Seth Godin’s new book, to be released in May of this year, is called All Marketers are Liars. In a PDF he has posted about the book he says, “Successful marketers don’t tell the truth. They don’t talk about features or even benefits. Instead, they tell a story. A story we want to believe.”

Telling a relevant and powerful story is key to marketing success. However, too many firms prefer not to tell a story. Instead they use copy to list bullet after bullet of features and benefits. If I want a story from these companies I have to connect the dots myself.

At this point you might be saying to yourself, “I don’t have a story to tell.” Then do both yourself and your company a favor and find one. Any product can tell a story. Even something as simple as a notebook.

For the past several months I have been using Moleskine notebooks. They are 4-5 times more expensive then what you could purchase at Wal-Mart. Plus, they’re close to impossible to find in a store, so you have to order online, pay for shipping, and wait.

But with each notebook comes a small piece of paper that tells the story of Moleskine.

It is two centuries now that Moleskine has been the legendary notebook of European artists and intellectuals, from Van Gogh to Henri Matisse, from the exponents of the historical avant-garde movements to Ernest Hemingway. Many are the sketches and notes, ideas and emotions that have been jotted down and harbored in this trustworthy pocket-sized travel companion before being turned into famous pictures or pages of beloved books.

The story continues for several paragraphs and ends with, “The sequel still waits to be written and its blank pages are ready to tell the story.”

You may not like Hemingway or even know who Matisse is. Or maybe just the word avant-garde turns you off. But then you are not Moleskine’s target audience. They are not trying to be everything to everyone. Instead they are telling a story that they know will resonate with an audience that is willing to pay a premium to be a part of the story.

Think about this the next time you review copy or conduct a planning meeting. Is your company telling a compelling story or taking the easy way out by listing your features and benefits and asking me to connect the dots.