Want to Stand Out? Do This
Copywriter Joe Sugarman writes in his book Triggers,
“My most successful advertising campaigns all used stories as the basis for my presentation.”
When it comes to marketing, most people think you need to be clever, or talk yourself up, or brag about your services.
C’mon, who feels comfortable doing that...or listening to it?
But stories now...
We all love stories.
We love hearing other people’s experiences.
I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, and I can tell you...99% of the posts I see are theories, ideas, arguments, mandates, and manifestos.
And that goes for most ad campaigns, too.
Most people aren’t telling enough stories.
Myself included.
But that’s something I intend to change.
And to improve my own storytelling skills (and justify my love for the world and design of The Incredibles), I’m turning to Pixar.
How to Tell Stories Like Pixar
Unless you’ve been farming in Amish country, you know Pixar is renowned for its storytelling.
They've used a storytelling structure known as "The Story Spine" in many of their movies. It goes like this:
Once upon a time,
Every day...
One day...
Because of that...
Because of that...
Until finally...
Here’s what that might look like if I were telling the story of how I got into freelance:
Once upon a time, I worked at a nonprofit as the digital marketing manager.
Every day, I wrote copy for 1-2 emails and content for numerous social media posts, designed graphics in Photoshop, went to meetings, ate lunch, ran reports, researched the newsletter, drafted that, scoured the internet for writers, edited article submissions, and went home, and repeated the process the next day.
One day, feeling burnt out and exhausted, I applied to a new job, made it to the second round of interviews, and was declined.
Because of that, I knew I had what it took to become a copywriter if I kept trying.
Because of that I took copywriting courses in the mornings before work, practiced the craft, wrote spec ads, and sent emails to prospects.
Until finally I got my first client and decided to quit my job and pursue freelance full-time.
Now delete the words in bold, and you have a story to share.
Repeat.
Where to Use "The Story Spine"
Use it in:
About pages
Email promotions
Blog content
Social media posts
Brochures
Pamphlets
...etc. You get the idea.
Now, Go Practice
See? Storytelling isn’t too hard, really.
If Joe Sugarman’s advertising performed best when he used stories…
If stories “create human interest,” as he puts it…
And you want more human interest in your company or brand...
Then storytelling is a skill you can’t afford to neglect.
