Copywriting: Using Short Stories

Storytelling in copywriting can be used in the entire arc of a sales letter or ad, or in short stories in the headline, testimonial, or other section. In the copy for this shirt in the Territory Ahead catalog, they use a simple story.

“If you’re shy, this isn’t the shirt for you. The fabric — a richly colored, cross-hatched cotton corduroy — is so supremely soft and texturey it has a tendency to attract unsolicited attention from complete strangers.

In fact, when our Director of Human Resources wore it on a recent trip to Denver, an otherwise well-mannered young woman with a French accent had to be gently dissuaded from stroking his sleeve long enough for him to board his plane home. The aforementioned gentleman, who is not shy, has requested we carry it in additional colors next season.”

This passage is excerpted from John Kremer’s post on how to use stories when marketing books found here.