Do you have a confusing, bloated, or boring brand story? Most of us just need a path to a clear, simple brand story that reflects our values. So let's talk about that here.

Note: Here's the worksheet we use. Download for free here.

Everyone wants to feel good about the story they tell about themselves — one that will give you a script and make you feel great about what you do and one that you'll be proud to share (instead of nervous). Whether it's an elevator pitch, a job description, text for a proposal, a slideshow, a conversation or the footer of your website here's how to build a brand story that will make sense for you and your brand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56CIVU_i3h0 What’s a Brand Story? Great brand stories do actual work. They give your hearer focus. If you can do that, you can take them down a path. And if your path makes sense, you might even use that valuable attention you got (read: earned) from them to offer your solution.

A brand story, like any story, needs tension. So usually there's some kind of problem that exists for your customer or client. The story needs characters and those characters have to make sense to the hearer. And it needs a solution that involves you. Characters in a Brand Story Before we get to the steps, let's make sure we understand the characters. As I mentioned, if the reader doesn’t care about the characters, the plot is irrelevant. To illustrate, have you ever watched a TV show or romantic comedy with a couple that you just know should be together? Maybe they’re alone or with someone who mistreats them, and now they have a chance at love. She’s funny and innocent. He’s clever and heroic. They need each other. "No, you don’t understand: they NEED to be together!"

So you keep watching as chemistry builds. Then the inevitable happens and something goes wrong. A previous lie emerges. Someone gets in the way. A misunderstanding threatens all their future happiness.

And you care.

It’s a fictional couple. Actors. And you know it. But you care anyway. In fact, if you paid for that movie, you actually paid to care about fake people!

That’s tension and it involves you in the story. It’s what you want.

But if you don’t care about the characters — maybe she’s just kinda immature and he’s still a good guy — you’re likely to think he deserves better. Or they’re just uninteresting or unlikeable. In that case, you just don’t really care if they’re together.

So make sure they care about the characters. For a deeper dive, check out this article on why we care about characters. The Hero’s Journey Who are the characters in your brand story, you might ask? In a RomCom, they’re a would-be couple. But in a brand story, it’s a different kind of story. It’s about a hero, the hero’s journey and you (the guide).

In this story, your hero is your customer and you are the guide, whether you're selling a product or service that helps them build or do something.

Now that your characters are set, let’s talk about the story arc. Steps to a Brand Story Plot Now that you have characters, you need tension, which usually takes the form of an obstacle between where your hero is and where he or she needs to be. 1) Beginning — State the Problem You have to state the problem, capturing their problem in a way that makes sense to them. You want them to understand that you see the problem, putting you on the same side of the table as them.

If you can do this, you’ve conquered much of the sales process. So state the problem the way they would care about it.

Bonus: make it brutally true and clear. This is sometimes called “agitation.” It works by making sure your client continually sees the value. Usually, it describes the suckiness of their situation.

Remind them why the problem is important. Don’t sanitize it. Let it be severe.

Think about a time when you've watched a movie where the hero gets the living hell beat out of him by the bad guy.