In fact most good copywriting has some kind of a story behind it.
Even a short ad, where we might just have an image and a slogan, still represents the story of our business.
One reason stories are so effective in sales is because people just love stories. It's practically built into our DNA, because as a society it's how we've communicated ideas since the beginning of language.
So when we write our copy, one thing to consider is "what's the story behind our offer?" And how can we communicate it to our reader.
One great way to tell a story is to build it around a character.
It could be a fictional character, or a real person. It can even be a story about you or one of your customers who had a problem, and how your product solved it.
Of course we don't want our entire copy to be all story, because we still need to include the sales part if we want to actually sell something.
But a good story that pulls people into our copy, and gets them to see how it relates to them, is one of the more powerful ways I've discovered to lead customers towards a sale.
So how do we tell a good story in our copywriting...?
Well, there's a few classic story telling structures we can use, and it really depends on what fits the narrative of what we're selling. But here's one basic outline you can use (I learned this one from watching PIXAR movies)...
The basic 6 point structure is...
- Once upon a time...
- Every day was the same...
- Then one day...
- Because of that...
- And because of that...
- Until finally...
Pretty basic stuff, right? - But very powerful just the same.
Here's another good story outline you can use for your copywriting...
1. An Opener
Start with who your story is about and establish the problem, challenge, or quest she faces — Your goal here is to get your reader invested in the main character and what she must accomplish.
2. An Incident that Changes Everything
It’s one thing to render a character frustrated or angry at some annoying opponent. But get to the catalyst that forces him to act.
3. A Series of Crises that Build Tension
These should grow progressively worse and challenge your protagonist to gain new skills that will serve him in the end.
4. A Tense Climax
This is where your character appears to have fatally failed and everything appears hopeless.
5. An End
The resolution concludes your story. Your main character must succeed or fail, based on what he’s learned from the crises. This is also where you tie up loose ends and satisfy your reader, while at the same time leaving him wanting more.
Credit where credit is due... I pulled the above structure from a brief article I found here...
7 Story Structures Any Writer Can Use Which also briefly describes a few other classic story structures like "the heroes journey" and the "3 act structure".
To wrap this post up let me just say, people tell themselves stories everyday (stories about themselves, stories about the world they live in, stories about the other people in their life...)
And every ad we write tells a story about our offer. So when we tell a good story that people can relate to, and we get people involved in our story, it just becomes easier and more natural for them to buy what we're selling.
Thought for the day...