This is a Story All About How…to Use Narrative Structure in Copy

One of the most common mistakes I see in sales is a lack of narrative structure, especially on sales pages. I’m not saying you need to weave an epic tale of love loss and adventure, but infusing key storytelling elements into the foundations of what you’re offering goes a long way in enlivening your copy.

In my copy audit service (Copy SOS), I take a deep look at my clients’ copy. More often than not, when I do these audits I notice one fundamental flaw: a lack of cohesive messaging and narrative strategy. 

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Information With a Side of Fun

Your copy should walk a fine line between informative and entertaining, pulling the reader in with relatable themes and ways to reach common desires. This narrative framework will take your clients on a journey with you, to discover what you offer and how it can change their lives.  

This structure needs to be woven into your copy and overall structure of your sales page. It should be just entertaining enough that potential customers WANT to keep reading, and it should inform enough that it gives them everything they need to make a buying decision. 

Ideally, your sales copy should answer all of your buyer’s questions — but at minimum, it needs to give them a baseline so that, when they contact you, they’re already prepared to engage your offer.

Map It Out Before You Start

Before I even start writing sales copy for a client, I start by outlining the overall structure. This allows me to carve out the general storyline I want to follow, and ensures that there will be a clear, easy-to-follow narrative. 

This way, the “plot”informs the rest of the copy, and ensures a cohesive and strategic voice throughout the copy. You know where the story is going, and following a narrative structure will help you plan out the order and flow of your copy in a way that makes sense.

Closing Thoughts on Narrative: The Bottomline

We’re about to take it back to 8th grade English with my next point: your copy needs to have a beginning, middle and end:

• Your intro, or the top of your sales page, should draw the reader in, and make them curious to peruse the rest of your site. 
• The middle section has to tell the story of your offer, setting the tone and giving the reader all the information they need to get a clear picture of what you’re trying to say.
• At the end, you have to soothe all worries, wrap up your message, and make sure that your copy has a clear call to action.

If you’re wondering if your story (and content) makes sense, I recommend reading it out loud- any pauses or stumbles will highlight where the copy needs some extra attention. If you write it well, your copy should read like a conversation, and should help draw your customers in and save you time answering the same questions  50 times a day.

Thank you for reading! If you love what you learned, be sure to connect with me over on Instagram and share your biggest takeaways. I’d love to hear from you! 

And if you’re ready to set up your launch sales copy for your upcoming offer, head on over to the Copy Template Shop to grab your sales copy templates today!

See you back here in the next post — and remember, I’m rooting for you, always.