The Growth Newsletter #134

Minimum Viable Backstory, The Von Restorff Effect, and how to go on more podcasts.  ‌ ‌ ‌ [Demand Curve]( The Growth Newsletter #134 [Read on demandcurve.com]( Thanks to our sponsors for keeping this newsletter free for all of you! Check them out :)   Brought to you by [Mailchimp](.  Check out the 2023 Mailchimp & Co Benchmark Report for valuable insights on pricing, hiring, and growing your business.  [Download the free report now](.   And by [Xembly](—the world's first AI Chief of Staff.  A real AI assistant that conversationally schedules meetings (via email or Slack). Gives you automatically summarized meeting notes with action items. And optimizes your calendar.  Busy leaders save 7+ hours per week with their AI handling the mundane tasks that prevent deep work.  Thousands of leaders at companies like Convoy, Qualtrics, and Docker use Xembly as their secret weapon.  [Sign up now](. DC readers get a free year of all-access service (no credit card needed). Want to be featured in front of 80,000 founders and marketers? [Learn more here](.   Hello and welcome to all you growth-loving founders and marketers.  Today I send this newsletter operating at about 60%. I was hit by a stomach bug Sunday night and still recovering. Luckily, I write these the week before :)  This week is Minimum Viable Backstory, The Von Restorff Effect, and how to go on more podcasts. Let's dive in 🏄‍♀️ – Neal   1. Tell a story with a Minimum Viable Backstory Insight from [Wes Kao]( (Maven and altMBA).  Stories are powerful. They capture our attention, and carry with them powerful lessons with enough context to help us envision how they're relevant to our lives and how to apply them. Compare these two pieces of copy: The first focuses on the what. The second is a simple story that illustrates why someone should use the tutoring service.  But imagine instead the story was: "Little Johnny, a 10-year-old boy in New Hampshire, liked to ride bikes, collect pennies in his stomach, and crush cans of Liquid Death. Oh which reminds me, I don't really like the UX of Liquid Death. I can't close the can and throw it into my bag after opening it! Anyway, did I mention Little Johnny was not doing so well in Math class? Well, his parents Suzy and Bob, an engineer and a doctor, are deeply ashamed...blah blah tutoring blah blah he's doing well now!" Snore, right?  Wes Kao (founder of Maven and altMBA) says to find your story's MVB (Minimum Viable Backstory). Find the perfect amount of context to set the stage—and cut the rest.  For example, that camping trip where you almost got eaten by a bear: So tell stories in your copywriting, but cut out excess context. Your audience will be more captivated. And your message won't get lost in a sea of irrelevant details. 2. The odd one out stands out Insight from an old German Psychiatrist.  Which of these stands out the most? 🐶🐱🐭🐹🐰🦊🐻🍉🐼🐻‍❄️🐨🐯🦁🐮🐷🐸🐵  What about? desk, chair, bed, table, chipmunk, dresser, stool, couch  What about in this image? Credit: 42courses.com  I imagine most of you will say the 🍉, chipmunk, and the pink shoes (I know at least one of you won't—yeah, I see you)  In 1933, German Psychiatrist, Hedwig Von Restorff, discovered that when presenting someone with a bunch of pieces of information from a single category (animals), and one that isn't (fruit), people recall the "odd one out" (🍉) much better.  That makes intuitive sense, right? As Seth Godin points out, you'll notice and remember the purple cow in the pasture way better than the brown or white ones.  So what does this mean for marketers?  Easy, you can be clever with design. Make the thing you want people to notice and remember be visually different than the rest.  That can be your product or brand, a feature, a price option, or an ad. Ways you can do this: - For physical products in stores, be like a tube of Pringles instead of another bag of potato chips. - For brands, choose an entirely different aesthetic than competitors, like Liquid Death's heavy metal vibe. - For price options, make the tier you really want people to buy visually different than the other options. - Comparisons, have your product compared to competitors and make them all black and white (drab) and yours in full color (exciting and noticeable).  Be as creative as you can be with this.  Most brands play it safe and do what everyone else does. But the wild and creative stuff will make you stand out and be remembered.  3. 5 tips to get on more podcasts Insight from Jay Clouse ([Creator Science]().  The easiest way to get invited to be on more podcasts?  Be an amazing podcast guest.  If you wow both podcast hosts and listeners: - Hosts will recommend you to their friend's podcasts. - Hosts of others podcasts will invite you on. - Listeners will tell hosts of other podcasts to invite you on. Obviously a big part of it is charisma, which is hard, but here are some tips from Jay Clouse that anyone can implement:  #1. Weave examples and data into stories  Don't just spout facts and ideas.  Make it tangible and engaging by weaving them into entertaining stories.  #2. It's not just about you  People often listen to a podcast because they like the host. Listeners care about their perspective.  So pause to let the host cut in. Ask for their opinion.  Make it feel like it's two smart friends having an intellectual conversation. Not a TED talk.  #3. Do your homework  Listen to the show beforehand. See how conversations normally go and the types of questions the host normally talks about, or the things they naturally gravitate toward.  And ask the host questions about the audience to understand what they care about.  #4. Talk up the show  Make the host look good. Reference another one of their episodes or talk them or the podcast up a bit.  They'll appreciate, and they're fans will appreciate it.  BONUS #5: Be pleasant, friendly, and helpful throughout - Make it easy to book time with you. - Hang around after the recording and get to know the host. - Suggest some of your friends/contacts that might be good for the show. Make the host and listeners like you and you'll be asked to go on more podcasts, and likely get more out of the appearance.   News and links News you can use: - YouTube [announced]( it will work with Universal Music Group to try to compensate musicians for AI-generated music trained off their work. - YouTube is also [cracking down]( on ad blockers. - Amazon is going off platform with [sponsored product ads]( on third-party sites like Pinterest and BuzzFeed - The state of Illnois is [forcing parents]( with child influencers to set aside their earnings in a trust fund rather than spending it themselves. - The FTC updated its paid [endorsement guideline]( for the first time since 2009. They want creators to be as upfront as possible when it's a paid endorsement. - Friend.tech is the latest crypto social network where you can own shares of your favorite influencers, and when you do the influencer earns trading fees. $55M has been transacted on it so far.  Service we recommend: [Vanta](*  Achieving SOC 2 compliance proves to customers that you prioritize protecting their data. In fact, this proof of compliance can help you raise capital, scale your business, and build a foundation of trust.  Vanta automates up to 90% of the work for SOC 2 compliance, getting you audit-ready in weeks instead of months and saving you hundreds of hours of work. Customers report cost savings of up to 85%.  This free checklist breaks down the SOC 2 compliance process and gives you a digestible view of the road ahead.  [Download it here to get started](.  Sponsored by Vanta*   Something fun From [0xgaut](. [Here's the link]( to try it out.   What did you think of this week's newsletter?  [😍 Loved it]( | [😄 Great]( | [🙂 Good]( | [🤷‍♀️ Meh]( | [🤬 Bad](  If you enjoyed this, please consider sharing it with a friend. These newsletters take hours to make each week, so it really helps when you share us with fellow founders and marketers.  And if you have any comments/question, I'd love to hear them. Just hit reply!  In case you're new: Who's [Demand Curve](?  We’re on a mission to help make it easier to start, build, and grow companies.  We share high-quality, vetted, and actionable growth content as we learn it from the top 1% of founders and marketers.  How we can help you grow: - Read our free [playbooks](, [blog articles](, and [teardowns](—we break down the strategies and tactics that fast-growing startups use to grow. - Enroll in the [Growth Program](, our marketing course that has helped 1,000+ founders get traction and scale revenue. - Check out our [Sprints](: short video courses that are laser-focused on a topic in growth. - Want to build an audience of buyers? Join the waitlist for the [Un-ignorable Challenge](. - Are you an ambitious startup/scaleup looking to grow? Our agency, [Bell Curve](, can be your strategic growth partner. - Get your product in front of startup founders by [sponsoring]( this newsletter. See you next week.  — Neal and Justin [Neal]( [Neal O'Grady]( [Grace]( [Justin Setzer](   © 2023 Demand Curve, Inc. All rights reserved. 4460 Redwood Hwy, Suite 16-535, San Rafael, California, United States [Unsubscribe]() from all emails, including the newsletter, or [manage]( subscription preferences.