A Closer Look At 7 Plot Points For A Successful Marketing Message, Part I

One, a CHARACTER. Two, a PROBLEM. Three, to be continued in Part II. From Building A StoryBrand by Donald Miller.

Feed me! Little Shop, little shop of horror. This reminds me of baby Audrey. I sang “Somewhere That’s Green” when I was a musical theatre major two years in college. Anyway. Tangential sh!t. Image courtesy of Unsplash

I’m looking for other jobs, currently applying to places right now. And working toward my other goals that won’t be named.

$14 per hour to write specialty pages for businesses. Therapists specifically. I just finished one about Counseling for Women. I make nothing really. $300 to $500 every other week. So I hope I can get what there is to get and find something that can build on this. I’m not gonna complain because it’s my first real copywriting job I feel. I haven’t made the $1 raise yet so I’m still learning, I guess. Tiring though because I need more money still.

Anyway, other stuff was working with random people/entrepreneurs who trusted me enough to pay me. They were both black like me. Whites didn’t really, I didn’t really work with them. Again, not gonna complain, will say thanks, actually. But there was no sign that I was really decent at writing.

Anyway, I don’t have anything more to say other than I’m still reading things randomly to learn more and hopefully build onto something that will help me to get a maybe full-time, better paying job sooner than later.

As my life doesn’t reflect my mind’s eye, either. My personal posts I share more but that’s not really the purpose here. Follow me if you care.

Anyway, today’s lesson is on marketing messages taken from the book Building A StoryBrand by a (white) man named Donald Miller.

We’re going to talk more in depth about the different plot points your story should have when you’re selling a product. This product I’m writing for is therapy. I don’t know what you’re writing about. Still, we’re going to go over the first two points.

Here are the seven plot points a marketing message needs.

A CHARACTER who wants something encounters a PROBLEM before they can get it. At the peak of their despair, a GUIDE steps into their lives, gives them a PLAN, and CALLS THEM TO ACTION. That action helps them avoid FAILURE and ends in a SUCCESS.

We’re only going over the first two today. But it’s more than you might think, honestly. And I don’t want to bore you (or myself) either. It keeps things focused to break it up into bite-size snippets.

Hor d’oeuvre?

Image courtesy of Pixabay

A CHARACTER

I am a protagonist. So are you. And so it your customer. A business shouldn’t be a protagonist, though. According to StoryBrand, you/your business shouldn’t be the hero when trying to place yourself as the go-to for something.

Your customer should be the hero, and you should be their GUIDE. You help them find the Excalibur (what you sell) to slay the dragon. I don’t know if it slays a dragon or whatever. But hopefully you get me. The dragon is a metaphor for their issue.

Here are some dragons that a person can slay:

• Lack of money: Can you help them save money? ⚔
• No time: Can you give a person time to do other things that are important to them? ⚔
• No friends: Can you help your customer find community? ⚔
• Scared of looking like a peasant: Can you give them social status? ⚔

When I was 18, I had a beautiful peasant top I’d wear a lot in a pirate-inspired look. I have to own my story — and slay my own dragons. (Excuse my tangent, sorry.)

There are more dragons, and these are just a few that StoryBrand shares. You can think of others, I know. Right? Moving onto the second item your message should have — a PROBLEM.

PROBLEM

The more you talk about a customer’s problems, the more they care about you. It’s simple really.

To make understanding problems easier, a business can create a villain to represent them. A physical representation. For example, I remember growing up, commercials about cleaning supplies that would personify dust, give it eyes, legs, and everything. And then when the person wiped the counter, poof, they’d disappear.

Image courtesy of Giphy.com

Memorable. Fun.

Here are some pointers to remember when creating a villain. It should:

• be the source of your pain rather than a feeling (i.e. a bully or dust rather than sadness or frustration)
• be singular (one villain is perfect, no more no less)
• be real (choose a real problem)

To go further, a villain creates three levels of problems for customers. And a good product solves the problem at each of these levels.

The levels are:

• External Problem
• Internal Problem
• Philosophical Problem

“In a story, a villain initiates an external problem that causes the character to experience an internal frustration that is, quite simply, philosophically wrong.” -Donald Miller, author of Building A StoryBrand

Babushka dolls Image courtesy of Pixabay

Let me explain a little more, like a writing babushka doll:

An external problem is a physical problem a hero needs to overcome to save the day.

• i.e. ticking time bomb, magical beasts with laser eyes, hunger, termites

An internal problem is the real reason, usually an emotion, behind a person needing something.

• i.e. frustration, self-doubt, feeling intimidated, embarrassment

A philosophical problem is the big-picture issue. Why does this story matter in the overall story of humanity?

• For example, good should triumph over evil or we all deserve to be treated equally or everyone deserves to be beautiful to someone (right?).

When a person’s worldview or philosophy is upset, we need a way to fix things. And what this shows is that people like to be part of a story bigger than themselves.

A Quick Example Of The Three Levels Of Problems Using Nespresso Home Coffee Machines

• Villain: Coffee machines that brew bad coffee
• External Problem: I want home-brewed coffee that tastes better.
• Internal Problem: I want a coffee machine that makes me feel sophisticated.
• Philosophical Problem: I shouldn’t have to have an expensive barista to make coffee at home for me. I should be able to DIY this.

Do you get where this is going?

Okay, I’m pretty exhausted from writing this. I wrote it first and then rewrote it. I didn’t like the first go-round. Part II for the next submission.

This is all I have today.

Thank you for reading.

Onward.

Gaa n’ihu.

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