Unleashing the Power of Storytelling in Your Copy

Backend Brain Podcast, with Courtney Lazaar and Kris Jones

Meet Kris

Kris Jones is a StoryBrand guide & Founder of Red Door Designs. Mentored by StoryBrand founder – Donald Miller himself & with over 20 years of experience and clients like Nike and Jeff Bezos, under her belt, she is extremely passionate about helping self-employed women get website & sales copy that sells so they can multiply their revenue and focus on what they do best.

She has been able to help her clients achieve incredible results, including:

• Increased revenue by 300% 
• Record-breaking lead calls and clients booked
• Scaling from 30k months to 300k months
• Charging 6x more for the same service

Kris believes that Story is the most effective way to grow your business. And the process of creating compelling copy should be quick and easy! The right words have the power to help you amplify profits, enjoy more freedom, and make a bigger impact.

What are some fundamental elements business owners should include in their copy?

Kris starts out by saying that the first element business owners need to have in their copy is perspective. She elaborates on this principle by explaining that the majority of entrepreneurs suffer from the ‘Bottle Effect.’ This is the inability to see their business from an outsider’s or a lead’s perspective. In other words, It is like trying to read the label from inside the bottle. 

She continues by saying that after working in an industry for a certain number of years, we forget what it’s like to not know what we know. We use professional language and overly detailed explanations that tend to make things seem unnecessarily complex. In short, it’s important to use simple language and explanations that potential clients can understand easily!

Can you tell us more about storytelling and why it’s important when writing copy?

Kris begins by explaining that every story ever written or told has 3 main components:

1 – The story begins with a hero (the potential client) that has a problem they can’t solve. 

2 – Then, the hero meets a guide (you) that has the solution (your product/service). 

3 – The solution and the guide allow the hero to find success.

Based on that structure, Kris explains that one of the most important aspects of telling a story: Clearly articulating the problem/struggle that the hero cannot solve.

Or in other words, articulate the issue that brought the potential client to your website in the first place.

With this, the potential client feels seen and heard and will intuitively assume your business will be best equipped to solve their problem. They are pulled into that story! 

Finally, Kris highlights another essential element of storytelling: showing them a better future.

She emphasizes the fact that business owners should show potential clients what success will look like. Helpful questions to ask yourself to answer this prompt are: what is their life going to look like? How is their future after you have helped them solve this problem?

On this point, Kris offers a piece of cautionary advice: Make sure to highlight the benefits of your product/service, not the features! For example, when telling someone about a trip to Hawaii, they don’t care about the meals on the airplane or the texture of the hotel towels (features), they want to know about swimming with dolphins and volcano hikes (benefits)!

What are your tips for making sure copy incorporates storytelling that is catered toward the ideal client? 

Kris answers this question in one clear statement: Filter out the noise and the clutter and make sure the potential client leaves with the knowledge that what they care about matters to you.

Building on that, Kris suggests always giving leads a very clear call to action. She explains that a call to action like “Learn More” is too passive and vague. Business owners should always give leads a clear direction around the next step you want them to take.

The next step, Kris mentions, is establishing trust through the use of testimonials on your website.

She says that the most effective types of testimonials are the ones that speak to the problem that the potential client has and the better future you provide. 

Lastly, Kris states the importance of including a section on your website that includes 3 accomplishments about yourself or your business. This could be a certification, high-profile clients served, the number of years in business, etc. This deepens the potential client’s sense of trust in you and builds credibility in your field/industry. 

What is your advice for how to prepare to outsource your copywriting to a 3rd party?

Kris starts off by saying that the best thing business owners can do is understand the 3 components of storytelling (referenced under the first question heading) and how those components apply to their own businesses. From there, she continues with a list of items you can do to prepare your copywriting to be outsourced: 

• Create a list of all the ‘problems’ your ideal clients face.
• Create a list of all the happy results and successes potential clients will achieve once they solve these problems.
• Finally, create one final list of all the reasons and ways your product/service solves your potential client’s problems.

If writing your own copy, Kris again reiterates the importance of quality storytelling. The problem your hero is facing is always the first point addressed; regardless of where the copy is going (emails, socials, website, etc.). 

What are the most common mistakes you see with storytelling when clients write their own copy?

Kris states that the #1 mistake she sees entrepreneurs make in their copywriting is making themselves the hero of their own story! She follows this up by saying that the potential client should always be the hero of the story. 

Additionally, Kris circles back to the fact that business owners often mistakenly focus on the features of their products/services rather than the actual benefits. The features are about ourselves (we do X, Y, and Z), and the benefits are about our clients (you will experience/gain X, Y, and Z). 

Finally, Kris states that she often sees business owners write their copy without first gaining the appropriate ‘outsiders’ perspective of their business. To remedy this, she gives one simple solution: 

Go to a coffee shop and pick 2-3 people. Don’t tell them anything about what you do, and give them 15-20 seconds to look at your website. Lastly, ask them, “Can you tell me what I do?” 

If they can’t, then you know you need to improve how you communicate the problem you solve (or in other words, what you do) and how it makes a potential client’s life better.

In conclusion, Kris says a near-perfect website can communicate these two points in ~5 seconds!