Michael Hauge – Hollywood Story Selling

If so, I’d like you to picture this…

• Imagine captivating audiences with stories so emotionally involving that they hang on your every word.
• Imagine having your videos go viral, or your book become a New York Times best seller, because your message grabbed—and held—your market’s attention.
• And imagine being able to…finally…share your message with the world and create lasting change?

They’re the fastest, most powerful way to engage an audience and get them to take action. Every billion-dollar brand, every best selling book, every viral video or social media post is, in essence, built on a story.

So if you want to generate more clients, customers, high-paying speaking events or 6-figure webinars, you MUST know how to weave a story.

If you want to share your message and influence the world for good, you need a GREAT story.

And when it comes to creating stories that draw huge audiences, touch them deeply, and get them to spend billions of dollars, nothing compares to Hollywood.

Have you ever wondered why a Hollywood movie can capture an audience’s attention for 2 (and sometimes 3) hours, while the average YouTube Video gets boring by the first minute?

It’s because Hollywood screenwriters and filmmakers have an unfair advantage. They’ve been creating emotionally powerful stories for more than a century, and they’ve learned an abundance of closely-guarded strategies to get—and keep—an audience’s attention.

I know this because I’ve been working with those same screenwriters, producers, stars and studios—and using those secret strategies—for the last 40 years. I’m considered a Hollywood insider, because top screenwriters and filmmakers come to me for help when they want to get a movie from the page to the screen. They know that I’m the one who can apply these story secrets — secrets that sometimes they aren’t even aware of — and help them turn their ideas and scripts into blockbuster films.

But now I want to level the playing field. I want you to be able to draw huge audiences and fans. I want you to be able to touch people deeply and give them emotional experiences they won’t forget. I want you to see your recognition, influence and revenue multiply. And most of all, I want you to be able to get your message to the world. Because whether you realize it or not, you have experiences and expertise that can empower people and make their lives better.

So I’m going to take you behind the scenes, unlock the door to all of these Hollywood secrets, and show you how you can simply and easily use them to make your stories and presentations more engaging and persuasive.

But first, a little of my own story…

Beyond Hollywood

I first moved to Hollywood decades ago, knowing pretty much nothing except that I loved movies and television, and wanted to somehow be a part of their creation. After struggling to break in and paying my dues by reading and synopsizing scripts for a whopping $10 each, I got my first job as a story executive with a producer.

In the 40 years since, I’ve written articles and books about storytelling, made presentations live and online to more than half a million people around the world, and consulted on hundreds of movies and screenplays, some starring (among many others) Will Smith, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Reese Witherspoon and Morgan Freeman.

Hollywood movies and television have been my passion and my calling, and I never planned to do anything else.

That was until…

My life changed forever when I got a phone call….

Back in June of 2013, I didn’t want to admit it, but I was kind of stuck.

It’s not that my career was going badly. I loved my work, I’d fulfilled my dream of working in Hollywood, I’d coached writers, directors, studios and stars as a script consultant, I’d gotten to travel around the world lecturing about screenwriting, and I was on retainer with Will Smith’s company.

But what I hadn’t done for a long time was to risk leaving my comfort zone.

Then my phone rang.

When I answered, the voice on the other end said, “Hi. My name is Russell Brunson, and I’m an internet marketer.”

Now you may already know about Russell. He’s the genius behind a software program called ClickFunnels—which has more than 100,000 subscribers and is now worth somewhere north of $360 million. He’s had 4 bestselling books, and each of his live events draws thousands of people.

And it’s a bit embarrassing to say now, but back in 2013, even though he was already a highly-successful internet marketing guru, I’d never heard of Russell Brunson. (In truth, I’d never heard of internet marketing, either.)

But I get calls all the time from people in all walks of life who want to become screenwriters. So I waited to hear him tell me about the script he wanted my help with.

Then I discovered he had no interest at all in writing a screenplay. “Next month in Baltimore,” he said, “my business associate Daegan Smith and I are having an internet marketing workshop for entrepreneurs. We wondered if you’d be willing to do a presentation there on storytelling.”

This was very tempting. I mean, who doesn’t want to go to Baltimore in the summer?

But I already had several other trips lined up, I was looking forward to some down time in between, and this sounded way outside my wheelhouse.

“Well that sounds really nice,” I said, “but I really don’t know that much [translate: anything] about internet marketing. So I don’t know what I’d have to talk about.”

“Oh, that’s OK!” he said enthusiastically. (Since then I’ve learned that Russell says everything enthusiastically.)

“We saw your video ‘The Hero’s Two Journeys,’ and we loved it! You can just talk about how to tell better stories using Hollywood principles, and we’ll be able to apply those to our sales funnels.” (I couldn’t even imagine what a “sales funnel” might be.)

“We’ll fly you there,” he added, “and we’ll cover all your expenses. And we’ll pay you a lot of money.”

(Truthfully, Russell never said, “We’ll pay you a lot of money.” I honestly don’t remember how much he offered, but it sounded like a lot to me at the time. So I figured I’d just own my ignorance, tell them what I thought might be helpful to businesspeople, and sit quietly through the rest of the event.)

So, in spite of myself, I decided to venture outside my comfort zone. “Sure!” I said, and a few weeks later, I was standing in front of 50 or so people at Daegan and Russell’s event.

Now I don’t like to admit it, but at the time I’d always thought of business people, entrepreneurs and sales people as inhabiting a completely different world than I did—one where movies and stories didn’t matter very much, because their only real interest was in making lots of money.

I was about to discover how wrong-headed I was.

I listened as the participants, who were all very successful marketers already, shared their ideas and problems and hopes for reaching more and more people with their marketing.

Certainly they wanted to achieve greater financial success, but along with that they wanted to reach more people so they could help their clients and customers overcome whatever fears or circumstances were holding them back from the lives they could be living.

I met participants who wanted to provide people with tools, processes, exercise programs, health supplements or courses of study that would transform their lives. These entrepreneurs wanted to help people overcome their problems and challenges so they could be happier, or healthier, or more successful, or more fulfilled—and so they could in turn help other people.

That’s when I realized that Russell, Daegan, and all of their followers wanted to change the world.

As I gave my presentation, they were eager to learn how to tell great stories, and were excited to incorporate the principles I shared into their marketing campaigns. They even allowed me to coach them live in front of the group, showing them how to make their own stories more emotionally powerful by exploring the fears that had held them back, and the steps they had taken to achieve great success.

But the most important revelation I had that weekend was this:

The qualities that make movies great are the same ones that make speeches, sales pitches and sermons great.

That’s when I first realized that entrepreneurs, speakers, marketers and everyone can benefit when those principles are used to create stories that help people live better. And I never again worried that what I knew about storytelling wouldn’t work outside the bounds of Hollywood.

Oh, and Russell seemed happy I was there as well. In Chapter 7 of his bestselling book Expert Secrets, and in the testimonial he gave me for my own book, Storytelling Made Easy, he says:

Since then, I have worked with some of the most influential thought leaders in the world—helping them to craft great stories and move their audiences. Many of these folks are making seven and eight figures a year, and pay me $10,000 or more to help them with their stories.

And that’s all fine, except I can only coach one of them at a time. Even my other clients, or those who attend or view my live presentations or read my writings can’t get the benefit of experiencing all the Hollywood secrets I know to elevate their stories and grow their businesses.

So what does this have to do with YOU? A lot! That’s because…

As I hope you can tell by now, movies and stories are my passion and my calling. And my greatest joy comes from sharing what I know with as many people as I can. I want them to experience the wonder of how stories connect us all, and how they bring courage, love and magic into our lives. And I want you to feel that way as well.

I want to help everyone I can (especially YOU) use stories to entertain, enlighten, inspire, and change the lives of the people they want to help. And I want you to achieve your greatest possible financial and personal success doing just that.

So I have taken my entire story system and put it all into a series of videos, examples, illustrations and worksheets that will allow you to immediately begin finding and crafting unforgettable stories.

That’s why I am thrilled to announce…

This Is Quite Simply the Most Comprehensive System You’ll Ever Find for BLOWING YOUR AUDIENCES AWAY with Great Stories!

By the time you are done…

• You’ll have learned the world’s single most powerful marketing skill.
• You’ll connect more deeply with your readers, viewers and audiences.
• Your prospects will see you as an expert—and trust you.
• You’ll impact potential clients and customers with your words—and you’ll get them to take action.
• You’ll make more money (a lot more) because your marketing messages will be more emotionally involving and persuasive.
• You’ll help more people than you can imagine to solve their problems—and find the courage to change their lives.