How to Tell a Story on Your Website

One of the most potent ways for a potential customer to become interested in your brand is with telling a story.

Think Nike, think Apple, think Axe Body Spray even. All of these brands have told some sort of a story that resonated with their customers and inspired worldwide inspiration and desire for their products.

So how do we do this on our website?

The sad thing is if you’re the leader of the company, you’ve probably tried to have this conversation in some form already. You may already know that a story needs to be told, but you just can’t seem to get it out.

Everyone is familiar with the corporate meetings where an idea goes to be crushed. This happens so many times with what people want to put on their website.

They’re so scared to say something proprietary, to say something different or risky, something real, that they say nothing at all.

So be bold and confident in what you put on your website. If it’s different, good. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, great. And if it gets people talking, fan freaking tastic.

Too many websites are littered with mindless facts and overwhelmed with meaningless technical jargon.

Where’s the humanity?!

People want to read something they can sink their teeth into. Be assured, if your site is overloaded with data, potential clients will skim right over it desperately trying to find what they’re looking for. And if they don’t find it, they’ll leave.

You should actually take time out to consider your story. It’s not just going to pop into your head and it’s harder than it sounds to put it down on paper. So to avoid just spewing thoughts and emotion on your website, it needs to be written down professionally.

It has to be edited to a point of legibility and simplicity so it can be published in a way that is pleasing for readers to flow through.

This is the most common mistake that almost every business makes. They position themselves as the hero instead of the guide.

In Donald Miller’s book “Building a Storybrand,” he explains in detail how every business makes this common mistake.

You may think because it’s your website, it’s about you. People are looking you up to find out about you. But that’s actually not what’s happening.

People visit your website to find out what is in it for them. They don’t care about you.

This may seem a bit off putting at first and even a bit counter intuitive. But think about a few of the most successful advertisements today.

Nike thrills and inspires their customers. They are simply the tools for great and noble heroes.

Apple excites and provokes thought in their customers. They were the first computer company to only care what their customers think instead of think “what are my colleagues going to say about this?”

Axe Body Spray entertains and motivates their customers. Many men want to smell good so women will like them. Axe demonstrates in a comical way how they’ll attract thousands of women if they use their product.

In all of these cases, the company positioned themselves as a humble guide and their customer as the hero.

At the end of the day, everyone is doing the same thing. We’re all on this journey forging our way through life to build a legacy that is honorable and lasting.

People want to know your story. We’ve seen more and more how willing people are to connect on this dynamic with companies. The problem is when you start thinking, “my industry is different.”

The problem is when you think you can pull the wool over people’s eyes by trying to impress them with how much you know or all of the credentials you have.

Tell your story honestly and deeply on your website and you will acquire the customers you have been searching for all along.