Storytelling and branding are 2 subjects that completely changed the trajectory of my career.

I went from a broke teenager to a responsible adult making consistent money from my Personal brand and living in Mumbai on my own.

I went from 0 - 200K+ followers on my Instagram just because I understood the importance of stories and implemented them in the content I created on Instagram.

What is it about storytelling that:

• People want to work with me for free

• People trust me with life advice

• People want to meet me in real life

• People want to send me gifts

• People want to go on trips with me

The answer is that humans love stories and stories inspire humans.

Everything that you like is because of the story. Everything that inspires you has a story. Without a story, everything falls flat on the ground.

• You want to go to Paris because the place has a story

• You like a movie character because of the story

• You want to own a Porsche, Rolex, or Mercedes because of the story

A QUICK STORY

I still remember watching Avengers Infinity Wars in a theatre!

In the starting sequence, Thanos snaps Loki’s head with a single hand - a terrible ending for a good character.

As this sequence closes in, I could hear a girl crying from my left seat and she continued crying for the next 10 minutes of the movie.

I asked her - Hey, are you alright?

No, I am not, Loki is dead - she replied with her watering eyes like a real person had died.

And I thought that was just stupid!

BUT..

Now I know it doesn’t matter if it is all fictional.

The crying was not about the death of a character but about the ending of a beautiful story that made her connect with the character.

Stories have the power to almost hypnotize us!

We are emotional creatures and stories are how we connect with other humans.

Once you understand how to translate stories in the work you do and in your business - your business will change forever.

So how to tell stories that inspire people and make them your fans?

THE STORY FRAMEWORK

1. Define the character

Start by defining your character!

Who you are, where you come from, what is your background, what is your dream, what are the goals you are chasing, what are your desires

The more detailed the character, the better!

2. The Big problem/conflict

Without a big problem, the story falls flat!

People get curious when the character faces a problem.

If you are taking people on a journey - Tell them what’s the biggest conflict you are facing today that you want to solve.

If you are telling a story after you have already solved your problem - Tell people what are the problems you faced when you were starting. This will automatically help you connect with people who are in a similar situation to you.

The plot is set!

Now they want to know how you will or already have solved the conflict - A conflict that they have, that they want to solve as well.

3. The guide/epiphany

All good characters meet someone or find a process that becomes their guide in their journey of solving their problems/conflicts.

What is the framework that you will be following or that you followed when you decided to solve your problems?

Pay attention - You can tell a story as you go through your journey as a character/creator/business owner or you can tell it after after you have already gone through the journey

Good storytellers do both together for maximum impact.

Every life has countless stories.

For example:

I have grown my Instagram page from 0 - 200k followers - I can tell the story after going through the journey BUT I also should tell the story as I solve other conflicts in my life and achieve my other goals.

I hope you got the point!

4. Stakes of losing

If there is no risk of failing then there is no story!

Imagine a character in a movie who cannot fail in his/her conquest.

You won’t be interested because the uncertainty of the journey makes it exciting and interesting.

When you are telling a story always talk about what is at stake:

• Money

• Status

• Life

• Relationships

• Self-confidence

• Respect

This will keep your viewers glued to their chairs and interested in your story.

5. The success

Describe/show what the success looks like!

This is important because you can’t inspire the listeners without glory.

Tell them how your world changed as a result of going through the journey and solving the problem.

Tell them it was not easy but it was worth it!

6. Transformation

The last thing that a lot of people would miss is talking about how they transformed internally as a human

A lot of people skip this because it sounds boring

BUT internal change is the biggest change.

Tell people how you changed as a person, how you got mentally strong, how your worldview changed, and how it helped you in your next conquest.

THE BIG DILEMMA

The Dilemma of telling your own story is that people will get inspired and motivated and they will be moved but in the end, they want to write their own story, they want to win.

They want to be the main character

Once you understand this as a business owner everything changes!

Your job as a business owner/ creator is to not just tell your stories and inspire people but to treat your customers/viewers as the main characters.

So your job as a business owner/creator is to make your viewers/customers the main characters and position your business/content as a guide that will help them achieve their goals.

Just take the framework above and make yourself/ your business a guide and them as the main character.

• You want to be a crucial part of the story.

• You want to be their guide and you are the one who will help them win

If you can do this, your business will change forever!

If you want to understand in detail how to build a Story-driven brand, I highly recommend reading - Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller.

Tell your stories to inspire and help them in their story to make money!

-Akshat

When you are ready this is how I can help you:

1. From Scratch - The course built to give you the utmost clarity and understanding about how to start building your career on the Internet

2. PSB Portal - Notion template I use to manage and grow my content agency