How To Use Creative Writing To Get Your Craft Noticed!

Posted 01/08/2024 in Tips for Crafters

As a craft insurance company, we try to share ideas that will help craft businesses to grow. So here’s an idea…

Why not use the same narrative formula that Hollywood uses to make blockbusting films to put together some great testimonials on your website? You can use it to showcase your lovely handmade products and tell the story of the people who are happy with them…

A great way to describe the value of your handmade products is to create a story around them that people want to read. Everyone loves to hear a story about overcoming difficulty and the reward of finding a good solution.

We have been trained by cinematographers over the years to follow the line of a story in a film, and we expect that the story will unfold familiarly. When we hear a story or a case study told in this way it meets our expectations and we feel satisfied that a problem has been solved and an objective achieved – it all feels right somehow!

The Hollywood Story Arc

The most familiar pattern for storytelling used in films is the Hollywood story arc and it looks something like this:

  1. The characters are introduced
  2. They have a goal they want to reach
  3. The adversary is the problem or obstacle they face
  4. The plan is how they are trying to get around the obstacle
  5. They experience various attempts and failures
  6. They regroup
  7. They make a new plan with the same goal in mind
  8. They fulfil their goal and experience victory!

This method can also be used to frame case studies on your website. Use each step to create a questionnaire to give your customers as a feedback form then use the answers to craft a couple of great testimonials/case studies. Each testimonial will then follow the Hollywood story arc by including the right elements. Your feedback form could look something like this.

  1. Name
  2. Product purchased? (We’ll call it ‘x’.)
  3. What are you looking for when you buy ‘x’?
  4. Where do you normally go to find ‘x’?
  5. Have you had any difficulties finding ‘x’ in the past?
  6. How did you hear about us?
  7. What do you like most about our ‘x’?
  8. What mark out of ten would you give to our ‘x’? Why?

Testimonials/case studies written in this way can deal with objections before they even come up. Each story will show potential buyers how your products can help them to achieve their goals and allay any fears they might have about purchasing. You can even use these case studies as the script for video clips. Some happy customers may even enjoy being filmed to leave a video testimonial on your home page.

Here’s an example of a case study written according to the Hollywood story arc- it’s a bit longer than your average case study just to get the point across, but you get the general idea!

Sue, a busy, working Mum, struggles every year to make time to find Christmas presents that are meaningful, lasting, unique and memorable. She doesn’t want to get into debt every year, but her experience has often been that finding a special gift at the eleventh hour has meant paying over the odds. Christmas has started to feel a bit of a chore and one that needs to be tackled earlier each year (even in the summer sales) in order to find acceptable gifts that don’t cost the earth. Sue’s dream would be to find a shop or online outlet (different to the one that everyone else is using) where she could find an original gift for each family member and friend. An even better scenario would be a discount for buying all of her presents with them.

This year, during in a conversation with a friend about the forthcoming festive season Sue opened up about how she was dreading the whole thing. Sue’s friend told her about ‘x’ website and online store.

Sue wasn’t expecting much, but after an initial perusal of the website she realised that she was onto something as she started to find beautiful handmade gifts straight away that suited the tastes and interests of her different family members and friends.

This year, Christmas has been a very different experience for Sue. The gifts were easy to find all in one place and easy to purchase with a discount for the number of items she bought together. Sue was then free to spend more time enjoying the season with her loved ones without the worry of presents yet to be bought lurking in the back of her mind. What’s more, when Christmas arrived, the quality and beautiful craftsmanship of the items received universal and rapturous approval from the family. Sue was inspired by the way that one conversation can completely change an entire season and she started to share her experience with her friends. Now, Sue cannot recommend a handmade Christmas enough.

Another great thing about a well-written case study is that you can use excerpts from it for social media. Sharing valuable content makes consumers want to follow you on social media. You could turn morsels from these case studies into social media graphics for Instagram or LinkedIn.

Sharing success stories helps you to build trust and relationships. People can learn more about your company and a case study of this nature will serve to answer frequently asked questions too. There’s nothing better than an impactful case study to show people that they can trust you to provide a quality product or service.

Our craft insurance company has seen several decades of experience of working with crafters to ensure they have the correct cover. We have had lots of happy customers over the years and we want to continue to give the best service that we can to all. If you have an enquiry or you are looking for a craft insurance company, the easiest way to find out more is simply to drop us a message or pick up the phone and either Naomi or Sam will be here to help answer your questions.