The Art of Salesworthy Storytelling

In the world of marketing, certain concepts and topics tend to become buzzwords over time. 

For example, you’ve probably been seeing a TON of content on AI recently – that’s a buzz topic that’s currently circling the Internet. Other examples include funnels, thought leadership, and UGC (user generated content). 

All of these are examples of marketing trends that have gained popularity and it seems like no matter where you turn, there are opinions and suggestions being given for the same topic.

And it can be confusing, because you’re hearing about the same topic from so many different perspectives, often contradictory. 

This confusion can leave you in a state of overwhelm and completely unsure about which advice to take.

In the last year or so, I’ve been seeing this exact scenario happen with the topic of storytelling.

For as long as I can remember, storytelling has been a huge part of marketing, but it’s not until more recently that almost every marketer out there is sharing their take on it and giving you their “secret method” for successful storytelling. 

As a copywriter myself, you can probably guess that I have my own personal thoughts on this topic. So, at the risk of adding to the noise about storytelling, I want to share that with you. 

But not in the way that you might expect… 

I’m not going to sit here and tell you that you need to tell more stories in your content. 

Because the truth is, simply telling stories isn’t enough!

What I’m not saying is that storytelling isn’t effective or useful in your marketing. IT IS! But the way that you might be used to telling stories isn’t. 

For storytelling to be worth it in your marketing, your story needs to get someone’s attention, but more importantly it needs to include a captivating sales message.

And that ⤴️ is what I see lacking in storytelling most often. 

Here’s why this happens: we first learn to read and write stories as early as Kindergarten and we advance those skills as we continue through middle and high school. 

We learn the traditional storytelling necessities like the characters, conflict, setting, plot, climax, dialogue, etc. 

Those are the basic things that we’re taught in English class, so naturally we learn to tell stories like this:

“Once upon a time in [setting], there were [characters]. Then [conflict] happened. Then [another conflict] happened. [Conflict] was resolved and they all lived happily ever after.”

That’s the premise of every fairytale ever, right?!

While this type of storytelling can be great, the only real problem is that stories like this don’t make for a very captivating sales message and your reader isn’t led to their next action (whether that be a sale, opt in, DM, etc.).

When you want to use storytelling in your content as a way to persuade your audience, it has to be done strategically.

Note: strategic doesn’t necessarily mean changing your story. 

It simply means that you are very intentional about the way that you tell it!

As a copywriter, I firmly believe that you can tell a story about anything and you can make that story salesworthy.

How to Tell Salesworthy Stories in Your Content

When it comes to telling salesworthy stories, you often have to UNLEARN almost everything you already know about storytelling. 

Even if you loved English class with all of your heart (like me!), there are just some things we have to unlearn (but not the Oxford comma 😉).

First things first, in order to tell successful stories (aka ones that lead to real results), you must stop recounting a series of events and including a call-to-action at the end.

It simply doesn’t work like that!

Once you ditch the traditional way of telling stories, it’s time to choose your new way, which includes knowing:

• Where to start (and contrary to what we’re taught, it’s not always at the beginning)

One of the top copywriting tips that I teach to my students in Inbox Love, Launch Copy Accelerator and, most recently, LaunchFlow Accelerator is to start in the middle. 

When you start in the middle, you immediately hook your reader in because they want to know what the heck you’re talking about! And the only way for them to find that out is if they keep reading. 

This is done in movies and books all the time because it WORKS. 

Think about it – which line is more interesting and attention grabbing to you:

“One time in 8th grade my best friend and I got into the worst fight of our lives and I thought our friendship was over.”

“I walked away in disbelief and wondered how she really just said that to me.”

See the difference? The story is the exact same, but the way it begins creates a completely different feeling!

• What parts to emphasize (emotions, struggles, revelations, etc.)

Where people tend to go wrong in storytelling is telling every. single. detail. that isn’t necessary. 

You’re allowed to leave out certain parts of a story (even if that’s how it happened) and emphasize the parts that really matter.

In fact, that’s exactly what I advise you to do! 

To really connect with your reader, you want to make sure you’re emphasizing parts of a story that matter the most, like the specific feelings, the struggles they can relate to, and especially your a-ha moments.

• What the lesson is for your readers (keyword here is YOUR READERS – the lesson isn’t for or about you)

Another mistake that I see people make in storytelling is making the lesson all about them when that’s really not the point AT ALL. 

Telling a story in your content isn’t meant to be a recollection of your lessons learned. 

The point is for your reader to be able to connect with one of your experiences and apply it to THEIR life in a way that makes perfect sense. 

The story is simply what makes it relatable and understandable!

• What they should do next (your call-to-action)

Any successful salesworthy story ends with a RELEVANT call-to-action (CTA)!

The keyword there is relevant. The last thing you want is for someone to read a story about the time you quit your corporate job and then have that end with buying your program about time management. 

The only way that CTA would make sense is if your story connected to time management in some way. 

No matter what your CTA is, whether it be opting in to your freebie, reading a blog post, connecting with you on LinkedIn or buying your course, it should seamlessly connect with what your reader learned through your story!

In addition to everything above, you also have to consider your narrative.

This is one of those traditional storytelling terms that you’ve probably heard before, but you might now know exactly what it means. 

Essentially, your narrative is the frame of your story and the missing element that transforms your stories from personal anecdotes into compelling sales messages.

This is the thing that connects the dots or bridges the gap for your reader by helping them understand where they are now and help them visualize and clearly see where they could be with the help of your offer.

When your narrative is clear and you implement the strategies above, THAT is when you can achieve salesworthy stories and your content starts to stand out to your audience in a new way!

Overall, I want you to remember this: all stories aren’t created equal and simply telling stories in your copy isn’t enough. 

For them to actually work, you must be strategic in the way that you write them. 

If you’re in need of some help to build your storytelling skill, this is one of the major things that my Inbox Love students practice for 14 days straight via email. 

This mini-course was created to help people write irresistible emails that you love to write and your audience loves to read. 

For only $100, you can be on your way to better, salesworthy stories and everything you learn can be applied to other content too – not just email!

CLICK HERE to learn more about Inbox Love and see what other students are saying. 💌