Writing E-books: Using a Storyline to Sell Products

In order to sell or promote products successfully using a storytelling e-book, you need to take the key points of a given product or service and turn them into a story which your audience can buy into. Basically, the storyline should carry your product message to the reader without being overtly sales orientated.

Your storytelling e-book should be thematically focused and with a storyline which is either humorous or serious, or even both. The secret is to choose a theme and a storyline that you think your audience will enjoy reading. Themes can include relationship building, pets, children or gardening, to name but a few.

Once you have chosen your theme, simply add a storyline that can comfortably carry your product message without going over the top. If your readers find the storyline of your e-book interesting and entertaining, then there is a good chance that your reader will refer your e-book to their friends or relatives.

An e-book that tells a story to promote a product is not too dissimilar to a concept video or a concept advertisement you see on television. An excellent example of a concept advertisement is BT’s (British Telecom) use of a couple’s relationship to promote their broadband services. Each of BT's ensuing ads gave a snap shot of the relationship as it transcended from boy meets girl to the interaction of a mature adult couple. And, of course, this all takes place around BT’s broadband services. Following this same example, there is no reason why you, as an e-book author, cannot do the same. You can even write a series of stories built around a single thematic focus, much in the same way as the early radio soap operas used to.

What I like about using stories to endorse a given product is the fact that the storyline encourages the reader to imagine that they are using the product or service you wish to promote or sell. Reading stories invokes proxy participation much in the same way as watching a movie does. Your readers can engage with the product or service you are promoting by following your storyline.

So what products can be promoted and sold through the medium of storytelling? Pet related products are an obvious choice, as pet owners are often receptive to stories about animals. But even items such as software should not be excluded from the prose treatment. The Internet is awash with affiliate products, all of which can lend themselves to a storytelling medium. It really is all down to your imagination.

The inability to write stories need not exclude you from putting together a storytelling e-book to promote or sell your product. There are plenty of copywriters who would be willing to write your stories for you.

Alternatively, if you are artistically inclined, then you can always use the cartoon and caption option. Popeye and his spinach eating adventures spring to mind here. I have often wondered how much spinach was sold as a direct result of the Popeye cartoon strips. I am sure Popeye played a major role in promoting sales of this versatile vegetable.

So if you are already an affiliate marketer, or you are planning to become one, then you might want to write an e-book with a storyline that promotes your product rather than just pumping your customers with hardcore sales copy.