Internet Marketing Reviews | The Power of Storytelling

The Power of Storytelling

For thousands of years humans have been telling stories. From the sketchings on cave walls, from The Epic of Gilgamesh around 2000 BC to different religious texts that circle the Earth. The story is so central to the human experience that one can not separate the story from what it means to be human.

In marketing, one of the huge benefits of telling a story is that people can remember stories better than any other form of marketing. Marketers call this “sticky”: it sticks in peoples minds long after they read or hear it. If you are a Christian, then you already know that Jesus knew the power of storytelling with his parables. Perhaps the greatest marketer to ever live, Claude Hopkins, in 1919, was hired by Schlitz beer to create an ad that would save the company. Indeed, Schlitz was ranked fifteenth in beer sales and was on the verge of closing its doors. Hopkins made a trip to Wisconsin to visit the brewery. He knew that he needed to know more about how their beer was actually made. Hopkins knew that in order to make a profitable ad, he would have to learn as much as possible about the product.The managers at Schlitz gave Hopkins a tour of the brewery and showed him every step of the brewing process. They showed him how deep they had drilled their wells to find the purest water. They explained how the glass sealed rooms kept the water pure, the yeast they used and from where they got it. They explained to Claude Hopkins where the bottles were cleaned, re-cleaned, and sanitized a dozen times.“My God,” Hopkins said, “Why don’t you tell people in your advertising about all these steps you are taking to brew your beer?”But, answered the Schlitz people, “all companies brew their beer about the same way.”“Yes,” Hopkins replied, “but the first one to tell the public about this process will gain a big advantage.”Hopkins then launched an ad campaign for Schlitz that described in detail the company’s step-by-step brewing process for making the beer. Six months later, Schlitz sales exploded and they became the #1 selling beer. Hopkins proved with his ad campaign the power of storytelling marketing If Claude Hopkins was alive today, he would literally dominate Internet marketing.

This is a good example of how marketing that you would think would fail, actually works. Most people would think that someone doesn’t have the time to read a long story and so it is better to not use story telling in your marketing and instead go for the short sales pitch. Who really has the time to read all this?–is what most new marketers think.This is just not true and we can prove that it is not true because of the marketing giants that have gone before us. Hopkins did marketing research on this very topic, he writes: Mail order advertising tells a complete story if the purpose is to make an immediate sale. You see no limitations there on amount of copy. The motto there is, “The more you tell the more you sell.” And it has never failed to prove out so in any test we know. One of the greatest marketers to have ever lived, Ben Hart, has done his own research on this subject. His findings show that his two page sales copy does better than his one page sales copy, and his four page sales copy does better than his two page sales copy. He has even written sales letters that are more than 12 pages long!

I am reminded of a client I had who felt that the sales letter I created for him was just too long to post on his landing page. He took out huge portions of my sales copy and posted the final version on his website. After a few months, I called him to find out how his web sales were doing. He said his sales increased about 10% but was really hoping for more. I recommended that he put the longer sales copy that I wrote for him up. This time he listened to me and did as I instructed. His sales increased 40%. He is a big believer now in using longer sales copy to tell a story.

Perhaps the greatest example of storytelling marketing is the sales letter that literally made the Wall Street Journal. This letter alone brought fame and fortune to the Wall Street Journal. You can take this letter and tweak it to fit your business.

Dear Reader:

On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, two young men graduated from the same college. They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than average students, both were personable and both -– as young college graduates are — were filled with ambitious dreams for the future. Recently, these men returned to their college for their 25th reunion.They were still very much alike. Both were happily married. Both had three children. And both, it turned out, had gone to work for the same Midwestern manufacturing company after graduation, and were still there. But there was a difference. One of the men was manager of a small department of that company. The other was its president.

What Made the Difference?

Have you ever wondered, as I have, what makes this kind of difference in people’s lives? It isn’t always a native intelligence or talent or dedication. It isn’t that one person wants success and the other doesn’t.The difference lies in what each person knows and how he or she makes use of that knowledge. And that is why I am writing to you and to people like you about The Wall Street Journal. For that is the whole purpose of The Journal:
To give its readers knowledge – knowledge that they can use in business.

A Publication Unlike Any OtherYou see..

The Wall Street Journal is a unique publication. It’s the country’s only national business daily. Each business day, it is put together by the world’s largest staff for business-news experts. Each business day, The Journal’s pages include a broad range of information of interest and significance to business-minded people, no matter where it comes from. Not just stocks and finance, but anything and everything in the whole, fast-moving world of business … The Wall Street Journal gives you all the business news you need— when you need it.

Knowledge Is PowerRight now..

I am reading page one of The Journal. It combines all the important news of the day with in-depth feature reporting. Every phase of business news is covered, from articles on inflation, wholesale prices, car prices, tax incentives for industries to major developments in Washington, and elsewhere. And there is page after page inside The Journal filled with fascinating and significant information that’s useful to you. A daily column on personal money management helps you become a smarter saver, better investor, wiser spender. There are weekly columns on small business, marketing, real estate, technology, regional developments. If you have never read The Wall Street Journal, you cannot imagine how useful it can be to you. Much of the information that appears in The Journal appears nowhere else. The Journal is printed in numerous plants across the United States, so that you get it early each business day.

A $28 Subscription

Put our statements to the proof by subscribing for the next 13 weeks for just $28. This is the shortest subscription term we offer – and a perfect way to get acquainted with The Journal. Or you may prefer to take advantage of a longer-term subscription for greater savings: an annual subscription at $107 saves you $20 off The Journal’s cover price. Our best buy -—two years for $185 – saves you a full $69! Simply fill out the endorsed order card and mail it in the postage-paid envelope provided.

And here’s The Journal guarantee:

Should The Journal not measure up to your expectations, you may cancel this trial arrangement at any point and receive a refund for the undelivered portion of your subscription.If you feel as we do that this is a fair and reasonable proposition, then you will want to find out without delay if The Wall Street Journal can do for you what it is doing for millions of readers. So please mail the enclosed order card now, and we will start serving you immediately.

About those two college classmates, I mention at the beginning of this letter. They graduated from college together and together got started in the business world. So what made their lives in business different? Knowledge. Useful knowledge. And its application.

An Investment In Success..

I cannot promise you that success will be instantly yours if you start reading The Wall Street Journal. But I can guarantee that you will find The Journal always interesting, always reliable, and always useful.

Sincerely Yours,
Peter R. Kann

By Lance Jepsen author of Profits That Lie Hidden In Your Web Site

How A Fool Story Can Make You a Million Bucks

Filed Under Internet Marketing | 2 Comments

Tagged With Affiliate Marketing, sales copy, strytelling

Comments

Copyright © 2007 Internet Marketing Reviews and Tips • Inspired by Performancing's Modernpaper • SEO by Court's Internet Marketing School