How to Tell Your Brand Story
Remember when you learned how to write a story in school?
When telling a story there is an inciting incident where the main character needs to take action or something bad will happen.
Your brand story might seem more boring than life or death stakes in an imaginary world but I guarantee it’s still interesting.
Not because it’s fictional but because it’s real.
People want to interact with other people not faceless brands and businesses.
Keep reading to learn how to tell your brand story.
Start With Why
I can’t take credit for this idea. That’s all Simon Sinek.
His TEDtalk about how branding and brands should start with why to create their mission statements and what they stand for has been viewed millions of times. Make sure to watch it if you haven’t already.
Now that you know the importance of starting with why you just need to figure out your why. What struggle led you to choose the path you’re on today? Was it a person, a situation, a book or maybe even just a feeling? If you’re not sure don’t worry I’ll share mine as an example.
For me the process of starting my own business was slow. It started when I upgraded my Squarespace web design skills by taking a course. Inside this course they talked about being a freelance web designer.
At the time this was too far outside my comfort zone so I didn’t really try it. I wanted to create websites for people but I wasn’t sure how to find clients so I stayed in my full time office job.
The inciting incident for me was reading a book. I love reading and this book started my business journey in terms of action and not just thinking about it. This book is Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo.
It’s not specifically about starting a business but about going after your dreams. Even though this sounds cliché it really did help me clarify what I wanted after struggling with wanting a change but being sure what direction to go.
That was a long example but I definitely wouldn’t put that on my about me page because it’s a lot to read for someone who doesn’t know me to read.
So let’s turn this into a bite sized chunk for my website. This book kick started my entrepreneur journey. I’m a self taught web designer.
Tell Your Stories
If you don’t have a why moment or situation tell another story that’s even more powerful. Maybe you saw your mother being stuck in a marriage because she didn’t have financial freedom or independence.
Even if you were a kid when this happened you decided to help other women learn how to invest so they would never be stuck in relationships because of money.
Some of you think you don’t have interesting stories. Unless you’ve never left your room your entire life I’m sure you have interesting stories to tell.
Being stuck in a room is an interesting story too! If you’re worried about your story seeming mundane or too common that’s not necessarily a bad thing either. Having a story that’s relatable to people on some level will help them relate to you.
Don’t be afraid of using a story where you messed up or weren’t perfect. Usually these are some of the most relatable stories.
It can also be a story that seems to have nothing to do with you or your subject but there is a through line where you can connect the dots when looking back.
An example from me is where I compared turning down getting a tattoo before I was ready with my now ex to listening to my gut.
I’ve always thought tattoos are cool and wanted to get one. My ex boyfriend really wanted us to get matching rose tattoos but it didn’t feel right at the time so I said no.
Learning to trust my gut saved me from having a permanent reminder of this toxic relationship and when I was ready years later to get a tattoo on my own it felt right.
If you aren’t used to telling stories like this think about those stories that you tell family and friends where they lean in and are super intrigued or always say, “Oh yeah that happened to me too.”
Start sharing those stories first and only share what you’re comfortable talking about because people might ask you questions or comment on them!
Now that you know how to get started telling your brand story let me know if you have any questions down in the comments.
