The journey is the story. Your ideal client is the hero.
Carl Jung once observed that there have been only seven stories ever told in the history of the world.
Can you name them all? Scroll down for the list!
In his 2004 book, “The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories,” author Christopher Booker posited that, "However many characters may appear in a story, its real concern is with just one: its hero. It is the one whose fate we identify with, as we see them gradually developing towards that state of self-realization which marks the end of the story. Ultimately it is in relation to this central figure that all other characters in a story take on their significance. What each of the other characters represents is really only some aspect of the inner state of the hero himself."
Don’t Be a Hero
The reason this is important for content development and marketing more generally is that, too often, the language we tend to use in marketing and advertising puts ourselves as the hero in the journey — the one coming to the rescue of the client or customer.
When, in reality, the client, customer or prospect truly only cares about his or her own journey…their own challenges, aspirations and coveted conquests.
Whether you are able to come to the rescue, solve a problem, or achieve an aspiration is secondary. And the reader’s interest in that secondary narrative needs to be earned by first demonstrating your understanding of, and connection with, the hero’s primary narrative.
Remember to put the user/reader/viewer as the hero of the plot in the stories you tell. Your content will resonate more authentically and have greater impact.
If you’re curious what these seven basic plot types are, Booker catalogues them like this:
Overcoming the Monster
Rags to Riches
The Quest
Voyage and Return
Comedy
Tragedy
Rebirth
What story does your ideal client want to be the hero in? Tell that story, and you may end up the hero after all.
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