“I prefer to teach with images, parables and metaphors that plant in the mind the seeds of shot making.” –Harvey Penisk
"Human interest stories by-pass the resistance of the rational mind and goes straight to heart where unconscious decisions are made. Telling stories is a hypnotic copywriting secret of all time. It can shatter buying resistance and persuade the prospect to take you and your offer seriously. People remember stories long after they have forgotten facts and figures."
--Uzo Onukwugha
Do you know the greatest advertising man in history?
In fact history is “His story.” The story is about a young man who grew up in the city of Nazareth in the Region of Galilee. At the time, this young boy followed the family tradition and learned the trade of his step father. He became a carpenter and practiced this skill until he was 30.
At 30, he decided to change careers. He left the carpenter’s workshop and became an itinerant teacher. He used the power of His words to sell his message of the kingdom. He called his stories parables. He told stories and followers flocked to him because he was firm and persuasive and his stories made sense and gave people faith and hope.
The locals that he called became his followers. They founded the most popular religion in history named after the Master himself. Jesus Christ was the man and the religion is Christianity.
The Master himself is a master story teller. And all great copywriters are great at story telling. Examples include Robert Collier, Ted Nicholas, Joe Sugarman, Joe Vitale, and Yanik Silver. Just to give you a short list.
Why is story telling the most powerful copywriting secret in history of direct advertising and marketing?
The psychology of stories is bedded in human nature. Stories go beyond the natural to penetrate the human spirit where unconscious buying decisions are made. Humans love to hear human interest stories that relate to their problems, dreams, yearnings and aspirations. When you make the connection, you make the sale.
People love stories. Tabloid journalism sells like crazy. Kids love bed time stories. Africans tell their children moonlight stories. Story telling is the earliest form of oral tradition.
Effective communication involves painting clear vivid pictures with words in the mind of your target audience. Stories illustrate principles, demonstrate facts, and illustrate examples without being technical. Stories are remembered long after facts and figures are forgotten. There is an old copywriting maxim that says stories sell; facts tell. I prefer to sell than to tell.
Great stories work wonders because it is entertaining, it engages the mind, captures attention and perplexes the heart all at the same time. It creates curiosity and the phenomenon of anticipation. Stories let you see and feel the seller’s benefits as reality.
Another thing about stories is that they often contain personal examples, testimonies, metaphors, similes, allegories, anecdodes, and illustrations. All figures of speech and examples paint pictures in the imagination of the buyer. A picture may be more than a thousand words but also powerful descriptions create indelible pictures. This mental movies captivates and persuades the human spirit where buying decisions are made. When you connect with the heart, the destiny of the sale is guaranteed.
Remember though that your story must be true, appropriate, and compelling. Honesty is still the best business policy that must be incorporated in your copywriting otherwise you lose credibility.
Master story tellers are great natural sellers and natural copywriters even if they don’t know it. Just add the rules of good copywriting to the mix and you are ready to go.
Most leading motivational speakers like Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar and Bryan Tracy were all good salesmen that had their own story line before they become successful.
Jim Rohn is America’s foremost business philosopher. Jim is Tony Robbin's mentor. Jim’s story was a farm boy from rural Idaho. He dropped out of school and took a minimum wage job as a factory worker until Jim met a man named Mr. Schaeffer. Mr. Schaeffer asked Jim why he was not rich and Jim complained about how little he was paid.
It was then that Mr. Schaeffer that the company was paying Jim how much he was worth at that time. Mr. Schaeffer explained to Jim that there are other people who worth more and are receiving much higher pay from the same company. Mr. Schaeffer advised Jim to go to work on himself just like he works on his job.
“Success is not what you chase; it is what you attract by the person you become,” said Mr. Schaeffer. “It is not the storm because the storm comes to everybody; it is the set of the sail of your thinking.” In other words, Jim work on yourself, become an attractive person and you’ll have all the success you are looking for.
Jim has told this story repeatedly wherever he goes and in any info-product that comes out of Jim Rohn international. The philosophy behind this story empowered Jim’s life. And with this mindset, Jim has sold millions of products which made him a multi-millionaire while he was in his early thirties.
There are countless other successful copywriters and marketers that have used the story of their live to sell a lot of products. Joe Vitale’s story was spirituality and hypnosis. Yanik Silver’s turning point was attending Dan Kennedy’s copywriting seminar with his life savings. Tony Robbins turning point came with encounter with NLP (neuro-linguistic programming). Ted Nicholas life changed when he discovered the power of words. The examples are endless.
So what is your life story? Every life is a story. You may have multiple stories about your life’s journey. Go to your memory bank and pull out one if you don’t have a journal (story of your life’s journey). Choose a specific encounter for a specific product. The story behind your product may be your unique selling proposition. Choose an appropriate story in your life but don’t lie. It is not what you say; but how you say it will give it a twist and carve out your groove.
Good story does not negate good copywriting elements and principles. You still have to work on Compelling headline, good organization, coherence, layout and formatting chunks of information, use of bullets, visual appeal and call to action and deadlines.
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