How to Create Your Marketing Message in 5 Simple Steps

Marketing Made Simple Podcast, with Dr. J.J. Peterson and Kris Jones

Speaker 1 (00:02):

We talk to freelance marketers and marketing agencies all the time who feel like they've just reached a ceiling when it comes to growing their business. Well, that's exactly why we created the StoryBrand Certified Guide Program to help freelance marketers and marketing agencies go to the next level. And if you've been listening to the podcast for a while and wondering, is this going to be good for me, should I apply to become a StoryBrand certified guide? Well, here are a few StoryBrand certified guides to tell you why it's been a good fit for them. 

Speaker 2 (00:34):

I found there's instant value as soon as I got certified, like I was going to, one, be able to hang my hat on the framework, and two have StoryBrand to help me in any way that I needed it. I 

Speaker 3 (00:42):

Went from being able to barely support myself as a freelancer to then being able to take on more business. 

Speaker 4 (00:50):

I get to work right alongside my husband every day, and we get to have the flexibility that we need for our family. 

Speaker 2 (00:57):

As a young business owner fresh out of college, you need credibility and you need authority. And for me, I think I was lacking that in a big way before getting StoryBrand certified. And now I feel like I have it. 

Speaker 1 (01:10):

If you'd love to get results like our incredible StoryBrand guides, I have great news for you. We have a virtual guide training coming up in September. Go to storybrand.com/guide and make sure you apply by July 21st so that you can join us. We bet you're ready to stop crossing your fingers every time you launch a new marketing campaign, and instead would love to have the confidence that you're using a framework that's been proven to work. So apply to become a StoryBrand certified guide at storybrand.com/guide and join us this September. 

Speaker 4 (01:42):

The best part about being a guide is I get to offer hope every day and see people succeed. 

Speaker 5 (01:53):

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Speaker 1 (02:54):

Your business is constantly changing and so you need to be constantly updating or new marketing to match whatever you're doing right now. So this week it's all about the one-liner. Your 

Speaker 6 (03:05):

One-liner is that foundation. I believe it is the most important thing you can do for your business. And when you do the work to get it right, all the other messaging kind of falls down like dominoes. So it's a lot like building a strong foundation for a house. 

Speaker 7 (03:23):

I'm about show 

Speaker 5 (03:34):

Hello, hero maker, welcome to the Marketing Made Simple podcast, powered by StoryBrand and brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network where we believe your marketing should be easy and it should work. I am your host, Dr. JJ Peterson, and I'm joined by my co-host, April Sunshine Hawkins. Hi April. 

Speaker 1 (03:52):

Well, hey JJ and hello there, humor maker 

Speaker 5 (03:54):

April, our podcast is called Marketing Made Simple. Yeah, it is. I don't dunno if you've looked lately, but it still is. It's still called Marketing 

Speaker 1 (04:04):

Made Simple. I'm so glad we have not rebranded and I didn't know it. Yeah, yeah. Okay. This is not a rebranding conversation. It's still we're 

Speaker 5 (04:12):

Not changing it. That's not happening because we really believe, like we say in every intro is that we believe that marketing should be easy and it should work, right? And why we say that is because we've used the StoryBrand framework with thousands and thousands and thousands of clients, and we have seen over and over again how when you actually apply the principles in the StoryBrand framework, so you get a clear message by positioning your customer as the hero and you as their guide, you talk about solving their problems, you give them a plan, you have a strong call to action, and you ultimately show them what success or failure looks like in their story. When you get those pieces down and create a clear message from the StoryBrand framework and then apply it to your marketing, it works. 

Speaker 1 (05:04):

You don't have to convince me, jj, I know, I know it works. 

Speaker 5 (05:07):

You do know it works. And then what we did from there, after we basically used the StoryBrand framework to help people clarify their message. We wanted to show them then how to apply that to their marketing. So Donald Miller and I wrote a book called Marketing Made Simple to actually walk people through the process of how to create a sales funnel using clear messaging. And the five pieces of the sales funnel are pop quiz, April 

Speaker 1 (05:34):

One-Liner, website, lead generator, nurture emails and sales emails, or a sales letter. You did it. Thanks. I wonder how many times I've said that list. It's got to be in the thousands at this 

Speaker 5 (05:52):

Point. And we've seen over and over again that those work, they work when you actually create that market. And that's really what my dissertation showed is that understanding how to create a clear message and creating a clear message takes you to one level. But where it really moves you forward is when you actually begin implementing that message, using it in those five pieces of your sales funnel. And those five pieces work for everybody, whether you are a giant company, we go in and work with huge. I was just working with a billion dollar company in Colorado last week and we did this exact same thing. We helped them create sales funnel based on those five things, and we work with entrepreneurs and solopreneurs and it works for them as well. So we know that this works. We've seen it work. And so for this series, what we wanted to do is actually kind of get back to those basics and talk about how to create a simple, clear sales funnel that actually works. 

Speaker 1 (06:50):

So back to basics. Well, I mean it's just important where your focus goes, your energy is going to flow. And so it's really important for you to go, oh yeah, I've got a new product. I'm releasing that new product needs a one-liner, it needs a landing page, it needs its only generator, it needs its own email sequence. Your business is constantly changing, and so you need to be constantly updating or creating new marketing to match whatever you're doing right now. So we wanted you to have an up close personal look at these five elements, these five elements. If you've been a listener, you've heard this before, it doesn't matter. You are where you are right now and whatever you've got, it can be better, it can be more clear, and you can make sure that you are putting your focus and your energy in this spot. Because I know you're out there and you're like, oh my gosh, I have so many priorities. What should I be focusing on? What should I be doing? Should I be creating a TikTok video or should I be creating a sales funnel? We vote Sales Funnel 

Speaker 5 (08:04):

In this series, each piece of the sales funnel is going to have two episodes dedicated to it. 

Speaker 1 (08:11):

That's right. So the first episode is going to be either JJ or myself interviewing a StoryBrand certified guide who's been with us quite a while and they know what they're talking about. And so they will bring their expertise and what they have seen has worked really well when working with clients and creating that specific piece of the sales funnel. And in the second episode, we are going to bring on an entrepreneur who's struggling with that piece of the sales funnel and coach them through it. The StoryBrand certified guide that was a part of episode one will be the coach alongside either you, jj, or myself. 

Speaker 5 (08:47):

Yeah, it's so cool because you're actually going to see kind of how the sausage just made a little bit, right? We're going to kind of pull back the curtains and you're going to watch us actually coach somebody who's struggling with one of these pieces and see how it goes from nothing to actually creating collateral that they can immediately start using to grow their business. So this is, again, all about creating easy marketing that works. 

Speaker 1 (09:12):

So this week it's all about the one-liner, and we have an incredible StoryBrand certified guide named Kris Jones, and she's been with us since the very beginning. I mean, she's used this framework with her clients over and over and built. I mean, I don't know how many sales funnels at this point, but I've got to read you one of her customer's testimonials, like a testimonial from her client. Before we worked together, my business was almost entirely referral based. Our work together helped me get clear on the problem my clients struggle with and how my solution helps them experience success. Going through the StoryBrand process helped me better understand it myself, which ultimately made it easy to convey to people who were new to my world. Being able to tell my story has increased my confidence tenfold. Anytime I'm talking about what I do, I go back to those words that you help me create between the confidence and the clarity. I'm excited to share that. March is my first five figure month ever. Come on and Thea amazing. Oh man. 

Speaker 5 (10:20):

Well, that's why we wanted to bring Kris on to talk about this, about the process that she uses. And just as a reminder, what the one-liner is, the one-liner is really the first piece of your sales funnel. It is a quick way to explain to people what you do. So whenever you get the question, what do you do or what do you offer? This is a quick way to answer that question that follows the story framework that really hooks your customer to be interested in what you have to offer. And the way you do that is by creating one or two sentences that follow this formula. First, you talk about the problem your customer is experiencing. Second, you position your product as a solution to that problem. And then third, you talk about the success your customers experience once they buy your product or service. 

Speaker 5 (11:14):

So you may say something, so many companies are so close to their products and services that they have a hard time explaining what they do. At StoryBrand, we use a story framework to help companies clarify their message so they can connect with more customers and grow their business. 1, 2, 3, problem solution results. This is not a tagline. A tagline is like, just do it or Where's the beef? It's a little bit more in the branding space. This is really about explaining what you do and why your customers should do business with you. So it's really simple. It's more like an elevator pitch than a tagline, and it's just one or two sentences gets people into the story. It's really the foundation for all of the marketing that you're ultimately going to do because a short story, it's a short version of your overall marketing message. So as you're getting ready to listen to this episode, I want you to start thinking about what problems are your customers experiencing? How do you position your product as a solution to that problem? And then what is your customer's life like after they do business with you? If you can clearly answer those three questions, then you are going to have the start of your one-liner 

Speaker 1 (12:29):

And you'll finally have the confidence to communicate what you do clearly to your customers and hopefully have the success that Anthea has had one of Kris Jones's clients. So without further ado, let's get into your conversation with StoryBrand certified guide Kris Jones on how to create an incredible and impactful you can be confident in. 

Speaker 5 (12:58):

Kris. Now, I know that you have kind of fallen in love with the one-liner. Why is this something that you really have fallen in love with? 

Speaker 6 (13:08):

I am in love with the one-liner. It's a true love story 

Speaker 6 (13:14):

Because I love how short and concise it is, and yet at the same time, so incredibly powerful. I believe it is the most important thing you can do for your business. And when you do the work to get it right, all the other messaging kind of falls down. So it's a lot building a strong foundation for a house. Your one-liner is that foundation, and then your house is all the kind of the marketing, your website and all that. And then your email sequences and nurture sequences are like having people line up for your house, warming party, can't wait to get in, they're knocking down the door. So it all begins with the one-liner, and I've watched it time and time again, create such confidence in my clients and I think that's why I love it the most. 

Speaker 5 (14:08):

I teach at Vanderbilt, I teach kind of the marketing made simple framework at Vanderbilt, and I always tell my students, if you can master the one-liner and start thinking that way, start thinking in terms of problem, solution results, then everything else becomes easier. Whatever emails you're writing, whatever website you're writing, everything you're creating, even social media posts all are so much easier and so much more clear. If you can start with a really strong one-liner and then just start thinking that way. And I'm kind of a marketing nerd a little bit, and I'll even walk through the grocery store and I will just look at items and I will create fake one-liners for them so I can train my brain to start thinking this way, problem solution results. Because when you can do that, like you said, it really is foundational for everything else you do. 

Speaker 6 (14:58):

Oh, it's so true. Yeah, a hundred percent. And once you create your one-liner and you learn kind of the format just like you shared, then you can literally apply it to everything else you're going to write. You write an email, you pull out that framework and you start with the problem, introduce your services solution and really show them what kind of success they're going to experience. So it's like an accordion. That's the shortest version of a story right there. And then you can expand it out depending on what you're writing and where it's going to live. 

Speaker 5 (15:35):

I think that's so important for people to hear because it is the shortest version, but it doesn't mean it's the only words you can ever say. It's really though the only story you can ever tell, and this is the shortest version of it. And when you expand it, you can add a little bit more color, you can add a little bit more cuteness and cleverness, but when you start with that clarity, it's so key. And we talk about telling a short story, talking about the problem that you solve for people. But every time I go and talk to people and they get really excited to tell me their one-liner, it's not what I want it to be. They haven't quite gotten it right. Why do you think people struggle with this really simple formula? 

Speaker 6 (16:20):

It is. It's really ironic, right? Like two sentences usually, but it's so hard to do. And I think it's just because business owners are passionate about what they do. They love talking about it, and it's really, really hard to trim it down to something very clear and concise, and ultimately we're all just too close to our own business to talk about it clearly. And that's the beauty of the guide program. 

Speaker 5 (16:52):

You can come in with an outside set of eyes and go, that's what you do. They tell you two or three paragraphs or talk for 10 minutes about what they do, and then we're able to come in and just go, Nope, there it is. Found it. It's right there. That's the clear piece. And you actually have kind of a system that you have developed to really help people narrow in on that. And I think why your system is genius is because you really walk them through about five steps of creating a one-liner. And the one-liner itself is three steps, but you really take them through five different steps of how to take all this information they know about their business, all of the things that they've always said, and don't start simple. You actually have them kind of put it all out there and then narrow it down from there. You really help them refine it with these five steps. And your first step in the way that you help people refine their brand script is a brain dump, right? That's the first thing. Tell me about that. When you go in and work with a client first, you just have them dump all the words, right? 

Speaker 6 (17:53):

I do. Yeah. I believe that those golden nuggets of story are inside you. They're always inside you, and my job is just to help you. I would liken this to clearing out the garage, like you've got this garage, your brain is this garage that is stuffed with information and communication and ideas. So the only way to really clean that out is to take everything out of the garage. And so that's really that brain dump phase is let's take all that information out of your head and get it onto paper, and that way we can move on to the next step. 

Speaker 5 (18:32):

And I think that's so key because when I'm working with companies, a lot of times they try to immediately go to copy. They try to immediately start creating words. And when you start there, a lot of times I think you try to be super cute and clever. You're looking for the tagline, not your one-liner. So they're trying to come up with these words, just do it, or where's the beef? They're trying to come up with something catchy and you go, no, no, no. That's a tagline. We're not doing a tagline right now that's in the branding space. We're really talking about messaging. How do you clearly communicate what you offer and how you make people's life better? And so the first part of that is just let's get it all on paper. And then that's really step one, brain dump. And then step two, what do you do from there? Once you have all that information, what do you actually do with it? 

Speaker 6 (19:22):

Well, just like you would do, if you're cleaning out your garage, you'd sort, you'd make piles for goodwill, you'd make piles to give to friends, and you'd make piles for garbage. And we do that exact same thing. So we put it into three buckets. Number one is the hero's problem. So we group all those together, and then we group the solution that how do you solve that problem that your heroes are having? And then we group it into another group, which is the ultimate success that they're hoping to experience. 

Speaker 5 (19:58):

I love that because the things that we're talking about are all part of a company story, like everything a company is talking about, it's all part of their grand story or stories, and we're really trying to come up with one. So we really then start by dumping it all out, then organizing it so that we have a clear path to create the one-liner. So then the third step is really then you working with them to begin that next phase. You say the third step is really collaborate. What do you do in that phase? 

Speaker 6 (20:28):

Yeah, so this part is really, really important because the truth is we're inside of the bottle trying to read the label that can only be read from outside the bottle. So I really encourage my clients to collaborate with me at this phase, or you could ask your partner or a friend to kind of be those fresh eyes, but the reality is you're just too close to it. So I collaborate with my clients to really, I bold or I'll pull out the golden nuggets that are inside of you. So we highlight the ones that kind of bubble up to the top as being the strongest and the clearest. 

Speaker 5 (21:09):

And that's really then how you create it, right? It's really brain dump, organize, and then collaborate to basically choose what is the best, the golden nugget out of all of it. And then you don't finish with that though, because we all know that creating great messaging is one thing, but then you actually have to begin using it. So you actually have two more steps in the process that you go through with the client, and I can't wait to hear what those next two steps are. 

Speaker 1 (21:39):

The Online Marketing Made Easy podcast is hosted by our good friend Amy Porterfield, and it's brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals just like you, with a focus on online business, including digital courses and list building, social media content and webinars, online marketing made easy with Amy, breaks down big ideas and strategies into actionable step-by-step processes, and is designed to get you more results with a whole lot less stress. So go ahead, pop open, whatever podcast app that you're using, I'm listening on Spotify and I'm over looking at some of her most recent episodes, like, oh, creating a Profitable Business that keeps Growing Even When You're Offline. Ooh, I'm adding that one right now to my queue. Episode 579 must Know Online Marketing Industry Updates and Trends for 2023, open Story Loop. I've got to also add that one. And if I'm scrolling down a little bit further, check out episode 576, how to Scale your Business using the StoryBrand Framework with Dr. JJ Peterson and what April Sunshine Hawkins. Oh my goodness. Well just check out whatever sounds good to you, because Amy is a marketing genius and you should follow her. Listen to Online Marketing Made Easy wherever you get your podcasts, 

Speaker 1 (23:14):

And now back to the show. 

Speaker 6 (23:16):

Okay, so you've combined the problem with your solution and the success. So now what? You put it on a piece of paper, you print it out and you hang it on your wall by your computer and commit it to memory. The next step, step four is memorized, so print it out and commit it to memory. It should really flow off your tongue. So if it doesn't flow out of your mouth naturally, you need to change the words of it. It definitely needs to be aligned with your own voice and be casual and clear, really. I mean, just simple like short, concise, simple. So you just want it to feel natural, say it to your friends eventually. You might refine it a couple times during this phase, and that's okay, but the memorization is really key because you'll be shocked at how many times you're going to need to pull this out. 

Speaker 5 (24:12):

And this is so important, not only the memorization part, but what you said about making sure that it flows off your tongue easily. So often when we sit down to write a one-liner, or when I work with companies who are sitting down and writing a one-liner, they want to make it flowery and they want to turn it into prose, and they want to use inside language, and all of those things actually get in the way of you being able to memorize it. It doesn't sound natural when you're talking to people and then they can't memorize it. Ultimately, what marketing is really all about is helping people memorize the problem you solve, how you solve it, and how their life is better. So when you can memorize it and it flows easily off of your tongue, then other people will be able to memorize it as well. 

Speaker 5 (24:55):

So that is so important, and I love that you just said you're probably going to refine it. I think that's the other thing is sometimes we spend all this time creating it and then people think, oh, this is what I have to use these exact words forever. No, no. Workshop it, memorize it, use it with people, and then figure out how to make it better. And then once they get that, once they actually are able to memorize it, it sounds natural, they start using it, what is kind of the final step that they need to do? 

Speaker 6 (25:23):

Step five is plaster it everywhere. 

Speaker 5 (25:26):

Yes. 

Speaker 6 (25:28):

And this is why the one-liner is the little engine that could, it's so short and so concise and so powerful when you use it everywhere. So when you have a consistent and cohesive story, which is what this is, and any way your clients are finding you, whether it's in social media, via email, on your website, on your business card, or in person, if you are telling the same message with your one-liner, you're building trust and you're becoming memorable, 

Speaker 5 (26:01):

Yes, put it everywhere and repeat it. And that's one thing that I get asked a lot when I'm working in private workshops with companies is I'll say, well, we just said that on our website and then we don't want to say it in an email. And they said, no, no, no. That's exactly what you want to do. You said it on the website, you want to say it in your email, you want to say it in your lead generator. You want to say it every time you're at a party. You want to repeat it over and over and over again so that other people can memorize it. I love this for our listeners because I think a lot of times you go, well just write a one-liner. Well, it is that simple, but it's not quite that simple. And so following this process of really sitting down, doing a brain dump of everything, all the information, then sorting that information, grouping it into problem your solution, and then ultimate success and results, then choosing the best story out of that short story, then actually collaborating with the people in your sphere, whether it's hiring a StoryBrand certified guide or working with your partner or friends or family to really kind of hone that in and then memorize it and then plaster it everywhere. 

Speaker 5 (27:14):

I think that gives people just some really tangible things that they can do to create a one-liner. And just to give a little bit more inspiration, I know you do this a lot and you've used this with a lot of your customers. How has this impacted them when you really get this message super clear? 

Speaker 6 (27:32):

Oh my gosh, in multiple ways. I mentioned earlier that the level of confidence goes up when you really know you've got go-to words to share with people about what you do and the impact that it has on others, your confidence goes up. I have a client who started doing this work and she was relying solely on referrals, and once she got her one-liner down and put it everywhere, and she actually ended up having her first five figure month shortly after that. 

Speaker 5 (28:04):

Amazing. This is especially key, I think, for people who are in the referral space, right? Because if you don't have words to clearly explain what you offer, then your clients aren't going to be able to have clear words of what you offer. Somebody will go, so who are you working with? And you're like, oh, I was working with Kris. Tell me about her. Oh, she's great. Okay. She really helped me. Okay. I don't know. I don't know how to explain it. She's just great. Well, I mean, that's a nice referral. That's a good endorsement, but it's not really going to work in the power of referrals. And so when you're, especially in that referral space, when you can have that clear language and pass that to your clients who then can pass it to other people, boom. Five figure month. Unbelievable. Do you have anybody else that you've worked with that has really kind of used this in some pretty powerful ways? 

Speaker 6 (28:55):

Oh, yeah. I have worked with Parenting Coach that really honed in on the fact that she was working with toddler moms who felt overwhelmed, and her solution was she helped them change their relationship with time so they can parent with more joy, peace, and connection, and talk about pulling you into a story when someone says, yeah, I help people change their relationship with time. I don't care if you're a parent or not. You're pulled into that going, how does that work? Tell me more. And that's part of the beauty of the one-liner. It's a beautiful beginning to a deeper conversation. It gets people excited to work with you, and it works on its own whether delivering it or not. So the referral part is great. It can help boost up your referrals, but it also is a standalone tool that will sell for you when you're not around. So it does this work literally for all my clients. 

Speaker 5 (29:57):

And even in that one-liner that you just gave, does that tell everything about the story? No, it's not meant to be the full story. It's really meant to be the hook that draws people in. That begins the conversation that gets people to say, tell me more. So just to kind of wrap things up, first off, thank you. This has been amazing, but for people who are wanting to get started in creating their own one-liner, what are some things that you would tell them that they need to do? 

Speaker 6 (30:25):

Get out a piece of paper. Get those ideas out of your head and onto paper or on a Google Doc and organize them into those three buckets. Grab a friend, hire a StoryBrand guide to come to it and look at it with fresh eyes. You are too close to it at this point. And then memorize it, print it out, put it on your wall, refine it if need be. Say it out loud, play around with it. Have fun with it. It should be fun. And then copy and paste that one-liner into your social media profiles. I really encourage people to put it in the footer of their email signature, so effortlessly every email that you're sending to anybody, it's right under your name. 

Speaker 5 (31:12):

I love that so much. Kris, thank you so much for being on. And what I'm even more excited about is that in our next episode that you are also going to be a part of next week, you are actually going to coach a struggling business owner through their own one-liner, and I'm so excited to hear from them and hear from you so people can actually hear, here's the process to walk through and here's how we actually do it to refine it and help create an amazing one-liner. So thank you for being with us today. This has been so valuable, so cool, and I can't even wait for more next week. Thanks so much, Kris. 

Speaker 6 (31:46):

Thank you. 

Speaker 5 (31:55):

Okay, hero maker. Now you have the know-how to be able to create a clear one-liner, and if you are still feeling stuck trying to figure out how to apply the StoryBrand framework into your marketing, you can hire a StoryBrand certified guide like Kris Jones. Just go to marketing made simple.com to hire a guide that will show you how to clarify your message and create marketing that works. All right, hero maker, it's time to apply everything you learned with this week's actionable step, a practical step from today's conversation you can immediately use to shape your marketing and clarify your message. You just heard this from Kris at the end of our conversation, but what you want to do now is take out a piece of paper and begin your brain dump process. Just take everything and write it down. You want to start by identifying what are the problems that your customers are experiencing that you can help solve? 

Speaker 5 (32:52):

Write down all the different ways that your product can be positioned as a solution to those problems. And then write down what are the things that your customers are going to experience? What are the good things that they're going to experience after they buy your product or service? Just write all those down. When you have a one-liner that you are confident in, you are able to guide your customer to solve their problem by buying your product or service, which ultimately helps them become the hero of their own story. That's what makes you a great guide, and that's what makes you a hero maker. That's all for this week's episode of Marketing Made Simple. Thank you so much for listening and believing like us that marketing should be easy and it should work. Follow marketing made simple wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you found this episode valuable, please rate and review the show letting us know how these tips are clarifying your message and growing your business. We'll see you next week.