Successful marketers don’t talk about themselves. They don’t talk about their company goals and their future in their marketing campaigns. Instead, they fulfill their customer’s needs and wants by telling a story.

What is the difference between a Mercedes Benz and a Volkswagen? When you think about it both cars are comprised of the same components like the engine, ignition system, car battery, steering wheel, and other critical components.

But why do you feel a sense of satisfaction when you hear the soft and classy thud of your Mercedes and ignore the thud from your Volkswagen. And for that matter, why do you feel that you’ve made it to the top when you’re driving around in a Mercedes? The answer is simple: you believed the story that Mercedes Benz told the world.

People have a certain need to hear stories, stories that marketers need to tell them. But people don’t simply need, they demand. They want vivid images to be painted from them and images that will give them their identity. Beware though, if your story is inaccurate, it crosses the line between telling a tale and committing fraud.

In the online environment, the rules stay the same. You need to tell a fascinating story to your target market. Here are some tips on how you can tell a tale people will believe in internet marketing:

1. Never tell people their worldview is wrong – consumers don’t want you to tell them they’re wrong. And even if they realize their mistake, their unlikely to be grateful enough to buy products or services from you (this is not the case when you’re selling some wicked “get rich in 10 minutes” e-book and need to tell your potential buyers that they’re poor idiots without your book, who will have to go to work everyday for the rest of their lives).
2. Use tales that match their existing beliefs – related to number one, you don’t tell people they’re wrong, you need to match their beliefs. If people think that Brad Pitt is hot, don’t tell them otherwise. Use their pre-existing beliefs to your advantage by making it become your selling point.
3. Make your marketing story “retellable” – people want to share interesting, humorous, or entertaining stories to their friends. Make your story easily exciting, shocking, and memorable and you can tap into the power of word-of-mouth marketing as well.

Telling stories people will believe is difficult especially on the internet. But by making sure that your story is something that people want to believe already brings you one step ahead of the competition.

Related posts:

1. 30 Ways to Get Your Small Internet Business Noticed
2. What You Do Has Nothing to Do With How You Sell It
3. Your Marketing Message
4. Want to be a Good Marketer? Make People Feel Unhappy
5. No More Free Internet?