Brand and website designer and founder of Shelby Design Co. I help business owners step into the next level of business growth with a brand and website designed to make them more money. When at home, I’m likely working alongside my husband Zak renovating our 106-year-old duplex. Otherwise, I’m eating dairy-free sweets, taking road trips in our custom-built camper, hiking, biking, kayaking, or doing just about any other outdoor activity ending in ‘ing’.
Once in a while, you read one of those books that give you that a-ha moment! Building a StoryBrand was one of those books for me. Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller teaches you how to use storytelling to clarify your message and emotionally engage potential customers.
So what was the a-ha moment? Make the customer the hero of your brand story.
It’s so simple, yet so powerful!
Donald Miller’s teachings have completely shaped how I work with clients and create strategic brands and websites. This framework can also help you to transform your business, let’s break down how this works and what you can do to make marketing your business even easier!
Clarify your Message
In order to understand how to simplify your brand messaging, we first need to understand what brand messaging is. Brand messaging is the way you speak to customers through your marketing strategy. It invites customers to interact with your brand in a way that feels personable and empathetic instead of cold and salesy.
Using simple and direct language in your messaging is essential. Keep these things in mind as you build your message:
“People don’t buy the best products and services, they buy the ones they can understand the fastest” – Donald Miller
Keep your sentences and concepts simple enough for a 10-year-old to understand.
Don’t make your viewer think. They don’t want to use their precious brainpower trying to decipher what you do and how you can help them.
Avoid technical jargon and industry terms, and use the same words your customers do to describe their problems and goals. Hint – read the reviews they write!
Empathize With Your Customer’s Problem
Simplifying your brand messaging means taking the time to get to know your audience. What problems are your customers facing? How is this problem making them feel? How does your product or service help them solve that problem?
Remember to look at the deeper solution you’re providing beyond the services you’re selling. For example, a yoga instructor isn’t just selling classes, they’re selling mental peace and wellness.
For every problem, there is an external problem, an internal problem, and a philosophical problem. Here’s an example:
Internal problem: Feel like they can’t be a good mother/father to their children, feel like they don’t have a clear mind to make decisions, and feel unhealthy.
Philosophical: Everyone deserves quality sleep
Often, it’s focusing on the intangible, internal problems that will get your viewer’s attention.
Sometimes it can be hard to put a finger on what exactly it is that you do for customers beyond what you’re selling them. A great way to figure it out is by reading reviews from your past clients. Look for patterns in what you helped them with. What words do they use to describe how you helped?
For example, a past client might say, “hiring XX company as my wedding planner made planning the wedding stress-free and allowed me to relax and enjoy my wedding day.”
This review shows that the wedding planning company helps brides feel relaxed and avoid feeling stressed so they can enjoy their wedding – this identifies the internal pain points and intangible problems that wedding planning solves. BOOM – your customers just wrote your brand messaging for you!
Focus on the Transformation
A powerful marketing messaging technique involves demonstrating how working with you will change their lives. Help them envision the transformation they can expect and how they’ll reach their desired state after working with you.
The most impactful way to do this is by sharing social proof of past clients who have experienced it! Make the reviews you share easy to read and to the point. Don’t be afraid to cut out unnecessary text to make testimonials shorter and focus on the best points of the review.
Another way to sell the transformation is in the descriptions of your services. When talking about what the buyer ‘gets’ when they buy your product or service, don’t forget to talk about the intangibles! For example, X hours saved, no headaches, get your life back, etc.
Be descriptive about how their lives will be transformed and how your service will solve their problems and make their lives easier. Learn how to simplify your offerings in this blog post!
Position Yourself as a Guide
For potential customers to take the final step to invest in your product or service, they need to see you as someone they can trust. Stop making yourself the hero of your brand story and become the guide your clients need. Let me explain what I mean.
Your customers likely don’t really care about you until they decide they like you, trust you, and know you can help them solve their problems. In your messaging, focus on them and their problem.
At the start, even when you’re talking about yourself, tell readers the things they would like to know about you that also benefit them.
Here are some examples:
“I’m so passionate about helping people and serving my clients because…”
“We’ve helped hundreds of people just like you.”
“I’ve been where you are and gotten my way out of it. Let me show you how.”
“We’re certified in all 50 states.”
This about page is a perfect example of how you can structure your website copy in a way that positions you as a guide and not a hero!
Be sure to establish your credibility and share tangible results. This can include rewards, press features, and certifications. Even highlighting the high-caliber clients you’ve worked with can sometimes be a credibility builder in itself.
Explain the Simple Process
Finally, a guide has a signature process that assures clients they’re in the right hands. Explain the process of working with you or purchasing your product in 3 or 4 simple steps.
Make it sound effortless to work with you and don’t forget to highlight the transformation they can expect! Be clear on the next steps you want potential clients. And don’t be afraid to ask for the sale!
Want a Free Website Audit?
Need some more personalized advice on how to simplify your brand messaging using the StoryBrand Framework? Apply for my free brand and website audit and I’ll give you unique ideas on how to implement these concepts. I’ll help you understand what you’re doing well and give you actionable advice on how you can improve your messaging and online presence.
Brand and website designer and founder of Shelby Design Co. I help business owners step into the next level of business growth with a brand and website designed to make them more money. When at home, I’m likely working alongside my husband Zak renovating our 106-year-old duplex. Otherwise, I’m eating dairy-free sweets, taking road trips in our custom-built camper, hiking, biking, kayaking, or doing just about any other outdoor activity ending in ‘ing’.