Is Your Business Story Earning Its Keep?

How to tell if you business story is earning its keep:

• the content you post generates discussion naturally.
• your email inbox is full of sales and not questions about your services.
• when a new customer writes, most often you feel they’re a new friend.
• you’re excited about your business.
• your customers are just as excited as you are.

Telling the story of your business – what you do, why you do it, how you created it – goes beyond marketing. It shapes your business.

Have you lost sight of the story of your business? Do your customers know your story inside and out? Do people get excited when you share a little bit more about yourself and your business? Or is it all just one big marketing message? Another thing getting lost in the noise…

The following is a short excerpt from my brand new eworkbook, Storytelling for Creative Biz Success, which is available for pre-order at a special discounted price (just $35 to build a whole website’s worth of content!) through Tuesday, May 25:

my experience with defining my own niche

Late last year, I noticed that, although I was consistently growing Scoutie Girl month after month, I wasn’t gaining the traction that I needed in my blog niche. How could I separate myself from other indie/handmade shopping blogs and create a more engaged readership?

Well, I looked hard at what my personal strengths were: writing, thinking about current events, delivering ideas & stories in a new and different way. No one in the handmade niche was blogging like that. So first, I tried creating “weekly issues” with the goal of developing stories around a central theme over the course of 5 days.

It was popular but I ignored a central characteristic of my personality… I’m pretty persnickety. I have a problem with just going whatever direction the wind is blowing. So I nixed that idea but came away from it knowing that others were willing to read long-form blog entries and were hungry for more in-depth writing.

Now I’m blogging from a place of real personal satisfaction. Sure, it’s not going to work for some people. But since I’ve changed, the majority of my content – even while producing a LOT less content – is going viral much more often. People are excited to read Scoutie Girl every day. They’re excited to participate in the conversation.

When a potential advertiser comes to the site, they can see dynamic posts with a bunch of comments. There is concrete social proof that my product (advertising space) is worth buying. And buying they are.

How can you create your own niche? Define your customer.

Take a hard look at your business and ask yourself the same question I’ve been asking myself for awhile now: are you trying to be everything to everybody? Or have you defined your business in terms that allow you to own it, inside & out?

Your business will be defined, ultimately, by the people who choose to be a part of it. Who are these people? Who is your ideal customer?

Describe your ideal customer. Consider everything! Think about what he/she looks like, her interests, her home, her family… Be as specific as possible with as many characteristics as possible. Avoid generalizations, wide age ranges, cookie-cutter people. Also avoid an ideal customer who looks & acts just like you – that’s called a competitor.

You are writing the story of the customer who will literally buy everything you produce or any service you offer. And then tell her friends.

From now on, when you write a blog post or develop a new page for your website, you will look at what you’ve produced through her eyes. Is she satisfied? Does she feel a personal connection to your work? Or is your blog post wishy washy, poorly focused, lacking useful information, and a clear point of view?

Your business story must be focused on this ideal customer for it to earn its keep – and to earn you real income. Speaking directly to your customer – her needs, her problems, her desires – with personal introspection creates a compelling story that builds traction for your business that results in more sales, more satisfied customers, and long-term growth through referrals. Further, speaking directly to your customer creates a niche where you business stands out from any other. You are one-of-a-kind, your business and your story should be too.

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To learn more & pre-order your copy of Storytelling for Creative Biz Success, hop on over to the book page. You’ll receive the introduction and chapter on writing an engaging about page immediately.