Shelved In Brand Storytelling
The never-ending founder story struggle: how much do I share about myself and my story? My maybe controversial answer: give them your heart wide open. For years, the narrative around building a business has been to “keep it professional” and “people only care about the product, not you.” Thankfully, many creators and brands have showed us this just isn’t true — more heart, more raw this is who we are is where true brand loyalty begins.
Is there a balance to walk between telling your story versus oversharing? Yes. But the only way to be truly authentic is to not shy away from showing up, heart and soul.
01. From-the-heart branding is the essence of authenticity.
This is stating the obvious, but when you speak truthfully about your mission as an artist or entrepreneur, you never have to worry about sounding like anyone else. While your story may sound similar to another brand or creative, why you do what you do, create what you create, is still uniquely yours. The trick is digging deep and finding those golden nuggets that set you apart and articulating them to your audience. I promise if you speak your truth and share your why, you’ll never be anything but authentic.
When you speak from the heart, it’s where your founding principles lay. This is your siren call, a luring melody only your dream clients can hear.
02. You’ll find what resonates.
Okay, so that’s all and good, Kassie, but how do I know if it’s too much? I genuinely believe that no matter how weird you may feel, there will always be at least one person your message resonates with. How many times has someone shared an anecdote and you think “me too! I thought I was the only one?” You immediately feel connected and more inclined to support them. It happens without us even realizing it.
When I begin to feel like I’m being too much or being too heart-on-the-sleeve, I start to clam up entirely. But then I’ll see someone like Jen from Tonic Site Shop completely transform traditional email marketing and create email campaigns that I actually want to open. How did she do it? By telling random-but-actually-super-relatable-and-engaging stories which quickly converted into sales.
Every time I share bits and pieces of myself (instead of hiding behind the curtain of my business), I instantly have more engagement and feedback. Give your audience the chance to connect with you beyond endless sales pitches — give them the juicy, heartfelt and maybe sometimes random stories that make us so human.
When I worked for a jewelry brand, we always did a post on National Dog Day and the comments would flood with excitement and pictures of customers and their dogs. Why on earth would a jewelry brand post about dogs? Well, it turns out, everyone loves dogs — joking (yet true). It was about engagement and joy. This was what their customer loved and *surprise* one of their best-selling charms was an engravable dog bone.
There’s something that’s resonating, and it’s up to you to know what it is and how it interweaves into your brand.
03. Get clarity on your why
When I first started my freelance copywriting business, I knew I was going into a saturated market. It seemed like everyone was a writer in the online freelance space. Despite years as an in-house copywriter, I felt a lot of imposter syndrome and comparison crept in.
YET — that glorious yet — I kept journaling and writing down why I was doing what I was doing.
How I wanted to keep showing up for my clients.
I knew what kind of copywriter I wanted to be and why it would even matter.
I poured my heart out on paper and rehashed my story. And then, I mined the golden nuggets to create the foundation for my business.
04. Your passion is your guide
You may be reading all this and thinking: I still don’t know what stories are worth sharing or how to be more “raw.” That might not be your thing, or maybe who you are isn’t all that tied up with your business — that’s totally okay. Heartfelt can also mean passionate. More than likely, you’re passionate about what you do or you wouldn’t be where you are!
This is your permission to geek out about what you do, and customers will feel the heart beneath your words. You’ll still attract your people and solidify your authority within your market or industry.
If you’re not comfortable sharing deeper emotions and stories, remember the passion for what you do is enough.
Examples of brands with heart
As I was musing over this blog post, I decided to start a series where I share my favorite brands that encapsulate everything above: artists, creators, brands and founders who do business with a whole lot of heart.
To kick it off, I thought I’d share some of my favorites from clients I’ve had the privilege to work with. These also give some insight into my approach to from-the-heart brand storytelling and copywriting.
Kari Creative Photography
Fredericksburg Wedding & Elopement Photographer – Brand Voice Guide and Website Copywriting
Kari is one of those people who is real, honest and kind down to her core, and I’m always deeply inspired by how much of her heart she shares with her couples and anyone she works with (not to mention how insanely talented she is as a photographer). So when it came time to work on her Brand Voice Guide and website copy, it was an absolute privilege and honor to help breathe her heart into every word.
Equilibrium Photos
Ohio Wedding & Elopement Photographers – Brand Voice Guide and Website Copywriting
For Emma & Ezra, a husband/wife photography duo, it was important to speak to how their love story is the heart of Equilibrium Photos. After their website copy went live, they had couples literally tell them they felt seen by their Covid love story and/or connected with it. Which just goes to show, stories (and the heart shown through them) really does connect us — and ultimately bring us our community/clients/customers.
James Avery Artisan Jewelry
Texas Jewelry Brand – Brand Video Script
With such a strong founder legacy and customer loyalty of 70 years, it’s important for brands like James Avery to remember the heart (the mission) that founded the company. And it’s a beautiful ode to all the employees and customers who have supported that mission for generations. This is just one example:
