When you tell stories that stick with your audience, you automatically move from selling the service to selling the experience, and that is what moves people into confident action. 

Your potential clients are currently facing a problem in their life that they're looking to address or solve, and your photography service might be that solution, but they can't clearly see that when you only lead with what you get the deliverables.

01:05 — Why you need to include storytelling on your services page as a photographer

03:23 — People want to know what transformation they can expect to receive

04:08 — Relying on deliverables won't sell your service as effectively as storytelling

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Potential clients are interested in what kind of

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experience or transformation they'll have when they buy from you.

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You see, your audience is currently facing a problem in their life and

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they're looking for a solution and your photography service, your session, might

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be that solution, but they can't clearly see that when you only lead with what

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you get the deliverables, the details.

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You are listening to The Copywriter On Call podcast.

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I'm your host Sarah Gillis copywriter, word, magic maker, and owner of

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what Sarah said on this podcast.

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You'll feel empowered to show up online in a way that has you saying, that's so me.

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Let's get started.

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Welcome back to another episode of the Copywriter on Call podcast.

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I am your host, Sarah Gillis, and I am logging some on call hours

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today solo to share a few secrets to incorporate storytelling onto

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your photography website, and in particular, your services page.

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Before we get started, let's dispel a copywriting myth.

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Many photographers I work with think, my services page?

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is not a sales page.

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I love you guys, but that's just plain wrong.

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It totally is, and it should act like one.

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So, what's the difference between a services page and a sales page?

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For copywriters like me, I construct sales pages with the ideal client in mind.

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I think about their mindset, their emotions, their pain

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points, and their desires.

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Why?

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It tells a story to your client that is grounded in reality.

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Even if they can't relate to a grumpy husband who doesn't like taking photos

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every year, or even if they don't have squirmy toddlers who giggle at fart

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jokes, these are relatable moments.

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And telling stories like these helps your client to feel seen and understood.

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Now, I'll admit that the term storytelling has become a bit of

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a buzzword in the marketing world the last few months, but before you

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eye roll at me, people are talking about storytelling for a good reason.

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It works and your business needs it.

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When you tell stories that stick with your audience, you

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automatically move from selling the service to selling the experience.

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And that is what moves people into confident action.

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Research shows that 95 percent of purchasing decisions

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are based on emotions.

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Which means that the majority of your audience initially doesn't

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even care about what's included with your service, those deliverables.

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They just want to know what that service might mean for them and

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how it can improve their life.

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So when you speak to their emotions first, they will then start to

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justify that decision based on logic.

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So let's dive into more reasons why storytelling on your services page,

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which yes, is a sales page, not just a list of deliverables, why storytelling

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can actually be the key to selling and serving up that client transformation

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to the goal here is to help a potential client envision their life before your

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service and after buying from you.

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More than anything, people want to know what transformation

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they can expect to receive.

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And to do this effectively, make sure that you know before you start

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what your audience's biggest pain points are and what they truly want.

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So here are some questions to help you get at this mindset.

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What is your ideal client struggling with right now?

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How do they want to feel?

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And what do they want to achieve?

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And how does your service and your unique way of doing that service.

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Help them get that.

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Answering these questions as you put together your services page

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copy is crucial to helping your ideal client feel seen and heard.

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Now story based marketing may seem like the obvious choice, but I want

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to show you an alternative way here that most photographers use at first.

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And I hope that this example will really crystallize for you why

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storytelling like this is effective.

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Imagine this, if you've ever scrolled through Instagram and stumbled upon

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a photographer who is promoting their latest offer or their newest service.

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And you see things like this, 25 plus fully-edited images, quarterly sessions,

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an outfit planning guide, a print credit.

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And the list goes on.

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You're not alone.

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In fact, I use these same techniques to promote my membership, the content huddle,

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and my group coaching program, StorySale.

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But what I want to emphasize here is that relying on these details

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and deliverables alone without any other strategy is simply not enough.

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So in this scenario, like I said earlier, the photographer

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is simply selling the service.

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Not the experience that their clients will receive, and I'm not trying to say here

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that these details aren't important when it comes to making a purchasing decision.

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They are, but they aren't necessarily what you want to lead with or what

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you want to completely rely on to sell your photography services.

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What's better than sharing these logistics or deliverables then?

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Potential clients are interested in what kind of experience or

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transformation they'll have.

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When they buy from you, you see, your audience is currently facing a problem

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in their life and they're looking for a solution and your photography service.

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Your session might be that solution, but they can't clearly see that

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when you only lead with what you get the deliverables, the details.

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This is why you need to sell the experience, not just the service.

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So instead of just listing 150 print credit, if your website says that you

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offer this print credit so that your clients fresh and beautiful photos aren't

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collecting dust on a hard drive, but are actually printed and hanging on a

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wall for them to be enjoyed by everyone.

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You're taking the time to emphasize that transformation.

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Let me share one more example of this with you.

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And this one's from my own website.

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Here's how I speak to my ideal client for StorySale, my group coaching program.

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You love the work you do as a business owner.

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But you're stuck in a cycle of serving less than ideal

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clients who don't light you up.

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You're frustrated with the direction your business is going, but the radio

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silence when you promote your offers makes you feel like you are the

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reason your business isn't succeeding.

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If you're tired of playing it safe with your marketing, charging less than your

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service is worth, and feeling alone and uninspired, Story sale is for you.

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Now, before I ever list the details of what you get when you enroll in

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my program, I start with a statement that speaks to this client's mindset.

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You love the work you do as a business owner, but you're stuck in

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a cycle of serving less than ideal clients who don't light you up.

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That statement speaks directly to their problem.

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It follows up with how they're feeling, and then it introduces

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them to my solution, my program.

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while also giving them further details.

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The goal here is that you lead with something that will speak

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to their emotions and we'll get them saying, yes, that is me.

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That's how I feel.

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That's exactly what I need.

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And you're getting them to say that even before they know what

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exactly it is that you're offering.

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That is the power of storytelling, my friend.

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Want to take the guesswork out of writing your services page?

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Click the link in the show notes to access my services page swipe file.

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For just $127, you will be on your way to a story packed services page that

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acts as a sales page and is ready to convert casual readers into clients.

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As always, thanks so much for listening.

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And until next time, this is your copywriter on call, signing off.

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Thanks for listening to The Copywriter On Call podcast.

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If this episode has you feeling all sorts of inspired to show up as yourself online,

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click that subscribe button so you don't miss my stories or practical advice to

Sarah Gillis: 00:08:52

help you express your quirky, vulnerable, and authentic self online chat soon.