Author, entrepreneur, and photographer James Clear, writes a blog that I have found to be very enlightening. His content is well thought out, consistent and inspiring. One specific post he recently published stood out to me. He summarized all the books he read in 2018 and divided them into two parts. First, he summarized the book in three sentences or less. Then, he created a more lengthy summary to provide an even fuller understanding of the book. You can see the blog post here. I especially enjoyed this idea and have decided to do something similar for all of the books I read in 2019.
The first book I completed in 2019 was Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller.
Book Summary in 3 Sentences
To become effective at marketing your business, you must understand how the elements of storytelling play out on a daily basis in your customers minds. Often times, business owners make themselves the hero of the story they tell, where the most effective companies play the role of the guide while making the customer the hero, think Apple, the computer company. When you understand the impact of story and make the customers the hero of that story, you will clarify your message so people actually listen to what you have to say.
Building a Storybrand Summary
This summary will include what I found to be the key takeaways from the book. I will include quotes and passages from the book as well as my own thoughts.
- Few things are more foundational to a compelling story than the transformation of a hero. Why? Because transformation is a core desire for every human being. That is why so many stories are about the hero being transformed into somebody better. People love movies about characters who transform and they love businesses that help them experience transformation themselves.
- Here is story structure in a nutshell: A character who wants something encounters a problem before they can get it. At the peak of their despair, a guide steps into their lives, gives them a plan and calls them to action. Once called to action, the character now can avoid failure and be a success.
- Create stories that sound like music in a world of constant noise. Don’t make customers burn calories in their mind to figure out what you do.
- Story is the greatest weapon we have to combat noise and confusion because it organizes information in such a way that people are compelled to listen.
- The more we feature the transformation journey our customers experience, the faster the business will grow.
- Stories teach us that people’s internal desire to resolve a frustration is a greater motivator than a desire to solve an external problem.
- What we think we are saying to our customers and what our customers actually hear are two different things.
- Is your message simple, relevant, and repeatable?
- Be brief, be punchy and remain relevant with your customers.
- If you confuse, you lose.
- Customers want to be a part of a story that helps them survive and thrive.
- The more we talk about the problems our customers experience, the more interest they will have in our brand.
- Show value of a product beyond the product itself. Customers buy a feeling with what they purchase. For example, the product might incite toughness, fearlessness or the ability to solve problems. Click here to watch a great example of that from a commercial (1 minute, 44 seconds long) that Gerber Knives put together.
- People trust those who understand them and they trust brands that understand them too.
- No one takes action and makes major life decisions unless something challenges them to do so. As a brand, you must challenge your customers to take action.
- Brands need to warn their customers about what could happen if they do not buy your products. Every customer is looking at you and asking “so what?” Answer that for them.
- Your customers are human, filled with emotion, driven to transform, and in need of help. You are not just improving the world through your products and services, you are improving the way customers see themselves.
- Once we know who our customers want to be, we will have language to use in emails, blog posts, and all manner of marketing material. Leaders who care more about change than they do about selling products tend to do a good bit of both.
- People do not read websites, they scan them.
- Within the first five seconds of going to your website, people should learn three things. What you offer, how it will make their life better and what they need to do to take action.
- When people ask you what you do for a living, follow three simple steps to be clear in what you tell them. Tell them about the problem you solve. Tell them how you solve the problem, and lastly let them what life looks like after the problem is solved. Click here for a great video from Donald Miller explaining this structure.
- How will our customers lives look after they engage with us? How will they feel? What does their average day look like and what kind of new status will they enjoy.
- Define something your customer wants. If you can be the hero’s guide like Yoda to Luke Skywalker, they will likely engage. The guide, not the hero, is the strongest, most steady character in the story.