Marketing today has become an industry in itself. Every business wants to market itself in various ways. However, the number of channels makes it important to create content differently. You need a thirty-second video for Instagram but a well-written email copy too. Therefore, a lot of strategies and thought go into it. A company must decide what is working for them while what isn’t. Storytelling is another way marketers are choosing to use today.

As a company, you want is for your customers to connect with you. In fact, that is the first step towards customer loyalty. Therefore, storytelling comes in handy in doing so.

All of us are surrounded by so many different companies selling their products. Every company wants to sell. However, some also like to connect. For instance, Coke’s “share a coke” campaign. This campaign showed us advertisements which had a small story behind them. Even if it was very short, it kept a person hooked. It wasn’t just a simple ad showing the features and the offers. It was much more. Many Advertising campaigns have stood out because of the powerful stories they put out. Why not the same in terms of email?

People often think email marketing is just a bunch of words put together. However, that’s not true. EmailAn email (or electronic mail) is a method of exchanging communications through the internet. It is one of the most used features on the web and the number one mean... marketing has a huge reach. Every company wants to make the best use of such good reach. Therefore, it is important to have creative people on board. You don’t want just any other email copy with the same old boring lines. You want your customers to take time out and read what you have to say. That’s the power of good email marketing. However, it’s not that easy to achieve. Therefore tools like storytelling or strong design graphics help!

What Is Storytelling? 

The art of storytelling is not alien to humans. All of us like to tell stories. Be it about our daily lives or things we dream of. Most of us tend to look at our own lives as stories. However, storytelling in marketing is slightly different. Although the art part of it is still present, there are small things one must keep in mind. The stories you tell are to market products and services. They are not just random stories. These stories are made for a purpose. Using them, you are targeting the same people who are tired of push sales. 

None of us love receiving emails asking us to buy from them constantly. We tend to keep ignoring them. However, we all like reading a “good story.” Storytelling in marketing is to make your customers connect with your brand. Therefore, You want your customers to understand your brand value and ethos just by the story. Not a lot of people will remember which email you sent. However, stories stick with you. They bring out some kind of emotion in you.

Sometimes brands use real-life stories like sports product campings. Brands may use instances or the life events from a sports person’s life. If not, sometimes brands may use stories that you might relate to or get emotional from. For instance, Imagine receiving a small anecdote about a mother’s love as a mother’s day marketing email. We all have received emails like this that urge us to do something about it. At the end of the day, the goal of an email marketer is profit. Any company wants more open and click-through rates. In addition, more web traffic on the website. Therefore, the art of storytelling makes for a winning marketing strategy.

The Importance and Benefits 

Words can have different effects. They can just act as mere information or they can actually make you imagine. Writing is a wonderful way of painting a picture too. You don’t need an elaborate video to do that for you. Your email can do that too! How? By using storytelling! While the importance of storytelling is undeniable. Here are a few of their benefits in terms of email marketing:

• Increases engagement: Well, stories do make you feel interested. Sometimes, some companies may like doing a story series. They may leave you wanting to know more. Sometimes some stories make you relate with them so much that you just feel like engaging. For instance, a story about waking up late for work and then using some spray which makes you look fresh. The story is simple, not so creative yet relatable. People who go to work have been in this situation. Therefore,  A consumer may feel inclined to buy that spray.

• Builds Trust: We are all so tired of communicating with bots. However, stories are one thing which still makes brands human. Stories make the entire experience interactive. Therefore, this helps build a customer’s trust in the company.

• Increases brand value: Well, storytelling is in fact a great way to make your customers feel connected. Showing your company’s value through stories can have a way greater appeal. This is because it has a more emotional approach. It is not your typical “we help do this and that.” It is different. For instance, an NGO talking about how much they have helped will not influence a customer much. However, if the same NGO narrates a victim’s story and tells how contributors changed their life. This is your story. Therefore, this approach has a great way of influencing brand value and reputation.

The Best Storytelling Strategies 

The art of storytelling doesn’t come to everyone. In fact, one must know which kind of stories work for which companies too. Here are some storytelling strategies you can keep in mind:

• Personalise and humanise: Now, every company has a lot of data in hand. They know their customers and their preferences. If your company doesn’t, it’s time you do. Knowing your buyer personas is very critical. Use this data to create the perfect story. Along with that, use human characters and give them a relatable touch. Make your customer feel that a person is talking to them, not a company.

• Don’t make it a sales pitch: Yes, the purpose of your email is to drive sales. However, don’t make your story sales-centric. You don’t want your customer to feel like this is just another gimmick. It should leave the customer with an impact.

• Know your goal: Just narrating a story serves no purpose. What does your company want through it? Is this email just serving information? Is it to tell about offers or encourage a sign-up? Once you know your goal, you can make your story. Your goal should be subtle but an impactful part of the story.

• Story content: Have a proper story. A story is empty without characters and a storyline. It is also empty without any conflict and resolution. It is your job to make sure that you narrate a good story that will engage your readers.

• Try to keep it short: Don’t forget that you are writing an email. Therefore, don’t drag your story. However, don’t leave it incomplete and filled with loopholes too. Try being creative with a small number of words. You must ensure your customer’s attention throughout.

The Best Email Marketing Storytelling Examples 

Since storytelling in emails is not such an ancient concept. Here are a few good email marketing examples which apply storytelling:

• The Hustle

This business and tech newsletter uses a very cool way of welcoming a customer. Their way includes both storytelling and humour. Once you start reading about their team’s excitement to have you, you are genuinely left with a smile. They just use two-three lines to define their goal. That goal was to just say thanks for signing up. 

• Patagonia

This company shared the success story of one of its products in its emails. Sharing a success story is a very common idea though. A lot of companies like to narrate their company journey to their customers. This is even better when done in a simple, creative and humorous way.

• Chubbies

This weekend apparel brand uses interview stories to reveal its new models. They pick one model and ask them about their journey with chubbies. Reading about people’s stories through interviews is also very engaging.

• Kate Spade

This company uses storytelling for launching products. To launch their new collection, they used a story. Their collection was all around a central theme. Therefore, they used this opportunity to talk about the inspiration behind that. This is a good way of not only showing your new products but also keeping your customer engaged.

In Conclusion

All in all, storytelling is a very fun strategy to use in email marketing. The days of plain boring informational text are gone. People love getting personalised emails. People enjoy receiving gifs and emojis. Therefore, let your creative juices flow and start working on an interesting email copy. 

Let your email speak louder to the audience even in words. Storytelling is among the best ways to create a bond with your audience. A customer must be able to remember your story while using your product. That’s how impactful it should be!

Do you think storytelling is a great way of marketing? Do you like reading emails like these too? Let us know in the comment section below.