Do you remember the last battle sequence in Star Wars?

Luke is strapped into his X-Wing, racing down the narrow metal canyon in the Death Star …

… Darth Vader and a brace of TIE Fighters hot on his tail …

And Luke is about to fire the missiles that will either hit the target and destroy the Empire’s ultimate weapon …

… or miss completely, enslaving the “puny Rebel force” once and for all.

Just before firing, Luke is relying on his computer guidance system to hit the tiny, womp rat-sized target …

… when suddenly, the ghostly voice of Obi Wan Kenobi fills the cramped cabin and urges Luke to use the force and listen to his feelings.

Luke in X Wing cockpit
Listening To His Feelings

So what does Luke do?

He disables the guidance system and basically fires blindly!

Now, as soon as I was old enough to understand what was going on in the story, I thought to myself, “that is the worst advice ever.”

Listen to your feelings? Instead of the precisely calibrated computer guidance system?

What a stupid thing to do.

But actually, I’ve discovered the wisdom of Obi Wan …

When it comes to writing sales copy.

Sometimes you have to let your feelings guide you to the perfect story.

Because while it’s important to master the technical elements of sales copy …

… different ways of opening a message, how to close, leveraging testimonials …

… when it comes to story, sometimes your best guide is to “follow your nose.”

Or in my case, recently, your tears.

 The STORY

Recently I was deep in the research for the sales letter of a health product …

Looking for ways to connect with my prospect.

I knew (analytically) that fear was going to be a big driver …

But I wasn’t sure what story to use — especially since I didn’t have any client or product creator stories that spoke to some of the fears I was targeting – specifically, the harrowing after-effects of a stroke.

But then I chanced to click upon a video transcript of a stroke victim, where he explained to the interviewer how much his life had changed since his health disaster.

As he relayed the conditions of his new life, stuck in a hospital for the first 6 months …

… not being able to swallow so even his meat courses received the “blender treatment” …

… the coldness of the hospital staff, so he felt unable to ask for help buttoning up his pants …

… fearing that he wouldn’t be the man of the house any longer …

… I started to get emotional. A little choked up.

I remembered how drastically my grandmother’s life changed after her stroke.

And I started to feel that little sick feeling of worry in the pit of my stomach about my own parents – fearing they might experience the same.

And that’s when I knew I had struck upon a story that would resonate with my prospects, just by paying attention to my own reactions.

Because your own feelings can be a “litmus test” for the power of a story.

True, the story needs to fit the experience of the prospect, so you’ve got to have a good sense of that avatar.

But as a human being, you can trust your feelings to sort out a good story from a bad one.

(The bad one has ZERO emotional impact.)

And not only did I know that this would be a good story to tell …

But my feelings also pointed me to the details I should use — by noticing exactly where in his story that my feelings of empathy and worry were triggered.

Because a good detail can make or break a story.

In fiction, it’s often referred to as the “telling detail” … that nugget of reality that’s just enough to nudge the reader into the experience of the story.

Those details are the building blocks of your story, helping to create the virtual experience.

So instead of saying something like …

“I felt really sick all the time”

You instead include a few telling details like:

“I kept a plastic bag stuffed in my pocket at all times  — because I could throw up at any moment.”

The MORAL

When you hear or watch a story — real or made up — keep one eye on your feelings and notice the point in the story that triggers your emotions. What detail did it? You’ll find something you can use the next time you write your next sales message.

Stay Tuned Next Week …

In which I rewrite three famous movies — for the worse

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THE AMAZING 60-SECOND SALES HOOK THAT CREATES
AN INSTANT BOND WITH YOUR BEST PROSPECTS
PLUS: Get fill-in-the-blank templates that instantly establish “Know, Like, and Trust”
THE AMAZING 60-SECOND SALES HOOK THAT CREATES
AN INSTANT BOND WITH YOUR BEST PROSPECTS
PLUS: Get fill-in-the-blank templates that instantly establish “Know, Like, and Trust”
 
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