Creating Narratives with a Repeatable Framework
One of the first micro-business concepts I went with after leaving my software engineering job was a one-to-one offering. To me, the concept seemed pretty simple and straightforward: write software to solve problems for local businesses.
So I jumped into building a quick one-pager website and wrote some marketing copy. As it started to take shape, it just had such a boring read to it. It wasn’t interesting at all. It felt like I was writing for a resume or a LinkedIn job description or something.
A quick crash course in writing marketing copy was in order. What I also wanted was a simple system or a framework to do this sort of thing on repeat for future micro-businesses. So with that, I set out to learn and discover and came across a few concepts that really changed my perspective and will likely change yours too.
You’re not the hero
Bragging about your brand or your credentials and accomplishments should really be a very minor part of your offering’s marketing collateral. That’s because you’re not the hero!
Position the customer as the hero instead.
Just think about it, when someone is first learning about your offering, they need to be able to immediately figure out what’s in it for them and more importantly, why they should even care about what you have to say.
The best way to communicate this is to instead position yourself as the guide who’s helping the hero, where you frame the entire experience from problem to success as a journey.
Take them somewhere
Just like every story arc, the hero embarks on a journey that ends in a successful transformation. But like every story, the hero never goes it alone. They have their trusty guide by their side, helping them reach the transformation that will resolve their problems.
You’re that guide.
And you need to demonstrate to the hero where you’ll take them and why. Begin with identifying the problem, then call the hero into action by demonstrating exactly what’s at stake. Let the hero know what they’ll lose without you. From there, outline trust factors and a plan for the hero to follow. And most importantly, end with a successful transformation that demonstrates what the hero gained now that the problem is solved.
Show them success
This successful transformation is actually the very thing you’ll want to market the most. Demonstrate exactly how the guide helps the hero overcome their problems where they’ll come out on the other side feeling a sense of success, power, unification, or self-realization.
When you think about it, on some level, this is something that almost every brand conveys to you before you click, download, subscribe, and buy.
Getting started is easy
If any of the above sounds familiar, it’s actually because it’s all heavily inspired by Donal Miller’s “Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen”. If you want to get into the finer details to learn more about crafting a narrative people will actually care to engage with, then definitely give this book a read. It’s a fun, quick read. It also makes you look at everyday brands you take for granted a little bit differently.
So, before you go out and start creating any sort of marketing collateral, first create your narrative and a process to generate these on repeat for future micro-businesses. Because the power of story is something that resonates with all humans. Everybody wants to be taken somewhere. Where will your micro-business take them?
