Looking to truly connect with an audience, especially a niche one? Three copywriting techniques can put you on the path to a deeper connection: storytelling, future pacing and the hero’s journey.
The craft of copywriting
Copywriting is the craft of effective communication. It’s the art of assembling words in such a way as to irresistibly appeal to your audience and inspire prospective buyers to take heed of your call to action. But in the crowded marketplace of today, it’s more difficult than ever for companies to compete for customers’ attention.
Ultimately, faced with a plethora of choice, customers are going to opt for the brand whose sales copy most readily resonates with their emotions and echoes their values. In order to be heard, you need a copywriting strategy which will help foster a deeper emotional connection between your brand and your audience.
What is copywriting storytelling?
Telling a story in the marketing or corporate communications arena takes a different form than in the world of novels and children’s books. A corporate storyteller needs to find the individual stories lurking behind straightforward sales copy and produce the imagery and turns of phrase that elicit a more emotional response from readers, capturing their hearts and minds.
Many of the world’s most well-known and popular brands have long been incorporating storytelling into their marketing strategy because they understand the incredibly powerful potential for connection that storytelling wields.
Storytelling will make your brand more memorable:
The general understanding in modern cognitive psychology is that our brains are significantly more likely to remember facts and key pieces of information if they are wrapped up in a story. Just try to imagine how much content marketing social media users are exposed to on a daily basis. How much of it actually resonates with them as (potential) customers, and how much of it gets scrolled away?
By incorporating storytelling, a company’s marketing content becomes immediately more likely to capture attention, so your audience will be more likely to remember your brand as a result.
Storytelling will help your business connect more deeply with your audience:
A good story, particularly one involving relatable characters and scenarios, gives your audience an opportunity to immerse themselves in a world you create.
By seeing themselves mirrored in the characters you describe or in the scenarios your copy conjures, prospective customers will be better able to imagine how your company, product or service can change their life for the better and they’ll be more likely to respond to your call to action.
Storytelling will make your brand more human and instill confidence in your brand:
Storytelling will give your marketing campaign a human face that your prospective customers can trust, thereby instilling confidence in your product or service. Take, for instance, your brand story.
If your audience understands your brand’s origins and history as well as the motives behind its inception, they’ll be able to attribute a sense of humanity to your brand, making it more than just a name and logo.
Know your audience
In copywriting storytelling, as in much of marketing, the old adage “know your audience” still rings true. The secret ingredient to effective storytelling is a thorough understanding of who it is you are actually writing for. This sounds simplistic, but it’s easy enough for copywriters to forget that they’re writing for your brand’s audience and not for your brand.
When crafting copy, the focus should always be on the recipient. You need to know your audience inside out: their goals, values, fears and pain points. Then, and then only will you be adept at communicating how your brand is the solution they’ve been looking for.
Once you’ve clearly established who your target audience is, it should be easier to consider how you might go about creating a plot centered around your brand and prospective customers. Perhaps your product could help solve a problem in their life? Craft copy that depicts real-life examples of customers before and after they’ve tried your product or service. Perhaps you have just the thing that will help them realize their goals? Spin a tale about a character just like them who, with the help of your brand, has excelled in their personal endeavors.
Future Pacing
Enchanting readers with a vivid snapshot of their future after heeding your call to action (buying your product, ordering your service, etc.) is a technique known as future pacing. This is a clever and very powerful marketing technique grounded in neurolinguistic programming, a psychological approach that explores the relationship between language, thoughts and patterns of behavior.
In storytelling copywriting, future pacing involves creating a compelling vision of the benefits and results that can be brought about by using your product or service.
The hero’s journey
Another powerful storytelling technique for your copywriting strategy is to adopt the structure of a hero’s journey. The “hero’s journey” story structure is a favorite among copywriting experts, because it has the potential to tap into the psychological and emotional patterns of your target audience and capture their attention and imagination.
Joseph Campbell is credited as popularizing the concept of the hero’s journey. In his seminal work from 1949, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” Campbell brought attention to the idea of the hero’s journey as a universal pattern found in various cultures and storytelling traditions.
What is the hero’s journey?
Just as the title of Campbell’s book suggests, the hero can appear in multiple different guises – from Homer’s Odysseus to Frodo Baggins from Lord of the Rings to Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. These tales are examples of how elaborate the hero’s journey story arc can be, with a whole number of different stages for the hero to undergo. Though, for marketing purposes, the principal steps of the hero’s journey can usually be distilled into the following three.
Phase 1, The Familiar World: Life as the hero knows it or the ordinary world, before your call to action.
Phase 2, Transformation: Entering unfamiliar territory and undergoing transformation, having taken heed of your call to action.
Phase 3, The Hero’s New Life: The hero’s new, improved life, brought about by taking heed of your call to action.
Figure 1: The Hero’s journey in marketing can usually be distilled into three main phases.
Case Study: Before and after storytelling techniques
To illustrate, let us take a real-life example of how we transformed one company’s content marketing by applying storytelling techniques to create a more compelling narrative about their new product. Compare the original:
“The (…) remote monitoring solution connects your LPG cylinders to your smartphone so you no longer have to leave the comfort of your camper and grapple with awkwardly positioned gauges to check how much gas is left. You can check it anytime, anywhere, within range of the Bluetooth signal. With the option to set two alarm levels, you need never be caught out and can always plan your next visit to the gas station in plenty of time. (…) also predicts when your next refill is needed, monitors your daily consumption and displays the information in an easy-to-read graph.
The system is very easy to install: All you have to do is swap the existing dial on your cylinder with the provided plug, connect the module and download the app. It is compatible with any Gaslow or Alugas cylinder equipped with (…) multivalve. Everything you need to set it up comes in the all-in-one kit.”
With our new, storytelling-technique infused version:
“We all love our home comforts on a trip away in the camper. But making sure there’s plenty of gas in your cylinders for cooking and heating can be a hassle. In most cases it means going outside the vehicle, opening a small compartment and struggling to check some awkwardly positioned gauge, made all the worse if you discover you’re running low. It’s an added level of stress when you’d rather be warm and comfortable inside.
If you’ve ever wished you simply had your gas levels at your fingertips, you’re in luck. With the (…) remote monitoring solution, you can check the status of your LPG cylinders directly from your smartphone via an app, anytime, anywhere, within range of the Bluetooth signal.
With the option to set two alarm levels, you need never be caught out and can always plan your next visit to the gas station in plenty of time. You can monitor your daily consumption in the form of an easy-to-read graph. The app even predicts when the next refill is needed.
(…) is compatible with any Gaslow or Alugas cylinder equipped with a (…) multivalve. Simply install the system and download the app before you set off and leave your worries in the rearview mirror.”
Focus on your audience
The first most noticeable adaptation of the original copy is the shift in perspective and attention paid to the target audience. The original version certainly includes vital information about the product’s special attributes, but they’re merely listed. In contrast, our new version makes ample use of the pronoun “you” – an underestimated, powerful word in the copywriter’s bag of tricks – to show precisely how the reader will benefit from your product’s special features.
The first rule of copywriting:
you’re not writing about your brand; you are writing about and for your reader. Make them the main character. After all, that’s the lens through which they are consuming your content.
Paint the picture
Our improved version of the original text sets the scene with a detailed, relatable scenario which the audience may well find themselves in. Let’s shine a spotlight on the first paragraph in particular.
In the first sentence, the copy makes the customer the main character and assures them that the brand understands what they are looking for on their camping trip: They want to feel as comfortable as possible while they are on the road. Cleverly, this is immediately juxtaposed in the sentences that follow. The copy tells a story, reminding customers of the awkwardness and inconvenience of having to get out of the vehicle to check the gauge the traditional way. This setup allows the brand to better position their product as the solution the audience is looking for, having reminded them of their pain points. In this instance, the hero’s journey can be summarized in the following:
Phase 1: The audience enjoys traveling with their RV, but they hate the inconvenience of having to check the awkwardly positioned gas gauge. This can make trips stressful, because the vacationers will need to keep climbing in and out of the vehicle.
Phase 2: The audience obtains the new technology. Now, they have their “gas levels at their fingertips” and can monitor it from the comfort of the RV using their smartphone.
Phase 3: The RV life is far less stressful and a lot more enjoyable thanks to the new technology. The audience has “peace of mind,” leaves their “worries in the rearview mirror,” and can enjoy their vacation to the full.
Storytelling techniques: choose wisely
Now, we aren’t suggesting you turn all of your copy from here on out into epic tales. Even just infusing your copy with storytelling techniques, as in the example of the case study above, has the capacity to take your brand’s resonance with its audience to new heights. We’ve assembled a list of things to adopt and avoid in the world of copywriting storytelling below:
DO develop multiple stories. There’s a wealth of stories you can tell about your brand to make your website and copy more engaging. By including multiple stories, you’re adding more faces and dimensions to your brand, fostering a sense of shared humanity.
But DON’T get your wires crossed. Multiple stories could make your brand more captivating, but make sure they’re harmonious. Ensure there are no plot holes or inconsistencies when telling stories, which could negatively impact your audience’s trust in your brand.
DO use language that is descriptive, vivid and engaging. The use of sensory language, among other literary devices, will help your audience slip into the world you’ve built, allowing them to visualize exactly how your brand can help them.
But DON’T overdo it. There is such a thing as overkill. Overdoing the flowery language and employing every literary device under the sun will make your claims sound outlandish. Make sure your language aligns with the kind of brand that you are.
DO strive for clarity and precision. We live in a busy world. Aim to captivate your audience concisely. Copywriting storytelling shouldn’t be long and wieldy.
But in your quest for clarity, DON’T bore or disenchant your audience. Instead, you want your marketing content to inspire and convince.
What’s your story?
Storytelling copywriting is alluring. If done well, it’ll run like a common thread throughout all of your copy, helping to bolster the entire narrative surrounding your brand and to effectively communicate your values, mission, history and overall identity. Integrating future pacing and the hero’s journey, as well as remembering to always write with your audience in mind, will make your brand more engaging, meaningful and memorable.
Searching for a happy ending to your copywriting qualms? Then look no further. For over 25 years, Leinhäuser has been providing bespoke language solutions to a broad portfolio of clients in a wide range of industries. We enjoy collaborating closely with our clients to ensure the success of each and every project. Contact us at info@leinhaeuser.com with your inquiries.
Is time of the essence? For any urgent inquiries, we’d like to direct you to our Priority Lane service: prioritylane@leinhaeuser.com.
