Seth Erickson
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Summary
Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.
Now on to my guest for today, Seth Erickson of Storify Agency.
Storify Agency uses principles of storytelling to help startups communicate. Seth’s agency was originally a website design agency - a successful one at that. But Seth realized that ultimately the website designs weren’t bringing in customers for his clients, so he went on his own hero’s journey to figure out why. He dove into the science and art of storytelling, and what he learned is documented in his book, How to Hack Humans: Storytelling for Startups.
What Seth found is that there is scientific proof for why and how stories are the optimal way to connect with others. When his agency takes on a client, they find out who they are and what their story is, and then work with them on reshaping their messaging to best communicate their story. Seth is heavily influenced by Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, and he explains how often a company fails to understand that they need to position themselves as the mentor rather than the hero, the one who goes out and learns something, and then brings it back to help others.
Now, let’s get better together.
Actionable Insights
Erickson offers the following advice:
- Ask yourself how risk averse you are. Entrepreneurs must be ready to take risks and know that nothing is guaranteed.
- Ask yourself, “How can I be a better communicator?” Erickson acknowledges that he wishes he’d asked himself this question much sooner.
- Learn to be a better storyteller. Ultimately, learning how to tell a story will help you connect with investors, customers, the people you work with and the people who work for you.
Links to Explore Further
Other books mentioned:
- Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell - and Live - the Best Stories Will Rule the Future
- Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life
- Find out more about Joseph Campbell, author of Hero with a Thousand Faces, here.
