Would you like to know how you can instantly connect and build trust with your audience, no matter what business you’re in?
It has nothing to do with A/B testing a headline. It has nothing to do with setting up a marketing funnel. And, it absolutely has nothing to do with finding the best keywords that connect with your audience.
It’s about telling your story.
When the only thing you think about is selling, selling, selling, what happens? Potential customers get emails that are only promotions. They get bombarded with products to buy, but no useful information. And, they start to feel they are just a number to you, rather than an actual person.
Before you sell anything, you need to connect, and not just with a handshake or sending out one email. You need to emotionally connect with the people you want to be your customers now, and for the rest of their lives.
But how?
Think about it this way. If you were sitting down across from a potential customer at a nice lunch, would you immediately launch into your sales pitch? If you know anything about sales, I hope not! You need to know who they are, you need to know what they want, and you need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you understand them.
In order to help you do that, I’m going to walk you through a 3-Step Story Formula that will show you how you can determine, with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel, what story to tell, exactly how to write it, and what you need to say in order to get a response (like a click, an opt-in, or even a purchase).
STEP 1: Find Your “Origin” Story
So, your first step is to find your “Origin” story that communicates to your customers that you not only “get” them, but you have felt as they do, have acted as they have, and have been in the exact same situation. That’s a radically different approach from just saying, “Hey, we understand you!” which many “me-too” companies do.
STEP 2: Structure It “Hero’s Journey” Style
Start with life “As It Was”: Take us to that moment in your life when things were at their absolute worst, the lowest of the low points, and the confusion, the anger, and the frustration. Take us to that moment and tell us WHY you were feeling that way. This is where you immediately connect. People are going to start thinking: “Wow. That’s exactly how I feel RIGHT NOW. What else does this guy have to say?”
Segway into “The Conflict”: When was the moment you knew something needed to be done? (If you’ll notice when you watch a good movie [those that have won Oscars or are critically acclaimed], you’ll see that about 30 minutes in, the main character “begins their journey” because they have realized that if they don’t solve their problem, there are going to be serious consequences.) This is the moment to tell us about, including what you “realized” or “what epiphany you had,” and what you started to do.
End with your “Resolution”: Very simply, this is where you jump to how you solved your problem (the one your customers are having, too). You created your software to help other e-commerce owners have a high-converting check-out page, because you weren’t happy with an 80% cart abandonment rate anymore. Or, you built a 7-figure business, because you mastered online marketing, while, before, you were making pennies. Or, you focused so intently on a craft that you were able to build a career out of it, and now you’re able to teach it to other people.
STEP 3: How to Close
You’ll see a lot of these teasers in about pages, at the ends of blog posts, on landing pages, and in emails. If they work on you, steal them! They work because, after reading a story that emotionally connects with us, OF COURSE we want to learn more. Curiosity is one of the single best ways I know to jolt people out of their seats, get them to lean in, and lead them to take action in order to get more of the good stuff.
What You Should Do Today
Telling your story in all your company’s marketing is an excellent way (and a free way, too) to make you stand out, especially in hyper-competitive marketplaces.
Why?
One of my favorite examples of this is from Dan Kennedy’s book, No B.S. Wealth Attraction. He cites a story about High Point University in North Carolina that went from a normal humdrum college to one of the top-ranked colleges in the U.S. funded by $300 million in investments. (Universities are businesses, too).
The best part about it was the school began to tell its story – in all its marketing – and that got OTHER people to talk about the story, which was what led to so much interest, increased applications, and donations. Obviously, there are a lot of systems in place to allow this to happen, but this concept is yours for the taking: Tell your story well, so your best customers can tell it, too. (Tweet that!)
The reason this works is because no one else has your story. No one has your unique perspective. No one went through the exact thing you went through, in the exact way you did! Your story can pull the people you want to attract to your business together and make them say “Yes” and immediately forget about everyone else.
So, use your story on your company’s about page, in your emails, in your brochures, in any direct mail you send out, and at events where you are speaking. The rule is: “Everywhere you are, your story should be, too.”
Not only will people remember you for being truly different, but the right people will be your customers for life
