Trying to go viral is like planned spontaneity - it just isn't real. Instead of going viral, try going honest - as in, tell your story, have fun with it, and learn what makes your marketing world go round.

Media and marketing are EVERYWHERE. So why do we fight against our greatest need: telling our own stories? What can we learn from rural America and media?

Too much noise! That's the complaint of everyone competing for attention on social media today. So how can we break through the overwhelming volume of information and connect with our best customers and supporters?

Selling - Marketing - Advertising - are all about your customers. It's not about the product, mission, or change-the-world wish we might have. Discover what people want, what interests them, and you'll be selling more than your product or nonprofit.

Sell me this pen! This is the salesperson's nightmare - a test of how you'll connect and show the world you know your stuff. And if you're in the nonprofit world, you HATE the very idea that what you do is selling. But it is, and this may help - it's not about the pen. It's about the story you tell that makes someone want to experience what only that pen (or you way of changing the world) can give them.

What makes a good story good? Your business - your nonprofit - you social media depend on knowing how to create a good story. We begin to explore how stories change our lives in School of Stories.