Storytelling in Marketing and The Hero's Journey
Everyone loves a story. Whether they're told in the form of a novel, a song, an epic poem, an advert, or a case study, stories are, in the words of the screenwriter Christopher Vogler, "older than the pyramids, older than Stonehenge, older than the earliest cave painting."
Stories are, therefore, one of the most powerful ways marketers can reach their audience on a human level. After all, no one likes being sold to. As a marketer, you need to identify with the reader so they can understand the value of your solution, tool, or product. You need to connect on an emotional and personal level. Storytelling is one of the most profound ways to do that.
The most pervasive and ancient kind of story is The Hero's Journey. This story is a template first popularised by Joseph Campbell in 1949 with his famous work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, and again by Christopher Vogler in 2007. But the template is far older and can be identified in mythology, fairytales, and many famous novels and films. Some of the most notable examples are The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter.
The original template popularised by Campbell comprises 17 steps. Vogler later collapsed them into 12, split up into three main stages, as follows:
Stage 1 - Departure/Separation
Step 1. The ordinary world
Step 2. The call to adventure
Step 3. Refusing the call
Step 4. Meeting the mentor
Step 5. Crossing the first threshold
Stage 2 - Initiation
Step 6. Tests, allies, and enemies
Step 7. Approaching the inmost cave
Step 8. The ordeal
Step 9. Reward
Stage 3 - Return
Step 10. The journey back
Step 11. The resurrection
Step 12. Return with the elixir
The Hero's Journey Step-by-Step and How to Apply it in Content Marketing
I'm about to walk you through the stages and steps of The Hero's Journey. While not all steps are included in every story, and the duration of each stage or step varies, this template can help you structure even your copywriting into a story-like structure.
In some cases, the hero is you or your company, but in most cases, it is your reader or customer.
Where relevant, I will provide suggestions for how you could incorporate aspects of The Hero's Journey into your content or copywriting.
Stage 1 - Departure/Separation
Step 1. The ordinary world
The Hero's Journey is always a tale of transformation. So it must begin not with the adventure but with the hero/heroine's ordinary world. We need to know what the person's life and/or personality was like before the adventure began.
The ordinary world could be a happy one that represents innocence (think of The Shire in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings). It could also be a world of frustration or boredom - a place fraught with challenges or unmet potential (think of Luke Skywalker on Tatooine in A New Hope or Harry Potter in the muggle world in The Philosopher's Stone).
In content marketing, you should always choose option two. If the hero is your reader/customer, then as a copywriter, you need to understand and describe their ordinary world: what is the problem your audience faces daily?
If you're writing about your own company or success story, then the ordinary world could be what your life, work, or industry was like before you began your venture.
Step 2. The call to adventure
Now that we know the hero's ordinary world, it's time to take them away from it. Whether it's a problem, challenge, or visitor that shows up, something happens to separate the hero/heroine from their normal life. Think of Gandalf and the dwarves showing up at Bag End in The Hobbit or Hagrid showing up to take Harry to Hogwarts.
In content marketing, the call to adventure could be the decision to find a solution to their problem. It might be as simple as a Google search, or it could be an encounter with someone from your company.
Step 3. Refusing the call
In The Hero's Journey, the hero/heroine often refuses the call. This could be due to a lack of confidence, fear, or obligation. This step could be long or incredibly short. For example, in A New Hope, Luke initially refuses to accept Obi-Wan's call to adventure because of his obligations to his foster parents.
Step 4. Meeting the mentor
The mentor in The Hero's Journey is the person who provides the hero/heroine with the tools or advice they need to leave their ordinary world or to grow in their journey of transformation. Sometimes there is one mentor who leads the hero to another, even greater mentor (from Hagrid to Dumbledore, from Obi-Wan to Yoda). The mentor could also take the form of an object, such as a letter or map.
In content marketing, the customer's encounter with your company in the call to adventure could fall into the category of meeting the mentor instead. Refusing the call could be omitted, or it could entail trying alternative solutions without success. However, that might fit better in the initiation stage.
Step 5. Crossing the first threshold
Crossing the first threshold - the final step of the departure stage - is the point at which the hero/heroine forges ahead with the journey. They finally muster the courage to depart, or the obstacle that was preventing the adventure has been removed. It is sometimes conveyed as the point of no return. In A New Hope, it was the death of Skywalker's foster parents.
In content marketing, crossing the threshold could be the customer's decision to use your company's solution. Whatever doubts they had - be it price, reliability, or whatever else, have been removed by confidence in the solution or the failure of alternatives.
Stage 2 - Initiation
Step 6. Tests, allies, and enemies
The hero/heroine has left their normal world, and the adventure has begun, which means danger and challenges are close at hand. Problems quickly arise, which may result in failure and will test the hero/heroine's resolve or make them regret their decision. But allies will also come to the rescue to help them proceed with their journey.
Let's take, for example, The Lord of the Rings. Shortly after leaving The Shire, Frodo and Sam encounter fellow hobbits Merry and Pippin (allies) and the Nazgul (enemies). Frodo and Sam need to escape to get to the Prancing Pony (test). They succeed with the help of their allies. They make it to the inn, but Gandalf is not there as expected (test) but they meet Aragorn (ally), who helps them escape the pursuing Nazgul.
Step 7. Approaching the inmost cave
Doubts creep in, or danger besets the hero/heroine, who may even consider turning back. They have to find the courage to push on. Think of Frodo deciding to end his adventure at Rivendell and return home but then decided, in spite of everything, to take the ring to Mordor.
Step 8. The ordeal
In fiction, the ordeal is usually the climax of the initiation stage and the darkest moment for the hero/heroine, where things seem hopeless. Think of Frodo getting stabbed by the Nazgul on Weathertop, or the death of Obi-Wan, for example.
As I suggested previously, in content marketing, these steps of the initiation stage could be the customer's first attempt at solving their problem. Tests and enemies, or approaching the inmost cave and the ordeal, could be the challenges they faced using other companies' solutions, and allies could be people who pointed them in the direction of your company.
Step 9. RewardThe hero/heroine overcomes the obstacles and ordeals and succeeds despite all odds. The result of all of this is not only that the hero/heroine lives to tell the tale but has been completely changed by the experience.
In content marketing, this is the climax. The customer has solved their problem thanks to the tools, solutions, and help they were given on their journey, and things won't be the same again.
Stage 3 - Return
Step 10. The journey back
The return is sometimes the journey home after the adventure, but othertimes it is the climax of the adventure - the biggest obstacle the hero/heroine has to face. If the ordeal in A New Hope was the death of Obi-Wan and the reward was rescuing Princess Leiah, then the journey back was the rebel attack on the Death Star.
Sometimes, however, it is the journey home that can be the final ordeal. Those familiar with the novel version of The Return of the King, as opposed to the film version, might remember that the return to the Shire wasn't a return to the place the hobbits left behind when they went on their adventure. They found it changed and oppressed by a weakened Saruman and had to fight to restore peace and order.
Step 11. The resurrection
Now comes the ultimate challenge, from which the hero/heroine will emerge transformed. For example, Luke becoming the saviour of the rebel alliance by destroying the Death Star with the help of the Force gives us a Skywalker completely transformed from the person we saw stuck on Tattooine at the beginning of the story.
Step 12. Return with the elixir
The hero/heroine returns to their normal world, only to find what was normal is gone for good (for better or worse). The hero/heroine has been transformed by their adventure.
This could be a positive (the doubts or weaknesses the hero/heroine had before the adventure are gone, or a bad relationship has been improved as a result of the transformation). But it could also be a sad thing (such as Frodo no longer feeling he belonged in the Shire, which he fought to save and longed to return to throughout his adventure).
In content marketing, you always have a happy ending. The customer's work has been transformed by the journey. Work will never be the same again (and that's a good thing).
Should you use The Hero's Journey for your content?
The Hero's Journey isn't suitable for every piece of content, but it's a great option for case studies and any copywriting that focuses on solving the problems of your customer persona. The steps of The Hero's Journey are a good place to start if, let's say, you're going to interview a client to write a success story about their use of your company's product or solution.
If you really know your customers, their ordinary world, the problems they've faced, and how they overcame them, you already have the beginnings of a story that's worth telling and that potential customers can identify with. That, in turn, might well inspire them to follow a similar journey with you.
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