Week 1: The Power of Storytelling in Marketing

• 15-minute Training: Basics of Storytelling and Its Impact in Marketing.
• Creative Writing Prompt: "Write a short story that could be an allegory for a common customer problem."
• Quote: "Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell." – Seth Godin.
• Take-home Activity: Craft a narrative for a brand that tells its story, focusing on its origins, mission, and values.
• Recommended Reading:
  • "Building a StoryBrand" by Donald Miller.
  • "All Marketers are Liars" by Seth Godin.

Week 2: Creating Compelling Characters for Brand Personas

• 15-minute Training: Developing Relatable Brand Personas as Characters.
• Creative Writing Prompt: "Develop a character that perfectly embodies your target customer and write their story."
• Quote: "The best brands are built on great stories." - Ian Rowden.
• Take-home Activity: Create a detailed persona for your ideal customer, including their needs, challenges, and how your brand can help.
• Recommended Reading:
  • "Buyer Personas: How to Gain Insight into your Customer's Expectations" by Adele Revella.
  • "Made to Stick" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.

Week 3: World-Building in Brand Narratives

• 15-minute Training: Crafting an Engaging World for Your Brand.
• Creative Writing Prompt: "Imagine a world where your product or service is essential and describe it."
• Quote: "People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories and magic." – Seth Godin.
• Take-home Activity: Design the 'world' of your brand, focusing on how it fits into and enhances the customer's lifestyle.
• Recommended Reading:
  • "Contagious: How to Build Word of Mouth in the Digital Age" by Jonah Berger.
  • "The Art of Immersion" by Frank Rose.

Week 4: Dialogue and Tone in Marketing Copy

• 15-minute Training: Mastering Brand Voice and Tone in Copywriting.
• Creative Writing Prompt: "Write a dialogue between a customer and a salesperson that epitomizes your brand’s voice."
• Quote: "Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic." – J.K. Rowling.
• Take-home Activity: Revise a piece of existing marketing material to better reflect your brand's voice and tone.
• Recommended Reading:
  • "Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content" by Ann Handley.
  • "Conversational Writing" by Erika Heald.

Week 5: Plot and Structure in Marketing Campaigns

• 15-minute Training: Using Narrative Structure in Campaign Development.
• Creative Writing Prompt: "Outline a marketing campaign as a three-act story with a beginning, middle, and end."
• Quote: "Good content isn't about good storytelling. It's about telling a true story well." - Ann Handley.
• Take-home Activity: Develop a storyboard for a marketing campaign, using a classic narrative arc to guide the customer journey.
• Recommended Reading:
  • "The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes" by Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson.
  • "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" by Al Ries and Jack Trout.

Week 6: Editing for Clarity and Impact in Marketing

• 15-minute Training: Refining Marketing Messages for Maximum Impact.
• Creative Writing Prompt: "Rewrite a well-known advertising slogan to be more impactful and memorable."
• Quote: "The first draft of anything is shit." – Ernest Hemingway.
• Take-home Activity: Edit a piece of your marketing content focusing on clarity, brevity, and persuasive power.
• Recommended Reading:
  • "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert B. Cialdini.
  • "This is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See" by Seth Godin.

This series is designed to enhance the creative and strategic skills of marketing writers, equipping them with the tools to create compelling, engaging, and effective marketing narratives.