Speaker 1 (00:04):

Welcome to Amplify Ambition. I'm Kristen Edwards, strategy Consultant and your Guide to Making Confident Decisions. This podcast allows you to accelerate your personal and professional development while growing a profitable online business. Let's dive in because your next level of success is within reach once you decide to dream loudly. 

Speaker 2 (00:30):

So I'm really excited to welcome Kris Jones to the show today. 

Speaker 3 (00:34):

Thank you so much. I am really happy to be here 

Speaker 2 (00:37):

Today. Absolutely. And so before we dive into really what you do and how you help people, I think it's important for us to bring all of who we are to the surface. And so what's that thing that you are truly passionate about, but it's not technically a part of the brand that we see on social media or on your website? 

Speaker 3 (00:57):

Something I'm truly passionate about, I'm really passionate about freedom and I think that's why I have become an entrepreneur. I just am crazy about freedom, and I think it's kind of twofold because I help people become entrepreneurs or find more success as entrepreneurs, but underneath all that is just, I want you to have the freedom that I have because it is so good. 

Speaker 2 (01:30):

I love that. I think that that always lends to one the greatest setup of a podcast. I'm like, I'm here for freedom. But for you to also have that mission as an underlying part of not just the work that you're doing, but how you're also trying to live your own life. And I think depending on it, we either get too wrapped up in making those two things the same or we compartmentalized life and business so much, but for that thread of freedom to just kind of be at that essence of probably why you started your business, it was either money or time freedom or just that flexibility in both of those allow you to make those choices for yourself. So I'm excited for where this is going to go. 

Speaker 3 (02:11):

Me too. 

Speaker 2 (02:13):

All right, so what got you started in the work that you are doing? You help people with their StoryBrand writing their website. Honestly, I really want to know where Red Door Designs came from, but really what got you started on this journey? 

Speaker 3 (02:28):

Alright, well, way back actually two decades ago now, I started out doing graphic design. I worked for a lot of, well-known companies, big corporations in a cubicle, kind of the opposite of freedom at the time. And I could tell it was kind of not life-giving for me. I kind of knew if I stay here too long, my health will probably suffer and I won't be very happy. And so at the time I was really focused on storytelling through design and I decided to leave. I was at Nike at the time and I decided to leave Nike and kind of hang up my own shingle. And that's when I came up with Red Door designs and the color Red symbolizes passion, which I'm a very passionate person and I'm also very passionate about the work that I do. But the Red Door is really well known for representing hospitality and good fortune. 

Speaker 3 (03:44):

And I think all of those values really encompass still today, right? 20 years later, it's like they still just resonate with who I am and the work that I do. So that's kind of where it all began way back then. And over time I did more and more design work. I got better and better helping more and more clients doing. I got really into website design. I found that I really loved the work and I loved how powerful it could be in helping my clients grow. That being said, I started to realize this common problem that pretty much every client had when they came to me, which was we meet, we talk about their website project. This was kind of back in the day when you could have a website and if it were designed well, it didn't really need to have any good words on it. 

Speaker 3 (04:43):

It didn't need to be well written and you could get clients and you could grow your business with a beautiful site, but it didn't have to be written well. And so that was all good with me. I was all about the design. But then eventually that kind of shifted and literally a hundred percent of the clients that I would work with would say, I'd say, okay, we're going to start your project on this date and I'm going to need the words that you want on your website by the week prior to that date. And they'd be like, what do you want me to say? What should I write? And I'd be like, you'll figure it out. You got this. Just talk a little bit about yourself. And then what would happen is the project would get moved back because the client was struggling so much with writing their website or they would get it to me, but they were pulling their hair out during the process. 

Speaker 3 (05:49):

And sometimes they would give me pages and pages and pages of content that I was like, oh my gosh, this is now the editor a week of editing. And I didn't realize this at the onset of the project. So what happened was I made it my mission to craft the code on how to write really simple and clear website copy that was effective, that helped people grow really effectively. Like what's the point of writing a website or even having a website if it's not really a powerful tool for growth? And my belief is that your website is really your most powerful tool for growing your business and evolving the work that you do. So that was in 2017, I became a StoryBrand guide. If anybody hasn't read the book Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller, they should a little bit like go get it or put it on audio. 

Speaker 3 (07:00):

I love listening to books like that while I'm doing the dishes or whatever. But that book really helped me delve deep into storytelling, what makes a good story and how to translate storytelling into marketing copy. And so even now, people read the book and they're like, okay, I get it. I get why story is important. That's not a foreign concept in today's culture, but what's really challenging is how to write a story for yourself or for your own business that really works. And the reason it's such an issue is because of this thing that I like to call the bottle effect. Whereas business owners, we are just stuck inside of our own bottle and we're trying to read a label on the bottle that can only be read by someone who's outside the bottle. And no matter how hard we try, we can't get out of the bottle. 

Speaker 3 (08:08):

And so that's why it's really important to, number one, let yourself off the hook because it's hard for everybody. And now you kind of know why it's so hard. And also to get help to have somebody help give you the perspective that you need. And that is literally why I'm on this earth, is to really be outside your bottle and to help you read it with clarity and ease and craft a story that connects with your ideal audience, but also that really feels aligned to you. And what I saw happen for many years in my industry was even with my own business where I would focus on the design and then I'd hire a copywriter or my client would hire a copywriter and the writer with the best of intentions would go write the copy in a silo and give it back to their client. And it was like, it just was out of alignment because you can't outsource your own voice, you cannot outsource your own voice. So what I developed was a collaborative approach to copywriting where together we work on it, you're not left alone, you're not left staring at a blank screen, pulling your hair out, and we walk through the process of storytelling and we craft your wire frame and we do it all in 2.5 hours flat. So it's a blast. It solves huge problem out there in the marketplace and it's really fun and powerful. 

Speaker 2 (09:52):

Yeah, I mean there's so much to unpack in that. And again, you started off with saying, I'm passionate about freedom and so how do I find the life that I want for myself? And as we start a business, regardless of the rules, and if you're following or not, every single person wants to have a website for their business, even the headline, it's what maybe four or five words and you're like, what do I put there? How am I going to do this? For me, the about page I think probably took me two and a half months to write in comparison to your two and a half hours. And so I definitely want to start to unpack how you help people unpack that with this framework. My biggest takeaway in what you're saying is this collaboration piece. Because a lot of times we think one of the two extremes, either I have to do it all by myself, and depending on what your natural or past writing experiences have been, there's a lot of mindset work to even again, open up that first document or there's a far extreme of you outsource it. 

Speaker 2 (10:52):

And even if you're outsourcing it to a copywriter, a good copywriter is going to sit down and say, well, tell me about yourself. Tell me about the work you do. They're going to ask you questions. And so to be able to unpack that, and I think my first website did take me two and a half months of really bad DIY, properly learned tools of writing, updating it. It was another two and a half months. And you're just constantly on that journey and you're saying, focus two and a half hours, I can help you get it all out of your brain and onto paper or truly onto your website. I mean a quarter of a day, not even half a day, a quarter of a day. So I want all the secrets. I want you to tell me everything that you know as well, but can you really start to share a little bit more about this story band brand framework and how that really helps you create a website that's going to actually do that work to convert, to attract clients, to bring people into your business? 

Speaker 3 (11:50):

I'll touch on briefly about the process. So the key thing to remember is that the information is all inside of you and you really just need somebody who knows how to extract the information and pull all that out of you and then put it together like a puzzle. So that's half the work of, that's really a big part of my job is after so many years of doing this, I know how to extract those storytelling components out of you. And then after I've extracted all that, then I write your page for you, I write a first draft of it and then we get on a collaboration call and we really dive deep into the nuances. You are the expert of your industry, you're the expert of the work that you do and the unique way that you do it. So I don't claim to be the expert on your business, and that's why it has to be collaborative, the words that your clients show up with and use and the struggles that they have. 

Speaker 3 (13:10):

And when it comes to the framework, the StoryBrand framework itself, it's really, it is the StoryBrand framework, but it's really much bigger than that. It's really how to tell a compelling story. And lots of people have written about the hero's journey and storytelling, and I have really just dumbed it down to the most simple three stages that every story has. And the first one is that every story begins with a hero that has a problem that they can't solve, and that hero then meets a guide that has a solution that's you. And then the hero experiences success and avoids failure because of the help from the guide. And the thing I want people to really take away here is that your client is the hero and you are the guide. And what I see, the mistakes that I see a lot all over the internet, 99% of the websites do this unintentionally. They make themselves the hero of their own website. And there's only room for one hero in every story. So instead of inviting your clients or customers into a story with you, when they land on your website, you boot them out of the story you've already claimed to be the hero of your story. And so what I really help my clients do is help establish them as the guide with the solution, then invite their clients into a narrative with them. 

Speaker 2 (14:56):

I love that. And I think it's one of those things that's easy to forget and to just kind of skip over of recognizing the person that you want to win is that client is the person that's going to come and work with you. And now we each again, as the expert of whatever industry you're in, you're saying, I know the three to five steps to help you achieve your goal. And so recognizing that as the business owner, we are facilitating that journey, but we are not the star of that journey along the way. I love how you're breaking that down. And I think a lot of times, again, especially as women, we just complicate everything and you're like, Nope, just switch it. That's all. And I think that's really where that time saving comes in is because you're saying, here is this formula, here is this framework to ensure that regardless of what industry you're in, regardless of how exactly you serve people, let them be the hero you're their guy, and then take them on that journey, share your story in a way that helps 'em see themselves on the page. 

Speaker 3 (16:09):

Exactly. A hundred percent. I 

Speaker 2 (16:11):

Feel like I could ask you a thousand more questions and I kind of want to, but what are some of the things that can help people to kind of realize this is how I can connect with my potential buyers, even like, okay, I've made them the hero. I understand what Kris has told me, but what is it that's in my story that helps that person see themselves on the page? 

Speaker 3 (16:37):

A really tangible way to start this process. If you just want to dip your toe in, then go to your website and write down or just open up a Google Doc and write down the problems that your clients experience. And you might come up with five or 10 or a few, hone it down to the biggest three problems that your customers face. And you can start, you've got your header on your website, which states what you do. And then right below that, get right into the problem the problem they're experiencing. So I usually, you can go to my website as an example of this, but what I typically do is I start that website out because every story begins with a hero that has a problem. So if you can articulate in a few bullets, three different problems that your customers are experiencing, so many cool powerful things happen in the brain. 

Speaker 3 (17:42):

Number one, they're like, okay, I feel seen and heard. I'm not alone in struggle. Number two, if this person can articulate my problem, they must be the best one to solve it. So they're immediately in an indirect way, you're building trust with them. They're realizing that you are the best one to solve this problem. I think that's really the power of that section. You want them to feel seen and heard. You want to build trust with them. And then you also, in the following section after that, you really want to show them what's possible. So you kind of want to do two sides of the same coin. On one side you talk about the problem, and then on the other side of the coin, which is that section right below that, you show them what's possible, what is possible for your life after you have a website that's bringing you leads, increasing your revenue, what's your life going to look like or whatever problem that you're solving, whatever they're hoping for their lives, make sure to make that clear. 

Speaker 3 (18:50):

I think the one thing that people often get wrong is they again, talk about themselves or they talk about features of working with them, but you really don't want to waste people's time with that. Let me share this. Everyone is scanning the world trying to figure out how to survive and thrive. It sounds negative when I say it this way, but everybody just cares about themselves. It's just how we're wired as humans. We care about our own success and we're constantly looking for ways to create more success in our lives. So it's really important that pretty high up on the page, you really spell it out in simple terms, three different ways. Their life is going to be better because they have solved this problem 

Speaker 2 (19:39):

On your website in different, it's literally saying, have a website that works as hard as you do, which means that my website is selling those people. And you've unpacked some of those things that help them feel seen and heard so that they're saying, she gets me, I trust her, I want to buy it from her. But what is it that you website is doing? Is there this again thing that we're just kind of naturally skipping over? This is what helps my website to sell for me. 

Speaker 3 (20:05):

I think that the clearer you are, the simpler you are. I mean, if you pick up your mobile phone and you scan through a website, you know how quickly you go through that website from top to bottom, and so you really want to design it and write it in a way that can be scannable. There's lots of things that you can do to increase your conversions, but I think that the overarching best thing you can do is just to keep things really simple, really clear. Help them understand very quickly what you do, what problem you solve, how you make their life better. And one of the most important things after you've done that is just a clear call to action. What do you want them to do next? And don't make it passive often we're like, learn more, accelerate or vague things like that. It's like, nope, call me, email me, schedule a call, start your project. 

Speaker 3 (21:13):

These are ways again that you can show up as the guide. A guide isn't passive. A guide wants to help you and the guide knows what next step you need to take in order to get the help that you need. And so if you can have a clear call to action and be consistent with it, don't have eight different calls to action on your website have one you want them to be, they're on your website, you want them to do one thing, you want them to reach out to you in some way, shape, or form. 

Speaker 2 (21:44):

I love that. And I think again, it's one of those things of like you're saying, keep it simple and be clear about it. And I think it's easy to think websites must have words. Let me throw 20,000 of them at sub. It's like, no, that's a book, that's not a website. But it's so easy to go to the far extreme and you're like, no, keep it simple and then tell them what to do next. So that was two tips, so thank you for the bonus on that as well as people are unpacking this and hopefully taking notes, I know I'm going to listen to this thing three more times and then go type up some tweaks on my website. What is that thing that you really want them to remember, not just this episode, but as they hear the name Kris Jones, they find you on social media. What is that legacy that you're really trying to create 

Speaker 3 (22:30):

Clarity? I think there is just so much overwhelm and confusion in the world today, and it's kind of a more is more society that we live in. And I just want to flip that whole thing on its head. Get clear, keep it simple. Also freedom. Get back to the full circle here, back to the freedom. Let your website do the heavy lifting for you so you can do the work you love and not spend a bunch of time trying to sell the work that you love. 

Speaker 2 (23:06):

That was so deep. Did everyone just hear that? You're like, oh, your website. Do the work. And I think that's again, especially if you're in the earlier stages of your business, it's so easy to get stuck on this hamster wheel of I need to sell more, I need to do more. And you're like, no, write a good website. I let the website do the work as well. So everything that you're saying, so much gold, so much truth. The people are listening and they're like, this is what I need. I need to stop trying to DIY. I want to take that next step and find the support that I need. How can they fund you and learn more about the work that you do and specifically hire you if that's what they want to do next? 

Speaker 3 (23:47):

Yeah, so if you are totally done with DIY and you want to have website copy that sells in two and a half hours flat, go to red door designs.com on there, you'll easily be able to click a button and work directly with me, one-on-one, you'll not be left alone trying to write your own copy. And if you are in a stage of your business where you do want to DIY it, there's a free beyond there that is a five minute toolkit to show you how to write your own compelling copy in five minutes. 

Speaker 2 (24:23):

I love that you are saving everyone. Time freebies will take you five minutes. Phenomenal offers that are like two and a half hours, not months or weeks or years as well. And I think that's one of those things that if you're really looking for freedom, stop wasting time. So two awesome things. I'll drop the links to all of those in the show notes as well. It's been fun watching you on Instagram the past couple weeks, and you're on some other social media platforms as well. But if someone is ready to jump in and again, stop with the DIY, get off that hamster wheel, have a website that does the work for you, then Kris Jones is definitely the person for you to connect with. But it's been great having you share your story and really creating that ripple effect of freedom as well. So thank you for being on today. 

Speaker 3 (25:13):

Thank you so much, Kristen. I love what you are creating and the way you navigate these podcasts is really refreshing and I love how you dive deep. You go deeper beyond the work. It's more about the purpose, and that's beautiful. Thank you. 

Speaker 2 (25:33):

Thank you. 

Speaker 1 (25:39):

Are you ready to be a dreamer and a doer? Individual consulting may be your next step. Together we'll build a strategic roadmap and develop your leadership skills so you grow a profitable business based on your natural strengths. Check out the links in the show notes to work with me or learn about this week's featured guest. And until next time, dream loudly.