Posts

How to sell something bigger than your otherwise boring business

/in , , /by

It isn’t every day that I hop on a Skype call with a startup founder who is so blunt.

“We don’t sell online forms. We make organizations more productive,” he subtly corrects me. “It’s a deceptively small difference. After all, who cares about boring surveys? I started JotForm 13 years ago, and even I’m not passionate about forms.”

I had never heard of JotForm. Yet another website you can use to build surveys, was my first impression.

An arrogant assumption, yes — I probably could have benefited from doing some research before our call — but I knew Google Forms at least. And I knew TypeForm, which was announcing one investment round after another; they were the cool kids within startup circles.

What I didn’t know, however, was how meeting JotForm’s founder Aytekin was about to change everything I knew about doing business.

What’s beyond your otherwise boring business?

The charts Aytekin shares on his screen make me notice an interesting insight: the numbers of both paid and free users of his company, whose name I had never even heard before, were high. Indeed, they were way higher than those of their competitors who showed off their public figures on the frontage of TechCrunch.

Aytekin grew JotForm to over 5 million users without a single dime in outside funding.

VC money. Silicon Valley. Being a cool kid within startup circles or spending a fortune on PR agencies to announce investment rounds. None of these things interested him.

It was selling “organizational productivity,” not “boring forms,” that he was obsessed with — a mentality that focused entirely on making customers more productive and, eventually, successful. As he shares in a 2018 post:

“We operate in an overly crowded industry, where even Google is gunning for our market share. And our competitors are always pushing to ‘elevate’ forms. They write edgy web copy about AI and conversations. Some even claim that forms are dead, while others try to coin one fancy term after another. That’s fine. They can focus on the cool factor. But our customers just want to do business, and do it well. How do we know? By asking — and listening closely. Focusing on the customer (not the competition) brought us over 1 million new signups last year alone.”

Instead of shoving his product down people’s throats, Aytekin sells “something bigger”: they make organizations more productive. And selling such customer success has been growing his JotForm empire by over 50,000 users per month.

But enough with Aytekin and those boring forms. Let’s get straight to what interests us in all this:

What does it actually mean to sell something bigger, especially when it comes to applying it to day-to-day business?

And how do you find your own “something bigger” in the first place?

What “something bigger” actually means

Selling something bigger means capturing attention by selling an idea that is bigger than a thing, not capturing dollars by (hard) selling a thing.

At Growth Supply, we call the “something bigger” your “core narrative.”

Your core narrative is what you sell beyond your product. It’s the broad idea behind your otherwise selfish brand.

Defining a core narrative helps you to sell your product without shoving it down people’s throats. It informs behavior across your entire company as the business grows and evolves. Teams who otherwise run around like headless chickens finally understand the company story and work towards a clear north star that guides where they are going.

Turn to any industry and you’ll find proof that selling something bigger is not only powerful, but wildly profitable. In an earlier essay, I explained the core narrative philosophy over different examples and then took a closer look at Slack and Intercom, two of today’s fastest-growing startups.

Remember how Intercom doesn’t hard-sell its otherwise boring chatbot apps. Their core narrative is “to make internet business personal” and this narrative informs behavior across their entire company, from deciding what features to release, to guiding all their departments, including their:

  • Content teams: Instead of writing blog posts about how to send auto messages with Intercom (hard sell), they talk about crafting messages to engage your customers (go beyond hard sell). And according to their founder Des Trainer, such value-driven (not product-driven) blogging has been their most effective weapon.
  • Growth teams: Your core story not only helps everyone understand what the company does, but also what it shouldn’t do. For Intercom’s growth team, sticking to their narrative (i.e., making internet business personal) means refusing any growth tactic that isn’t human. This is visible in everything they do, including why they think growth hacking is BS.
  • Customer support & partnerships: In “How to tell your company story,” Intercom’s head of platform partnerships shares how their narrative helps them weed out candidates even when it comes to hiring people for their support team.

To find your core narrative, find out what success looks like for your customers and help them get there

Caring about your customers’ success is good for business because customers don’t care about your business. But they do care about being successful, impressing their boss or living a better life.

That’s why going beyond your otherwise selfish brand begins by finding out what success looks like for users and then crafting a narrative that will help them get there.

There’s a subtle but vital difference, though:

This isn’t about helping them get better at using your product, it’s about helping them get better at what they do in their professional and personal lives.

  • The widely popular social media company Buffer doesn’t hard-sell its otherwise boring scheduling tool. Nobody cares about getting better at using a new feature that will revolutionize social media scheduling technology. People care about growing their social media audience (and, eventually, their business).
  • Same goes for most other businesses. Take the photo editing app VSCO. People don’t care about becoming an expert at photo presets, contrast or image saturation. They want beautiful photos that will impress others.

Some businesses (e.g., one selling an image compressor tool) can survive without a core narrative. After all, every case is unique. But why not start with a humble exercise?

Whatever it is that you are doing, try filling in the blanks in a simple template like the one below:

We don’t sell [insert your core business here], we [insert the benefit for your customers].

Examples:

  • We don’t sell [furniture storage space], we [deliver peace of mind]
  • We don’t sell [yet another chat software], we [transform organizations]

You don’t have to be a business to apply such thinking. Designers, bloggers, freelancers — anyone can craft their own north star.

Call it your core narrative, mission, overarching goal, or north star.

Using the phrase “core narrative” isn’t to impress our clients with some complicated jargon. But when working with companies, especially those in a later stage of growth, we’ve found that business terms like “mission” or “mission-driven” can lack clarity on what they actually mean.

Those terms look beautiful on paper but many people also find them too fluffy or academic. And it becomes hard to apply them to day-to-day business when only a few people take them seriously.

Using the term “narrative” is interesting as it also adds the “story” angle to what you are doing. And this makes it easy for everyone in your organization to understand and sell (I mean, tell) your company story across all touchpoints.

A core narrative equips your customers to achieve results in their professional and personal lives.

It empowers them.

And in the meantime, it also guides your product decisions. As Public.com’s CEO Leif Abraham puts it, for narrative-driven companies, it’s a huge advantage to be able to quickly kill ideas in order to stay on track for the long-term:

“In turn, if you don’t have that clear north star to guide you to where you’re going, the signals you get along the way will drive where you’ll be in the future. This creates a huge risk that you’ll end up building a product that is a Frankenstein of features and a team that marches in all directions.”

Take a look at Buffer’s latest product, Reply, which empowers people to provide top-notch customer service on social media. If Buffer was stuck with their social media scheduling features, the idea of a product like Reply could never cross their mind. But as mentioned, nobody cares about a new feature that will revolutionize social media scheduling. People want to grow their social media audience (and, eventually, their business); hence, Buffer’s decision to launch Reply, a product that goes beyond social media scheduling by helping people to deliver social media customer support.

Any business can sell (tell) a core narrative

If your company sells accounting software, you are not actually selling account software; you’re giving your customers freedom to focus on building a product they love instead of wasting their lives with all the hassle of accounting.

You are selling them a better life, often a better version of themselves. And when you base your core narrative on such customer success, you stop doing dangerous, egocentric things to your customers. You move from writing self-promotional newsletters or hard-sell homepage copy to delivering true value that genuinely helps them get better at what they do.

Caring about your customers’ success is good for business because customers don’t care about your business.

Selling something bigger gives you a chance to make them care by selling an idea that is bigger than a thing, not capturing dollars by (hard) selling a thing.

And that something bigger is your core narrative. It’s the broad idea behind your otherwise selfish brand.

If you ever decide to run a paddle sports shop where people can rent kayaks and canoes, remember very few people care about kayak design or reinforced resin paddles.

They want to soak up a summer afternoon. Spend time with people they love. Feel the warm breeze and stretch their desk-bound muscles.

Don’t sell boats. Sell time on the water.

If you learn to write, you can change your life.

/in , , /by

The corpse was so well-preserved that they thought it was fresh.

6th of May, 1950, Denmark.

Local workers found a man completely submerged in peat, arranged in a fetal position. They named him the Tollund Man.

On his head was a cap. Around his waist, a belt. There was a leather noose around his neck. Apart from that, he was naked.

Following a forensic examination, scientists discovered 40 different grains in his stomach: his last meal.

This grisly trail of clues led to widespread public pondering.

Why was he naked? What’s with the mixed-grain porridge? And why did he have to die?

Some evidence gave conclusive answers: he died in the 4th century BC. He was roughly 40 years old.

But other theories emerged, too. That the man was a farmer who had been executed to appease the gods. The grains in his stomach were part of the sacrifice, to encourage crops to grow.

Or maybe he was just a wandering nudist in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We’ll never truly know.

But, as humans, we’ll continue to project stories on absolutely everything. Research consistently shows that, from activating language centers to releasing organic chemicals such as oxytocin, our brains love storytelling.

The Tollund Man couldn’t be a random corpse. We had to give him a name, a history, a life. Stories. They move people. And moving people is magical.

The secret of moving crowds from your couch

I first realized the power of storytelling back in 2014. From my little desk in my little room from the middle of nowhere, I was publishing stories that generated more traffic than by those companies with an army of writers.

It was true. Writing was the most radical thing you could do without spending any money. My stories were traveling the world while I slept, searching for opportunities on my behalf.

“If you can’t code, write books and blogs, record videos and podcasts. Media travels and earns while you sleep. It searches the world for opportunities for you.” — Naval Ravikant

Seeing how words moved people was powerful. Reaching masses from my little desk felt good. But somewhere underneath that blog was a little secret that changed my writing forever.

I first found the secret between the lines of a random blog post I read in 2013. Rereading it over and over again didn’t help. I had to pick up my coat and go for a long walk to digest what I had just discovered.

That secret taught me most of what I know about writing, even though I wasn’t a native English speaker and lacked confidence in my skills.

And it forms the core of our storytelling strategy at Growth Supply today.

The raw horsepower of The Single Line

The simple secret I had uncovered came from poet Charles Bukowski. It contained just six words:

“The secret is in the line.”

I remember rushing back home on that January day to write down every single thought Bukowski’s advice had inspired during my walk. Later that day, I studied a few other posts on the same topic.

Even today, every time I see someone write an article with complicated, jargon-filled lines, I remember the following notes I took from those blogs:

What is the primary purpose of any piece of writing you publish online?
– To get what you’ve written read.

So, what’s the primary purpose of your headline, your graphics, your fonts, and every other part of the content?
– To get the first sentence read.

And the purpose of the first sentence?
– To get the second sentence read.

This may sound simplistic. Or maybe even confusing.

But the secret is in the line. If no one reads, all is lost.

The key to getting someone to read is taking it one sentence at a time, ensuring your readers are so compelled by that sentence that they want to read the next.

You won’t be able to pull this off all the time. Hell, you won’t even pull it off most of the time. But if you keep the raw horsepower of The Single Line in your mind as you work, you might make something good enough to be read and shared … maybe even shared widely.

This is foundational because even if you employ every BS “content distribution” trick and tip in the book, if your writing is bad, it won’t get you anywhere.

Write well. Line by line.

The Single Line approach changed my writing, and eventually, my life.

It enabled me to build two businesses in today’s overly crowded content industry. But it wouldn’t have had the same impact had I not questioned why it mattered.

The Single Line mentality matters

I outlined the core pillars of building a storytelling strategy in How we got 11.3 million pageviews without the growth hacking BS. And in a recent essay, I shared why I think effective writing is lean, clean, and easy to read.

But none of those insights matter unless you sit down alone with your thoughts to type words on a blank page, one line at a time.

The secret hides in those silent seconds where you realize you need to connect your monkey mind to the blank page in front of you. This is the reality where there is no background music. It’s in those very silent moments that you admit no productivity tool or fancy writing app can save you from getting your mind to focus on that empty screen.

To paraphrase David McCullough’s beautiful words:

To write is to think, and to write well is to think well.

Writing and thinking well, line by line, isn’t easy. But if you remember The Single Line mentality as you work, you might bring together something so good that it connects with people in exactly the ways they need.

It begins by respecting your craft. It requires treating your words carefully. In a world where you are just one boring line away from losing people, focusing on one line at a time helps you keep the audience in mind.

Take the lazy intros you see in the majority of me-too articles published on the Internet today — they all follow the pattern below:

Have you ever felt lonely after having binged on chocolates? I’m sure you can relate! We’ve all been there, right? I know. You are not alone! In this post, I’ll teach you how to stop binging and make you insanely successful at not binging!

Instead of arrogantly assuming the reader should relate or begging for her attention, why not craft your story, one line at a time, so readers are so compelled by that line that they want to read the next?

Getting people to read your story, long-form essay, or blog post gives you a few priceless minutes to make an in-depth, intellectual connection with anyone, anywhere in the world.

“If words weren’t quite so easy to produce, it’s possible that people would treat them — and maybe each other — with a little more care.” — Markham Heid

The words you put out in the wild have the power to move the masses.

Treat your words with care.

Keep The Single Line in mind as you craft your own Tollund Man story.

If you learn to write, you can change your life. The secret is in the line.

Write to express, not to impress

/in , , /by

“Thesaurus carpet-bombings and long-winded sentences are commonly mistaken for fine writing because they feel authoritative and intellectual. But they’re just masks; effective writing is lean, clean, and easy to read.” — Gregory Ciotti

Ciotti adds that the root of the problem lies in our desire to impress.

He’s probably right. I wasted the first two years of my blogging journey trying to impress my audience even though I wasn’t a native English speaker.

I learned most of my English in high school. And if you’ve ever taken a high school English class, you probably had to meet those word counts on papers. Add to that the pressure to satisfy your teacher’s demands by adding extra adjectives to “enrich your writing.”

Sophisticated writing is good writing, I learned from those academics.

Applying complex high school writing to Internet blogging didn’t work, though. I’m not sure how many posts I deleted during those two years, but I was never going to be a writer. Blaming my teachers didn’t help, nor did imposter syndrome or playing the victim of not being an English native.

On the positive side, such negative self-talk elicited a lot of questions. And by 2015, I had some answers. In How I got 6.2 million pageviews, I shared my biggest lesson from those failed blogging attempts:

“Keep your writing as simple as possible. Let the real writers blow our minds. Meanwhile, we’ll try to get our message across as clearly as possible.”

Write to express, not to impress, I learned from the Internet.

You may not consider yourself a “writer,” but to strengthen your writing, you don’t have to be. Good writing shouldn’t be reserved for English majors or professional authors.

My writing is still nowhere near perfect, but over the years, I’ve been bookmarking a collection of practical tricks to sharpen it.

The following list has been significantly useful in my journey to building two businesses in today’s content world. Hopefully, these tips will help you as much as they have helped me.

1. Turn prepositional phrases into adjectives

When a prepositional phrase (they often start with “in” or “of”) describes the noun before it, try turning it into a one-word adjective instead.

No: CEOs in the tech sector

Yes: Tech CEOs

2. Avoid the passive voice

While the passive voice adds words to sentences, it also distances readers from what’s happening. Use the active voice whenever you can for crisper, more concise writing.

No: I was given a raise by my boss.

Yes: My boss gave me a raise.

3. Replace adverbs with strong verbs

Adverbs, which add detail to verbs, can often be replaced with a single, stronger verb. Since verbs are the “engine” of your writing, choose powerful and accurate ones instead of tacking “-ly” words on to dull verbs.

No: The child cried loudly.

Yes: The child screamed.

4. Delete “that” when you can

Unnecessary “thats” are like fat in a sentence. They just clutter your writing, and nine times out of ten, you can cut them. A useful resource is here if you want to learn more.

No: I hope that my colleagues enjoy my presentation.

Yes: I hope my colleagues enjoy my presentation.

5. Think twice about intensifiers

Using an intensifier like “very,” “really,” “truly,” or “extremely” is often a sign you just need to choose a better adjective.

No: It’s extremely cold outside.

Yes: It’s freezing outside.

6. Eliminate conjunctions

If you’re using two adjectives to describe a noun, you can often cut out conjunctions and use a comma instead.

No: The long and crowded flight exhausted the flight attendants.

Yes: The long, crowded flight exhausted the flight attendants.

7. Don’t start sentences with “there”

Starting a sentence with “there” isn’t just wordy. It also buries the real meat of the sentence. Instead of beginning with “there,” try flipping the sentence around and starting with a noun.

No: There is a common thought among the students that school days should be shorter.

Yes: The students think school days should be shorter.

8. Swap nouns for verbs

Many times, writers unnecessarily water down sentences by using phrases that could be single words. Nouns in place of verbs are one example.

No: I made a decision to exercise daily.

Yes: I decided to exercise daily.

9. Cut wordy phrases

Wordy phrases don’t accomplish anything except bulking up your word count and distracting readers from the point. Exchange the multi-word phrases below with the following simpler, less clunky alternatives.

  • In order to / to
  • Due to the fact that / because
  • On account of / because
  • In the event that / if
  • A large number of / many
  • The vast majority of / most
  • In spite of the fact that / although
  • In most cases/ usually
  • With regard to / regarding
  • At the present / now
  • During the course of / during
  • After the fact/ afterward
  • In terms of / in or for
  • In the midst of / amidst
  • So as to / to
  • In advance of / before
  • After the fact / after

No: In order to use their time more effectively, the employees worked through lunch.

Yes: To use their time more effectively, the employees worked through lunch.

10. Avoid adjective strings

If you have to use more than two adjectives to describe something, you should probably choose one stronger adjective instead. Not only will the description be more concise; it will probably be more accurate.

No: The customers are happy and excited about today’s product launch.

Yes: The customers are thrilled about today’s product launch.

11. Don’t use noun strings

More than three nouns in a row breeds confusion for readers — plus, a cluster of nouns technically makes the first two nouns into adjectives. Delete unessential words or introduce a preposition to clarify the meaning.

No: Company vacation rollover policy

Yes: Company policy on vacation rollover

12. Use positive description, not negative

Instead of wasting words describing what something isn’t, describe what it is instead. Your writing will seem both more confident and concise.

No: The living room lacks sunlight.

Yes: The living room is dark.

13. Replace “to be” verbs

If you’re using a verb like “is” or “are,” experiment with putting stronger verbs in their place. “To be” verbs sound lifeless and flat, and they don’t show any action.

No: The parent and teenager are in a state of disagreement about the curfew.

Yes: The parent and teenager disagree on the curfew.

14. Opt for common words

If you’re not writing a scientific study or a legal document, you can probably simplify your language. Choose simple, easy-to-understand words whenever possible.

No: My core competency relates to getting buy-in from all stakeholders.

Yes: I like to ensure that everyone agrees.

15. Avoid definitions

Do you have to define something you write? Chances are, you should just choose a less confusing word. The same principle applies on the sentence level. If you have to add an additional sentence to clarify an idea (typically, writers use “in other words”), cut the first sentence altogether.

No: My emotions got the best of me. In other words, I was angry.

Yes: I was angry.

16. Nix “currently”

“Am,” “are,” and “is” imply “right now,” so using “currently” can make a sentence redundant.

No: I’m currently in a great mood.
Yes: I’m in a great mood.

17. Skip relative pronouns

Relative pronouns like “that” or “who” modify nouns, which means you can typically swap them out for adjectives.

No: The family searched for houses that had four bedrooms.

Yes: The family searched for four-bedroom houses.

18. Reconsider “make”

Another common offender in wordiness: “make + adjective,” which writers often use in place of a verb that says the same thing more effectively. Verbs should always convey action.

No: Calcium makes the bones stronger.

Yes: Calcium strengthens the bones.

//

Ciotti is right. Thesaurus carpet-bombings and long-winded sentences are just masks; effective writing is lean, clean, and easy to read.

Write to express, not to impress.