Direct Response Copywriter on "Story" ... The Latest Marketing Fad You Can Safely Ignore ...

One of the more interesting parts of marketing … or anything for that matter … is that people are constantly looking for the next “bright shiny thing.”

I don’t include innovation here. I love innovation, especially in my two favorite sports, skiing and golf. A golf club that will help me play better golf? A ski that will help me be a better skier? YES! Here's my credit card!

What I’m talking about is some new and clever-sounding strategy, tactic, or approach to something.

The creator is almost always someone who is trying to establish themselves as THE expert in their field.

In 2000, Malcolm Gladwell published his first book, The Tipping Point, which he defines, in a blizzard of mixed metaphors as, "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point."

Well done to Gladwell: The Tipping Point remains part of our language. Quite frankly, I’d prefer The Tipping Pint but that’s for another day.

Who was Gladwell before he published his book and went on to build a speaking and publishing empire?

According to Wikipedia, he couldn’t get a job in advertising, so he became a journalist. I should laugh but I won’t. He got a gig at The New Yorker, wrote a couple of articles and these led to a $1 million book deal. Nice work if you can get it.

The man who has written several books that are quoted by all sorts of business people has no business experience. OK.

In marketing, the bright shiny thing right now is “story.”

We all know what a story is. We grew up with stories. We tell stories every day, almost. We hear stories every day.

But what does story mean in the context of marketing? Is it a story in copy? No.

One website defines it thus …

"Business and brand storytelling is the ultimate marketing strategy and story marketing is the trigger. It beckons your audience into your life and turns your story into their story."

And then …

"I define story marketing as a strategic marketing approach that creates a brand experience through audio, visual (sic) and immersive storytelling whereby the customer becomes the center of the story to drive profitable engagement."

"Story marketing is about transporting your audiences through a well-crafted brand story strategy."

The “ultimate marketing strategy” … yeah, right. The writer, of course, provides no proof. Proof in marketing comes from MONEY. The author provides proof in the form of examples of other ads.

However, this tactic has the backing of several big-name gurus.

Seth Godin is big “story” guy. And so is Gary Vaynerchuk.

The latter said … “storytelling is by far the most underrated skill in business.” I’d say it’s the most overrated skill … and I wouldn’t call it a skill.

The above have been very successful in business. I can’t argue with that, can I?

However, have they ever written copy? Have they put words on a page to motivate a prospect to try a product or service? I don’t know the answer but I doubt it.

Here’s a guess … “story” is all the rage in marketing departments at business schools. You won’t get much about direct marketing in these departments.

So all these MBAs head into business thinking it’s all about “story” and brand awareness.

Whenever I come across a “story” person, I have a simple question. “How do you measure ROI?”

End of conversation.

Is the goal of marketing to tell brand stories with great authenticity or is it to generate revenue? If you think it’s the former, then I feel dreadfully sorry for you. Try taking your stories and your awards to the bank.

In direct marketing, we measure everything to the penny. I’m a direct response copywriter and I’ve helped my clients generate over $450 million in revenue in the last 8 years. I helped two clients build dominant brands in the golf and dietary supplement verticals where competition is stiff.

When writing copy for these wonderful clients, I never thought “brand” and I never thought “story.” Neither did the people who organized the marketing and hired me to help them.

I’ve spent huge chunks of time, and still do, studying the work of the world’s greatest direct response copywriters. Let me give you a brief list of copywriters who never talked, or talk, about “story.”

• Gary Bencivenga.
• Bob Bly.
• Clayton Makepeace.
• John Caples.
• Claude Hopkins.
• Dan Kennedy.

Look in Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples and you’ll see 3 pages devoted to “story.” It’s a 300-page book, all based on testing, not theory.

What about the brilliant Bencivenga Bullets? Anything about “story” in those? Not once. Ask any of the “story” people if they’ve heard of Gary Bencivenga and I doubt they have. Companies gleefully paid Gary Bencivenga millions to write copy for them.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not averse to a story. A story can be a proof element. But it’s just one of more than 50 proof elements I like to deploy where applicable. A great story can capture the attention of a prospect. But what if, during my research, I don’t find a great story? Should I include a story just to include a story because Seth Godin says it’s all about story?

Negatory.

Think about the person who says, “I’ve got a great joke for you.”

You hear the joke and it’s the worst joke you’ve ever heard. I’m not talking about a joke that’s purposefully poor. Those can be brilliant. No … I’m talking about a joke that’s just not funny. What do you think about the joke teller? Not much, probably.

Yet I hear marketers saying “there must be a story” and it’s “all about story” all the time.

This fad will pass, eventually. But it may take a while.

Accountants run companies these days and the numbers people are interested in … well … numbers. They don’t care about “award-winning” ads and “story.” They care about MONEY. Direct marketing will bring you revenue. There’s no accurate way to measure “story” and branding.

And that’s the big problem with all this story stuff. It’s ultimately an exercise in branding. And there’s no way to measure this and that’s exactly what the story and branding people want. There’s no accountability. Direct marketers love testing and accountability. Branding people run away from it.

There’s a big company with which I’m very familiar. Their CMO was a “story” person. There was an expensive “agency of record” and lots of prizes and lots of storytelling. Did this CMO really understand direct marketing? Did they have a direct response copywriter on staff? No. And this CMO just got fired. I conservatively estimate this person’s annual salary was in the $250,000 to $400,000 range, including benefits.

How’s all that “story” stuff looking now?

What do people really care about?

What do prospects really want?

Is it your story?

No.

Let me answer the first two questions by asking another vital question the branding and story people never really want to answer.

WHAT ARE WE REALLY SELLING?

You can tell a great story about a lawnmower you’re trying to sell. That’s nice. But what are you really selling with a lawnmower? It’s more than just cutting the grass. It could be to make a spouse happy. It could be because you don’t like to sweat and you want a riding mower. Maybe you’re really into how your garden looks and the mower provides a certain look to the lawn. It’s my job as a direct response copywriter to find out what people really want … not tell stories.

Look … people don’t care about your story. They care about themselves and how your product or service can help them solve a problem or help them get where they want to get.

If you’re a big believer in “story” and you work in marketing, then I have this advice for you. Story will quickly take your career in the wrong direction. Learn about direct marketing and apply direct marketing to your work and you’ll become a rock star. Why? You’ll show your clients/bosses actual tangible results … in the form of revenue.

This blog is not for branding people. I’m not going to change your mind, most likely.

This blog is for business owners and executives who might come across marketing people who tell them, “it’s all about story.”

This blog is also for people who are entering the marketing field and are trying to figure this whole thing out. I hope, after reading this, you’re not attracted to the “bright shiny thing” called storytelling.

Focus on direct marketing and direct response copywriting and you’ll be successful.