Excellent Piece Of Copywriting From Overstock.com
From an Overstock marketing email:
Honored Client,
Hello. My name is Patrick Byrne and I work at Overstock.com.
Overstock is best explained through a story. I went to high school near Washington, DC. There I had a friend named, “Charlie†(a.k.a. “Chalookaâ€). Whatever I or other friends were considering buying, be it electronics, car parts, a jacket, etc., Charlie would always say, “I have a friend in the business,†or, “I know a guy at the warehouse, I’ll get you a special deal on it.â€
We had our suspicions about Charlie, but learned in time that he really did have friends in the business. Whatever business. Looking for a new car stereo? Charlie had a cousin who installed them and had a special deal on a cancelled order of high-end Bose. An affordable trip down to Florida for Spring Break? Charlie had a friend who was a travel agent and knew of a recent cancellation in a good Miami hotel. Needed a last minute gift? Charlie had an uncle with a jewelry shop who’d make a deal on a gold necklace.
In short, Charlie knew people. And he knew people who knew people. He used his connections to look after his friends.
We know that not everyone knows someone like my old friend Charlie. But that is OK, because you need only know Overstock.com. Behind our website and computers and advertising there is a core group of people a lot like Charlie, women and men who “know people,†experts in their fields who scour the world looking for special opportunities to bring to the website. Whatever you are looking for, we’re your friend in the business, and we’re looking out for you.
Respectfully submitted,
Patrick M. Byrne
Overstock.com
This story is an excellent example of using storytelling to sell your service. I really like this piece. Now if only I can get my work to flow like this.
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Thanks for the nice words. I plan on making these short stories a regular event. Let me know what you think and how they can improve.
Patrick
Hey Patrick,
You found this post fast. I think writing these stories regularly would be great, it definitely gives a human and entertaining aspect to your marketing message.
One idea that popped into my head once you said you might do them regularly would be to create some sort of continuous story that would make people want to read next weeks post. Create characters and incorporate readers thoughts, questions, etc.
Since you’ve recycled these stories as blog posts, you can have the best of both worlds where you are sending readers of your blog an email update with next weeks story in addition to sending your marketing message.
Good Luck,
P.S. – Add an email signup to your blog.