Do Articles That Tell a Story Really Work?

29 replies
I'm trying to do article marketing to promote one of my websites through organic search. Since I've only had mediocre success with my regular articles (top five steps, best ways to do such-and-such, etc.) I took a little different approach today.

I wrote a story.

I've seen this done many times before, but usually in e-books. I've seen a few articles like this, too, but I was wondering, have any of you seen success with such articles?

The story, of course, draws to a close at the bio box, which encourages readers to visit my website. There's no real "conclusion" because the readers are supposed to click through to find out more.

Thoughts, anyone?

Thanks
#articles #story #work
  • Profile picture of the author Osman_M
    I might just give this a try. It sounds good but I guess it would depend on what sort of niche you are in.

    But it doesn't hurt to give it a try.
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  • Profile picture of the author oldwarrioruser1
    I've heard of a lot of people having success this way. I personally have not written any articles... But I can honestly tell you that I DO enjoy reading 'story' type articles rather than the sales pitch types.

    If you can relate to me within your story, I'm going to click thru most of the time.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
      I've never tried this approach with article marketing but I can tell you it works gangbusters on landing pages. I'll have to give this a try myself now.

      Tina
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  • Profile picture of the author Rocked Steady
    I've never heard of writing stories as working as a marketing tactic. When I think of articles, I just of getting content written to fill space :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
    Well, I'm glad everyone thinks it's a good idea - and hopefully you guys will see success with it, too. I'm just hoping it doesn't take DAYS to get published
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      Rikki,

      Here's an example. Read it and decide for yourself if they can work...

      http://talkbiz.com/story.txt

      Plain text, nothing for sale, and nothing to sign up for. Not even a resource box. Just the article.


      Paul
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      • Profile picture of the author 1960Texan
        Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

        Rikki,

        Here's an example. Read it and decide for yourself if they can work...

        http://talkbiz.com/story.txt

        Plain text, nothing for sale, and nothing to sign up for. Not even a resource box. Just the article.


        Paul
        Great story. It makes it's point and really drives it home. One question, though...who's Bill?
        Will
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        • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
          Will,
          One question, though...who's Bill?
          Fictional character, based on several real people...


          Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      It depends on what you're trying to accomplish with your article.

      If it's to make a person so sick from reading it (because it's so bad) that
      they'll click on anything to get away from it (especially those Adsense ads
      you've got surrounding it) then you want to write the worst article that you
      can.

      But generally, if you want the reader to actually get something out of
      the article and then take some kind of action after reading it, then the
      articles that work are the ones that connect with your target market.

      And there are many ways to do that including "telling a story", "presenting
      facts or statistics", "asking questions" and so on.

      There is no one size fits all. It depends on your niche and who you're
      reaching.
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  • Profile picture of the author eQuus
    Question is, where would you publish story articles. Would ezinearticles take them?
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    • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
      Originally Posted by eQuus View Post

      Question is, where would you publish story articles. Would ezinearticles take them?
      I just submitted it to them today, so I hope so. I also tried Articlesbase, Article Nexus, Article Snatch, Jabberdi and a few others.
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      • Hi Rikki! This story here works for me, from the day I posted it in 2006 up until now. Yes, it is a real story of a real person, and that person is me. Like what Paul said, you can give such story articles a read then decide for yourself if it works in terms of accomplishing the purposes of the author for publishing the story, aside from telling the story, of course. Hope this helps.

        Marx
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        • Profile picture of the author 1960Texan
          Originally Posted by Marx Vergel Melencio View Post

          Hi Rikki! This story here works for me, from the day I posted it in 2006 up until now. Yes, it is a real story of a real person, and that person is me. Like what Paul said, you can give such story articles a read then decide for yourself if it works in terms of accomplishing the purposes of the author for publishing the story, aside from telling the story, of course. Hope this helps.

          Marx
          Marx,
          Congratulations! What an inspiring story.
          Will
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          • Originally Posted by 1960Texan View Post

            Marx,
            Congratulations! What an inspiring story.
            Will
            Hi Will! Thank you. You may have noticed I placed a "Please read on..." link below every section. I carefully studied how to divide it in a way which would entice readers into reading further, down to the last section, to also test out Rikki's inference. I'd greatly appreciate it if you let me know if you clicked the "Please read on..." links until you read the entire story, or stopped in a certain section and did not continue to click the "Please read on..." link. Thanks again.

            Marx
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  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    It is effective for some authors, but keep in mind that some publishers abhor that approach to article marketing.

    If you are willing to get turned down by some publishers, it certainly is worth a shot. It may work out as well for you as it has for others.
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    • Profile picture of the author vicone
      I've used this technique extensively and it works well for me.

      The approach I follow is to ensure that what is promised in the title is provided in the article and the story is complete in that sense, so everyone (including the directories) is happy. However, curiosity is raised on some important elements and this is satisfied on my website, not in the article.

      As a comparison, consider a movie review: I would comment about about the actors/director and introduce the storyline, as well as what I consider to be the main strengths and weaknesses of the movie. However, I wouldn't say what happens to resolve the problems of the hero and heroine. In the bio box I would invite readers to discover more about what happens to them by going to the link provided.

      This doesn't seem to bother publishers as these articles are frequently published on other websites - as long as the article is well written, usually around 500 words.

      Ivan
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      • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
        Originally Posted by vicone View Post


        This doesn't seem to bother publishers as these articles are frequently published on other websites - as long as the article is well written, usually around 500 words.
        I made yesterday's article around 850 words long to hopefully deter the publisher from rejecting it.

        Furthermore, I added "three tips" to the end that I promised in the headline so they could see I was fulfilling my end of the deal.

        Originally Posted by Metronocity

        Lines like - "Listen..." "whats more..." "Case in point..." "It's a fact..." "Here's the scoop"

        (I haven't used my best examples 'cause I don't want them nicked but you get the idea ...oh alright, in the spirit of the Forum I'll give you one - "No Sh*t Sherlock!...")


        I've always liked the Sherlock one... but it's probably not usable on most article directories, I'm guessing

        I like the "Listen" and "here's the scoop," though. Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author The Copy Nazi
    Banned
    It's called "the cliffhanger technique" works for salepages too. You have a clickable link at the end of the page and the reader has to click through to find out what happens.

    Another good technique is "the bucket brigade" - breaking the copy up with short lines that entice you to read on and find out what happens - or what they mean.

    Lines like - "Listen..." "whats more..." "Case in point..." "It's a fact..." "Here's the scoop"

    (I haven't used my best examples 'cause I don't want them nicked but you get the idea ...oh alright, in the spirit of the Forum I'll give you one - "No Sh*t Sherlock!...")

    They are all designed to get the viewer to keep reading.
    Why's it called "The bucket brigade"? I believe it comes from when people used to pass buckets of water to put a fire out -
    keep it coming. In other words it helps move the copy along.
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    • Profile picture of the author Marc Rodill
      Originally Posted by Metronicity View Post

      Another good technique is "the bucket brigade" - breaking the copy up with short lines that entice you to read on and find out what happens - or what they mean.

      Lines like - "Listen..." "whats more..." "Case in point..." "It's a fact..."[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2] "Here's the scoop"
      "Wait. Look..." "No less!" "Point in case..." "Ain't that the truth." "It went down like this."

      Yar, just make them up.

      Edit: Oh yeah. Wait. The OP.

      I think stories work. If they are especially compelling, no less, and you use them to build your character's lasting identity, differentiating yourself from the all-too-similar marketplace.

      It helps you stand out above the crowd if you give them something to remember. Ain't that the truth?

      So you would, probably, aim to tell a certain story a lot, and get it repeated by many through it's repetition. That's not the least bit redundant.
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  • Profile picture of the author techvic
    We use storytelling in a large number of our email broadcasts and it works great! People love to read stories.
    While difficult to do in article directories, you may be able to split test a story page vs a non story page and see which one converts better.
    An a/b squeeze page split test might work. It's not entirely apples to apples because the traffic reading articles is going to be different than the people reading your squeeze page. But it may give you some useful data.
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  • Profile picture of the author dula14
    Whether story telling is effective or not probably depends a lot on the niche. If you have a family related niche, telling personal stories is probably highly effective. If you're in a more technical niche like web design than it probably isn't as effective.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fun to Write
    A little story telling in articles can work well, just as long as it has the ring of truth.
    You can't over exaggerate and hype up the tale. Keeping it real is the best way to go.

    I hope you have good results with your article.
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  • Profile picture of the author SPMassie
    If you want to find out just write one and test it. It's the only way to know for sure
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    • Profile picture of the author vicone
      As mentioned earlier, the cliffhanger approach can work really well as long as the article provides the information promised in the title. You can still build up the difficulties that are posed and invite the reader to read more to see what happened.

      So, Pearl Pureheart is still tied to the railroad tracks and the train is rapidly approaching. Meanwhile, the hero is hanging over the cliff, clinging on by his fingertips while the villain is busy stomping at his fingers.

      Will Hero manage to hang on, escape the villain, and release the heroine in time? Click here to read more...

      (How many of you searched for a link to click?)

      As the old movie/tv series say... tune in next week (or next season) to discover who survived the plane crash at the wedding in 'Desperate Housewives'.

      Ivan
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    • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
      Originally Posted by Mr.Smith View Post

      If you want to find out just write one and test it. It's the only way to know for sure
      Unfortunately, testing just one doesn't work. It could be a keyword problem, lack of interest in the story itself (and not stories in genera), etc. I wish it were that easy
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Rikki, if you want to know if telling stories works or not, dig up a copy of the J Peterman catalog. The stories used to sell fairly mundane objects are amazing.

        In one of his seminars, Dan Kennedy talked about Peterman and how the company went bankrupt. The catalog end was doing so well, they decided to open retail outlets. The retail stores were a complete flop.

        Kennedy went on to tell about a certain navy blue blazer with brass buttons, and how he'd paid ~$400 - twice - from the catalog, because of the stories. When he saw the same coat in the retail store, it didn't have the same effect. Being in the mall, he could find almost the exact same coat for under $200. It was just a blue blazer...

        John Carlton cashed in the same way with a golf instruction course. Instead of plugging away at yet another how-to drive the ball further product, he told the story of the one-legged golfer who out-drove everyone else.

        You can apply the same idea to article marketing, especially if you are willing to write longer articles. The basics still apply. Grab attention with a good headline, draw them in with your story premise, show them what their lives might be like, and tease them with the possible means to accomplish that.
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  • Profile picture of the author terrapurus
    Can stories work?

    Absolutely.

    They let the reader identify with the topic.

    But here's the but, and there is always a but...

    If you write a story that tells a story of "you" (ie it is actually fiction, but you are writing as if it happened to you or someone), the problem you had, how you solved it using product y, then I suggest you read the FTC guidelines real close.

    You see, this is an advertisement, but the average person won't see it as an advertisement. And that is exactly what the FTC brought in their guidelines for. If you ever see anyone on here say "I get at 60% clickthrough rate with EZA!", then 9 times out of 10 they have breached the guidelines. These guidelines have been in for a year now to give people time to adjust. I just wonder when they will start being a bit harder in its application ...

    So write a story, but make sure you do it within the bounds of appropriate advertising.
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  • Profile picture of the author darkwizgemz
    Articles look this way, if your story is highly enough to excite the readers then they work as anticipated, you just need a little spin rather than a boring to read story.
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