Writing A Good Story – That Sells

It’s lunchtime, which sounds nicer?

• Ham and cheese sandwich
• Gourmet Spanish ham and mozzarella freshly baked ciabatta?

Depending on who your market is, you may get different answers, but I bet you’d pay more for the second option.

I am sure we all understand the importance of well-written copy, especially in business and to be really effective, we need not to be concentrating just on the grammar aspect of an article, but, even more importantly, on the story itself.

But we are not here to tell a story, I hear you say, we’re here to sell our business and services and that’s more about facts. That’s all well and good, but people buy into the story just as much as the reality and especially more so than hard facts.

Seth Godin, pronounces in his book, All Marketers Are Liars, that stories are what make a business service buyable:

Either you’re going to tell stories that spread, or you’ll become irrelevant.

He has a point. Recently I have noticed that a lot of copy we are given to work with, when taken out of context, means absolutely nothing:

• Complete Solutions Provider
• Unique Service Offering
• Bespoke Design Systems

They are also very factual and specific and don’t sell benefits or needs.

Anyone of the above examples could be applied to website design, for instance, but I don’t want a web site. I want an on line marketing tool that is going to be very effective, generating business and saving me time. It’s still a web site, yes, but a web site that is effective: Because I also want a quick return on investment (that’s my needs and desires).

So, not only do you need to tell your story, you also need to keep it contextual and, just to add more to the mix, if your copy is for the web and search engine traffic is important to you; you also need to make it keyword oriented. People do not go onto search engines and type in "complete solutions provider", it’s about context: "website designer in hampshire" for instance.

It sounds complicated doesn’t it? Well, it is and it isn’t, but it continues to be one of the most overlooked parts of marketing – great copy sells the story, which sells the product (or service).

Derek Powazek, on the A List Apart Blog, asks all designers: Learn To Write!

It’s time we designers stop thinking of ourselves as merely pixel
people, and start thinking of ourselves as the creators of experiences.
And when it comes to experience on the web, there’s no better way to
create it than to write, and write well.

We agree, so read and write feverishly, developing the talent. I also think that the words you use and the way you use them are integral to your brand. That is why it is an area that needs constant development and inspiration.

Words Also Change

Language itself also develops "dont u tink"? Text messaging may annoy many people but if we hadn’t allowed language to develop we would all be speaking like Shakespeare still, wouldn’t we? Copy in business is becoming a lot more conversational. You need to be appealing!

The key is not to be precious, but to embrace changes and the need for great stories. Who are to speaking to and what are you trying to say, really? Invest in your marketing speak and develop your tone-of-voice. Choice is becoming immense and if you don’t say it the way that your customers need to hear it, or would say it themselves; or, if your story isn’t that interesting; you may just lose them to someone who is.

If you need a little more convincing, read this nice little article called The Story of Branding over at ClickZ.Com