The copywriter’s cure for being slapped around the head.

the elephant and hat story Let’s open with a story.

Way back in the mists of time I had a boss and copywriting mentor called Dave.

I was a total newbie when it came to writing hard-selling, direct response copy for our clients. I was a decent enough copywriter, but had yet to develop the edge that would make me a worthwhile direct response copywriter.

Enter Dave.

He’d look over my shoulder as I was writing, and whenever he came across a line of copy he thought wasn’t as strong as it should be, he’d give me a slap around the back of the head.

Yes, this was back in the days when you could get away with that sort of thing.

To his credit, Dave turned me into a much better copywriter. And after a grueling session of head-slapping, he’d be very generous when it came to buying drinks down at the local pub.

The point being, although I’ve made my living as a copywriter for the last 35 years, the hard-selling side of copywriting doesn’t come naturally to me. I had to have it beaten into me.

And, truth be told, I don’t much enjoy writing hard-selling copy. Yes, I can do the hard sell, but I don’t feel particularly comfortable with it.

So what do I do when I really, really need to drive a point home or close a sale?

For the most part, I tell a story.

Telling stories is fun. (If we meet in person some time, ask me to tell you the story of “Dave and the lunchtime pub”.)

But telling stories is also a powerful way to engage with an audience, hold their attention, grab them emotionally and make them want to buy.

When it comes to stories that have helped companies move a lot of products, one of my favorites is the story of the elephant and the Tilley hat.

Tilley is a Canadian apparel company that is famous for its hats and travel clothing.

In the company’s early days, they had a stroke of luck when an elephant ate one of their hats.

It turns out their customer really, really liked his hat. So he patiently waited for the hat to reappear at the other end of the elephant. He then washed the hat and carried on wearing it. This happened three times with the same elephant, and the same hat.

This one story probably sold more Tilley hats that anything else.

The whole point and promise of the hat was that it was “endurable” and came with a lifetime guarantee.

Now imagine hiring the best direct response copywriter in the world to sell as many Tilley hats as possible. The only constraint being, she or he can’t mention the elephant story.

Now hire a newbie copywriter and give them the freedom to tell the story.

Who’s going to sell the most hats?

The newbie with the elephant story. Every time.

Stories are hugely powerful when it comes to both communication and persuasion.

Although few companies have a story as good as Tilley’s elephant story, almost every company does have some great stories.

And if you’re like me, and would rather find an alternative to hard-sell copywriting, then it’s well worth the effort it takes to dig deep into a company’s history and find a really good story or two.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be writing more about why stories work so well in marketing, and how to use them to improve the performance of the copy and content you write.

NOTE: If you’re serious about increasing your skills as a web content writer, online copywriter or social media writer, find out about my new course… Selling With Stories…