When storytelling isn’t enough

You might have heard marketers and sales professionals, and especially copywriters, pitching the idea of a story. But they skipped one essential that can shoot your results into the stratosphere.

You see, a good storyteller does have a distinct edge in copywriting and selling. You’ll be more original, more real, if you can tell a good story. But anyone can tell a story and find a way to sew it onto their sales message. That’s the crude way of doing things.

The most savvy copywriters actually reverse-engineer their story so the sales message is embedded into every stage of the story. Here’s how it works.

First, look at your basic pitch. There are several specific statements that you want your listener/viewer/reader to believe to be true. The typical sequence goes something like this:

1. The listener has a problem or a need (you want them to believe that they suffer from this)

2. Your product can solve the problem/fill the need (you want them to believe this to be true)

3. Your product is the best way or only way to solve the problem/fill the need (you want them to believe this is true)

4. In fact, right now is the best time to solve the problem (you want them to believe this is urgent)

Now, go back to your story. Instead of just using it as an “opening” or attention grabber, find as many elements in the story as possible that support each of the above points. You might have to take some poetic license, embellish the story, or change the way you tell it.

The result is irresistable, because human beings are wired for listening to stories. Instead of just telling a story that segues into a sales pitch, your story now is the sales pitch.

This is a very advanced copywriting secret. It doesn’t take long to explain, but it’s very hard to do. Start practicing.