The story banking method has three steps: extract your stories, categorize them, and share them. You spend about 30 minutes building your bank, then add to it over time, so you always have authentic, relatable stories ready for your offers and launches. You have more stories than you think. You just need a system to find them.
Prefer to watch? Here's the video version: https://youtu.be/2cMzKm_qD4c
What is the story banking method?
It's super simple, and I've used it for years. Most entrepreneurs skip straight to the share step, but when you do all three, you can use your stories strategically. Add stories to your bank every time you think of one, label them with a sales tag, and every time you need to talk about an offer or get ready to launch, you have content ready.
Step 1: How do you extract your stories?
This is where a lot of entrepreneurs get hung up. Here are three prompts to start brainstorming. Jot down quick bullets, not full stories. The writing comes later.
Name a moment where I gave myself permission.
What was hard about ___? Think of things that were difficult at first but that you figured out later.
Think of specific moments that show how life is different now. This is not just an A to B story. It's the transformation you experience today.
If you repeat this every 30 days, you'll always have stories to share.
Step 2: How do you categorize your stories?
This is the step everybody skips, and it's what helps you three or six months from now when you're launching something and need stories to pull from. It also saves you when you're drawing a blank.
Sort each story into a broader category: behind the scenes, career and business, personal growth, challenges, and client stories. Then add two tags:
The offer it leads to. If a personal growth story leads to your membership, tag it that way.
The type of story it is. The three types I recommend are the permission story, the messy story (also known as the struggle story), and the transformation story.
Too many entrepreneurs focus on just one type and miss the mix.
Step 3: How do you use your stories in a launch?
Say you're planning a 90-day launch. I know that seems extreme, but it's the easiest way to break this down.
First 30 days: get in front of a new audience and warm them up with permission stories, mindset shifts, and different perspectives.
Next 30 days: address objections with messy stories, like challenges you faced, vulnerable posts about things that didn't work, and "I wish I'd known" reality checks.
During the launch: dial up transformation stories, including client stories that show before and after.
You can use the same method in email funnels if you're selling passively, in retargeting ad campaigns, or as a rotation in your regular content. If you have an always-available course, share these stories in rotation, all leading to that course.
How do you keep your story bank growing?
Aim to add two or three stories every month. When a client shares a win, you get off a coaching call, or you have an aha moment in the grocery store, add it to your bank and categorize it. Then the sharing part becomes easy.
What should you do next?
If you want prompts to get your bank started, I put together the Storytelling Content Super Bundle, with a ton of prompts, templates, hooks, and content ideas you can plug into your story bank.
If you're at the beginning stages of figuring out your stories, watch this next for a step-by-step walkthrough: How to Build Your Story Bank in 30 Minutes.
And if you already have a bank and want to speed up writing the stories, I recently shared a video on using AI tools for that: The Storytelling AI Method That Keeps Your Voice
P.S. Ready to build a revenue-generating brand? One that not only stands out online but also makes it easier than ever to create high-value content? Tune in to my free brand class and learn my Build a Better Brand Method. Watch now at brandmerry.com/class.
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Hey there, I’m Michelle Knight!
I’m an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I travel the world (sometimes in an RV) while running my business.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation, productivity, and more.
Branding is hard, there I said it! It took me months to find my personal brand after being stuck in a cycle of comparison and lost in connecting to my true story and personality. However, personal branding is important to the success of your business online and can’t be ignored. Once I figured it out I knew I wanted to share with others what I’d learned.
Click the image to learn 4 Branding Tips for Female Entrepreneurs.