StoryBrand Copy That Sells

She Built It Podcast, with Melanie Barr and Kris Jones

Speaker 1 (00:02):

Our brains are wired for story and stories always begin with a character who has a problem. So when we begin our communications with the problem that our customers or our clients are having, we cannot help but engage. 

Speaker 2 (00:20):

Hi, I'm Melanie Barr. Welcome to the She Built It Experience with Melanie. You are here because you want to experience the life and business that you crave. Join me as I talk to women who have successfully built it a career and business that they love. We dive into the topic of how they built it and talk about everything from having the courage to make career leaps to the details of how to lead effectively, create successful teams, implement strategies for growth and infuse tech innovation. Magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business that brings us joy. So let's dive in. Thank you for joining us. Kris, you are the founder of Red Door Designs. Tell us about your business and what inspired you to launch it. 

Speaker 1 (01:02):

What inspired me to go out on my own was this innate fundamental core desire in me, even from a child to be self-employed. I was loving the work and I was I working with great companies, well-known companies, interesting agencies, but there was always this pull to do it on my own, and so I was young enough at the time and I didn't really have a lot of overhead and so I made the leap. I knew from day one I'm born to be a self-employed woman. That's how that came about. I started out as a visual storyteller and over time through doing more website work for my clients, I recognized the need and had a deeper desire to tell verbal stories with words and marry the visual side with the written word side. And I found when they were both telling the same cohesive story on a website for a client, it was the superpower that I gave them to grow their business. That's how it evolved. 

Speaker 2 (02:19):

I love that entrepreneurial spirit and you're right, we forget about telling our stories. We can be so into looking at the visuals that we're putting out on social, but are we thinking about our core story and our why or are we telling the story about why and how we got there to resonate with our clients? 

Speaker 1 (02:39):

Yes. And are we inviting our potential clients into a story with us where we play the character in that story as the guide and our leads play the character as the hero. So we always want to make them the hero, and so whether it's written or visual, we want to make that it's centered around where they are, what they want, and connecting with what they're struggling with. That's the simplest, most efficient way to use storytelling and social media or on your website and use it to grow your own business and also use it to help your clients 

Speaker 2 (03:21):

Fixing a problem and helping them achieve something. 

Speaker 1 (03:24):

Amen. Exactly. 

Speaker 2 (03:26):

If a client wanted to tell their story in a more powerful way, how would you advise them to start 

Speaker 1 (03:33):

With the problem that your customers are in the midst of? What are they struggling with? And our brains are wired for story and stories always begin with a character who has a problem. So when we begin our communications with the problem that our customers or our clients are having, we cannot help but engage. It's literally impossible for our brains to not get pulled into that story. 

Speaker 2 (04:04):

I love that you say we can't not engage because we forget that when we all do it naturally, but we don't always think about it as it relates to gaining our 

Speaker 1 (04:13):

Clients. No, we are just so distracted. Right? Everyone's got their own to-do list and especially when you're a woman and you're managing your own career, your profession, you're creating something your to-do list is a mile long. Your family's needing your time and attention. We're spread very thin, but when we go to a movie and we sit down in that chair, we don't think about any of that for 90 minutes. Literally, there is nothing else on this planet that can capture our attention for 90 minutes without looking at our phone, without chatting to somebody just totally pulls us in. And that is the power of story, and we can use those same principles in our marketing and to grow our business. It is this incredible, powerful tool that we can all use even verbally. If we're verbally telling somebody what we do for work, we can use story to do that. 

Speaker 2 (05:16):

And that's such a great example going to the movies because how good do we feel when we're walking out of the movie? It brings so many different thoughts into our head that we carry into the rest of the day or the rest of the week. 

Speaker 1 (05:31):

Totally. Yeah. We've gotten the gift of taking a break from our own brain for a little while, but we also, if a movie is done well, we really identify with that hero and we really get pulled into their struggles and how we can relate to their struggles, and then we get to watch them navigate the journey of overcoming that and getting to the end of the movie where they get live a better life or resolve their problems, find love, whatever it might be. But it's because we can identify with the characters. That's what makes it really compelling. 

Speaker 2 (06:09):

And I've been putting my phone in the other room, we're constantly getting notifications and I don't always want to turn those notifications off because it might be something I need one day, but then those other notifications sneak in, so it's so nice to have that mental break to even really think through the story that we want to craft for our business. What do you think is the most impactful part of storytelling? 

Speaker 1 (06:35):

The most impactful part of storytelling? It would be the fact that it provides hope for people. It's so wonderfully refreshing when you're struggling with a problem and you don't know how to solve it, and you go out into the world and you're asking people or you're looking on the internet for a solution to this problem, and then you find somebody who not only knows how to solve your problem, but they give you a clear plan for how to do it. That's hope and that's truly helping people. We're not just doing this work to make money. We want to really help people solve a problem, and that's when stories can get really interesting when there's authenticity in this story that touches people on such a deep level. 

Speaker 2 (07:26):

And I love that you said hope. We all need that help sometimes we all need it. And when you find it, it feels so good. 

Speaker 1 (07:35):

It's the best feeling, whether 

Speaker 2 (07:37):

It's personal or business, we all need it in some aspect of our lives. 

Speaker 1 (07:42):

Yeah, we're trying to solve a problem. We are the hero and we're looking for a guide, and this can even happen between friends 

Speaker 2 (07:50):

And as women sometimes it can be hard for us to ask for the support that we need because we're so used to being very independent and I was just thinking about this earlier today. I talked to women around the world and I love it when they say they've looked at their leadership and they've looked at what they're great at and then they've looked into where they need to improve. And it always is so inspiring when I see a woman dive into the areas where they want to improve. 

Speaker 1 (08:18):

Totally. Yeah, it's hard to do. And often there's a thing in marketing called the bottle effect, and it's this idea that we are in our own story. We're so close to our own selves, we're so close to our own business that it's really hard to read the label of the bottle. We're inside the bottle, but the label can only be read from the outside. When we keep our challenges to ourself, we're really marinating in the struggle and we might talk to our husband about it or somebody that's in the bottle with us too close, right? You're in the bottle. I'm in the bottle. We should probably talk to someone outside the bottle. So that's why female friendships are just so essential in life. For that reason, 

Speaker 2 (09:11):

You teach your clients to write compelling copy that skyrockets sales. How do you suggest to clients how to go about writing magnetic sales 

Speaker 1 (09:20):

Copy? I'm a big believer in the StoryBrand framework. I think if you're curious about story, I would definitely recommend the book Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller. I also have a freebie that shows you how to write compelling copy in five minutes. So it's this useful way of gathering the information and doing it that will change the way you write about your business. Every story begins with a hero that has a problem they don't know how to solve. Then they eventually meet a guide that has a solution as a business owner that is you, and you want to position your service as the solution. And then at the end of this story, the hero solves the problem because they've followed the guides plan and they experience joy and success and whatever they're trying to accomplish. So that's the most simple version of every story you've ever heard, watched, read, and I would highly recommend following that same framework for how you communicate about your business. 

Speaker 1 (10:28):

So whether it's your website or anything else, whether you're answering the question, what do you do or you're writing on your website, you want to start with the hero's problem when you get on the phone with your clients. So when you talk to them, what are they telling you that they're struggling with and write that down, write down five-ish things that they're struggling with and start your page, start your website with that instead of a paragraph about yourself. Because we really need to earn the right to introduce ourselves as the guide and the way we earn the right to do that is by letting them know that we care about their problem, we care about their struggle, and that there's something in it for them here. What's in it that we're all scanning the environment trying to figure out what's in this for me? How can I get better, be better, solve this problem? 

Speaker 1 (11:23):

The two main things that you'd want to do on your website would be articulate their problem really clearly and even in nuanced ways that they're going to be nodding their head and being like, oh my gosh, this woman gets me. Because when we can clearly articulate their problem, they automatically think we're the best ones to solve it for them. So it's really powerful. There's a lot of psychology that goes in on that, but ultimately they feel seen, they feel heard, they begin to resonate with you, and then you paint a picture of a brighter future for them after they've solved the problem that you solved. So this isn't really features about working with you, it's really what their life is going to look like after they've solved this problem. That's how we earn the right to pull them into this story. And now that they know that you understand their problem and they know that you've painted a better picture of what's in it for them, what their future could be like, then we earn the right to introduce ourself as the guide. And we just do that through empathy and authority. We show them we get how hard this is, and here's a little bit about my story as it relates to them, and here's how I solved it, and then here's how you can solve it too. Step one, step two, step three. That's the plan part. If you just did only those things, it would change the way people experienced your brand and remembered you. You become much more memorable when you use these filtering devices for your messaging. 

Speaker 2 (13:02):

It's such good advice, the human connection, and I'm loving listening to this because we don't always, we're moving so quickly, we don't always think it through maybe in detail as much as we should. And the other day I was working on something and I thought, okay, I'm going to pretend my business belongs to someone else, and how would I look at it if I were advising on this? So it's so interesting how we have to switch out of that mode. You were mentioning the bottle, 

Speaker 1 (13:29):

Totally 

Speaker 2 (13:30):

Getting out of the bottle. 

Speaker 1 (13:31):

Totally. And you're in the bottle. And once you're in the bottle, not only are you in the bottle, but you have the curse of knowledge, which you've just been doing what you do for so long, it's hard to remember what it's like to not know what, so I'm a big believer in getting a coach or a friend or somebody to bounce ideas off. So you're not doing this all alone in your own head. We've all got these garages in our brain that are just stuffed full of piled boxes and old bikes and all this stuff. We need help to empty the garage out and then put back only what's needed in there. Just a fun metaphor that related to this work that everyone can relate to. 

Speaker 2 (14:13):

Yeah, that's so important. Yeah. You believe hiring a copywriter is not enough? I have a feeling I know why, but why is that? 

Speaker 1 (14:22):

Trying to write our own copy is really hard for the two reasons. We've already talked about the bottle effect and the curse of knowledge. It's so easy to pull up a Google Doc and just draw a blank. And the copywriting industry, which I'm a fan of, there's some brilliant copywriters out there and gifted, but where it becomes challenging is when you are the face of your brand or you are your brand, and this is by no fault of any copywriter, but when you hire somebody to go write for you and they go write it in a silo and then come back and show it to you, of course it's not going to sound like your voice because it's not your voice. It's somebody who's done an amazing job, but you can't outsource your own voice. And so when you are your own brand or you're your own business, I'm a big believer in a collaborative approach to copywriting, and that's how I've found after 20 years of doing this work, I've just found that is the only way 

Speaker 2 (15:30):

Magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business that brings us joy. What is one way that you make sure to find and live your joy? 

Speaker 1 (15:38):

I love that. My five-year-old kiddos school is walkable from where we live. And I love getting to end the day by turning the computer off and walking outside and picking him up with the dog and walking home, rain or shine all year round doesn't matter. That's what we do. It's a chance for us to connect and shift gears for the day, and it brings me a lot of joy. 

Speaker 2 (16:11):

That's so nice. And it really is those small moments, and I'm thinking as a mom of 9-year-old twins, I'm thinking someday I won't be able to do these things. So it's so great that you take the time to do that every day. 

Speaker 1 (16:23):

Yeah. 

Speaker 2 (16:24):

You have been so much fun to talk to today. We've learned so much. I think I'm going to listen to this episode several times when thinking through storytelling. There's always so much to think through. Can you please share with us and our listeners how and where we can find you? 

Speaker 1 (16:40):

Yes. So if you go to red door designs.com, you can find out everything about me there. I have that freebie that I mentioned where you can learn how to write compelling copy in five minutes flat. And then the main way that I work with clients who want it done, I write StoryBrand website copy that sells in 2.5 hours flat. So it's fun, it's efficient, and then you get copy for your website that acts as your top sales employee. 

Speaker 2 (17:11):

Thank you for joining us today. I'd love to hear from you. Reach out to me@helloatshe.com on our She Built website or at She Built It on Social. Thank you to my editor, rich Stino, who always makes us sound good. Until next time, let nothing stop you from experiencing the life and business that you crave.