You might have noticed that we often write about storytelling on Copyblogger. That’s because stories are the most effective way we communicate as humans.
Stories let us “get inside the heads” of our prospects and audience. We can create emotions, paint pictures, and channel the desires, hopes, and dreams of our audience, just by the stories we choose to tell. They’re also one of the best ways to capture audience attention (and hold it), and by nature they’re extremely shareable — people like to repeat stories and pass them around.
So what goes into a good marketing story? Well, we’ll start with three key elements:
#1: Your story needs a hero
Some marketers like the idea that “the brand is the hero.” In other words, the company is the star of the show.
But you’re almost always better off making your customer the hero of your story. Tell stories about problems your customers have faced. Tell stories about people who look a lot like your customers. Tell stories that your customers can imagine themselves in.
If you know that your prospects are mostly introverts, telling stories about introverts will draw your audience into your content and help them relate to it.
If your prospects are animal-lovers, share a great animal rescue story.
If they’re grandparents … you get the idea. The characters in your stories don’t need to exactly mirror your prospects, but they should have important elements in common. (Especially internal qualities, like beliefs and personality traits.)
Of course, this means you have to actually know who your best prospect is. The most important factor in telling a great marketing story is understanding who you’re telling the story to. The more you know about how your prospects “ticks,” the better your marketing will get.
#2: Your story needs a helper
If your customer is the hero of your story, what’s your role?
Usually, the smart way to go is to make yourself the Sage — the “wise helper” figure who gives the hero important information that allows her to reach her goal. (Think Yoda, or Glinda the good witch.)
Of course, the wise helper in stories is usually cryptic, confusing, and nearly gets the hero killed by giving advice that’s hard to follow. So don’t do that part. 🙂 But do cast yourself and your business as the knowledgeable guide who will bring your hero/customer safely down the path toward her goal.
#3: The “gap” that makes a story work
Ever wonder what it is that makes page-turners so hard to put down?
It’s the gap — the space between what the hero wants and where she is now.
The gap gets smaller, and we think she’s almost reached her goal. Then — cliffhanger! The gap widens again, and we’re driven to turn the page and find out what comes next.
Your prospects have gaps like that in their lives — we all do. Those gaps command a lot of our attention and energy, which is what gives stories so much power.
The more challenging and complex the problem, the wider the gap, and the more “cliffhangers” — moments where your goal seems within your grasp, only to slip away — the story can accommodate.
Part of knowing your prospect is understanding where she is today, knowing where she wants to go, and then illuminating the path between here and there. Understand the gap, and understand how you (and your product or service) bridge that gap.
More on marketing stories
Check out this list Copyblogger resources for how to tell a more compelling marketing story.
- How to Craft a Marketing Story that People Embrace by Brian Clark talks about how to use framing and a strong premise to make your story compelling.
- A Crash Course in Marketing with Stories by Brandon Yanofsky looks at one of the all-time great marketing stories, Apple’s “1984” ad.
- The Most Important Element of Your Marketing Story talks more about the protagonist (hero) of your marketing story and the role he plays.
- 3 Simple Storytelling Methods that can Do Your Selling For You by Ben Settle talks about how story elements can be used to sell.
- And Is it Time for You to Step Up? is an example of how a quick story can suck a reader into your content and provide immediate emotional engagement.
- Another great example of that is Jon Morrow’s incredible story of how his mother fought for his life when he was still a baby, and how that’s affected his life and business.
– The Copyblogger Team