Whenever we create content—be it a book, or a sales page, a blog post, or a speech—we need to consider the outcome we’re after.  For coaches, speakers, and other service professionals, that outcome is usually one, or a combination of several things.

• We’re looking to attract ideal clients;
• Impact others lives and affect radical change;
• Inspire people by offering them our perspective, our hard-won experience so we can save them time and pain;
• We want to spell out our unique process for fixing a specific problem once and for all,
• Become known as an expert in our field;
• Outline our message in a clear, concise way;
• And, let’s be practical here, to improve our business status, marketability, and profitability. In other words, to make more money.

So, how do we service professionals (for short) attract clients?

How do we inspire massive action, a change in paradigm, a veritable movement?

How do we claim the lofty title of expert in our fields?

Remember, these are the results we’re after with our written content.

We start by recognizing what we need to accomplish first. We start by understanding the philosophy behind it all.

BOOK YOURSELF SOLID PHILOSOPHY 101

That philosophy, which is heavily based on the work of Michael Port in his book Book Yourself Solid, can be summed up in 5 parts.

1. There are people you’re meant to serve, and others not so much. In other words, not everybody is your audience. You’ll never be able to please them all or avoid criticism; so don’t even bother trying.
2. You’ve got to understand the needs and desires of your target market (a.k.a. your reading audience) and determine the biggest result your clients get when they hire you, and the associated deep-rooted benefits. Deliver that one big promise with your stories, demonstrate the deep-rooted benefits as well, and you’re on your way to having compelling content. And a big, fat business.
3. You need to be aware of your personal brand, that thing that allows you to distinguish yourself from everybody else. Your personal brand is far more than what you do, or what your website looks like; it’s you, uniquely you. In content, your voice, your perspective, and your stories embody your personal brand. The more bold and authentic your voice, the more easily you’ll attract those you’re meant to serve. You can’t water yourself down or you’ll lose the reader you’re meant to serve. You’ve got to tell it like it is, and be wholly you. Potential clients will want to know if they can connect with you on an emotional, philosophical, or even spiritual level; they need to know what you stand for, and the stories you choose to tell will allow them to determine that.
4. Your job is to build trust and credibility. In order to build trust and credibility you have to become and establish yourself as a likeable expert in your field, build relationships of trust over time. The right content will do these jobs. To build trust, you have to let people know you through your stories. Sometimes this means telling personal stories, the kind that leave you feeling vulnerable. To build credibility, you‘ve got to get crystal clear on your message and the unique process that you offer.
5. All sales start with a simple conversation. Often, the first conversation we have with people is thorough our content. Think of your content as a convenient conversation. What stories do you tell potential clients to get them up to speed, to help them decide if they should work with you? What stories do you tell to show them that you have the solutions to their very personal, specific, and urgent problems?

DONALD MILLER AND BUILDING A STORY BRAND

Donald Miller, author of Building A Story Brand, talks about a marketer’s need to become the guide for potential clients, not insist upon being the hero. You’ve seen the website homepages that announce “We’ve got 200 years of combined experience and we only hire geniuses.” Snore.

You’ve seen the newsletters that crow about the latest upgrade to the reception area or the tax law conference you attended in Milwaukee. Eye roll.

If you’ve ever marketed your ideas or services, you’re well aware of the impulse to show your best face, to look impenetrable, mechanized, or even superhuman. We’re all about posting our resumes, complete with impressive certifications, not revealing ourselves as regular human beings. The problem with placing ourselves (or our companies) on a pedestal is that we bore potential clients at best, or drive them away in hoards at worse.

Besides allowing our potential clients to be the hero, the person who overcomes the problem and saves the day, the job of our copy, our stories, is to:

• Grab and keep the reader’s attention
• Answer the question, What’s In It For Me?
• Give the reader something to do next (the Call To Action)

You follow these basic rules with your stories, and they can make you successful, impactful, and rich.

AN ORIGIN STORY

A year or so after I came out of grad school, I started a blog with the sole intent of building an audience for a book I was working on, creating a platform. That’s what the literary agents were telling us: you want to sell a book to a publishing house, develop a platform.

And what happened was this, the more personal the stories I told, the more I revealed about myself, the more unsolicited business I attracted. The more I admitted to being a hot mess on occasion, the more people came to me asking for my help or opinion.

I suddenly had people wanting me to coach them on stuff like relationships, and self-acceptance, and telling the truth. Instead of becoming a coach first, then using my writing to attract clients; I was a writer who began to inadvertently attract clients, catalyzing my first business.

What I learned from this experience—attracting clients through my writing—is that honesty, vulnerability, and authenticity sells. Personal stories sell, even if you don’t intend them to.

Here’s the thing: The more personal you are, the more vulnerable you are, the more likeable you are. The more people trust you. The more people want to do business with you. Our job is to build trust and credibility. To be likeable. To let people know us, the real us, so they can determine if we’re relevant to them. That has to show up in our writing.

But, the idea is not to start telling random stories about losing your virginity in the backseat of your mother’s station wagon when you were 15 for the sake of appearing transparent. Particularly if you sell legal services to conservative individuals.

There are a lot of different flavors of “personal” stories. You’ve got to choose yours wisely.

ELEMENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE MARKETING STORY 

We’ve got to consider the elements that go into an effective client-attracting story.

There are four building blocks of a good marketing story that will allow you to win over the hearts and minds of exactly the kind of people you’re meant to serve.

They include:

• Stories you wish to tell
• Lessons you’ve learned
• Values you hold dear
• Products, services, or ideas (et al) you’d like to “sell”

There’s one important rule of thumb I learned from the speaker Les Brown: Never tell a story without a point. Never make a point without a supporting story.

In other words:

• Don’t tell random stories that lead nowhere. Because no one really cares.
• Don’t lists facts and figures or give instructions or pound us with concepts without grounding them in story. ZZZZZZZ

HOW TO AVOID LOOKING PUSHY 

One of my clients, I’ll call her Paula, wanted to create better emails in order to draw more people into her world and into her paid offerings.

Paula is a productivity and leadership coach. In her words, she helps executive assistants get done what they want to get done, own their leadership skills both at home and in the office, and do so guilt-free.

Paula sends out lots of emails each week, speaks at a lot of networking events. She was tired of sounding like a hard driving sales person, constantly talking about the coaching slots she had available, the event seats she wanted to fill, spewing the same depersonalized message week in and week out: buy my stuff.

She knew she needed stories but didn’t know how to go about creating them, using them effectively. She wanted to appear like a real human being, one that would attract her target audience: The behind the scene female assistant to the man in power too afraid to break out on her own because she’d somehow displease others.

She came to me because she’d been on my list for years and knew I’m all about the use of personal stories to attract business. She’d heard my positioning story, understood what I could do for her and what I was all about.

ELEMENT #1: PERSONAL STORY

Telling a personal story is the first part of the equation, and let me tell you, this can be a minefield for a lot of people; particularly for those who hold a fiduciary position. Again, personal has a lot of different connotations, and often the connotations that come to mind can make one blanche.

Now, Paula had no idea which personals stories she wanted to tell, she just knew which stories she was afraid to tell. These were the stories stuck in her throat, the stuff that was keeping her buttoned up:

• Anything about her ex
• Anything that involved her parents
• Anything that made her sound negative

Again, not all personal stories have to reveal our deepest darkest secret. You don’t have to reveal stuff about yourself that will set your teeth on edge. Like, you can start out by confessing to being shy. That shouldn’t kill you.

Before we could come up with the right stories for Paula to tell, we needed to find a way to back into them.

There are lots of ways to come up with a story when you’re not one of the blessed with thousands of ideas pouring out of every orifice, and backing into it is one of them.

The quickest way to come up with appropriate story content is to consider the lessons you usually share. The points you want to make. And most of us can count our core lessons on two hands.

Remember, we don’t tell stories that have no point, so why not begin with the point? Build a story around that?

ELEMENT #2: LESSONS OR TEACHING POINTS

Lessons are the second element of good marketing content.

We each have lessons that we tend to share over and over again. Foundational stuff. Stuff we’ve learned on our own journey:

Let’s look at the lessons that Paula shares with her people on a regular basis:

• You don’t need to sacrifice yourself to satisfy your responsibilities
• We all have to learn how to navigate through chaos
• If you plan the small, you’ll get the big results
• You need to be a good leader while setting boundaries
• Productivity is a skill that can be learned
• Circumstances don’t define you
• Wanting more isn’t selfish

Could you, in much the way Paula did, list your core lessons? Could you brainstorm them?

From these lessons, you can begin to get a feel for Paula, what she’s about. What might make her a valuable coach for a woman prone to sacrificing herself in the service of others, why that woman could use some help with time management and productivity.

Now, how do we create personal stories from these lessons, so people actually get the chance to know you, understand where you’re coming from? We answer related questions:

• Tell me about a time you sacrificed yourself in order to satisfy your responsibilities.
• Tell me about a time that setting boundaries was anathema. Who was walking all over you? Why did you let them? What did you believe would happen if you said no?
• Tell me about a particular time you couldn’t finish something without burning yourself out? What else was going on in your life?
• Which circumstances did you think defined you when you were in the heart of darkness?
• What did you want that you believed made you appear selfish?

These questions serve as great writing prompts. You could probably answer them in a couple of ways, which will give you all the more content.

Now, just as a lesson can produce several different stories, so can a story produce any number of lessons.

Depending on your end goal, one story can lead to this lesson, or that one.

You can combine them in a million ways just like Grranimals. That way, you’ll never run out of effective content.

Keynote speakers switch up the point or lesson of their story all the time. Because they memorize bits—individual stories—they can adjust the associated lesson to fit the requirements of their audience. They can constantly remain relevant without reinventing their speech each time they serve a unique audience. They plug and play.

Once we answer these questions by telling a story, we emphasize the chosen lesson.

Because the lesson is the point of the story. We’ve got element #1 and #2 in the bag.

ELEMENT #3:  VALUES

Now, the next element we need to identify and then communicate with our content is our value system.

We need to identify then imbed our value system—what we stand for—for a number of reasons.

1. We want people to know who we are and what they can expect from us.
2. We want the people who share those values to be attracted to us.
3. We want those who don’t share those values to be repelled by us because there’s nothing worse than working with someone who loves Trump when you don’t.

Remember, that basic philosophy stuff I shared with you? Our job is to attract the people we’re meant to serve and to put off those who aren’t a fit. So our values have to come out through our stories. You’ve got to be able to pick up on them.

So let’s look at Paula’s value system. I had her get super clear about what they were.

• Family, Faith, Business
• God is a foundation, a point to anchor on, something to lean on.
• Marriage is a true partnership, a place where you can be real.
• Hard work doesn’t mean working all the time.
• Be an example for your kids.

Notice that some of her values aren’t obvious by looking at her lessons. Yet, they reveal who she is beneath the drumbeat of what she teaches. They reveal a different aspect of her. An aspect that would appeal to a very particular kind of woman. They appeal to her target market. And they’d likely repel those she’s not meant to serve.

Hey, you want people to dislike you for who you truly are. Trust me on this one.

The great news is that in order to generate personal stories we can use our values the same way we use our lessons. Paula’s afraid to reveal too much about herself, but what if we can come at the task at hand by emphasizing the stuff she feels strongly about, the stuff that draws her people to her?

Again, we ask questions:

• Tell me about this love affair with God. When did you realize you needed God in your life? What was going on?
• Why is it important that you can be real around your husband? Have you ever experienced the antithesis of this?
• How did you learn to stop working all the time? What made you change your wicked ways? Why did it suddenly matter?
• What do you hope your kids pick up from you by way of example, specifically? Why does that matter to you?

Remember, Paula’s a productivity coach. One who emphasizes living life on your terms, getting the stuff done that’s important to you without the guilt. A big part of that is determining what one considers to be “on your terms.”

Think these stories might resonate?

Now, how easily could you list your values? If you had to pick the top five things that truly matter to you, what would they be?

ELEMENT # 4: WHAT YOU SELL

It’s all well and good to tell personal stories embedded with our value system, then drive it all home into a neat little lesson. But why are we doing this stuff? Why are we spending all this time and effort sharing things that might come back to haunt us? I mean, that’s what most of us are afraid of, right? Revealing the wrong thing?

We share this stuff, this content, because we eventually want to drive our audience to the outcome we’re after.

That means we’ve got to be crystal clear on what that outcome is from the get go.

Remember when I mentioned that we need to give our readers a call to action, a what-comes-next? Well, this is where that statement kicks in.

We must be clear on what we’re selling.

Right now, could you list the products and services you sell? Just rattle them off?

You’d be surprised how many people don’t know what it is they sell. And selling, by the way, doesn’t always entail an exchange of money. Sometimes “selling” means getting others to see something in a brand new way, our way. Or getting them to take some kind of action, like inviting you to the party.

Could you list the particular outcomes you’re after. Just rattle them off?

Our stories, lessons, and values are meant to lead our audience, our potential client, our target, to that particular outcome.

I call this The Kaboom, the big end result for you.

An important caveat: Do your stories have to drive to an offer every time? No, but often enough to make it clear to everyone involved that you’re not creating content as a hobby or for entertainment, but because you’re in business. There’s an outcome you’re after.

If you’re not using a story to drive to a sale or a targeted outcome; that’s called a personality piece. Those do the job of bringing people into your world, keeping them around, but you can’t consider them the main course. They’re a lovely desert that you can offer up from time to time. You just can’t live on them.

Let’s go back to Paula. These are the things that Paula sells:

• Coaching packages
• Events
• Employee engagement workshops
• Group coaching
• Speaking

Paula will need to pivot from her story and lesson into her sales offer. The story and lesson she chooses, rife with her value system, will need to be relevant to one of these offerings.

A good story can pivot into any number of offers. An offer can also pivot into any number of stories. This is how traditional advertisers usually put these things together. They think about what it is they want to sell, then come up with a story that will lead their customer there.

Again, think Grranimals. Offers/the-thing-you-sell and stories can be mixed and matched in any number of ways. We just need the right transition.

How do you transition from a story into an offer?

Well, one way is with the use of a key phrase:

• I tell you this story because…
• But this is why we’re all here….
• It’s all well and good to talk about memories, but what does this have to do with right now…

Sometimes we can simply transition by using a p.s. in our email

LET’S BREAKDOWN A GOOD MARKETING STORY

Now, Paula has been a remarkably good sport, allowing me to share her fears, lessons, values, and the stuff she sells.

But I’d now like to turn our attention to one of the pros making a ton of money with her marketing copy. Just to show you how all of the elements come together in story form.

This is an email sent by Denise Duffield-Thomas, a money mindset expert from Australia. Her target market is entrepreneurial women who fear they’re self-sabotaging their success because of their subconscious money beliefs.

The story is obvious, but I’m going to bold the associated lesson, italicize  the embedded values, capitalize the stuff Denise sells, and parenthesize  her pivot.

Hey gorgeous, The truth is that you’ll never feel ready enough, and chances are ⁣that nobody is going to ‘choose’ you. ⁣ You have to choose yourself. ⁣ When I first started teaching personal development, I didn’t exactly ⁣look and feel like a success story, especially when I drove up in my dodgy 20-year-old car with the saggy roof hanging around my ears. ⁣ But I started small, and most importantly, I showed up and declared myself ready. ⁣ My first few goal-setting workshops had four people on average. Then 10, then 20, and now, we regularly get hundreds to a ⁣seminar. ⁣ Maybe one day, thousands.⁣ I declared myself an author way before anyone else believed I was one. I self-published Lucky Bitch in 2011 and that was the book that started everything. ⁣ I wasn’t waiting for someone else to choose me, and I wasn’t waiting until I felt ‘anointed’ by the universe. ⁣ I decided that there was ⁣room for me, and yes, there’s room for you too. ⁣ There’s room for:⁣ The introverts and extroverts.⁣ The natural leaders and the more quiet followers.⁣ The confident and the sensitive.⁣ All ages, sizes, and backgrounds.⁣ You don’t have to be the best to make a difference in your clients’ lives, and you don’t have to compete against anyone to be successful. ⁣ Why not you, too? xx Denise   (P.S.) I’m here to support your money mindset work.  If you want to work with me … HERE ARE THE THREE WAYS I CAN HELP Follow me and let me the guilt and fears that are coming up for you – Click Here. GRAB A COPY OF MY BOOK, “Get Rich, Lucky Bitch” (paperback, Kindle or audio).  Get the tools and inspiration if you want to use this time to work on your blocks – Click Here. JOIN ME AT MONEY BOOTCAMP, program and mastermind community… it’s an incredible course, coaching program and support network to help you clear your fears, blocks and money sabotages. Just reply to this email with the word “Bootcamp”and I’ll send you the details.

A few of things to notice:

Denise leads with her lesson. She doesn’t end the story with it. This is perfectly legit. Sometimes it’s better to lead with the lesson because this lets the audience know what’s in it for them right off the bat.

The story is short and sweet and reveals something that makes her human. It’s personal without being over the top. She used to be broke, drive around in a crappy car. Way before she was rich and successful. Her target market can relate because that’s where many of them are right now, driving a crappy car. You need not write Lady Chatterley’s Lover, a paragraph will often do the job.

Her values aren’t expressly stated, they’re intimated: Imperfect or not, we deserve success; you have to choose yourself, not wait for someone else to hand it to you; climb that ladder! These are the ideas that are important to her, her life philosophy.

She pivots into her offer with the use of a p.s. The story and lesson she shares makes sense in light of her offer. They appear congruent.

I COULD GO ON AND ON

These building blocks I shared with you today will no doubt bring your content alive, regardless if you’re working on:

• blog posts
• articles
• newsletters
• sales and web copy
• essays
• speeches
• or segments for your book

Just keep in mind, if you want to attract potential clients, or influence any kind of decision maker, you need to write personal stories that have a point or lesson, embed them with your value system, then pivot to the product, service, or idea that you’re selling.

Do that, and you’ll get what you want and create die-hard fans.

If you found this information helpful, you may want to download my free report: The 5 Big Mistakes Most Coaches, Speakers, And Service Professionals Make When Writing A Book.

Whether you’re writing a book or an article, there are some tricks to establishing credibility and drawing in clients, which I share within.