Writers! Could Your Stories Sell Old Knick-Knacks and Bring In Bags of Cash?
Or at least turn my guitar into a Lexus?
I received an email the other day.
It was among 23 others that spammed my inbox, because bloody cookies! right? I never got rid of them until recently. Now, I’ll be receiving discounts on chicken teriyaki and yoga teacher training until the day I die.
Anyhow, the email in question was the only one I didn’t swipe into the bin. That would’ve been a crime. Henneke Duistermaat’s newsletters are gems and I subscribed to her willingly years ago.
So, why am I singing her praises? She’s an accomplished copywriter – a fellow non-native, which makes her success story even more compelling. Whenever I see her name in my inbox, I get excited. Why?
Because her emails are bite-sized writing lessons for those who want to polish their craft. And…she’s a master at finding stories like this:
Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker conducted a social experiment. They bought cheap knick-knacks in thrift stores and auctioned them on eBay. I know. This in itself is no biggie, but there’s a twist.
They asked various writers to create a fictional story for each item. Instead of writing a “product description,” they placed the narrative in the details section.
I find that genius! We humans are suckers for stories because, well…we’re practically made of feelings.
Remember?
When you bought yourself a Starbucks because it was Tuesday and you felt down and you needed caffeine to get through the day because your boss promoted a newbie who just started yesterday and you even had to train them and then there was a chocolate chip muffin staring at you from the pastry section which was the perfect match for your coffee? AND BAM! You just consumed 3000 calories — your entire daily intake — in five minutes. Why? Because YOU WERE TRIGGERED by your sobby life story. And your ungrateful boss who now unknowingly contributed to your inevitable weight gain.
Stories can be a catalyst for our actions. And as if that wasn’t enough, our feelings can be manipulated by them.
Rob Walker and Joshua Glenn used this very fact to see how the buyers responded when objects were given a narrative.
And they were blown away by the results. Blimey! I would’ve been shocked to earn $8000 over time with useless trinkets worth less than a dollar each — and yet, that’s exactly what happened.
However, they didn’t do it for the money — or to save up for a new Lexus. They did it to explore the effect narrative has on human behaviour and on consumer habits.
And their findings? We. Are. Weak. You and I, both. Susceptible to giving in to our emotions. Gullible enough to fork over some cash for a porcelain figurine which had been lurking in someone’s loft for the last two decades.
Henneke timed her email perfectly. I’ve been trying to sell a guitar on a marketplace for some time, to no avail.
My mum gifted it to my son years ago. He twanged on it for about a fortnight before getting bored and putting it in its waterproof case. The guitar — which is as good as new — is now swallowed up by the depths of my son’s messy wardrobe, which, you guessed it, is full of MORE clutter.
So far, my post on the marketplace has got 44 clicks and I’ve received three messages. One of the “interested” buyers never got back to me. The other reassured me he was interested then vanished. And the third asked me if I could deliver it to his house — which I declined.
It’s safe to say that buyers aren’t queuing up to get their hands on our perfect, little instrument. And I know why. They want cheap stuff. Like £5 cheap stuff. But the guitar is currently priced at £45 and I’m not planning to sell it for much less. Unless no one buys it in the next 6 months, in which case, I’ll pay someone to just take the damn thing.
So, the next thing I’ll do is compose a story and auction it on eBay, just like Glenn and Walker did. Then I’ll wait for the money to roll in…
Will it work? I have no idea. eBay might even ban me forever, which wouldn’t cause me sleepless nights since I only use the platform once every decade.
I’m working on two versions of the story. A lyrical one and a light-hearted one. Turns out, writing a narrative for an object is not so simple. The story must be concise, straight to the point, while also being enticing, so it can tug at buyers’ heartstrings and pop their wallet open.
That’s a lot of base to cover. And I have 25 books, an Indian burner, a wooden puffin and a Hello Kitty piggy bank more to go.
You must admit, the idea has potential.
Feel free to try it.
Alternatively, let me know if you have a spark of an idea for how to create a hysterical story about a guitar — and turn it into a Lexus.