How Storytelling Marketing and Affiliate Marketing Work Together
The goal of every marketing technique is to reach the target audience, establish a connection with them and ultimately convert them into customers. Storytelling is among the most effective but underutilized marketing tactics in affiliate marketing and marketing in general.
People have been telling stories since ancient times and you probably even remember a close friend or a relative telling you an interesting story. Stories have the power to create emotional connections among people.
Through storytelling, marketers and brands can reach and engage their audiences on a deeper level, communicate the value of their products without being overly “intrusive” and improve brand awareness across different channels.
Moreover, studies have shown that people are more likely to remember information that is conveyed in the context of a story. This is because stories invoke a sense of empathy, motivating us to engage in cooperative behavior.
This is tremendously important in affiliate marketing. In today’s digital marketing world, users are bombarded with ads about different products and services, and it’s hard for marketers to cut through the noise and get users’ attention. Not to mention that affiliates need to try harder than just write cheesy copy and simply retarget people on social media.
Stories can help affiliates build stronger and deeper connections with their audience, while at the same time shape the way people see them. It makes a huge difference in whether users will choose to consume the content they’re offered.
But how can affiliates integrate storytelling marketing into their strategy and use it to attract the attention of people? In the following sections, we are going to explore 4 ways that storytelling and affiliate marketing can work together and create the ultimate marketing combination.
1. Use storytelling in your emails
Email marketing is a powerful tool in the hands of affiliates, enabling them to open a communication channel with their audience and nurture them.
Affiliates can craft stories that they can share with their audience as part of an email sequence. This strategy can be used in accordance with explainer videos. Specifically, affiliates can choose between professional newsletter services to create beautiful email templates that they can infuse with their stories. Alternatively, they can set up automated workflows that welcome and nurture subscribers, while gently pushing them to convert.
Targeting people through emails is a proven way to drive engagement and conversions, as long as you add value to them by providing useful information or free stuff such as checklists, e-books, etc.
Pro-tip: Make sure your email campaigns are educational and provide solutions to people’s pain points. You can include easily digestible content such as infographics to break walls of text and make the email more eye-pleasing.
2. Create a story around an explainer video
Explainer videos are short marketing videos used to portray and explain a company’s product or service. These videos are usually found on a landing page, a company’s homepage or a dedicated product page.
Using this tactic can be extremely valuable for your blog or page, as explainer videos are great to build trust and establish a more personal relationship with your audience.
Craft your story around an explainer video showcasing the product or service you’re promoting and showcase how it’s solving a problem. You can even go the extra mile and share those videos on social media to get a wider reach or virality.
One of the most reliable and affordable tools for this job is simpleshow video maker, allowing you to create your explainer video in just 4 easy steps.
Videos immediately attract attention, while the visual element is the most effective in capturing and transmitting emotions. Therefore, you have higher chances of successful sales.
3. Share success stories
Success stories are real examples of people that have used a product or service and solved their pain points or managed to do something great.
There is no better way to entice people to check out your product or service than tell your prospects about your customer success stories. These stories are “proof” of the value of what you’re offering.
In affiliate marketing, sharing success stories works the same way as having positive reviews. Not only do people rely on information they read online before committing, but studies also show that 88% of consumers trust online testimonials as much as recommendations from friends or family.
Therefore, including success stories in your blog posts or using them to make your affiliate campaigns stronger is a must.
4. Share a trial-and-error experience
Connecting with your audience and being able to offer an experience that they can relate to is something that most affiliates aim for. Affiliate marketing is all about gaining the trust of the audience and nudging them towards the desired action.
To that end, imparting knowledge to your audience through a trial-and-error experience is a good way to make people trust you and establish a genuine relationship with them.
You can raise awareness about a problem and how a solution was found and applied, or even discuss other alternatives. As long as the story is genuine and informational, your audience will appreciate it and it will resonate with them.
Takeaway
Storytelling in affiliate marketing is a powerful tool to bring your audience closer to you and inspire them to take action. Consumers of today do not decide to purchase a product based on what you’re selling, but rather why you’re selling it.
Technology allows both marketers and affiliates to captivate their audience through creative ways and create memorable experiences. Plus reading or watching a story unfold is always more fun than a plain presentation of facts and numbers!
Author’s bio
John Desyllas works as a Content Writer for email marketing automation software Moosend. He is very passionate about Digital Marketing and Business Translation. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.