How To Write Your Personal Brand Story
{Rather listen than read? Audio post HERE.}
If you think of many of the stories that are most memorable for you, there’s likely a protagonist or a leading character in them. Let’s face it, everyone loves a hero!
Think of your business as a great novel – or perhaps it could be likened more to an anthology of short stories. Then think of your client (or potential client) as the reader or consumer of this literary work.
Trust me when I say that your client will remember your stories (or at least the parts that they resonate with) every time they hit you up for your sweet services, use your product or sign up for your program!
Ok, that’s a basic analogy of the power of storytelling, even as it applies to your business.
We’ve already covered how to structure your Personal Brand Statement in THIS POST, so let’s take that a step further and get to the real pulp of the matter… uncovering and crafting your brand story.
But, first…
WHY use a Brand Story for your wellness business?
The main goal of a BRAND STORY is to create a deeper connection with your ideal client.
Your people have to feel like they understand where you’re coming from and be convinced that you get where they’re coming from too. This means you must be engaging and trustworthy. They have to feel like they know you — the REAL you.
No connection = no sales (no matter how good your wellness programs or products are!)
Your story must also create a succinct storyline, starting with a problem or pain point — that you’re going to resolve for your ideal client.
(After all, every good story has a problem that needs to be taken care of… preferably by the hero!)
It’s simply not enough these days to tell your ideal client that you’re good at what you do and that you’ve attained ABC credentials, and you’ve got XYZ letters behind your name.
They have to know WHY you do what you do. Share the driving force behind all that passion. Make them feel nearly as much passion about what you do as YOU do!
Your clients and prospects need to ‘buy into’ at least part of your story – and not your services, products or programs. Buying those things comes after they start trusting you – and that’s truly the business of branding. Trust.
Now that you know WHY you should be using a brand story, I’m going to give you the lemonade lovers’ version of exactly HOW to craft a powerful & juicy personal brand story… with absolutely no fillers, artificial colours, or sweeteners 😉
HOW to craft your Personal Brand Story
The name of the game is to captivate and woo your audience right out of the gate. You don’t want to lose your prospect after their first interaction with you and your brand – do you?
Cultivating a fruitful relationship all begins with a good story.
Want to listen rather than skim this article?
Grab some earbuds and tune in HERE.
The key ingredients of BRAND STORYTELLING – that are at the hemp heart of your branding recipe!
Did you know that the average adult has a shorter attention span than a goldfish?
Just sayin’… keep it on the brief side, and get right to the point!
Here is a template of sorts that you can follow as you begin to squeeze out your own BRAND STORY:
–> Offer your backstory or the highlights of your own journey = basically your ‘why’ of doing what you do. Go deeper than you think you should.
Are you thinking you should censor your story, and cut out big chunks of it because your audience will either be bored or shocked?
Include ALL the parts that are potentially relevant to your audience and what you know they’re currently struggling with themselves.
They want to see you as a REAL person, with real problems – same as them. Only you’ve come out the other side and have also discovered (and are conveniently offering) the unique solution(s) to their problems.
Don’t let your limiting beliefs stop you from telling your story.
–> Zero in on your target audience’s main problem or pain point(s) and make an emotional connection with them*.
What would they resonate with them the most? Your story needs to clearly demonstrate that you know and understand their problem(s). Make them FEEL something through your story.
*This is under the assumption that you’ve already identified your audience and know your niche!
FYI – you will have had good practice with this one when you formulated your Personal Branding Statement >> the appetizer to every delicious Brand Story!
Just be sure that your branding statement is incorporated, and consistent with – your brand story. (I can’t stress this one enough — BE CONSISTENT.)
–> Now, tell your story with feeling + personality, and make sure it’s not a resume!
Rather than making your brand story read like a traditional resume of all the amazing course work and jobs that you’ve held in your life (impressive as those are!), try to inject all the “you-ness” that you can possibly muster.
“Personality drives the story. But the story isn’t a biography of an individual. It’s the evolution of an entity told with personality.
People trust other people. The core reason why your story should be personality-driven is so that it will provide someone real for customers to trust.”
~ Neil Patel, on the key to a great brand story
Ok, I understand the ingredients, but how do I get my Brand Story out of my head in the first place?!
Now that you have a basic template for your brand story, you’re probably saying, “now WTF do I do?!”
Well, giddy-up my friend, because it’s time to hone your storytelling AND writing skills – and get that story out there for your people to consume.
And, yes you do… have a story to tell, that is. Everyone does, and everyone’s is deliciously different.
That’s what I love the most about working with so many different types of clients — the amazing stories that I feel so privileged to hear, and then get to help craft, refine and push out into the world.
→ On your first time through, it may be easier to just get it out of your head using a voice memo recorder. Most smartphones have a built-in app for this or you can easily download a free one.
This will also give you some practice for writing like you speak, rather than being robotic, stiff, and oh-so grammatically correct. It can also be practice for recording videos or livestreaming in the future – where you’ll be telling and re-telling your story. *Hint, hint*
→ From there, jump into your fave word processor – I use Google Docs for literally everything! You can even grab some good ‘ol pen & paper or your trusty journal (#HelloBujo).
→ At this point, just do up a rough outline and don’t spend too much time nailing down the perfect wording or trying to make it sound overly clever. (Listen Carrie, it’s not a Sex in the City script!)
Just get it down in writing one way or another, and fill in the gaps later.
Something I often refer to in my own writing is drafting a “skeleton” piece. I do this for every client project as well as for every one of my own blog posts.
→ Once you’ve got the skeleton outline of your story (even just point-form notes), then you can start improving the COPY – that’s writer-speak for the words you write to grab your audience and promote your stuff!
→ Every good story has a strong beginning (conflict!), a middle (climax!), and a distinct ending (resolution!). Remember the engaging, trustworthy hero who solved the problem?
→ Then, edit, edit and edit it again until it feels more concise and polished.
→ Be sure to run it by a few of your trusted colleagues, peers, or mentors for some feedback too. And no, your mother doesn’t count. (Sorry Ma!)
Alrighty then, I just squeezed out a sweet brand story, but how do I push it out into the world?
So, you feel satisfied with your freshly squeezed (and fully juiced) brand story… now get it the fuck out there!
It must have a dedicated page on your website or its own blog post at the very least. Then you need to promote the shit out of it, drive traffic to it, and tell it – again and again in different ways…
Video, livestreams, on social media… just push it out into the world and get it in front of your ideal client so they can begin to KNOW, LIKE & TRUST the real you.
Yes, it may seem scary, as promoting yourself often is at first, but if you shift from a self-promotion mindset to one of expressing yourself… things are going to get much easier, and less scary.
“Self-promotion that others can connect well with stems from someone who knows how to express themselves in a relatable way. Find what’s comfortable for you when expressing yourself and go from there.”
~ Summer Telban @ Coffee With Summer
But, here’s what is at the gooey center of using a Personal Brand Story…
If your health & wellness business is going to succeed, it has to BE something more than just your products, programs or services.
You need to tell a story (or two) that wins the hearts and sticks in the minds of your ideal clients.
Plus, it’s the only way to truly stand out, especially online – because absolutely no one else has what you have.
Consider that you might be doing something incredibly similar to many, many other people in the wellness industry. In fact, it might feel damn near identical… except it’s not, because it’s YOUR story, and that’s your secret weapon in your business.
Still not quite sure how to get started with your Personal Brand Story?
Perhaps you’ve even got a ‘skeleton’ pulled together, but you just don’t know how to go from bare bones to a polished, juiced up Brand Story…
I’d love to help you get your brand’s foundational piece of content out into the world – so you can feel truly proud to shout it from your lemonade stand – and magnetize all the right people to get their sip on!