Building a StoryBrand

Empathetic statements start with words like, “We understand how it feels to . . .” or “Nobody should have to experience . . .” or “Like you, we are frustrated by . . .” or, in the case of one Toyota commercial inviting Toyota owners to engage their local Toyota service center, simply, “We care about your Toyota.”

“5 Mistakes People Make with Their First Million Dollars”— A downloadable PDF guide offered by a financial advisor who wanted to find young, newly wealthy clients to help them with their financial planning.

“Building Your Dream Home: 10 Things to Get Right Before You Build”— A free e-book offered by an architect who wanted to establish herself as a guide to families looking to build a custom home.

“Cocktail Club: Learn to Make One New Cocktail Each Month”—This was a monthly event surprisingly put on by a garden store that taught attendees how to infuse bitters and simple syrups with herbs. The objective for this promotion was to create a community around their store. Business is booming (or should I say blooming) because people want to attend their classes.

“Becoming a Professional Speaker”—A free online course offered by a speaking coach for those who wanted to become professional speakers. This generated leads for long-term subscriptions to his coaching service.

In the year we started StoryBrand, our first lead generator was a simple, downloadable document (in PDF format) called “5 Things Your Website Should Include.”

put it all together by crafting a one-liner for soccer moms to see how powerful a one-liner actually is.

• The Character: Moms

• The Problem: Busy schedules

• The Plan: Short, meaningful workouts

• The Success: Health and renewed energy

• “We provide busy moms with a short, meaningful workout they can use to stay healthy and have renewed energy.”

Contrast that statement with the description most business leaders might give: “I run a gym.”

If you’re a busy soccer mom, your ears would perk up because the new one-liner identifies you, helps you overcome your problem, gives you a plan, and promises a better life. A statement like this will invite customers into a better story they can actually live.

SUCCESS

This is where you paint a picture of what life could look like after customers use your product or service. For soccer moms, success may involve a sense of health, well-being, or attractiveness. For retired couples looking for a second home in Florida, success could be as simple as warm, enjoyable winters.

3. THE PLAN

You won’t be able to spell out your entire plan in your one-liner, but you must hint at it. For workout-deprived soccer moms, the plan might be weekly, meaningful workouts. For the retired couple, the plan of a time-share can make the difference.

When a customer reads your one-liner, the plan component should cause them to think, Well, when it’s organized that way, it makes sense. Perhaps there’s hope.

I said earlier in the book, stories hinge on conflict, so we should never shy away from talking about our customers’ challenges. Defining a problem triggers the thought in your customer’s mind: Yeah, I do struggle with that. Will your brand be able to help me overcome it?

Soccer moms are challenged with busy schedules, and they can never seem to find time to work out. A retired couple looking to spend their winter in Florida cringes at the cost of buying a second home. But defining the problem is vital, because once you do you’ve opened a story loop and they’ll be looking to you to help them find a resolution.

Your transitional call to action should also be obvious, but don’t let it distract from the direct call to action. I like featuring the transitional call to action in a less-bright button next to the call to action so the “Will you marry me?” and “Can we go out again?” requests are right next to each other. Remember, if you aren’t asking people to place an order, they won’t.

Everybody wants to experience a better life in some way or another, and while it may seem simple, images of people smiling or looking satisfied speak to us. They represent an emotional destination we’d like to head toward.

Above the fold, make sure the images and text you use meet one of the following criteria:

• They promise an aspirational identity.

By offering to make my wife a pro in the kitchen, the school in Seattle could have let her know “what’s in it for her” by appealing to an aspirational identity. Can we help our customers become competent in something? Will they be different people after they’ve engaged us? Let’s spell it out clearly.

• They promise to solve a problem.

If you can fix a problem, tell us. Can you stop my cat from clawing the furniture? My car from overheating? My hair from thinning? Say it. We didn’t go to your website to read about how many company softball games you’ve won; we came here to solve a problem.

• They state exactly what they do.

The easiest thing we can do on our website is state exactly what we do. There’s a shop down the street from us called Local Honey, which would cause anybody to think they sell local honey. They quickly overcame this confusion, though, with a tagline that says, “We sell clothes. We do hair.” Gotcha. Local Honey sells clothes and does hair. I’ve now filed them away in the Rolodex of my brain and will remember them when I need new hair or new clothes.