Yesterday, I explained—with proof—why almost everything you know about “storytelling” is wrong.
❌ there is no proven “formula”
❌ no one knows why and how to make a story go viral
❌ the story structure, think hero journey, matters very little
Then, I ended the email with a challenge –
I want you to come up with your OWN answer on why you think certain stories, like Titanic, go viral… and more importantly, how you can adapt it for your business.
(If you haven’t read yesterday’s email, do that first. I’ll wait 7 seconds.)
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Done? Good.
Let me share my answer:
Let’s look at the Titanic, for example…
If you ask a Titanic fan what they remember most about the movie…
No one will say, “the plot.”
Because, as I mentioned yesterday, the plot makes very little difference. There are at least 10x more movies that flop following the exact same “romance arc.”
What people will tell you about the scene where…
Jack and Kate stood at the head of the boat “flying” with the ocean breeze… while James Horner’s music softly played in the background, melting the audience’s hearts.
Or…
They’ll talk about how Jack approached Kate at the boat rail, convincing her to step back with a simple promise. “You jump, I jump.”
Or…
They’ll let out a creepy smile, and describe the moment when Kate dropped her cloth, lay naked on the couch, asking Jake to draw her.
Or…
They’ll recall the final moment when Jake and Kate drifted on the wooden door, surrounded by floating ice, as Jake fell into an eternal sleep and sank into the dark ocean. (And maybe even laugh at how Kate is so fat that she would even spare a room on the board.)
The point is –
People don’t talk about the story.
They talk about a handful of memorable scenes.
Scenes like when Tony Stark snapped his finger, claiming, “I am Iron Man.” Or Arnold Schwarzenegger taunting, “I will be back” in a cold, robotic tone in The Terminator.
The more memorable scenes you have in one movie, the more likely it is to go viral. And that is the true secret to why a story goes viral.
This is what I call: Snapshot Storytelling
Instead of trying to sell a full story…
You focus on a snapshot. A single scene that is memorable, insightful, transformative, or entertaining.
This is especially useful when it comes to storytelling in “marketing.” Because you don’t need to fill a theater for 2 hours. You just need to capture the prospect’s attention for a split minute.
But here’s the problem with Snapshot Storytelling –
NO ONE KNOWS WHICH SCENE WILL GO VIRAL
Because if we “know”…
Then, again, every Hollywood movie would be a homerun.
Instead of a sad sub 10% success rate.
(okay, maybe there are a few talented souls—such as Steven Spielberg—who can “sense” how a scene might go viral… but 99% of people can’t)
Now, I’m going to end this email with another challenge for you:
IF no one can guarantee a scene will become memorable (and has the potential to go viral)… what can we do to solve this problem?
I’ll share the simplest solution tomorrow.
To be continued…
– WYH