A while back I picked up Shawn Driscoll’s kindle book on Love-Based Business Models. I’ve read a lot of books on that topic and frankly wondered how these models might help a real live business owner.
Then Shawn told a story about an executive coach she calls “Sharon,” someone who’d been advised to start a blog and write a book.
Sharon found these activities tedious and frustrating, as well as unprofitable. She wanted to be “out and about,” connecting with thought leaders.
After taking Shawn’s assessment, Sharon realized she scored low on qualities related to creating information products and off the chart on qualities relating to building relationships and inspiring others. She found ways to get in front of potential clients in live settings. Her business took off.
That story clarified exactly how Shawn’s system of business models would benefit my clients (and me, too). It would be hard to communicate the value of Shawn’s system without a story.
For some business challenges, you’ll need more than a short story.
Let’s say you help clients manage big installations of software. Or you help clients find ways to scale their existing businesses, even those that seem unscalable.
The best way to confound the skeptics will be to write up a case study. You’ll attract serious interest because case studies are viewed as news – not sales. And you’ll captivate your audience because a case study is a very special form of a story.
Case studies seem to be gaining in popularity. About 13% of companies use them, according to Hubspot. There’s no better way to claim your authority and demonstrate what you actually do.
Yet many small businesses feel overwhelmed by the idea of writing a case study. “Isn’t that for big businesses and academics?” they ask.
Actually, small businesses can use case studies. You don’t need a big topic – just a way to show that you helped a client in a way that materially affected their bottom line.
You don’t need a lot of copywriting – just an outline of what you need to cover. once you understand what goes into a case study, you can easily develop questions for interviews.
To address these questions, I put together a half-hour training call, where wed talk about how small businesses can benefit from case studies.. Click here to sign up now.
And download this free 7-Step Guide To Writing Your Lead-Generating Case Study. It’s designed to take the mystery out of creating what could be your most effective marketing content.
