I bet you know how storytelling can make your marketing more relatable, memorable, and impactful, increasing your chances of creating loyal customers.
Is it easy? Well, it seems easy, but it does take practice to perfect.
In this post, I’ll talk about 5 storytelling techniques that will grab your audience’s attention and make your marketing better and unforgettable in 2025.
So keep reading!
1. Jump Right Into the Action
Nobody wants to read 5 to 10 paragraphs of background before getting to the good stuff.
What I mean is, imagine you’re telling a friend about something surprising that happened recently.
You don’t start with “Well, I woke up at 7 AM, had my coffee…”
No! You jump straight to “So there I was, walking down Main Street downtown…”
I’ve actually experienced the same thing.
As someone who consumes content, I like watching YouTube videos that get straight to the point. If a video spends 5 to 10 minutes on background info before telling me what I came for, I usually click away.
And that’s exactly what this technique is all about.
People don’t want to sit through a long setup, they want to be pulled in right away. That’s why jumping straight into the action makes a huge difference, it keeps people from losing interest.
I think this technique works well across different types of content, but the goal here is to get to the point quickly and offer something that hooks your audience from the beginning.
2. Use Dialogues
For the longest time, I was scared to use dialogue in content. I thought it would seem unprofessional or something. But was I wrong?
Here’s an example of using dialogues effectively: Imagine a marketing agency was creating content for a fitness app.
Instead of writing “Users found the app motivating,” they included actual user dialogue: “Every time I hit a new personal record, the app celebrates with me like a personal cheerleader!”
This simple quote became the centerpiece of their entire campaign.
You get the idea here, right?
Though, quick side note: make sure you are actually allowed to use people’s quotes.
3. Create Conflict
This is where things get interesting, and where a lot of us get nervous. We’re so used to wanting everything to look perfect that we shy away from talking about problems or challenges.
But here’s the thing: that’s exactly what makes a story worth telling!
I mean, think about it. Every good movie, book, or even TikTok has some kind of conflict.
Think about a TikTok video that begins with “I quit my job to start a business… and I just made my first sale!”
A Twitter thread starts with “We launched our new product last week, and everything that could go wrong… did.”
Or a MrBeast video: “I’ve gathered 50 of the biggest YouTubers on the planet, and whichever one lasts the longest in this cube wins that million dollars for their subscribers.
These challenges pull people in because they create some kind of conflict. You’re immediately hooked because you want to know who will win, what challenges they’ll face, and if any surprises will happen along the way.
When we use this in our marketing stories, it helps people feel more connected and interested in what we’re saying.
4. Show, Don’t Tell
Writing something like “Our customers love our product” doesn’t really tell you much.
It’s boring and doesn’t give you a real picture of what happened.
I’m not saying it’s completely bad, but here’s a better way to say it: “When we showed Tom our product, he couldn’t stop smiling. He turned to his team and said, ‘Guys, this is exactly what we’ve been looking for!’ while showing them how easy it was to use.”
It’s all about finding what works best. Adding lots of details can make your story more interesting, but too many details can make people lose interest.
I think it’s better to focus on the exciting parts and keep the rest simple.
5. Use Pacing
I like to call it the “Netflix Effect”.
You know how Netflix shows are really good at making you want to watch just one more episode? That’s all about pacing.
And we can totally steal that technique for marketing!
Let me show you what I mean with a simple example. Think about writing about a new project management tool. You might start by explaining what it does in detail:
“Our new project management tool helps you plan your work better by looking at your team’s schedule and figuring out the best way to get things done…”
Then you can switch to quick, personal feedback or stories from customers:
“We get back 10 hours every week!”
“Our meetings are so much shorter now.”
“Finally, I can stop using messy spreadsheets!”
See what I did there? I started with a longer explanation, then switched to short, snappy comments.
Simply put, pacing is how quickly or slowly a story moves forward.
Just like when your favorite TV show ends with something exciting that makes you want to keep watching, you can use the same trick in your marketing.
I’ve been experimenting with this lately in our blog posts.
Instead of making every section the same length and detail level, I try to mix it up.
Sometimes I’ll go deep into a technical explanation, but then I’ll follow it with a quick example or analogy. Or I’ll build up to a big reveal slowly, then hit readers with several quick insights in a row.
The trick is… well, I’m not sure there is one specific trick. It’s more about feeling the natural rhythm of your story and not being afraid to switch things up.
Sometimes I’ll read my content out loud (in my mind, so my neighbors don’t think I’m weird) to see if the pacing feels natural.
Final Words
At the end of the day, these storytelling techniques aren’t rocket science. They’re just tools we can use to make our marketing more human, more relatable, and honestly, more fun to create.
I’m still learning and experimenting with all of this stuff myself. Sometimes it works beautifully, and sometimes, well, let’s just say I’m glad WordPress has an option to edit our posts after publishing.
And if you mess up sometimes? That just gives you another story to tell.
Both the wins and the learning opportunities (aka failures).
Happy storytelling!
