Storytelling is a powerful marketing technique that has huge potential to bring in future clients. If you share who you are, what your personal struggles and experiences have been, and how you’ve overcome your biggest challenges, you’ll position yourself to find and connect with people that need your help. Let’s take a look at how you can use your own personal health story as a tool to land new clients.
Storytelling, what is it?
Storytelling is an ancient form of communication used in all cultures and has been a powerful method of sharing information since Grok was sitting around the campfire telling tales. A perfect example of this are the Dreamtime stories that have been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years by Indigenous Australians as a form of education and inter-generational bonding within families and the wider community. Storytelling in its essence is an interactive process between the storyteller and the listener. As the storyteller you’re inviting your listener to use their imagination through colorful language and imagery. Active engagement with your audience is what gives storytelling it’s power and allows the impact of your words to linger with your listener long after your story has been told.
Brand storytelling is a very successful and popular marketing strategy used by many businesses, both large and small to attract clients and customers. The key to brand storytelling is to draw your future client in with a compelling story which will allow them to feel an emotional connection to you and your business. As Health Coaches, we work in the field of building genuine personal connections, so you can see how much of an impact sharing a little bit of yourself can have on an interested individual. Your personal health story will give your reader an idea of who you are, what is at the core of your business and what makes your services suited to them.
Why is storytelling useful?
Sharing your own personal health story will enable you to attract your ideal client. In order to do this you must stand out, and you can do this by making your story unique and authentic. Yes, you’re a Primal Health Coach, but do you have any specific focus or niche? Do you have any specific expertise that will help you stand out over other Health Coaches? Do you have experience in the fitness industry? Are you a parent? Do you have experience in patient care, or a PhD in cell biology? Whatever it is about you that makes you and your services unique needs to come across in your personal story.
What does sharing your story accomplish?
Sharing your own personal struggles, achievements and successes throughout your primal health journey will make you more relatable to potential clients. It will allow your potential clients to see that you’re a normal everyday person, just like them. If you can do it, so can they—whether you’re a mom or dad who’s overcome burnout, or an athlete whose former life was consumed by chronic cardio and calorie counting. Whoever you were then and whoever you’ve become will be relatable to your target client. They will see you as someone that has been through what they are currently experiencing and has now become a healthier person by making a few simple, yet life-altering lifestyle adjustments.
If you have been highly successful in other aspects of your life (like sport or career), you should consider sharing this in your personal story as well. However, try to avoid sounding boastful as this may make you appear less relatable and may make your health journey seem less attainable to an interested individual. It may also be best to avoid topics such as religion and politics in your personal story (unless it is very important to you or your target clients), as you may unknowingly turn away future clients.
How storytelling can be used to gain clients
Sharing your personal story is more than a single blog post. It’s about creating your entire business brand. Your personal story needs to resonate through all your communication, from your social media posts, your website, and most importantly through your personal contact with potential clients. You have to live and breathe what you write, which shouldn’t be too hard if you’ve been authentic and real.
As Health Coaches our job is to connect with our clients, and sharing your personal story for the purposes of attracting new clients is a powerful technique to connect with a large audience, while still keeping a personal, intimate approach. It’s also a great way to create and build your business brand. If you haven’t already done so, why not share your personal health story today?
