Welcome to the Story Bistro blog!
Our most recent posts have been cued up for your enjoyment. This month, our focus is on blooming and deepening our online relationships.
(See the footer at the bottom of this page to browse by category.)
How to Attract Your Perfect Customers (and Keep Them Coming Back for More)
What was the last purchase you absolutely loved? See it in your mind's eye. Feel the feelings (again) of finding it, buying it, using it. I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours... For me, one of the best ways to spend money is at my local Farmers' Market. It's not...
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The Evolution of Story Bistro (and other Juicy Tidbits)
Do you know Kim Doyal (aka The WordPress Chick)? She's got a super fun podcast that you should totally check out. Especially this week cuz I was her most recent guest. Listen in and if you have any questions, drop them into the comments here -- or there -- and I'll be...
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April Blog Challenge: Teachable Moments
Tell us a story! Sometimes finding inspiration -- at least where your business blog's concerned -- can feel a bit like trying to touch your elbow to your nose (frustrating at worst, just plain laughable at best). I hear from a lot of you that you're not sure what you...
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Storytelling à la Reality TV: What The Next Food Network Star can teach you about marketing
10 Quantum Leap Actions to Create a Stand-Out Brand
Ten Lords a-Leaping... It’s Day 10 of the 12 Days of Branding. If you missed any of the series thus far, you can find them here. In today’s installment I give you ten quantum leap actions from ten "Lords" of branding on how to create a stand-out brand. Laura Ries...
read more![[Infographic] Solopreneurs: How We Market Online – 2012 Survey Results](http://storybistro.com/wp-content/uploads/food-growth-400x250.jpg)
[Infographic] Solopreneurs: How We Market Online – 2012 Survey Results
What We're Doing, What's Working and What's Not Created from survey data collected from nearly 1,200 respondents during June 2012. A full length research report is also available. For more, click here. Embed this Infographic <a...
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Don’t Read the Instruction Manual: It’s Time to Improvise
Growing up in a Mormon family, I was encouraged to learn things that would develop me into the perfect wife and homemaker. How to make jam. How to sew. How to play with barbies. You know, girly things. And there were always lots of instructions for these things. A...
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Small Business Pickles: a True Tale of Trust and Betrayal
na·ive [nah-eev] adjective having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous: She's so naive she believes everything she reads. It's easy to see looking through the rear-view mirror that one of my biggest life lessons is trust. Who to trust....
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Features vs. Benefits: The Stories that Produce Sales
It’s All About YOU
(and WHO is that, exactly?) And now for something completely different. Rather than hear from me, I'd like to get to know you. Here's how to play: Introduce yourself and your business to the rest of the world in a comment below. Include any links to your website...
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Brainfluence: An Interview with the Author
Roger Dooley, the author of Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing, stopped by the Word Cafe for a quick chat about his new book. Here are the highlights: TS: How did you get started with neuromarketing, Roger? RD: Practically my...
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Why Mistakes aren’t as Evil as You Think
This is a guest post by one of our own Word Chef tribe members, Matthew Turner. Mistakes have a really bad reputation, and that's something I hope to change. I'm not suggesting you make them on purpose, because trust me, you don't have to -- they'll find you...
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Ask Tad: How Do I Start Conversations Online?
Ask Tad: How Do I Start Conversations Online? A note from Tea (aka The Chef): Bartenders are fabulous listeners, and Tad is one of the best. If you've got a question related to listening, conversations, or developing relationships with your prospective clients, he'd...
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Yes, We’re Overrun with Fear, Violence and Fuckery. Here’s How We Turn that Around.
Our world is seriously crazy. (And getting worse every day.) In just the last month, nearly 100 people have been shot dead in the U.S. (see Gun Violence). Every time you turn around, someone else is (rightly) up in arms about sexual harassment and gender violence (see...
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The Golden Triangle of Coffee Joints: A Marketing Parable
Got Resistance? That’s FABulous. Let’s Use it.
“In a troubled time, you must become that which you are longing for.” – Stephen Jenkinson, Orphan Wisdom School Do you know? When I'm caught up in the world's chaos and anarchy, I long for peace. I want things to be OKAY. I want my son and my husband to find their...
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More Stories Means More Readers (Plus, 15 Stories You Should Be Telling)
It happened again this morning. (Sometimes it feels like Groundhog Day around here.) Groggy-eyed, I opened my email to find that someone else was talking about the power of storytelling. Again. In case you hadn't noticed, "storytelling" is the latest craze. It's the...
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Gratitude, Goals and a Turkey Day Business Tip
Gratitude is everywhere this time of year. Especially online. I've seen posts on Facebook every day since Nov 1st (it's that 30 Days of Gratitude thing). Twitter is clogged with #Gratitude tweets. And today, multiple posts around the blogosphere hit my RSS feed. There...
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5 Goldenly Creative Ways to Tell Your Brand Story
Five Go~lden Rings! It’s Day 5 of the 12 Days of Branding. If you missed any of the series thus far, you can find them here. In today’s installment we look at 5 creative examples of how to tell your brand story. One of the easiest places to tell your story is the...
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On Rattlesnakes, Marketing and Building a Business
Rattlesnakes have a bit of a reputation. You might even call it a "brand." Their collective brand includes stories that usually end in life and death scenarios. Very much a "handle with care" kind of item, right? So if I offered you the chance to EAT one, how would...
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Copy Writing that Sells: The Starter Recipe
This post was originally published on WPProBusiness.com During the Gold Rush, the Boudin family, well known master Bakers from France, came to the San Francisco area. They discovered that the sourdough yeast cultures there were very unique and they eventually became...
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The Story of Our Pricing: My Experiment With the Gift Economy (and Your Invitation to Join Me)
What story does your pricing tell about you and your business? In the past, experts said if you wanted to position yourself as high quality or even luxury, you'd better price your product high. Why? Because higher prices tell your potential customers your stuff is...
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You Don’t Need to Be Seduced (And Neither Do Your Clients)
[A poem] This isn't a sales page with secret voodoo marketing tricks. The truth is there are no secrets. And you don't need to be seduced, cajoled, or hypnotized. Your body and your heart know what's best for you and your business. I'm here to listen deeply. And help...
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True Stories: How to Fully Prepare for Your Next Presentation
I was just eight years old when my father handed me the little hardcover book of inspirational stories and said, "You get to give a three-minute talk next month at church. This will help." For those not familiar with the Mormon ways, every member of the congregation...
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Wordalicious: How to Choose the Tastiest Words to Tell Your Story
"Words, are our most inexhaustible source of magic. They are our most potent forms of enchantment. Rich with the power to hurt or heal." -- Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Yes, words have a great deal of power. Here's a short video that illustrates...
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How to Find and Hire the Right Marketing Coach
When you're a solopreneur, freelancer or small business owner, your marketing budget will naturally be tight. So how do you find the right person to help you reach your goals? I've certainly got my opinions on the matter. But I thought I'd ask some of my esteemed...
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The Downton Abbey Guide to Building a Passionate Tribe
You may not know Lady Gaga from Lady Grantham. Yet. But the odds are good that you do. Why? Because Downton Abbey is one of the most popular British sensations to hit the US (and the world) since...well, The Beatles. And it’s not just because the characters have funny...
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