think about the marketing and they press publish on Amazon and nothing happens because they didn't think through the buzz.

[00:27:26] Whereas the way that I do it with people, we create a plethora of content in advance of the book being published. And so they can slice and dice from 30 seconds to five minute video clips, put them on their social media and start to gain traction and become known for whatever their book is about. Well, there is the formula, everybody. Whether you, and the same advice that I give people, you know, 12 chapters, a few thousand words a chapter, always quicker to transcribe. And there's, you know, I use auto.ai, there's loads of services out there or working with a

[00:27:56] professional like Aurora that can help accelerate that process. So there's no excuse not to do it. If it's something you want to do, you just need to pick, you know, which way you want to go. But on that note, you were talking about the development of content. And I think what you're talking about really is, you know, going from an invisible expert to a go-to thought leader. And I think it's something that a lot of people listening to this podcast would love to be seen as. Now, it sounds like your process, you know, before that book comes out, you're already sort of building that thought leadership.

[00:28:26] So I'm wondering for someone just starting to build their authority, are there some high impact actions that you can recommend to accelerate that path for them? Absolutely. I think you need to really get comfortable talking about what you do and collecting those stories as we already talked about, writing them down and then practicing them on video. I recommend that you practice on video and you'll notice when you're talking, oh, it

[00:28:53] seemed good when I wrote it down, but when I try to say it, it's clunky. So then smooth it out. And then, you know, maybe make a habit of recording a video a day and posting it on social media, but then enhance your capacity and your capability. Understand that your first videos won't be great, but you're building a skill. So I like to do things that if I lose, I win. And if I win, I win.

[00:29:18] So for example, my YouTube channel, Strategic Basics, the worst case scenario is still a win because I'm researching breaking news stories and I'm turning them into business breakthroughs. As you and I talked about before we started recording, for example, Alex Hermosi's $80 million book launch generating 3 million books sold in a weekend. You know, I researched that. I turned that into a Strategic Basics bit of content to add value to my listeners.

[00:29:46] So that's the worst case is I get more informed on the news and I get more clear and confident delivering that message or sharing tidbits on the podcast that I'm on. And then the best case scenario is I also attract clients. So if I win, I win. And if I lose, I still win. So the same way with your little videos that I'm encouraging you to do, telling the hell to heaven story of your own talent, your purpose and your passion. Why did you start the business?

[00:30:13] Talking about people whose lives you've changed and why this matters to you. And then play with these different structures. I can give a few more, but there are a whole bunch of structures and blueprints in my book, Turn Words Into Wealth. And then as you start to do these videos, the first ones you'll cringe and you'll like, I need to get better lighting. I need to get a better mic. I need to, you know, fix this. But that's okay. Because once you've done a hundred, you'll be so much better and you'll be thanking us for inspiring you to get started. Yeah.

[00:30:43] If there's any excellent advice, Aurora, thank you. And I mean, if there's any way of cutting through the noise right now, it is video. And it probably always will be video because of that power of video. And on that note, I wanted to ask you just, I know we don't have much time left in our interview, but just two more questions. And it sort of comes down to the neuroscience, right? Of this power of video, of why do stories stick in our brains more than facts? This is something you alluded to.

[00:31:08] And as we were prepping for this call and really, you know, getting back to where we started with storytelling, you know, how can we effectively use that? Not just in video, but in sales pages, in emails. Are you recommending that in every email and in every substantial piece of content that it comes down to a story? We begin with the problem. We go to the solution and then we talk about, you know, how we achieved that or is there a formula? And I know that your book has several different formulas that we should be looking at to turn words into wealth.

[00:31:37] But what would be your summary advice for really taking the concepts we've been talking about and then implementing them in your everyday marketing? Yeah, there's more than one formula or structure or blueprint for creating a story. But once you understand the different structures, then I would really invite you to think of every piece of content as using one of those structures, even if it's just one sentence, like the sentence, you know, I help people turn their words into wealth.

[00:32:05] That is a little story. So think of things as a story. Where is the transformation, you know, from a problem to a solution? And the really interesting thing is the more educated people are, kind of the worse they are at it because the university teaches us, you know, focus on the data. But here's the interesting thing. While a lot of people do want money, money is an abstract concept and there's really no emotion.

[00:32:31] The brain, the neuroscience of it, the crock brain, midbrain do not understand abstract concepts like money. But you can paint a word picture saying once you get, you know, to your six figure business or your seven figure business, imagine the holiday that you'll be able to take your spouse on. You'll be able to go to Greece or you'll be able to go, you know, drink your pina coladas

[00:32:55] and in Hawaii, you'll be able to send your kid to that hockey camp or the soccer camps that they really want to go to. You'll be able to buy that nice new car and drive it down and, you know, have your neighbors look at you with envy. Now, by fleshing it out a bit more, we trigger the emotions. So the primary emotions, people all want the same thing. They want status. They want status really more than money. People want to know where they fit in the pecking order and they always want to be just a

[00:33:25] little bit farther ahead. People want respect and they want freedom. So if you just say you'll make more money and you don't drive home the point that it will give you more freedom or that it will allow you to help the people that you love or that it will give you more status, you haven't fully painted a word picture. And here's the other thing of the neuroscience of communication that most people don't understand

[00:33:48] is that when you talk too much about numbers, you are triggering the analyst brain, the engineer brain, the scientist brain. That brain does not buy. The brain that buys is emotional. And then you decide to buy and then people justify with the numbers, which is how people can get confused. Like when I was selling yachts as tax shelter investments back in the day, which one of the

[00:34:18] first businesses that I started, people like I buried, I made a bad mistake. I got so excited about it. I buried people with like a hundred pages of content about how the tax shelter worked and with IT bulletins and letters from lawyers and letters from accountants and, you know, so many spreadsheets. And people were like, whoa, I think she knows what she's talking about, but this is just overwhelming. But when I distilled it into this million dollar message, which was five weeks of sun, fun and

[00:34:47] tax shelter, and then instead of a hundred pages with numbers, beautiful pictures of people on gorgeous boats having fun, then that changed it from a six figure business to seven figure business. And it doubled our profit margins from 12% to 24%. And we became the largest yacht dealership in Western Canada. So that's the benefit of the right message. Five weeks of sun, fun and tax shelter. It's unexpected. It's like, what? Huh?

[00:35:17] Tax shelter? And the five weeks refers to that they would get 10% personal use and then they would rent the boat out and get all these tax savings. So people want what they want and they justify treating themselves to a boat or whatever with logic, but actually they decide emotionally. So we need to, we don't need to do anything, but if you want to move people to take action, it's best to remember to tell a story that triggers emotion.

[00:35:47] That was a great storytelling, but a great story with just lots of takeaways. Or a final question. I know you got to get going as well, but I'm wondering, you were talking about these common messaging mistakes that hold people back from converting more of their audience. And I'm wondering if this is one of them is that they're not, if they're not being emotional enough or triggering emotions. Is that how you answer that? Or is there something else? Yes, exactly. They're not triggering emotion enough and they're also not doing the three steps of neuroscience.

[00:36:15] So in my book, Turnwards Into Wealth, I go into more detail about this, but really quick, you want to first trigger the crock brain, the ancient reptilian brain, which you want to dangle something of interest. Maybe it's a little scary, but not so scary that it shuts down. Then you want to demonstrate social proof that other people are doing this or other people think this is cool. And then you want to add a little bit of content, which could trigger the cerebral cortex. And then the order does matter.

[00:36:44] So an example would be Turn Words Into Wealth. The title is crock brain. You know what category we're talking about. If you're interested in turning words into wealth, you'll be kind of telling me more. Then the midbrain is, you know, it's an award-winning book that won number one book in its category, publishing when it came out, publishing and writing. And then the extra content is, you know, us talking about it. Social proof is also like, I think Neil is worth talking to because I'm showing up on his podcast. He thinks I'm worth talking to.

[00:37:13] That's also social proof. But every time you communicate, you want to communicate what category are we in? Some enticing little bit of pull towards that category, a little bit of social proof, and then a little bit of content, and then check in with the person or shoot another video. You don't have to shoot a one-hour video explaining everything. That's not your best path. Amazing. Aurora, you've been just a wealth of knowledge and experience, entrepreneurial side, marketing side, author side.

[00:37:42] We covered a lot of ground, and I think that for a lot of you, you're probably going to be best served by listening to this again and again and taking notes because there were a lot of golden nuggets there. But Aurora, if people want to reach out to you, find out more about who you help, how you help them, where should I send them? Thanks, Neil. This has been such a joy connecting with you, and you added a lot of great content too. My main webpage for people who are interested in help nailing their million-dollar message, whether or not they write a book, they can go to samepagepublishing.com.

[00:38:11] Same page publishing, because I come on the same side as my client. And they can get a whole bunch of bonuses there absolutely for free, or they can get my book, Turn Words Into Wealth, on Amazon. So samepagepublishing.com or Turn Words Into Wealth on Amazon. Those are your two best bets. Hey, and you got a great marketing book as well. Just one who, marketing fast track. Well, Aurora, this is great. I think the listeners, y'all agree that Aurora is the real deal. It just comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge, and you're very generous with your time.

[00:38:41] So thank you, and yeah, hopefully, since we're both in Los Angeles or the Los Angeles area, we'll have a chance to meet. You're going to Author Nation in November? Yes, we can definitely meet up at Author Nation. Yep, I'll be there as well. Looking forward to it. Thank you so much, Aurora. And hopefully, we can connect in person before that. Yeah, thanks so much for your time, Neil. Well, there you have it. What an incredible conversation. I hope you took notes, because there are so many actionable frameworks in there, from the hell-to-heaven story structure to understanding the neuroscience of why stories stick in

[00:39:09] our brains more than data. That yacht dealership example, where she went from burying people in 100 pages of spreadsheets to creating one clear message that triggered emotion, that is the power of getting your messaging right. Hey, if you enjoyed this episode and you haven't already, I hope you'll make sure to subscribe so you don't miss future ones. I do 50% interviews and 50% solo episodes on those important things that I think you, as

[00:39:38] an entrepreneur, a content creator, a small business owner, needs to know in this vast world of digital marketing, helping you get ROI with each and every episode. I also want to remind you that I have a digital-first group coaching community where we dive deeper into topics like this and help you implement these strategies in your business. You can find more information at neilshafer.com slash membership. All that's up to say is thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Your Digital

[00:40:08] Marketing Coach podcast. This is your digital marketing coach, Neil Schaefer, signing off. You've been listening to Your Digital Marketing Coach. Questions, comments, requests, links, go to podcast.neilshafer.com. Get the show notes to this and 200 plus podcast episodes at neilshafer.com to tap into the 400 plus blog posts that Neil has published to support your business.

[00:40:35] While you're there, check out Neil's Digital First Group Coaching Membership Community if you or your business needs a little helping hand. See you next time on Your Digital Marketing Coach.