Don't forget the happy ending, and keep it simple
First off, get your mind out of the gutter. You know exactly what kind of happy ending I mean.
Secondly, keep it simple.
Whenever you use a story in your marketing, whether that’s for a landing page, a blog intro, or turning a client success story into a case study, don’t skimp on the happy ending.
I say this because it’s surprisingly easy to gloss over this bit. You do all that work taking your prospective customers on a journey and building their interest. Only to end on a vague, feature-laden promise that has all the oomph of a dropped pie.
The ending is super important for two reasons.
Firstly, it shows the benefits of working with you, in action. It paints a picture of what life will look and feel like with you in it. This is often the bit that seals the deal.
Secondly, it closes the loop. Our brains need resolution, and that’s why all good stories provide it.
Remember that book you read that ended two-thirds of the way through before the hero resolved their dilemma?
No. Of course you don’t. They don’t make books like that, and if they did, you’d demand your money back.
When stories don’t get resolved, it hurts. So, whether your readers are consciously aware of it or not, they want you to close the loop.
It goes like this:
You create interest → Take them on a journey → Resolution
This means:
If you’re writing a blog and you’ve used a storytelling intro, loop back to the opening story at the end. Like this.
If you’ve written a case study, make sure you dedicate a chunk at the end to showing, in results and feelings, what the outcome was. Like this.
If it’s a landing page, paint a picture of what life will look like for your prospective new customer after they’ve worked with you. And weave in testimonials to prove that you’ve done it for other people. Like this.
Keep it simple
There’s always a practical external thing to speak to, and an internal primal human need. But you don’t need to overthink it.
Let’s say you sell insurance. The happy ending for your clients is financial protection and peace of mind.
If it’s diamonds, you’re giving them beauty and status.
Or maybe you’re a mobile barber who works with people who need that extra bit of care (like my pal, Emma Blaker of Blaker’s Blades). Lots of Emma’s clients struggle socially or find it difficult to leave the house. On the surface of it, Emma gives her clients a good quality haircut that fits in with their lives and day to day needs. But the way she does it, what they’re really getting is acceptance and belonging.
(Don’t tell me you didn’t feel that.)
Anyway, if you need help working out your happy ending (in results and feelings), you know, I can help with that.
Because once you get your Brand Story nailed down, you can use it to inform all your marketing. Your value becomes clear as a bell, it lands with the right people, and you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you write something.
In the meantime, crack on with your Tuesday. And keep your mind out of the gutter if you can (see what I did there?)
TTFN x
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