Copywriting: Storytelling

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What Is Storytelling?

Storytelling is a communication technique that involves telling a story to convey a message in a way that is more engaging and easier for the reader to remember.

In copywriting, and therefore in marketing, storytelling is used to help people understand how a product or service can solve a problem they're facing.

Essentially, you tell the story of someone who has used the product and show how that solution has changed their life.

Why Storytelling Works

Storytelling works because people have a harder time trusting someone who's trying to sell them something than someone who's sharing a personal experience or describing what happened to someone who has actually used the product (source: "Beyond Martech: Building Trust With Consumers and Engaging Where Sentiment Is High," Nielsen).

If you say your service helps businesses increase sales, the reader immediately assumes it's just another one of the countless advertising promises they come across every day.

But if you tell the story of how you helped a client who was struggling to find new customers and explain the results they achieved thanks to your work, I can't guarantee the reader will immediately believe you.

Trust also depends on the reputation you've built over time and the evidence you can provide.

However, you'll have at least captured their attention, and that's no small achievement these days, considering how many distractions we're constantly dealing with.

This happens because readers can identify with the protagonist's situation and imagine themselves achieving a similar result.

That's the advantage of storytelling: you don't have to tell people how good you are because your experiences and those of your clients demonstrate it for you.

How to Build a Persuasive Story Step by Step

To build a persuasive story, you have to describe a real experience in a logical sequence that allows the reader to understand what problem was solved and how.

Leave out anything that doesn't help explain the problem or the outcome because readers don't want to know every detail of the protagonist's life; they just want to understand whether the same solution could work for them.

Here's what I recommend based on my experience.

1. Establish the Initial Situation

Introduce the protagonist and explain the situation they were in before using your product or service.

This allows readers to immediately recognize whether the story is relevant to them.

2. Describe the Problem

Explain what difficulty the protagonist was facing and why they couldn't solve it on their own.

Avoid generic descriptions that could apply to anyone.

3. Show How They Found the Solution

Explain why the protagonist decided to turn to you and what convinced them to try your product or service without turning this part of the story into an advertisement.

Don't talk about your achievements or your company: the customer must always remain the protagonist.

4. Explain What Happened Next

Describe how the solution was implemented and what challenges arose along the way.

A story in which everything works perfectly from the very beginning isn't believable.

5. End With the Results

Show what changed compared to the initial situation and use actual results whenever you can back them up with evidence.

Saying that a client increased sales by 25% is convincing.

Simply saying they were satisfied won't persuade anyone.

Storytelling Must Be Based on Real Events, or It Won't Work

There was a time when storytelling could work even if you made up stories to help potential customers understand how to use a product.

There are countless examples of companies that used to write stories like this: "Mark wanted to work out at the gym, but his job and hectic lifestyle made it impossible.

One day, his girlfriend Sarah told him about us and our service, and..."

Now, although this is a perfectly normal, well-written example, it's not particularly effective for our sales purposes today.

People are used to reading advertising content, and they're tired of fictional soap operas when they're trying to choose a product or service.

They want to hear about the real experiences of people who have actually used the product (source: "Can Customer Reviews Be 'Managed?'," Harvard Business School).

Even when a story is extremely well written and manages to engage the reader, they might still think: "Nice example, very well written... but will it actually work in real life?"

And that doubt alone can be enough to stop them from buying.

That's why, when you use storytelling to sell, I recommend sharing only experiences that actually happened, through case studies and customer testimonials.

In both cases, it's important to include real details that make the story verifiable.

A generic testimonial like "I had a great experience" proves nothing and is unlikely to convince anyone to buy.

If you don't have any satisfied customers or real experiences to share yet, avoid using storytelling to sell.

Instead, focus on explaining how your product works and what benefits it can offer without inventing people who don't exist or results that nobody has ever achieved.

Once you've collected your first testimonials, you can turn them into persuasive stories that demonstrate what you're actually capable of doing.