Is storytelling relevant when we are talking about writing blog posts? I would say it is. In this post, we are talking about the power of storytelling and we mention 6 great tips to use it in blog posts.
Storytelling is one of the first, if not the first, forms of human entertainment. Ever since humans learned to communicate with each other they would find pleasure in hearing and telling stories. But stories aren’t just for pleasure.
I remember once, when I was around 4 years old, I wanted to run down the street, so I escaped my parents’ attention and started running. What I remember is my parents calling me to stop. But, I was laughing and kept on running faster and faster. Running felt good and kind of funny having my parents chase me.
Once we got back home my parents told me it was a bad thing what I did and I shouldn’t do it again. I agreed and said I was sorry. The next day I did the exact same thing.
That night my parents told me a story about another kid named John. John was around my age and as I did one day he started running down the street away from his parents. John did not get back to his home that day. He ended up in the hospital since he was hit by a car. He broke his leg and could not walk or run for a long time.
I felt sad and sorry about John. I imagined myself in his place and how would something similar affect my life. That night I promised I wouldn’t do it again and from that point on I kept my promise.
This is just a small example of how powerful a story can be.
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Table of Contents
- Why Storytelling is Powerful for Blog Posts?
- When Do We Call a Story Powerful?
- 6 Great Tips to Use Storytelling in Blog Posts
- 1. Use Stories as a Tangible Example You Can Relate to Your Point
- 2. Get Inspired by Yourself, Your Own Experiences and Everything Around You
- 3. Make a Good Use of the Basic Elements of a Powerful Story
- 4. Get Personal so You can Be Relatable
- 5. Use Images and Visual Material
- 6. Explain How Your Story Relates to Your Point
- Final Thoughts on 6 Great Tips to Use Storytelling in Blog Posts
Why Storytelling is Powerful for Blog Posts?
Storytelling can prove its value in so many different ways.
We are all attracted by stories. We seek a good story to carry us away. Stories can teach us at a totally different level and that is because stories can capture our attention right away.
People are awful at remembering and following rules but we can all learn from examples. We can get attached to the story of another human going through a similar experience. It feels easier to follow his road and avoid his mistakes. We can empathize with his suffering and struggles. We can use his example to feel empowered and ready to do what he did to make things happen.
People who usually read blog posts seek useful advice to help them with their problems. Information is why they mainly visit the blog posts. But what they also look for is a form of entertainment. What better tool could you think of to combine both than storytelling?
Relative Reading:
When Do We Call a Story Powerful?
We can easily identify and tell that is a story is powerful when we simply think of those things that made us say we loved a story.
- It could have probably been interesting and entertaining. We probably also felt like we had fun while reading it.
- It might have taught us something.
- We also enjoy stories that we can easily relate ourselves with the protagonists and understand their actions and emotions.
- A powerful story is well organized. It has a beginning, a middle and an end, and carries a message.
- Last but not least, a powerful story is a story you can remember. A story that can stay with you more than just some piece of information.
It is feasible to enrich your posts with stories by following these great tips to use storytelling in your blog posts listed below.
Relative Reading:
6 Great Tips to Use Storytelling in Blog Posts
1. Use Stories as a Tangible Example You Can Relate to Your Point
If you want to write a post about the importance of storytelling in teaching you something, write a story about a story that taught you or someone else something.
If you have a blog that provides information on becoming a better blogger and you want to write about let’s say improving your DA score, then write a story about your struggles while trying to improve it. What could be more relatable than that?
Related: How to Overcome Your Fears Through Daring Choices
2. Get Inspired by Yourself, Your Own Experiences and Everything Around You
No matter how old we are we have all lived plenty of things and we have lots of memories and experiences we can recall to create a story. It doesn’t have to be something huge. It could be anything as long as you can somehow relate it to your main point.
You can also recall stories you already know from books, movies, even the news. You could use stories of some of your friends and their experiences if they suit you. And even if you still have nothing there is always Google. Think of your topic and what kind of story you could relate to it and start Googling.
As I said there is no reason to look for major events and life-changing experiences. If you have some of those and you want to use them it is fine, go on and do it. What I say is that for most cases you may use experiences from which you can stick to some small details and you can create a story.
Related: Try to Fit in This World? Why People Persistently Do So?
3. Make a Good Use of the Basic Elements of a Powerful Story
First of all, what are the elements of the story you might ask? Well, every good story is about a hero or character. Every character has something that he wants or needs to do but there is always a problem or obstacle that he has to overcome. To do so he must take some kind of action. This action that the character takes finally leads to a solution to the problem and to the end of the story.
“Any fiction should be a story. In any story there are three elements: persons, a situation, and the fact that in the end something has changed. If nothing has changed, it isn’t a story.”
Malcolm Cowley
In my simple story, I was the main character. Like every child, I wanted to play but could not understand the danger. I wanted to continue playing but when I confronted the story of the other child and his accident, it made me understand the danger I was not able to understand otherwise. Understanding the danger toughed be that the action I had to take was to take my parents advice and be more careful.
4. Get Personal so You can Be Relatable
The more personal you can be when telling a story the easiest it will be for the readers to relate to your stories. If the readers are able to understand how your character is, feels, and what are the emotional stages he goes through in the story, it will be easier for them to follow his journey.
Related: My 4 Greatest Advantages as a Hyper Sensitive Person
5. Use Images and Visual Material
Try to add images and visualizations to your story so that you can drug your reader into it. Only text can easily become boring and when it comes to blog posts specifically there are so many alternatives to be used except simple text. You may also use infographics or even create a small web story.
6. Explain How Your Story Relates to Your Point
Try to explain how your story relates to your main point. What is the way you translate the meaning of the story you shared with the main point you want to make in your post? Remember you may even use stories that you cannot instantly relate to your main point but when you get to explain it everything can make sense.
Relative Reading:
Final Thoughts on 6 Great Tips to Use Storytelling in Blog Posts
Storytelling is a powerful tool throughout human history. Stories are there to entertain us, inform us, educate us, guide us, etc. Blogging is another form of written work that can take advantage of the art of storytelling. Storytelling can grab your readers’ attention, empower your topic and make your posts unforgettable.
Include storytelling in your posts as a tangible example that can directly relate to your main point. You can find inspiration about your stories in your own life or in the life of your friends and family. Get inspired by everything around you. Everything can be the starting point of a story.
Try to use all the elements of a powerful story and get personal so that the readers will be able to relate with you. Use images and other visualizations to make your story more interesting, and find a way to relate your story with your main point. Even If there is no obvious connection you can create one.
I hope you found these 6 great tips to use storytelling in blog posts helpful.
I would like to know your thoughts. Do you use storytelling in your posts?
Will you start using stories in your blog post? If yes, I can’t wait to read them!
Yay! I like posts that have personal stories in, I like having an insight into writers
Glad you liked it Sarah. Thank you for commenting 🙂
Storytelling in blog posts – Yes! There’s a young lady whose posts I read religiously. Not only is it well written but the personable and relatable touches she includes.
Glad you agree. Thank you for reading and commenting 🙂
Agee that story telling is what makes any communication more effective and engaging. Very informative and helpful post. Thanks!
Glad you liked it. Thank you for commenting 🙂
Good post! I agreed with everything you said. Story telling attracts readers to read your work. Everyone loves story. Thank you for your tips, lovely.
Glad tou enjoyed it and agree with me Fadima. Thank you for commenting ❤️
great post. I love reading blog posts with a story. It makes it more relatable and interesting, plus it has the emotional punch that you often need to sway the reader.
Great tips, I feel like I understand the first tip more. I guess I experience it before. It help us to tell the story better when doing it. Thank you for sharing these tips!
Thank you for reading and commenting Frank!
I love this; it’s a nice reminder how we can all connect with each other, especially through the stories we share. Thanks for this!
I am glad you liked it Molly! Storyloving is a universal language 💜
This was lovely to read, I am quite personable in my posts so it’s nice to know I might actually be doing something right. And being relatable as you mentioned is great to read x
I am sure you do more than one just thing right. Actually, getting personal is something most people avoid doing. So you are greater than you think 😉
I love this post Eri! I got so engrossed with your story about you running at the beginning! These are great tips for keeping our readers engaged with our blog posts.
Glad you liked it Vourneen ❤️
I loved this! Such a great post and so much for me to take away from this. I love the contents section as well – I really should look into that for my longer articles.
Glad you liked it lovely! Thank you for commenting ❤️
I love your approach to using story telling in blog post. Hopefully i can incorporate it in my style of writing to help more of my audience engage with the post.
I am glad you found it useful. Thank you for reading and commenting!
Thank you so much for writing this post! In my life before blogging, I often used storytelling to train people. It was always such a natural way for me to convey information. But for some reason, I am not doing that as easily or naturally in blogging. I think the issue is that I feel like I’m supposed to fit into some sort of mold or something. Why? No reason really. There’s no prescribed way to blog, but as I’m just getting started, I’m still finding my footing. Now that I’m aware of this, I am going to work toward my former self as I agree with your post, it’s such a big part of entertainment and information.
Thanks again!
Cassie | letsgrowmom.com
I am glad you agree with me and found this post triggering enough to start using storytelling in blog posts. Thank you for reading and commenting 🙂
Thank you Jodie!
I love the getting personal tip! That’s my go to!
Thank you for commenting 🙂
I like using story telling in my blog posts, either starting with a story that introduces the lesson the post is about to go into or in list posts breaking down each section with an example of something I’ve learnt from life.
Great to read that James. Thank you for commenting 🙂
You’ve shared some really great tips, thank you so much! I’m always trying to be relatable when writing my blogposts, I think it’s really important for the reader to relate sometimes. Xo
Elle – ellegracedeveson.com
I think so too Elle! Thank you for commenting 🙂
Agreed! It’s a great way to allow readers to relate to you. Great post with good insights! 🙂
Glad you do Andrea. Thank you for commenting 🙂
Yes story telling skills are useful for blog writers. A good personal story will engage readers and make a post relatable.
Glad you agree Jamie. Thank you for commenting 🙂
Some great tips in here Eri and something I always try to do. I imagine that in my blog I am talking to a person and try to make that connection in the writing. I think it makes the difference between reading the first couple of paras before clicking on to something else and actually reading the whole article. I also love actually writing short stories!
Glad to hear that Dorothy. I know, your posts always have a personal touch with a story included. I love it. Thank you for commenting ❤️
WOW thank you for such an awesome post, I consider myself a storyteller, but am new to blogging and found many of your tips very helpful
I am glad you found it helpful and you liked it. Thank you for reading and commenting 🙂
Super article! There are many tips to story telling in an article and you made some valid points. Getting personal with your story telling does make you more relatable and your audience feels as if they can trust you.
I am glad you liked it. Thank you so much for reading and commenting 🙂
Great post Eri, I was just reading a quote from Steve Jobs where he said “the most powerful man in the world is a storyteller” and I couldn’t help but relate to this post. Thank you for the tips. I would start taking notes of storytelling in my blog.
I love this quote Rayo! Thank you for sharing it with us and I am glad you liked this post 💖
I work life stories from my experiences into almost all blog posts these days Eri. People enjoy learning from our experiences because humans connect through their stories; we bond in knowing others have similar experiences and feel fascinated by different experiences. Super post.
Ryan
Exactly Ryan! Thank you for commenting 🙂
Really enjoyed this post and agree regarding the tips on storytelling in writing including blogs. Thank you for sharing this post. 🤗
Pastor Natalie (ExamineThisMoment)
Letstakeamoment.com
Thank you for commenting Natalie 💖
This is a great post! Storytelling is magical. In all instances. It’s one of the only things we have in common with basically ALL of our ancestors – we all tell stories. I think in regards to blog posts, it’s nice to have a bit of back story and storytelling involved. Although it might depend on the topic – I guess not ALL content types need it. But those that do it definitely makes the reader experience nicer!
I am glad you enjoyed it Jenny. Thank you for reading and commenting!
I’m a big fan of Lisa Cron! Thanks for the storytelling tips.
Thank you Sue!
I enjoy reading posts that have stories in them including yours! These are all great tips to follow & I’ll have to incorporate more stories in my posts.
I sm glad you liked it. Thank you for commenting!
You shared great tips here! I like this point Explain How Your Story Relates to Your Point