How to Use Your Brand Story to Attract Dream Clients
Your brand story shouldn’t be just a boring and impersonal account of how your business came about. It has the potential to draw your dream audience in and take them from prospects to paying clients.
In fact, storytelling leads to a 30% increase in conversions! Only when done right, though!
I’m Giada Nizzoli, a brand messaging consultant and website copywriter for female entrepreneurs, and I’ll show you how you can do that with your story.
What is a brand story?
Your brand story is a cohesive and emotional-based narrative of why you started your business, its focus, its mission, and—most importantly—what that means for your target audience.
Unfortunately, most businesses get theirs wrong.
Common brand story mistakes
Ignoring storytelling altogether (the capital sin!) – This usually means that your website copy and core marketing materials are mainly “describing” your business, sharing statements and features. But facts are 22 times more likely to be remembered when they’re part of a story! So, this mistake has been costing you your audience’s attention—and consequently, their money
Making it aaaall about yourself – Don’t get me wrong: you do have a place in this narrative (it’s your brand story, after all). But if it’s entirely about you, you can’t expect your audience to feel compelled enough to start—and especially keep on’—reading it. 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
Not keeping it consistent – If your narrative and core message keep changing whenever you talk about your business, you’ll confuse your audience. So, they’ll struggle to absorb and remember them. 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
If any of those sounded a little too familiar, don’t worry: we’re here to fix it!
How to create a strategic brand story that sells for you
Mind you: I’m most definitely not telling you to craft a fake one! It’s all about shifting your focus and highlighting what actually matters. Here’s how.
1. Position your audience as the hero of your brand story
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 they are – Don’t make the mistake of trying to sell to eVeRyOnE
Focus on their current pain point – The most 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 (e.g. “Be honest: does the idea of sending clients to your website make you want to disappear because they’ll see those unprofessional photos you took in your living room?” instead of “My clients are usually ashamed to direct people to their website”)
Do the ‘so what?’ test – When writing about your business and brand story, put yourself in your dream client’s shoes and ask: “So what? Why should I 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. Think of 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.
Here’s how to spin this in your brand story:
Position yourself as a trusted authority – Why should your dream client trust you with their money? For instance, you can harness relevant qualifications and experience, testimonials, case studies, and the results you’ve already achieved for your audience. You also want to show them why they should choose you instead of your competitors: what do you do differently? What sets you apart?
Empathise with your dream client and their pain point – Show them you understand how they’re feeling right now (discouraged? Overwhelmed? So-stressed-they-could-start-screaming-any-minute?). Maybe you know this because you used to be where they are now, years ago. Or perhaps because it’s a common feeling amongst your clients—and you’re here to help them overcome it
Keep both points in mind so that you can spin your back story and mission in relation to your dream client.
Don’t bore them with a tonne of dates and facts they couldn’t care less about (e.g. “I started my business from my childhood bedroom in 2017. Then, in 2018, I hired my first employee. We moved to a lovely office in London in 2019”).
Instead, focus on the pivotal details that prove to them that you understand their situation and can help them.
3. Develop the 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
How you can help them solve it (and whenever relevant, why this aligns with your own story and mission)
Why you’re the best ‘guide’ out there in this case
How this change will benefit them
Painting a picture of how their life or business will feel once they achieve their happy ending by investing in you
4. Keep it 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 LIVE IT.
