Don't Tell Stories, Build a World!

The Missing Link

The lack of connection between your stories. They act as isolated little islands on the sea.

Cool spot but far away from each other. Only a few people can land on those. And they can\’t even see the other people on the next island you\’ve built.

So what can you do?

One thing for sure is that you can\’t continue like that. As the saying goes: you can expect different results if you keep doing the same things.

Do I mean that you should stop telling stories?

Not at all, there are powerful and work wonders. The better storyteller you\’ll be, the highest your success will be.

It\’s not the issue.

The problem is content fragmentation.

it\’s exhausting (because you don\’t get the results you want) and inefficient (because it\’s not coherent).

By now you may see where I am going with all this.

You have to solve this fragmentation issue.

Like in the old days (like a few years ago), you had to defragment your hard drive or your computer will slow down.

You have to defragment your stories to connect them.

This is also called worldbuilding by fiction writers.

You encapsulate your stories in a coherent world where they will live.

And you create portals to your world with each piece you create.

Portals that allow your audience to enter and discover what you create, your vision.

They might like it or not.

But those who will like it will stick longer. They will want to stay in this world they enjoy for a bit.

And you are there to make the experience more pleasing by adding more stories, and more connections (roads) between them. And show them cool places where they can achieve the transformation they seek (your offers: from an article to a course or a book).

Here is what it could look like:

At some point, when you have enough material, you can literally create a map and share it with your audience.

And offer them paths to navigate your world.

Keep in mind that they are at different stages of their journey (stages of awareness in marketing terms), thus showing them different paths and shortcuts.

For example, you could create a long email sequence to educate your audience and include links to specific destinations (products or content) so they can jump directly to the next step.

How to Build Your World

Now it\’s time to see how you can build this world of yours.

1rst approach: from a single block to a whole city

This is a good way if you have no idea about what world to build.

As Linkin Park would say in their song \”in the end\”: \”It starts with one\”

(Good song that fits well the creator\’s journey!)

In our case, it starts with one story, in written or video form.

Then you add a new one and a third.

And many more. The more you create, the better. You\’ll map out your natural curiosities with stories and gather data.

• Data from readers who give feedback (beware of overvaluing likes).

• Data from you: you should start to see an overall theme emerging from what you create. This can be very broad or narrower.

You develop self-awareness by taking action when you create and you take breaks to reflect. Check on your feelings, and identify patterns.

For example, you realize that you particularly enjoy writing about relationships at the workplace.

By looking at all your content, you have a majority of them about this topic. And you get more quickly in the flow when you create this type of content. You feel energized and able to write or talk about it endlessly.

You can then narrow down around this topic and build more consciously your world, building after building, block after block, until you have in front of you a whole city.

Use a framework: Science-Politics-Culture

I learned about this framework at TinyLittleBusinesses.

I encourage you to discover this website full of interesting perspectives on marketing, far from the typical stuff we (still) see online.

Sooo… to build a world using this framework, you have to consider 3 components: science, politics, and culture.

Science is the values that rule your word. The unbreakable laws, like the physical laws of the universe (gravity, electromagnetism for example).

In my case, that would include:

• Treat everyone independently of their background with compassion and kindness

• Aim to be as helpful as possible

• Humans >>> money

• Freedom over income

Rather choose them carefully because we must stick with them.

Otherwise, we’ll upset our audience and lose them.

Politics is the game of power in your word. Who are the main influencers, the networks, and how your audience is treated by the leaders?

For example, in the productivity market, you will find creators such as Ali Abdaal or Tomas Frank, companies such as Notion or ClickUp, and authors such as Tim Ferris and Brian Tracy.

They are using different media, strategies and networks to exert their influence.

Ali and Thomas are using YouTube, Notion is big on the community that promotes their product for them, and Tim Ferris uses books, interviews, and YouTube to convey his ideas.

Culture is about the life and identity of your audience. What are their struggles, values, and feelings, and how you can provide solutions aligned with who they are?

The language or jargon that you will use to create a sense of belonging, one of the essential human needs according to Maslow.

Five-Step Framework Exercise

Here\’s an exercise put this framework into action and get its benefit to you (and your audience).

I’ve created a Notion template to help you do those exercises.

Step 1: Divide a document into three columns and title those columns Science, Politics, and Culture. (or use the Notion template!)

Step 2: Make a list of 3-5 values that guide your business decision-making and put those in the Science column.

Step 3: Answer the following questions for the Politics column:

• Who are the dominant players in your market?

• Who are the well-known personalities in your market?

• What are the most common ways that your audience is marketed and sold to?

Step 4: Answer the following questions for your Culture column:

• What are the significant problems you can help your audience solve?

• What are the meaningful desires you can help your audience achieve?

• What emotions are driving your audience\’s decisions?

Step 5: Expand (and refine) these lists over time. Ask questions, solicit feedback, and listen very carefully to what your audience tells you.

Don\’t delay taking action while you are in the right context. That\’s how you\’ll be the most productive

Forge an identity

Here is an extra tip for you: choose a name for your community, your world. Even a silly one. A name your people will identify with and feel recognized.

You can use the \”us vs them\” tactic (without developing tribalism please!) or a totally made-up name.

2 examples from communities/worlds I am part of that illustrate both options:

• “SEO for the rest of us”

• “Nutloafs” (online business education)

So what’s your name?

Conclusion

Building a world seems daunting at first, but if you follow a few rules and do the exercises I shared, it will be much easier than it appears.

This is largely underrated by creators.

It is your chance to stand out and make any competition irrelevant.

Last tip: don\’t forget to maintain the building and the roads.

Things change, you\’ll have to update your world if you want to keep its inhabitants.

Happy building!

Be great,

Frank

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