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Stories are so important to good copywriting. It's one of the aspects of copywriting that can't be done in a cookie cutter style and therefore isn't answered by some of the sales letter software available on the market.

Please do not misconstrue that last statement to mean that I don't think that sales letter software is practical. It's very practical. It also needs some personal embellishments and that's where good storytelling is invaluable.

Storytelling draws the reader into the sales letter where they'll learn all of the practical facts about your product. They'll learn why your product solves their problem. They'll learn the benefits of purchasing from you and not your competitor. You will be personal to them because they know more about you through your story.

How can you become a great storyteller? Your first project would be to pay attention to other good storytellers. Analyze how the stories are told. Watch others tell stories.

Do you have a friend who tells great stories? Ask them to tell you a few. Analyze how they are telling them instead of getting caught up in the story itself.

Read good books and good sales letters. Watch for the story within the story in books. You won't have the advantage of 100 pages to tell your story and sell your product so you want to look for the story within a story in the books.

Watch good movies. Compare and contrast movies whose story is told well with others whose story is told badly. What is different?

Look at comic strips. These are comedians on paper who are forced to tell their story and punch line in just a couple of panels. Compare how the different comic strips are written and tell their story.

Listen to comedians. They tell great stories. Whether you enjoy the story line or not, Everybody Loves Raymond and Seinfeld, are great examples of well-told short stories.

Read your competitors web pages or sign up for their ezines. 'Listen' to their stories and how they weave in personal items.

These bits of personality that shine through make the writer more personable. They make it easier for the customer to take out their wallet and spend their money. After all, they are purchasing from someone who seems to understand exactly where they, the customer, is coming from. This product seems to answer all the questions and problems they've been having ' because it did it for the creator and other customers.