Taylor Swift, Time Person of the Year; Lilly Singh X Four Seasons
“When Taylor Swift tells you a story, you listen, because you know it’s going to be good… because she’s an extraordinary storyteller.” So starts Time’s announcement of the news magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year.
Swift’s whole career has been built on storytelling. Her heartfelt songs are most often autobiographical and are told with such detail and in such a vulnerable and relatable way that she forms an impenetrable connection with her fans or, should I say, customers. This earnest approach to storytelling has earned the star a legion of Swifties, 12 Grammys and an empire valued at more than $1 billion.
How to Monetize Storytelling
You don’t need a Grammy-winning voice to build a business on storytelling. Just ask Lilly Singh.
The 35-year-old YouTuber, tv host, comedian, actress, author, brand ambassador, soccer team owner and all-around girl boss has become adept at building businesses by telling stories. Her authentic approach to storytelling connects her to fans and customers in ways that traditional marketing and advertising simply can’t. And the interesting thing is, almost anything can be a story.
Like feeling different. Singh started her career on YouTube in 2010 with satirical skits focused on parodying her Indian immigrant family and sharing with the world what it was like to live as a “brown girl.” Her skits resonated with viewers who could relate to being the child of immigrants, or just feeling different. Her first viral video, “Official Guide to Brown Girls”, garnered 10,000 views in one day. Fueled by her success and what she calls “the immigrant hustle”, she taught herself video production. Seven years later, Singh earned $10.5 million from YouTube and was listed in the top 10 on Forbes' list of the highest-earning YouTube stars.
Singh is also passionate about mental health, especially for children. She finds her happy place, what she refers to as Unicorn Island, through mindfulness, like meditation and journaling. So, she set out to tell her story as a way to help kids. “I didn’t know any of that when I was younger,” says Singh. “So, I created a series in collaboration with Headspace about how mindfulness can help kids problem solve. Just like kids learn language and math in school, they can also learn to identify their emotions.” Singh’s YouTube series, The Mindful Adventures of Unicorn Island, a vibrant animated show that teaches kids how to handle their emotions and problem solve, debuted this past September.
Lilly Singh, host of A Little Late with Lilly Singh, became the first queer person of color to host ... [+]
YouTube, however, isn’t Singh’s only medium for storytelling, or for making money. In 2019 she came out on X (then Twitter) as bisexual, sharing, “Throughout my life these have proven to be obstacles from time to time. But now I'm fully embracing them as my superpowers." And what better way to normalize these superpowers than by sharing her perspective on a major television network. Singh accepted an offer from NBC to take over the late-night time slot, becoming the only female late-night host on a major network, and the first queer person of color to be in that spot.
In Singh’s 2022 TED Talk (another impressive storytelling feat!) she asked, “What did I want to be when I grew up? I wanted to be treated equally.” So, to amplify the importance of and her commitment to gender equality, Singh told her story on paper by authoring her first book, How To Be A Bawse. The self-help book teaches women “how to hustle, how to make first impressions and how to rock a meeting.” But that then begged the question, “What does it mean once you get those awards or you get those projects or meet those people?” asked Singh. So, she wrote her second book, Be A Triangle. The book is more spiritual and talks about what success means and explores why we even want success in the first place.
Lilly Singh practicing random acts of kindness at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly ... [+]
Singh also leverages brand partnerships and social media to tell her stories. But she has a strict rule. “Any time I’m approached to do a brand collaboration, I’ll only consider those that have a give back component.” Her most recent was a collaboration with Four Seasons for World Kindness Day, during which the brand, and Singh, encouraged others to share acts of kindness and support local volunteer opportunities. Singh used her platform to explain the importance of being kind - and even surprised her mother with a spa day. And while her mom was relaxing, Singh treated Four Seasons employees to random acts of kindness herself. She leveraged the content and amplified the message by sharing the whole wonderful experience with her 14 million Instagram followers.
Singh’s story is a mosaic of themes - normalizing differences, gender equality, mental wellness and spreading kindness. And she has used her voice and her ability to tell stories to authentically connect with millions of people - and make millions of dollars. “I’m always looking for opportunities to tell stories,” Singh told me. “I shift culture via storytelling and I do that through a variety of mediums. But storytelling is always in the recipe somewhere.”
