I selected this article from copyblogger because it delivers, it's simple, straightforward and right on the money!
Here's an excerpt:
"I believe a story can potentially carry the entire sale for your product, even if everything else is technically “wrong” in your ads
** no clear call to action
**lame bullets
**weak offer
For example:
"Nothing in the movie "Top Gun" told you to buy Maverick’s brand of sunglasses or join The US Navy. Yet, the movie “sold” both products to hordes of people.
**So, how do you apply this to your marketing?
1. The personal story
This is one of the most common landing page stories.
**This one is simple — you just “walk” people (step-by-step) through a painful problem you went through and how you achieved the result your readers are looking for.
2. The historical story
**This kind of story is extremely persuasive, contains nothing even remotely resembling “hype,” and can persuade people to buy things they otherwise might ignore.
3. The “meet the guru” story
**This one is related to the personal story, but it’s got more “pop” due the built-in credibility it gives you.
**These suggestions have proven to produce results, he gives more examples......
Curated by Jan Gordon covering "Storytelling, Social Media and Beyond"
Read full article here: [http://bit.ly/yVmlNV]
**** Recently appalled at how little copy was on maor ecommerce sites I was reviewing this articles seems prescient and important. Marty