According to legend, Arthur was an orphan and just a boy when he was sent to fetch a sword for a knight to use in a jousting tournament. Arthur rushed home. But there was nobody there — they were all at the jousting. What to do?
Arthur rode to a churchyard where a sword stood stuck in an anvil, on top of a large stone. He pulled the sword out with ease.
But this was no ordinary sword. It was the famous sword in the stone. By pulling it out, without knowing what he did, Arthur became rightful king of England.
It’s a good origin story — good enough to be retold for a thousand years. And in some forms, it continues to be retold today.
For example, it seems like every guru who sells through direct response comes with a rags-to-riches story that mimics the “sword in the stone” legend.
“I was deep in debt… I was living in a trailer home… I couldn’t turn to anyone for help… and then I stumbled upon copywriting/binary options/real estate investing.”
Everybody uses stories like this. So they must work, right?
Maybe. Or maybe not.
Off the top of my head, I can think of a half dozen reasons why it might be good NOT to have a rags-to-riches story for a guru. Such as…
It might lower prospects’ self-esteem instead of raising it…
It might sound like boilerplate that bores or sets off readers…
It might attract opportunity seekers who will refund and complain when they’re not able to pull the sword out of its DVD case.
I doubt anybody’s ever tested whether an against-all-odds origin story really helps sales. It’s just something everybody uses… because everybody else uses it.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t use it, too. I’m not even saying you should spend time or money to test it. I just want to suggest that, when everybody starts doing something, it’s time to question that thing. As Dan Kennedy once said:
“Industry norms? Forget them. They reinforce ‘average.’ It’s a norm because it’s ‘normal,” which gets you ‘average’ results. So, if you want to be average, fine. Pay attention to the way everybody does stuff and the way they’ve always done stuff. Don’t try to figure out how to walk away from it.”