Grab your audience's attention with story. (Photo by Richard Hammond.)
When you read article marketing tips, they always begin with “write a great article.” It’s easy to know a bad article when you see one. Uninspiring. Boring. Blah. Makes you want to click off before the creeping gray mess infests your brain. It’s not as easy to see it when you’ve written it.
Here’s a technique, often left out of the article marketing tips, that is guaranteed to make your article burst into color and make your reader forget that he’s reading but afterwards remember what he read.
It’s story. Let me tell you one.
The Power of Story
Back in the ’80s a friend of a friend took his kids to see a movie. I don’t remember what it was. On the way home, his kids announced that they were going to be vegetarians because of what they saw. Regardless of what you think of movies, child-rearing, or vegetarianism, the fact that a couple of kids can go from being hamburger-lovers to committed vegetarians in less than two hours is testimony to the power of story.
Story is hardwired into us. Every culture from the beginning of human existence has expressed its deepest truths in stories. Scientists are discovering that the inner language of the brain is made up of simple declarative sentences addressing problems with solutions — stories. As we sleep, our minds take the cares and concerns of the day and transform them into dreams — stories.
All around us, smart marketers use stories to teach, sell, and persuade — from beer commercials to political campaigns to that sales page that had you reaching for your wallet before you got to the last call to action.
Stories work because each member of the audience identifies with the main character in the drama. The character’s problem becomes my problem and I experience the solution. That’s true for fairy tales, movies, commercials, and articles.
How to Use Stories in Your Articles
But we’re talking about nonfiction articles here, not a screenplay. Here are some article marketing tips to use stories to make your writing more powerful:
1. Structure the article like a story. Aristotle said every drama has a beginning, middle, and an end. Well, duh. But think of it like a movie.
At the beginning, the character has a problem. Then something happens to change his world and challenge him to the core. That part is the middle. At the end, after triumphing over the difficulties, he returns to his old life a new person, and has also solved the problem that plagued him at the beginning.
How can you do that in 300-600 words? Briefly.
Begin with a problem. Make it clear and visceral to the reader. In the middle, address the problem. Offer your solution. At the end, emphasize how the solution fixed the specific problem that opened the article.
2. Use case studies or testimonials. Tell about other people who have used this solution and the results they received. Again, structure each testimonial to begin with the problem and show how the solution solved that problem.
3. Personalize statistics. Facts and statistics are important in some topics, but they can cause people’s eyes to glaze over. When you give dry facts and figures, stop and show what they mean in one person’s life.
You might say something like this: “There are 1.6 million new cases of diabetes identified in people aged 20 and older. Each of those people has a higher risk of going blind, having a foot cut off because of wounds that won’t heal, or dying of heart or kidney disease.”
You might also illustrate it with a “suppose” story: “Suppose a woman, call her Rachael, is diagnosed with diabetes. Rachael doesn’t think it’s important to mind her diet. Here’s what could happen.”
Finding ways to show how the statistics apply to one specific person can make them alive and memorable to your reader.
4. Use sensory language. Different people learn in different ways, so appeal to different senses as you write. Give visual, auditory, and hands-on details to make your stories pop for all your readers and draw them deeper into your message.
How Not to Use Stories in Your Articles
There are some things to be careful about. First, get to the point. Understand the point of your story, and give only the information you need to get it across. This is true whether you’re writing 500 words or 100,000.
Second, keep the focus on one problem. If what you offer solves two different problems, talk about them in two different articles. You want a direct and perfectly matched link between the problem and solution.
Finally, don’t lie. If you have a real testimony, that’s great. But if you don’t, an “imagine” example can be just as effective. The anger a person feels at having been lied to in this way is gut-level and intensely bitter.
The power of story is in the human imagination. It puts your audience at the center of the drama and makes them feel as if they have personally experienced the events.
When you incorporate stories into your articles, they capture the readers’ attention and help them understand the point as if they’ve lived it.
Excellent write up! This hits the nail on the head! I recently started submitting articles to ezine and have about 1,000 views on a few of my articles mainly because of the structure. It is extremely important to keep the readers interested. If you gets someones attention right off the bat there is a much better chance of having your article being read and followed.
zoopco´s recent blog post ..Buy Sold Out Xbox Kinect At Retail Price
Twitter: Janvbear
says:
You’re so right. The headline might grab them, but the structure is what makes them stay.
Jan Bear´s recent blog post ..Blogging- Article Marketing Tips of the Day- Tell a Story
Excellent post! I will keep this in mind when writing my next post. Sometimes it’s very hard to say a lot with only 500 – 600 words – effectiveness matters
Get Happy Life´s recent blog post ..Should You Give Money to Beggars and Homeless
Twitter: jefmenguin
says:
Nicely written. Thank you for sharing this wonderful technique in writing.
Hi Jan.
Great post. Nice structure
First proof your point, then mention do’s and don ‘ts. I will definitly use storytelling more often. The tip about sensory languages sounds good.
Twitter: Janvbear
says:
Thanks, Juan. Everybody loves a story.
Jan Bear´s recent blog post ..Blogging- Article Marketing Tips of the Day- Tell a Story
Twitter: rwperkinsjr
says:
This was a really good post, I actually read it to the end. I like to fancy myself as as somewhat decent writer but I tend to be dry and boring, like you said above. I guess the number of comments on my blog can attest to that! lol.
Why is 500-600 words the limit? Do you lose your reader after that?
Richard´s recent blog post ..Use Your Computer Skills to Make Cash
Twitter: Janvbear
says:
Thanks, Richard!
The 500-600 words is just because I was talking about article marketing. it’s not an upper limit, although if you’re going much beyond that in most of the article directories, it’s better for you from a volume and SEO standpoint to split the article into two or more.
And internet writing in general is so hard on the eyes and attention span that shorter is better, generally speaking.
But as we all know from our own reading, drama can keep us engrossed through thousands of pages, and a lack of it can lose us after one sentence. I saw an article on EzineArticles that went on for 7,000 words. I kid you not. Now that was too long.
But I didn’t mean the word count to be dogmatic. The right length depends on what you’re writing and the medium and the audience.
Twitter: wordpresswb
says:
I love a good story! I even use an intro story for a technical how to article. It gets people interested and the article doesn’t seem so boring.
Mitz Pantic´s recent blog post ..Get The Best Results When Submitting Articles To Ezine Articles
Twitter: Janvbear
says:
That’s a good idea. In fact, the more technical the topic, the more the writer needs to make it clear how it applies to humans. Adding story to a how-to really works in that way.
Jan Bear´s recent blog post ..Blogging- Article Marketing Tips of the Day- Tell a Story
Twitter: wordpresswb
says:
You are right Jan. I have had major success with just a bit of a personal touch because most technical writers cannot relate to humans..Well it seems this way…lol
Mitz Pantic´s recent blog post ..How Did I Increase Adsense Earnings By 500
Twitter: gjmarketer
says:
I really like your advice about writing a story. If I go that route, however, I don’t know if I can stick to 500 to 600 words. I also think about walking the reader through a scenario, kind of how the copywriters do it.
Walk the reader through a scenario, illustrate what they’ll see from one step to the next about a problem they’re trying to solve and lead them to a solution. It’ll resonate better with the audience. You literally put yourself into their shoes.
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Twitter: Janvbear
says:
A story doesn’t have to be long. A sentence or two might be enough to tell it.
But you’ve perfectly described the story structure for an article when you say you walk a reader through a scenario. Different name, same concept. And same outcome. Through imagination, the reader experiences the events, and the brain doesn’t make much distinction between imaginary and “real.”
Jan Bear´s recent blog post ..Copywriting Experts Say- Tabloids Teach You to WRITE BETTER
I’ve been reading a lot about the power of story in writing recently. It’s something I intend to be playing with more as I’ve noticed that some of my own story posts are the ones that have sparked the most interesting responses from my blog readers.
Thanks for this concise overview, there are some very useful points here.
ananga´s recent blog post ..3 Anxiety Breathing Techniques You Can Practice Anywhere
Check out “The Hero With a Thousand Faces”. I have used the basic outline laid out by Joseph Campbell in this book – and it’s extremely successful.
It’s the same formula George Lucas used to create “Star Wars”.
Jean Paul´s recent blog post ..Good Old Google Adwords Catches “Evil Clicks” and Brings You Results…
Twitter: Janvbear
says:
You’re so right, John Paul. Story is story is story, no matter where you find it. Campbell is kind of the go-to guy, but Christopher Vogler and Robert McKee are really good, too. The trick is making the story structure work with nonfiction. Those who do it wel write compelling copy.
Twitter: biznetrends
says:
I was actually nodding while reading your post. You actually hit the bulls eye! This is really a very good post! I can remember my mom ask me a question…”How you can you tell if it is a good book?”, I answered “if it’s a page turner.” Truly, having readers to stick and read your post from start to finish, is the GOAL of every content writer! ^.^
Twitter: Janvbear
says:
Thanks, Niairen Not only reading to the end but getting your point. And story delivers on both counts. We all know that, but I for one tend to put on my “nonfiction” brain and forget everything I know about talking to people.
Jan´s recent blog post ..Firefox Blogging Client- Deepest Sender
A story added to an article can be indeed attractive to readers. However, as mentioned in your article there are a few guidelines as to how to properly add a story to a content which I very much agree with. Following these guidelines are important as not to get lost resulting to a very unnatural content that may cause a lot of writers to fail in this area.
Hi,
You have an excellent post. Actually, I love stories, whether drama or comedy as long as I get entertained. Thanks for the great read. Keep it up!
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