Position yourself as the wise old guide in your ideal client’s heroic journey
The first few months of the year are generally pretty quiet around here – the exhaustion of the holidays seems to bog us down until the early days of spring. This year hasn’t been much different, except we’re really starting this spring off with a big bang – breaking ground on two site redesigns. We don’t have any sneak peeks or BTS on the actual site design for you just yet, but what we do have is a look deep behind the curtains at the early stages of messaging ideation.
Last year we learned about an approach to home page design called StoryBrand™. This year, we’re using the StoryBrand™ methodology to re-write home pages for two clients, Avicenna Acupuncture, and Novo Fitness Studio. Both brands are ready to re-think their website goals, and we’ve found the StoryBrand™ approach to be incredibly helpful.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t effectively market your business without direction
As you may have heard via our monthly newsletter, BIPi has started focusing on marketing our own services, so the topic of marketing messaging and strategy – as opposed to implementation and ongoing support, which is our jam – is very front of mind. The rub when it comes to marketing implementation is that, without a strategy, you’re basically wandering around in the dark. Luckily, we have several trusted partners that we whole-heartedly recommend when our clients (or we, ourselves!) need strategy services; the light that they can shine onto what would otherwise be a dark and dismal place is incredibly valuable!
Still – even if you’ve got the world’s best team assembled and ready to work, the vision for what you want your business to be is firmly in your hands. So… how do you go about clarifying all of the wild and wonderful dreams you have for your business into something that’s actually useful for your strategist, web developer, and implementation team?
The key is getting to your own brand in a structured and (eventually) useful way, and StoryBrand™ provides a step-by-step process to help you structure it. It asks questions that can lead you to a better understanding of your own brand, it brings a clarity to your own conception of who you are and what you do, and it applies to any business or brand.
StoryBrand™ in action for wellness-focused businesses
For both Avicenna and Novo, making the switch from an informative, “here’s who we are and what we do” home page to a “we’re the perfect folks to help you solve your problem” was surprisingly easy. Once we all changed our mindset from Hero to Guide, suddenly the home page messaging was a breeze to compose.
Transforming an acupuncture clinic’s home page
A family-owned clinic in Denver, Avicenna has seen admirable growth thanks to word-of-mouth and in-person marketing efforts. Their website was largely intended to provide current and potential clients with information regarding their services – not to sell those services on its own. Avicenna’s current site (as of 4/4/2022) focuses on the practice and the two principal service providers (and owners), Igor & Petra. The first words on their website, “Great Mental and Physical Health is The Solution to a Happy Life | Our purpose and goal is to support your life’s vision by promoting best health daily” aren’t completely off-base. It’s clear that their business is focused on supporting their clients. But the rest of the home page offers information about their services, without any specifics on how those services will help their clients achieve that best health.
Their StoryBrand™ script, which we created during a site redesign brainstorming workshop, takes that original “purpose and goal” messaging and turns it around to a full focus on why their clients benefit from their plan and expertise:
At Avicenna Acupuncture, we know that you want to be the best version of yourself.
In order to do that, you need to prioritize your health. The problem is that often, standard medical care isn’t enough, which can leave you feeling frustrated, confused, or even lost when it comes to listening to and supporting your body.
At Avicenna, we believe that you are the most reliable witness to what your body tells you.
We understand how hard it can be to take an active, informed role in your health care, which is why we’re here to guide you along the way.
Here’s how we do it:
1. You schedule a free consultation to get to know us, ask questions, and voice possible concerns.
2. We craft a treatment plan, customized to your personal health goals
3. Together, we embark upon a journey towards improved health and wellbeing
So, take ownership over your health and schedule a consultation. In the meantime, learn more about our preferred treatment methods or hear from some of our satisfied patients.
Stop feeling run-down, stressed, or frustrated with chronic pain. At Avicenna, we’re here to help guide you in taking charge of your own wellbeing and achieving optimal health.
We were able to then turn this script over to a copywriter who combined it with a very strong set to testimonials to support each step of the script. The site is now in the capable hands of the BIPi development team and we expect to launch the site later this year.
Rethinking the home page messaging for a yoga and fitness studio
Novo’s home page (as of 4/4/2022) hadn’t changed much since the initial build in 2016. Thanks largely to the incredible energy and enthusiasm of Novo’s owners, Ellen and Beth Anne, Novo (like BIPi) hasn’t needed to formalize their marketing. The community that they’ve built had benefitted from their students’ strong word-of-mouth recommendations, but the post-covid landscape has revealed a need to better position themselves to curious site visitors who aren’t benefiting from a personal connection to their studio.
The first piece of content on their website is a video that only plays when initiated by a site visitor. The video is strong, no doubt, but it is still largely focused on the business itself; the voiceover says “Novo does not see size, it does not see race, age, fitness level – we are looking at you as an individual and our mission is to achieve your potential. We are a locally owned fitness studio focusing on the greater Columbus area.” Below that appeared some content about their physical location, followed by information on the classes offered. If a user watches the video, they’ll be captivated, but if they aren’t a video watcher, they’re faced with text that focuses on the studio itself – not on the visitor’s needs.
Novo’s StoryBrand™ script was incredibly easy to write because Novo has always had such a strong sense of their own brand. All that we needed was to reposition it to focus on their potential students as the hero, with Novo as the reliable and caring guide:
At Novo Fitness, we know that you want to be supported as you create the best version of your whole self. In order to do that, you need a judgment-free community where you can shut out the rest of the world and rely on friends and experts to encourage you. The problem is, most fitness studios are intimidating, and finding the time to go is a struggle, which makes you feel frustrated, selfish, or like you just don’t belong.
We believe that everyone deserves a place that supports their whole self – physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually. We understand that it can be initimidating to try yet another studio, much less stay dedicated and consistent in your personal fitness practice, which is why we are dedicated to creating a fun, creative, and engaging space, filled with people who care about you personally and are invested in your progress.
Here’s how we do it:
1. You schedule a no-pressure, 1-on-1 introduction to our studio and staff.
2. Attend your first class.
3. Get plugged in to our community and determine which classes and frequency of attendance is right for you.
So, fill out our intake survey and schedule your 1-to-1 today. In the meantime, join our mailing list to get to know the Novo community from the comfort of your inbox… so you can stop hopping from gym to gym and instead find your place in a fitness community that you’ll never want to leave.
We were able to turn this script over to our copywriter, who then wrote the entire home page copy based off of nothing more than the script and the new Novo logo. The homepage copy is with Novo’s owners, who are reviewing it to ensure that it meets their own high standards and brand voice; as soon as they’ve finished their review, we’ll be turning it over to our development team.
Transforming your messaging by changing your perspective
While marketing strategy isn’t our main focus (we’re way more obsessed with keeping your website safe, secure, and functioning optimally), we’re always keeping an eye on our clients’ goals for their sites. When lead generation, branding, and sales are front of mind, there’s more to your website than just providing information.
A StoryBrand™ workshop can clarify your thoughts about your own brand while positioning you as the adviser that your potential clients can trust the most… and transform your marketing message from the boring, old “here are the services I offer” to an exciting, engaging “you’re going to get exactly what you most desire.”
What is StoryBrand™?
StoryBrand™ is a structured guide to help you distill and craft the heart of your brand. The book, by Donald Miller, is where we were first introduced to the concept, but Miller has built a whole ecosystem around the core principles (just check out the website, where you can attend workshops, get coaching, or even get certified as a guide).
What we love about StoryBrand™ is how easy it makes writing and designing website homepages. Although we build and maintain websites, our clients don’t always come to us with a clear understanding of their own brand, their marketing messaging, or even the goals they have surrounding their web presence. It’s the 21st century, everyone’s got to have a website, right…? But asking yourself the “whys” behind why you, specifically, need one is crucial. Instead of staring at a blank screen, StoryBrand™ walks you through those “whys” step by step.
The basic concept is that your website visitor (your potential customer or client!) is on their own personal “Hero’s Journey” (if you’re having flashbacks to high school english papers, just stay with me – 10th grade literature may finally be coming in handy for you). That Hero has a problem… but luckily, they meet you! You’re the sage with all the answers, the expert in your field, the kind mentor who’s there to give them the plan they need to successfully complete their quest! Now that they’ve met you and have a plan, they’re called to take action (by working with you or buying your products, natch). And, because your plan is so well-thought-out and easy to follow, they achieve success (and avoid failure).
The key, in our opinion, is changing your own mindset from being the hero to being the guide. Once you see yourself as the expert with the answers, there to help your clients be the hero of their own story, you can conceptualize your business much more easily… and therefore you (or your own trusted expert) can easily develop really effective marketing messaging and strategies.
Interested in a StoryBrand™ workshop for your site?
We’d love to lead you through the StoryBrand™ process to create your very own script and home page redesign. Reach out to us directly for scheduling options.
If you’re curious about how Berry Interesting Productions can help your team build — or rebuild — an outstanding website with a home page that captivates potential clients, we’re always happy to help! Drop us a line or book a consultation directly with our fearless leader, D’nelle. You can also sign up to get emails from Berry Interesting, and we’ll keep you in the loop.