Things I Learned from Charles Dickens That Will Help Your Marketing

I’ve been reading Charles Dickens for most of my life. At this point, I’ve read almost all of his works, and I’m always amazed by how well they hold up to modern audiences.

He’s a master at creating memorable characters that readers can relate to, but also have enough depth to be interesting and compelling.

But it wasn’t until I started working in marketing that I realized just how much his work had influenced my own approach to storytelling.

Especially when it comes to writing copy for websites and social media posts. Here are things I learned from Charles Dickens (and other classic novelists) that will help me write better content across all platforms:

Charles Dickens – Live Greedily, Die With Regret – YouTube

Key Takeaways
1. Character Depth: Dickens’ characters are multi-dimensional and relatable, showing the importance of creating personas that resonate with your target audience.
2. Compelling Storytelling: His captivating narratives emphasize the power of storytelling in capturing attention and conveying messages effectively.
3. Social Commentary: Dickens’ societal critiques inspire marketers to address relevant issues and demonstrate authenticity in their brand values.
4. Emotion and Empathy: The emotional impact of Dickens’ works underscores the significance of evoking emotions and empathy in marketing campaigns.
5. Timeless Themes: His enduring themes highlight the value of creating evergreen content that remains relevant and resonates with audiences over time.

Table of Contents

Choose Your Words Carefully

This is an important lesson, but it can be difficult to grasp and put into practice. Too often we resort to clichés, overused phrases, or vague generalities and then wonder why our writing doesn’t resonate with our readers.

The key is specificity: choosing precise, specific language that will not only communicate what you want to communicate but also do so in a way that makes your message stand out from the crowd.

Charles Dickens knew this well and it’s why his writing still resonates today even though he wrote over 150 years ago! Check out these examples of how he used specific, evocative words (along with other tips) to create an authentic voice for each character:

Applying lessons from history can greatly impact your marketing strategies. Learn how to incorporate Charles Dickens’ insights into your modern approach.

Make Sure You’re Clear about Who You’re Writing For

“Who Are You Writing For?”

This is a simple question, but it’s one that many writers get wrong. If you don’t know who you’re writing for and what they want to hear, your content won’t resonate.

And if you’re trying to write something that someone else wants not yourself then it will probably feel inauthentic and dry.

That’s why it’s important to be specific about who your audience is, what kind of content they like, and where they hang out online (so that’s the best place for you to reach them).

Getting started with outbound email marketing requires a well-structured process. Explore the 12-step guide to kickstart your successful email campaigns.

Make Sure There’s A Purpose To Your Work

The first thing you should do when you sit down to write is to make sure that the piece has a purpose. It’s not enough for it to be “about something.”

Because that could mean anything from “I need an article about marketing,” which isn’t very helpful, all the way up to “I’m writing a book about how Charles Dickens influenced my life.” You’ll want something in between. For example:

Your blog post will be titled “12 Things I Learned from Charles Dickens That Will Help Your Marketing”

A short story will take place during his childhood and explore what he might have learned (or not learned) from his father. It’ll be titled “What My Father Didn’t Teach Me About Marketing”

An article in a magazine will list 10 lessons he learned as an adult and discuss how they apply today. The title would probably be “10 Lessons From Dickens That Will Help Your Business Grow”

Keep People Reading By Using Cliffhangers

Dickens was a master of the cliffhanger. He loved to keep his readers on their toes, and he did this by using either a statement or question that makes people want to know more.

One example is when Pip meets Miss Havisham in Great Expectations. In the scene, Pip is confused about who she is and why she’s dressed like an old lady in mourning clothes:

“As I stood there looking disconsolately at her (for her disappointment seemed to me inexpressibly dreary), I heard a step behind me.”

Then, Dickens ends with another vague description: “…but before I could see him or speak to him, he was gone.”

Throughout your content creation process ask yourself how you can use cliffhangers to keep people reading.

Weave In Some Humor

And finally, when you’re writing a long piece and need to break up the monotony by inserting some humor. This can be as simple as a joke about your own work-in-progress or even just a funny line.

The important part is that it doesn’t distract from your message; rather, it makes it more memorable.

If you can find ways to inject humor into what you write (in an appropriate way), it will make people remember what they read and maybe even share it with others without realizing how many times they’ve referenced Charles Dickens’ novels when explaining business concepts!

The evolution of marketing strategies is fascinating. Dive into the discussion on content marketing’s transformation and discover how it’s still relevant today.

Tell Stories To Create Experiences Not Just Data

If you want to create a lasting impression, tell stories.

The human mind is wired to remember stories because they give us context and meaning. Stories are how we understand the world and learn about ourselves;

They’re how we connect with other people and understand their lives. As Charles Dickens said, “Stories are like life: there’s no single plot line that can be repeated over and over again in identical ways.”

Create Memorable Characters That Represent Different Segments Of Your Audience

A second thing I learned from Dickens is the importance of creating memorable characters that represent different segments of your audience.

This is something that most businesses struggle with, but it’s critical to crafting a story people will enjoy.

If you want your content to resonate with your audience, you need to make sure it includes relatable characters and real-life situations but also ensure those characters are distinctive enough so readers see themselves or their friends in them.

When writing my first book series (which has now been translated into 13 languages), I wasn’t sure if including gay protagonists would be wise for marketing purposes.

However, after talking about this concern with other writers who had written LGBT characters in their work and hearing their stories about how well received these narratives were by readers around the world, I decided there was no reason not to include gay characters in my works as well.”

Use Imagery To Bring Ideas To Life And Make Them More Shareable

Dickens was a master of using imagery to bring ideas to life. He famously wrote an entire novel in just 10 weeks while he was imprisoned for debt.

Dickens used his time behind bars to write A Tale of Two Cities and other famous works, but it wasn’t just the quantity that made his writing so powerful it was also the quality of his picturesque descriptions.

As you can see above, Dickens uses descriptive language like “The old man had been cunningly contrived by nature,” which paints a vivid picture in your mind.

In this case, it’s not just a matter of saying that something looks like something else; instead, what Dickens does is give us insight into how people perceive things (and how those perceptions change over time).

Inbound marketing’s rise signifies a significant shift in the industry. Uncover the story behind the rise of inbound marketing and its impact on modern approaches.

Use Subplots And Secondary Characters To Bring The Main Story To Life

Subplots are the secondary storylines that run alongside the main plot. They can be used to develop your characters, add depth to your story world, and provide a sense of history for your setting.

A good subplot complements the main narrative it adds extra layers and complexity without distracting it. When you’re writing a novel or a screenplay, using subplots gives you more time in which to explore all aspects of your story world:

Its settings, themes, and most importantly its characters. It also helps you understand those characters better by giving them some space away from one another.

So we can see how they react when there’s no one else around but themselves (or whatever creature/object/concept they happen to be interacting with). We learn things about each other when we’re alone.

Those moments allow us to show off our true selves rather than putting on airs for others’ benefit (and then having those masks fall off later when we’re back among our colleagues).

Use Vivid And Dramatic Language To Describe Events That Have Universal Appeal

Dickens was a master of using descriptive language to evoke an emotional response. He also used drama to make his stories more interesting and vivid language to make them more memorable.

This is something that you can do in your marketing by describing events in a way that people can relate to, or if you’re looking for more ways to improve your writing skills, take a look at this article on how Charles Dickens improved his writing through reading other books!

Use Suspense For Storytelling (But Not For Product Launches)

You can create a sense of urgency by using suspense. If you don’t have enough time to finish that report, and someone is counting on it, people will be more likely to act fast.

Suspense also creates a sense of mystery, which keeps the reader interested in what will happen next.

If your book or movie is about someone who doesn’t know who they are or where they came from, it makes them curious about the answers and the same goes for your customers!

It can also help create a feeling of surprise when something unexpected happens: “I knew he was going to propose but I didn’t think he would do it like that!”

This makes readers want more information so they don’t miss out on anything else exciting happening later on down the road (or across town).

Suspenseful scenes can also create shock by surprising people with unexpected twists: “She’s pregnant?!”

This might get someone thinking about how much their life has changed since reading those words earlier and how much change could still be coming up ahead! Suspenseful moments may even be scary if they involve frightful situations like being chased by wolves.”

Reveal Character Through Action And Dialogue, Not Through Exposition Or Background Information (Like Resumes Or Bios)

Exposition is the opposite of action.
Exposition is the opposite of dialogue.
The exposition is boring. It doesn’t matter how well you write it if you’re telling me something your character knows.

I’m going to yawn and get up to get a glass of water or go take a nap on the couch or do any number of things that are more interesting than reading your words. You can write all day long about what I know already but don’t bore me with it! It’s like this:

If you want me to be interested in what happens next, don’t tell me what she said or did; show me! Make me care about this person through their actions, through their dialogue not by telling me who they are at first glance (like with an overly detailed resume for example).

The same goes for any kind of background information you might have about your product or service—if we’re supposed to care about it later on when something happens, then let our characters make us care now!

Be Entertaining And Entertainingly Informative, But Don’t Be Uselessly Entertaining

You’re not writing an “I Am Legend” novel, and you don’t have Robert Redford as your protagonist.

You can’t make the reader sit in one place for hours at a time without entertaining them, but neither should you make them feel like they’re trapped in a lecture hall with Professor Boring and Boring.

The best way to get this balance right is by focusing on the elements of entertainment: humor (even if it’s dark), suspense, mystery, and plenty of twists.

Mobile marketing has revolutionized customer engagement. Explore the potential of mobile marketing for boosting sales and staying ahead in a digital world.

Take The Time To Craft Something Great, It Will Pay Off In The End

One of the most important things I learned from Charles Dickens is the value of taking the time to develop something great. The result is always worth it, and it pays off in the end.

You get what you pay for. You get out what you put in. If you want something that will last and make a difference, then invest in yourself and your future as an entrepreneur.

Don’t try to do everything yourself – find people who are better than you at specific tasks or aspects of your business and hire them! Hire good people, invest in tools that will help them be more productive (and therefore better), provide training for those who need it, etc…

Great Marketing Is In The Details – Know Your Audience Well And Write With Their Needs In Mind

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from Charles Dickens is that great marketing is in the details. When you’re writing copy, it’s important to know your audience well and write with their needs in mind.

Remember: the best marketing not only uses the right words, but it also tells a story that your customer can relate to.

That means knowing what problems your customers face (and how those problems affect their lives), as well as which emotions they experience when dealing with these issues (such as frustration or confusion).

In addition, a good story will entertainingly use humor a technique known as “being entertainingly informative.”

To write successfully for any audience, you need to be clear about who that audience is and what they want out of life because this will allow you to speak directly into their hearts through your writing skills alone!

Conclusion

I hope these lessons help you create better content, whether you’re creating a marketing campaign or writing your next novel.

The best part about this advice is that it doesn’t just apply to writing; it can be applied to any form of communication. So the next time someone tells me they want to learn how to write better, I’ll send them here!

FAQs

What are some key insights that content marketers can learn from Charles Dickens’ works?

Charles Dickens’ works often emphasize character development, immersive storytelling, and creating relatable experiences for readers. Content marketers can apply these insights to build engaging narratives that resonate with their audience.

How can Charles Dickens’ life lessons be relevant in today’s world?

Charles Dickens’ themes of social justice, empathy, and personal growth remain timeless. Incorporating these values into contemporary life can foster positive change and inspire meaningful connections.

What can social media marketers gain from Charles Dickens’ quotes?

Charles Dickens’ quotes often capture human emotions and societal observations. Social media marketers can leverage these quotes to evoke emotions, provoke thought, and spark conversations that resonate with their audience.

How do Charles Dickens’ narratives contribute to effective content creation?

Charles Dickens’ narratives are known for their intricate plots and memorable characters. Incorporating storytelling techniques from his works can enrich content creation by making it more captivating and relatable.

What parallels exist between Charles Dickens’ storytelling and brand storytelling?

Both Charles Dickens’ storytelling and brand storytelling aim to captivate and engage audiences. Learning from Dickens’ mastery can help brands craft narratives that evoke emotions and foster deeper connections with their customers.

Costantine Edward

Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.