Storytelling, e-mail and social marketing

When the book “The Seven Rules of Storytelling” (in French “Les sept règles du storytelling”) was released in Paris last October, I thought it was a good time to touch base with friends, many of whom I had not seen for a while, and to give them signed copies.  Among those I contacted at that time was Nick Heys, founder and CEO of Emailvision.

Nick and I have known each other since 1999.  I served as a consultant to him in the early stages of his company, around the issues of how an entrepreneur learns to lead and build a corporate culture in the early stages.

Of course, I was particularly keen to see Nick’s reaction to the Seven Rules, as I used him as an example several times in my discussion of the power of storytelling in leadership coaching.

The initial meeting with Nick generated ideas for a new project, which is becoming a fascinating new activity for me.  Nick asked what I thought about applying the Seven Rules of Storytelling, or similar concepts, to e-mail marketing and to social marketing.  He thought we could use storytelling to help Emailvision clients use the tools of email marketing more effectively.

I was intrigued by this concept for several reasons.  First, I am convinced that the power of storytelling can be used in a wide range of contexts, so why not email marketing?   While the writing I have done with my colleague Loïck Roche focuses on storytelling and leadership communication, I have always seen, and used, links to various issues of marketing (more on this in future entry).

Second, preparing this project with Nick and with some of his key people has allowed me to rediscover Emailvision, a company I once knew well, but one I had not seen for the past five years.  Today, it is a company on a remarkable adventure, which I will also describe as this blog unfolds.

Third, we are connecting this project to a wider mission: turning Emailvision into a true “storytelling organization”.  The goal is not only to help clients use storytelling to make their client mailings more interesting, but also to become a company that uses storytelling effectively both internally and externally.