“Building a StoryBrand” by Donald Miller basically says; it’s not about you, it’s about your customer, they are the “hero.” They are on a journey. You are their GUIDE. They have a problem and there is very real potential pain ahead. They need someone they can trust and that will help them “fight off the villains” along the way, and get to the end of THEIR journey as a hero.
You can help them solve their problem, right?
If they think you are empathetic to their problem, and can guide them to success, and you have done it for others successfully, you win. Get your “brand story” straight, get it nailed down, and tighten up your marketing copy and brand.
You can say what you need to without a lot of words and MUST eliminate the blah-blah-blah. How many words you use is part art and part science. Excellent copywriting makes all the difference. This is no place for amateurs. Failure to do these things will cost you tens of thousands of dollars in lost sales and hurt your brand.
Fine-tune your marketing message, both online and offline. People don’t want to hear long stories about how great you are, what features and functionality your products have – at least not initially. That can all come later (and it should).
Again, people want to get from one point to the other, their journey, with as little or no pain as possible. Tell them you will help them, GUIDE THEM, and communicate that YOUR company is the one to do it and they can trust you. The “above the fold” part of your website is a make-it-or-break-it point. If you lose people here you just lost a new customer.
The Good
This book is easy to read and understand. It’s a quick read. It also has an online resource to help you create your “story.” It’s available on Kindle, in print, and at Audible.
Miller gets to the point quickly and is right on about taking your prospect and client through THEIR journey. You are only the “guide.” People like and want “guides” when making important decisions.
You wouldn’t try to climb Mt. Everest without a trusted guide (a/k/a Sherpa). It’s too risky! The potential for pain or failure is very real and very high.
Social proof, what you’ve done for others, is critical in your message. It PROVES you are the trusted guide and the RIGHT CHOICE! Good website design, especially your home page and what people first see and experience “above the fold,” is also critical to your success.
The Not So Good
Miller says people don’t read websites anymore and there’s no sense building out a big website. He’s WRONG about this and taking this approach is a BIG MISTAKE.
Most people making a big purchase, or potentially risky decision, do a lot of research online. If they are looking at your “slimmed down” website compared to a competitor’s website that has more information, that competitor probably is going to get the business.
Also, Google likes content. Content is what creates relevancy. If you have more content than a competitor, and it is properly optimized for search (SEO), your website will get better rankings and show up above your competitor on a search engine results page (SERP).
You can purchase “Building a StoryBrand” by Donald Miller at Amazon.
