Storytelling is not just about writing a long piece of content or using creative language. It’s a content marketing technique used to grab the readers’ attention and make them emotionally involved, telling the story of your company. This information should be both useful and engaging, accomplishing two goals at once. It works for companies of any size, especially when planning email marketing for small business.
In a great story, each component matters: it’s a symbiosis of a high-quality design, text, and a call to action.
This is an abstract from newsletters by Jack McDade. The first thing we see is a catchy header, written in an unusual font. Then, from the very beginning, the author gets us emotionally involved telling a problem he had faced several years ago. That’s exactly what storytelling is about: creating a connection between the author and the reader.
27% of Gen Z shoppers would be more compelled to buy something if there aren’t pop-ups or ads, so it’s time to take advantage of new opportunities and pay attention to storytelling. There are other reasons to apply this method to your marketing campaigns. With the help of storytelling, you’ll be able to:
Here are the other reasons why integrate storytelling into your email marketing strategy:
So, if you are looking for a proven technique to improve your email marketing, and are willing to stand out from competitors, storytelling may become a great help.
Let’s observe the most essential elements of a successful storytelling campaign. These are a hero, a story behind this hero, the journey, and, in the end, a special gift to a reader.
Creating a mascot is a frequent storytelling practice.
A mascot is a central figure: it engages the reader and helps to create a story that nurtures, converts, and sells. The best hero is the one that is related to your company and products and can be easily associated with them.
When you create a hero, think of the buyer personas and base your mascot’s characteristics on them. Add some details to make the hero more catchy, vivid, and unique, and here you are!
A well-designed portrait of a hero stimulates our imagination and that’s already a good start for your storytelling email marketing campaign.
When you’re done with the hero, it’s time to create a story behind them. Base the story on the pains and desires of your hero, i.e. your buyer persona. You are probably aware of these points: you’ve highlighted them in numerous marketing campaigns before, so you should have no problems creating a story where the hero solves them all.
The goal of the story is the following: showing that your product or service can solve the problem of the hero or at least provide some help. Through a story, you describe how your product or service can make the buyer’s life better and easier.
It’s time to solve numerous problems your hero has to face. And here comes your company! Show that your hero has found a solution by discovering your products or services.
Avoid direct advertising and continue telling your story, adding more and more details. A good trick is to mention that a mascot has tried something else, but it didn’t help. Dive deeper into the details –– the more realistic the figures and facts are, the better your story converts.
When the story is over, treat the readers who have come to the end with some special offers. For example, it can be a welcome discount, or a lead magnet like a free book, guide, or checklist.
There are different types of stories to use in your email marketing campaigns. Using them will make your company more memorable and increase your conversion rates. Let’s observe these types.
That’s the most obvious storytelling technique that helps to humanize your brand. It is perfectly suitable for welcome emails. Show what drove you to create the company and the brand. This story will also help to show your morals and values, and differentiate your company from competitors.
In this example, Tuft & Needle doesn’t tell the story of the company, but focuses on its values and philosophy, highlighting the unique mission of the brand: helping people overcome stress and feel relief.
You can inform the subscribers about important product launches using stories in your newsletters. Tell about recent innovations in a vivid and involving manner. Do not just use plain facts –– show the way the readers may apply these updates like Digital Ocean did in their email.
To see someone’s way to success with every last detail is inspiring and motivating. That’s why this technique is also frequently used when it comes to email marketing storytelling. You can tell your personal story, the story of your brand, or your most popular product.
Another technique that works is the usage of customer testimonials: show how the clients succeeded using your product or service. See how Eight Sleep did that in their email marketing campaign:
Interviews with CEOs or employees help to “humanize” the brand showing that there are real people with their pains, dreams, and desires behind it. You can also invite somebody that has an impact in your industry, or simply interview your customers.
In the newsletter above, Interface Lovers invited influential members of the designer community to share their opinions with the readers. They unveil their personal experiences and share useful tips on work-life balance.
A better understanding of “how it works” helps the customers to anchor their decision to buy your products or services. When they see the process from within, they understand your competitive advantages and their trust in the company grows.
Jack Mason decided to shed some light on how their upcoming model of the watch is produced. Even a CTA button “Go behind the scenes” looks as if you are a chosen one to unveil the biggest secret.
Let’s take a closer look at how to apply storytelling in different types of emails.
When you use storytelling in your welcome email, you immediately get the reader interested. In this example, the CEO of the company introduces the members of the team in a light and funny way –– it looks ingenious compared to ordinary “Thanks for subscription” emails.
Everyone is tired of numerous newsletters trying to sell something. That’s why using a story when writing a promotional email can help to sweeten the pot and make your offer gentle and unobtrusive. Prima neatly did that in their Mother’s day campaign: first, they appreciated moms and highlighted their impact, and then offered a promo code for the next purchase. Great move!
A nice example of storytelling in lead nurturing email by Freelancer. They highlighted the pains and desires of their customers and showed the way their service could solve these problems. The illustrations deserve special attention: they perfectly demonstrate the final result the user of the service will get.
These are automated messages the company sends to subscribers on special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
Mint chose a cute pig mascot to illustrate its happy birthday email to subscribers. No CTA button shows that the company doesn’t aim to sell anything –– they just want to show how much their customers matter to them.
Company’s anniversary is a great occasion to tell the subscribers your story –– but do that in an unconventional way, like Care/of did. They took the most significant figures and showed them in the form of cute illustrations. Even if you are not really interested, it catches your eye and makes you read an email to the end.
One of the most effective email marketing tips is to apply storytelling in your strategy. It allows you to make people feel involved with your brand and products, creating an emotional connection and increasing your conversions. Due to storytelling, you’ll be able to:
There are four the most essential elements in every effective story:
You can use stories of any type in your email marketing campaigns:
Everyone loves stories, but not everyone can tell a good one. Become the company that tells, not sells, and you’ll see the growth of revenue in the nearest future.
