Chances are you’ve heard that telling your story on your website, in your emails, or on your videos is a compelling, authentic way to bring in clients.
This is true, but how exactly do you tell your story?
After all, you have to walk a fine line. You don’t want to be telling a boring,
long-winded tale that no one will have the patience to read. But you also don’t want to hold back on the “good stuff” that people will relate to on a powerful level.
If you are an introvert or suffer from low self-esteem, then the storytelling aspect of your marketing can be much more difficult. You feel as if no one cares about your personal story or they at least don’t care enough to read more than a sentence or two.
Or, if you have dealt with self-sabotage or an embarrassing failure in the past, you may not want to expose your challenges and disappointments to the entire world, particularly to family members, colleagues, and friends who may not have known this side of you.
But ironically, these are the stories that need telling the most.
This may surprise you, but I would hazard a guess that most if not all people have gone through difficult setbacks in their lives. They have experienced business failures, lost opportunities, squandered fortunes, or devastating betrayals.
Some have let these challenges define them, while others are still persevering, hammering away at life and are seeking inspiration anywhere they can find it.
They need your story to make them feel like they are not alone in their struggles.
They need your hero’s journey to give them hope.
They need to see that someone else has been through similar situations and have come out stronger on the other side.
And this may go without saying, but everyone loves a good story.
In a world of hype, misleading marketing, and greedy sales pitches, your story can be a diamond in the rough, giving you a competitive edge and providing your target audience with some much-needed transparency.
Here are three ways to do it right.
- Be vulnerable
Open yourself up warts and all. Don’t worry about what people will think. Your setbacks are probably more common than you realize.
- Focus on the outcomes
What lessons did you learn? What is the moral of your story? How can you translate these lessons into what you are offering your ideal clients?
- Weave your story into your brand
Present your setbacks and how you overcame them on multiple platforms: videos, webinars, emails, sales pages, websites, social media, etc. Position parts of your story everywhere you can.
Telling your story properly enables you to strike a balance between what you have been through and what you are offering.
When you can let your present self be the “after” in the before-after scenario, it allows your prospect to see that you are living proof of your product’s or service’s benefits.
Of course, we are just scratching the surface here. You may already have your story front and center in your marketing but you aren’t sure if it’s on point or checking all the boxes.
And if you are keeping your story to yourself, please know that the world needs to hear it. You never know whose life you may impact.
– Andy
Find great products and services for your well-being from members of The Wellness Universe!
For the past 15 years, I’ve been helping coaches, wellness practitioners and other heart-centered entrepreneurs to bring in more clients and sell more services with compelling, persuasive web copy that reflects your core message–without all the hyped up, high-pressure sales language.
