Hey GirdleyWorld!
Today, I want to tell you about a marketing framework that is built on a simple concept of human psychology:
- How to use the Hero’s Journey to market anything
Let’s dive in!
(By the way: Get your service or company in front of 27,000+ entrepreneurs, investors, leaders, and more → sponsor an issue of this newsletter! We’re ready to bring on new advertisers in 2024. Email ty@girdley.com.)
You’ve probably heard of the Hero’s Journey before. It’s the story structure from Star Wars, Harry Potter, Beowulf — and a million others.
It was coined by a guy named Joseph Campbell, who looked at cultural stories from all over the world and found they all boiled down to the same basic beats.
The Hero’s Journey works because it “feels right” to the human brain.
So when you use it for marketing, your audience is primed to follow along. They’re hungry to know what’s next.
Because here’s the key: your customer is the hero, not your product.
Nobody wants to hear a story about Kleenex. Everyone wants to hear a story about themselves.
And once you nail these story beats, you have the base for a consistent, targeted marketing campaign.
Let’s walk through the structure, and I’ll show you how we filled out each step for Girdley Media (my newest company!).
Step 1: “A character…”
This is your customer. The hero.
They want something, and it’s not your product. They don’t want a CRM, they want confidence in their relationships. They don’t want a Kleenex, they want to breathe freely.
In the Girdley Media story, our hero is an aspiring business owner, who wants status, purpose, security, and control.
Step 2: “has a problem…”
Something is stopping the hero from getting what they want.
Usually there’s a barrier (“the corporate ladder”), which represents a bigger picture (“I’m stuck!”), which causes feelings (“I’m scared of wasting time!”).
Here’s ours:
Step 3: “and meets a guide…”
Here’s where your business enters. The “guide” in our case is an actual person (me!).
In your case, it might be your company or your mascot.
Note: we still haven’t met your actual product. First, you want to give your audience some credibility that they should listen to your solution.
To build that relationship, a good guide should be 1) relatable, and 2) a proven authority on the subject.
Step 4: “who gives them a plan…”
Finally your offering shows up. But it’s not just “here’s the Swiffer mop”, or “Hubspot exists”.
Keep the character at the center of the story. Show how they achieve their goal by using your product.
It helps at this point to offer a “guarantee” or agreement. Giving your customer an out makes them more comfortable diving in.
Step 5: “and calls them to action…”
You’ve shown them the plan. Now get them started by putting the first step right in front of them.
It should be obvious what will happen:
- Good: “Book a call”
- Bad: “Click here!”
If the hero’s not quite ready, have a second option that will build their confidence in you as a guide.
Here’s ours:
Step 6: “that ends in success…”
What does the hero look like at the end? Paint a picture of your customer once they’ve achieved what they were looking for.
If you’ve already nailed what the hero wants in step 1, this part practically writes itself.
Our hero wanted status, purpose, security, and control.
Here’s what we put:
Step 7: “...and avoids failure.”
The “success” part is a great carrot. Now add a little bit of stick.
Not too much. Just enough to remind them why they’re on this journey in the first place.
That’s it! Let’s quickly recap the story:
- A character (your customer)
- has a problem (a want)
- and meets a guide (your brand)
- who gives them a plan (your offer)
- and calls them to action (your CTA)
- that ends in success (wants realized)
- and avoids failure! (wants inverted)
Figure out this story for your business, and all your marketing will start working together.
It’s also a great communication exercise. Once your whole company is telling the same story, that alignment will drive everything up and to the right.
—
What do you think of our story? It’s a work in progress so go easy on us :-)
I got this framework from an amazing book called Building A StoryBrand by Donald Miller. It’s one of my 9 essential systems I think every business needs.
It’s more than worth the $15. He goes deep into each step, and walks you through how to turn each step of the story into advertising materials. Seriously worth it!
3 things from this week
- Appetizer: My jokey “the last 24 hours on Twitter” post got a bunch of people saying they wanted this every day. There’s an opportunity for a Twitter fiend here! (If you do this, tag me @girdley!)
- Main: I was a guest on the VC10x podcast this week, with Prashant Choubey. We dug into effectuation, the HoldCo model, my content creation system, and tons more. Give it a listen on YouTube or Spotify!
- Dessert: Holy crap Megan! Thank YOU!
That’s all for this week!
Have a great one,
Michael
