Written by Erica Schmidt Jabali
We’re screeching fast towards the end of the year and we all know what that means: end of the year marketing pushes, the bustle of the holiday season – and before you know it – staring at your New Year’s Resolutions for 2019.
So, before you write down, “Join a gym,” let’s talk about what you can do to build your business and how you can use your YDraw video to achieve your marketing goals.
Luckily, the easiest way to talk about BOTH of those things is to talk about books.
Because by honing in on the best business books out there, you’ll be on the fast track to creating the viral video of your dreams and then marketing it to perfection.
Let’s start with a book that inspired our name – YDraw:
- Start With Why by Simon Sinek
With over 2,000 almost-perfect reviews on Amazon and the 3rd most popular TED talk of all time by the same name, you can see why Sinek’s landmark book is at the top of our list.
Sinek talks about the idea of The Golden Circle as the framework upon which your business should be built and it starts with the question, “WHY?”
By looking at WHY you do what you do and WHY you sell what you do, you are able to find what will help your target consumer buy into your product, your service, or your movement.
Sinek’s philosophy works because emotion trumps reasons every time.
So, whether you want to revive a checked out team of employees or market a new product to the masses in your next whiteboard video, take notes from Sinek and Start With Why.
2. Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
This is another powerful read that you won’t want to miss. Miller starts out with a bang by saying, “Customers don’t generally care about your story; they care about their own.”
He goes on to explain how businesses can spend less on marketing if they can focus their message “on the aspects of their offer that will help people survive and thrive.”
This, friends, is what explainer videos and whiteboard animation videos are ALL about!
The goal is to boil down complicated ideas or lengthy messages into short, simple, engaging, movie trailer-style videos that will speak quickly and directly to how what you do will benefit your consumer.
After all, like Miller says – “Your customer should be the hero of the story, not your brand.”
3. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
If you’re looking for some inspiration on thinking outside the box – you can’t go further outside of it than Elon Musk. Often called a “real-life Tony Stark”, Musk has dedicated his life to creating technological inventions that are paving the way for future breakthroughs.
He may be a controversial character in his personal life, but we can still be inspired by his ambitious entrepreneurial pursuits.
When embarking on a creative project, such as a whiteboard animation video, you have a fantastic opportunity to push the envelope of reality. So, if you need some encouragement to leave the status quo in your dust, this book may be the one for you.
4.Creativity, Inc. By Ed Catmull
The book that Forbes said, “Just might be the best business book ever written,” has been making waves for years.
Understandably, since Creativity, Inc. is our all-access pass into the inside of Pixar Animation, by our tour guide Catmull, a co-founder.
And, really, who better to learn from about storytelling than the company that changed animation forever?
Chock full of insightful guidance on how to create amazing teams to the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar films beloved all around the world, Creativity, Inc. might be the secret sauce you have been looking for to inspire your next incredible YDraw video.
Honestly, we could keep you here all day talking about the incredible books out there. But, instead, we’ll put the rest on a virtual bookshelf for you.
Browse at your leisure, pick up what interests you, and leave some suggestions of your own in the comments below.
On Our Shelf:
