Have you also been captivated by a book or a movie, so completely that the story has haunted you for hours, perhaps even days and nights, after closing the book or leaving the cinema? Then you understand the impact of a story on man. Let that power be a means in your e-mail marketing. Pack your newsletter with storytelling!
Why storytelling works
How come companies around the globe love using storytelling in their marketing today? Is it an expression for a longing back to the days when stories were told around campfires? Or a way to create deeper relationships with employees and customers? Or is it just another marketing trick?
Either way, storytelling is one of our most powerful communication tools. It works! Simply because our brains like relating to other people through stories.
You can take advantage of this in your marketing!
Instead of listing all the facts of a newly launched product, use the power of the story. This triggers more parts of your reader's brain. Research shows that the brain more easily remembers and relates to other people and their emotions and experiences, rather than to features, facts, and products. That’s why storytelling is so effective!
Good stories provide deeper relationships, create involvement, and can lead to increased conversion. They bring life to what you want to sell, be it a product, your brand, or your company in general.
So how do you strengthen your newsletter with really good storytelling? Here are 8 practical tips.
1) Storytelling means promoting something through a story.
2) Before you get started, define the 4 W-questions.
Why? That is, what is the purpose of your story?
Who is your reader? Always use your readers and your target group as your basis.
What is your promise to the reader? That is, what problem will you solve through your story and what is the aim of it?
Where does your reader encounter your text?
3) Do you, for example, have a newly launched service or product?
Guide your reader through a problem that your service or product offers a solution to. Relate to yourself, a customer, or an employee who faced the problem. Describe how the problem was stressful and challenging. Then tell how your service or product solved the problem for the person in question. And what he or she gained from it.
4) Use all five senses to enhance your readers’ ability to empathise.
Use images and emotions to describe what you want the reader to see, feel, and hear. Does the story include scents and flavours? Enhance the message using these senses as well. Your story must be felt. For real!
5) Make a habit of collecting stories.
There is most likely a wealth of exciting stories within your company. Use them as a bank to pick ideas from.
6) Humour always works.
But you can also use its opposite. An adversity that found its solution can be just as inspiring when describing how it left you and your employees stronger.
7) Enhance with pictures and films.
They work great in all social media, and, if used in your newsletter, they lighten up the text and emphasise the message.
8) Paint pictures with words. Feel free to use metaphors.
Good luck with your storytelling! Any hey – do you have any questions or thoughts? Don’t hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!
Would you like to learn more about Postman – our newsletter tool? Click here!
