How to Use Your Brand Story to Attract Dream Clients
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By Giada Nizzoli, founder of Crafty Copy.
Your brand story shouldn’t be just a dull, impersonal account of how your business started. When crafted strategically, it can captivate your dream audience and convert them from prospects into loyal clients.
In fact, storytelling leads to a 30% increase in conversions - but only when done right.
As a brand messaging consultant and website copywriter for female entrepreneurs, I’ll show you how to create a compelling brand story that truly sells.
What is a Brand Story?
Your brand story is a cohesive, emotionally driven narrative that explains why you started your business, what you stand for, and - most importantly - why it matters to your audience.
Unfortunately, many businesses get this wrong.
Common Brand Story Mistakes
Ignoring storytelling altogether (the capital sin!) – If your website and marketing copy only state facts about your business without telling a story, you’re missing out on engagement and conversions. Stories are 22 times more memorable than facts alone!
Making it aaaall about you – Yes, it’s your story, but your audience should see themselves in it. Avoid making it a personal biography. Businesses with a brand story that’s just about their founder usually include sentences like “I’m so passionate about what I do” and say “we/I” a lot more than they say “you” to talk to their audience. Instead, focus on how your journey connects with your ideal clients’ needs.
Inconsistency – If your brand story lacks consistency across your website, social media, and marketing materials, it confuses your audience. So, they’ll struggle to absorb and remember it. A tell-tale sign of this mistake? The hero section of your homepage and your social media bios all focus on different aspects and wording. A strong narrative should be clear, cohesive, and instantly recognisable no matter where it appears.
If any of these sound a little too familiar, don’t worry - let’s fix them!
How to Create a Brand Story That Sells
Mind you: I’m most definitely not telling you to create a fake one! It’s all about shifting your focus and highlighting what actually matters. Here’s how.
1. Make Your Audience the Hero
Sorry to disappoint: even though it’s your brand story, you’re not the protagonist. Your dream client is!
Your audience is exposed to 6,000-10,000 marketing messages every single day (yes, for real). So, if you want them to focus on yours, you’ve gotta make it about them.
Be clear on exactly who your audience is – Don’t make the mistake of trying to sell to eVeRyOnE. Instead, define your niche and tailor your message to them.
Focus on their current pain point(s) – Successful stories start with the hero encountering some kind of problem. Your brand story is no exception (if you want it to be successful, at least). For example, let’s say you’re a personal brand photographer: your target clients are female solopreneurs who do their own social media and marketing but have never invested in a professional shoot so far. In fact, they don’t show up with online photos at all! Their problem is probably that they’re not generating enough high-quality leads. After all, they don’t stand out on social media and they’re failing to make a professional and memorable first impression whenever someone lands on their website
Talk to them directly – Use “you” in your copy rather than third-person references. Instead of saying, “My clients often struggle with poor branding,” say, “Be honest - does sending people to your website make you cringe because of outdated photos?”
Use the ‘So What?’ test – For every statement about your business, ask: “So what? Why should my audience care?” If you can’t answer it, it usually means you’re making your story too self-centred and straying away from the hero’s journey
2. Position Yourself as Their Guide
Even though you’re not the hero, you have a fabulous part in your brand story: you’re the helpful and trusted guide that’ll help them get to their happy ending. In other words, you’re the Fairy Godmother to their Cinderella or the Yoda to their Luke Skywalker.
Here’s how to spin this in your brand story:
Showcase authority and credibility – Why should your dream client trust you with their money? Use testimonials, case studies, and results-driven messaging.
Clarify your unique value - What sets you apart from your competitors? Make it clear why you’re the right choice.
Empathise with their pain point(s) – Relate to your audience’s frustrations and show that you understand their challenges. Have you been in their shoes? Or do you frequently help clients who face the same struggles?
3. Develop Their Hero’s Journey
As you now know, your own background should only be there to make an emotional connection with your audience and prove to them you’re the best solution - and to showcase your personality, of course.
The core of the story? It’s that of your dream client. Or better: the story and transformation they’ll experience once they work with you.
Its key elements are:
Your dream client’s pain point - what’s the challenge they face?
Your solution - How does your business help them overcome it?
Your credibility - Why are you the right ‘guide’ for them?
The transformation - How will their life/business improve after working with you?
The happy ending - Paint a vivid picture of how their life or business will feel once they achieve their success.
4. Keep Your Story Consistent
Finally, don’t make that initial mistake of confusing your audience by changing your narrative and focus every time you write about your business.
Your core content and marketing materials should always refer to your brand story.
Depending on the situation, they might outline all of it (for example, you can do that with your LinkedIn summary by treating it as a mini sales page) or just a couple of individual points (like writing a social media post that shows the contrast between your audience’s current problem and how they’ll feel once it’s solved).
The important thing is that the overall narrative is consistent no matter where you’re writing about your business.
To brainstorm a strategic brand story and refer to it every time, you can grab my FREE Storytell to Sell workbook.
And trust me: if you have a business that solves a problem for your audience, you already have all the right ingredients for a powerful brand story. Now, it’s time to tell it in a way that hooks your dream clients in - and makes them want to be part of it!
