For thousands of years, humans have used stories to pass on information. We remember a story long after we have heard it. People forget facts and figures, but they can recall stories.
When I was a full time copywriter, I wrote hundreds of stories for my clients. They were in the form of case studies.
Case studies
A marketing case study is a form of social proof. It shows prospective customers that you can deliver.
Here is a case study structure:
* What did they have before?
* Why did they decide to change?
* How did they find you?
* Why did they decide to buy from you?
* What did they think of the product / service?
* What benefits are they receiving?
* What have they got to say about you? (Testimonial)
* What are their plans for the future?
A case study is a story, told in the sequence that it happened.
Add some images to your case studies.
* Produce a PDF version of the case study to send to prospective customers
* Create a blog using the cleared copy (as it contains lots of keyword phrases)
* Add a Testimonials page to your website and include testimonials from case studies
* Consider sending out a press release to your media list
* Scatter testimonials throughout your website
Your business story
Another approach is to tell the story of your business, brand, product or service.
How did it all start?
What challenges did you overcome?
Who has been a part of this story?
What did you learn along the way?
What is going to happen next?
Tell stories which are relevant to different phases of the customer journey.
Videos
Videos are a great way of getting a story across. You will need to get (written) permission, from customers, prior to filming. You can use your smartphone to do this (using a tripod stand).
Tip
I always have a few private clients that I am working with. Recently, I have found that it can be challenging to arrange a time to talk to my client’s customers. Everyone is so busy, aren’t they? So I emailed a few of them with a tailored version of my case study questions. Two of them came back by email with their written answers!
Conclusion
A typical case study can be as short as 400 words. However, 800 words should allow you to tell the story in full. Having said this, a case study can comprise a couple of paragraphs.
I hope that you have found this blog to be useful and I welcome comments on my blogs.
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***** Nigel offers Copywriting training services. *****
