For the final daily writing prompt this week on copywriting, we will take a look (and practice) one more basic strategy.
In case you are taking this week in reverse-chronological order, we have covered quite a bit. We started by defining copywriting and then we jumped into the primary copywriting formulas AIDA and PAS.
For today’s writing prompt we will cover the art of storytelling.
Storytelling is a craft utilized by the best copywriters of the ages. From Ogilvy and Halbert, to Sugarman and Bly, they all use stories to start their ads, articles and sales pages.
One of the best methods to get a reader to identify with your ad, article or product is by telling a story. Of course, the story needs to be relevant.
For example, if you are selling a dog tracking collar, you can start with a story about your lost dog. Stories allow for a near-instant connection with your target audience.
Let’s look at today’s prompt and then dive into the details bit more.
June 06
Find a story from your life that can reach your reader on one of the big 4 emotions (fear, sadness, happiness, sympathy). Use that story to connect to a product your audience needs or wants.
As you can see from the prompt, there are a few emotions we can tap into. Fear is one of the largest connection devices you can use to connect to your reader. Take the lost dog example from above.
If your target audience is dog owner’s some have lost a dog before, other’s fear what it would be like. With your story about your lost dog, you connect with both. The ones that have lost a dog before will sympathize and remember that fear they had. Those that haven’t fear it will happen to them.
The use of storytelling is huge. You can connect with your readers on levels few other copywriting tactics can. And once you make that connection, you build trust, mental and emotional bridges and a sense of {insert the emotion here}.
When you have those in place, the rest of your ad will hit home a little harder, a little deeper and increase the likelihood the reader will click on your call to action.
Try it out with a story of your own now. You can pick the product or service and the emotion you want to connect with. Remember to keep your story short, concise and packed with emotion.
Can you make readers follow and connect with you?
