If you’ve been living under a rock, you might’ve missed the second business book released by our StoryBrand friend Donald Miller – Marketing Made Simple.
This book is a follow up to the wildly popular Building A StoryBrand and features co-author Dr. J.J. Peterson.
The book is essentially a continuation of the StoryBrand marketing concepts and principles found in Building A StoryBrand.
However, Donald and J.J. get even more practical by giving you step-by-step instructions on how to build a marketing funnel.
There is also a course of the same name (which you can find on Business Made Simple University) that expands on the concepts in the book and walks you through the marketing funnel in greater detail.
In this post, we’ll give you an overview of the book and course as well as expound on the details of the contents of each (i.e. the marketing funnel).
Let’s dive in, shall we?
The Marketing Made Simple Book
Again, you can find the Marketing Made Simple book here or here.
The book itself is valuable and one can learn a lot about designing and creating marketing funnels from it.
The book is broken up into two parts: the first section lays the groundwork for the marketing funnel by talking about relationships consumers have with brands and the second section breaks down the components of the marketing funnel.
Both the book and the course offer similar content in the form of the marketing funnel, so we are going to expound on that section in a little bit.
But before that, let’s check out the Marketing Made Simple course.
The Marketing Made Simple Course
You can access the Marketing Made Simple course with the purchase of a Business Made Simple University subscription.
The course offers five modules, not including an introduction and execution module. The course also allows you to download the MMS workbook and appendix filled with marketing funnel examples.
One difference between the book and the course is the obvious use of succinct videos found in the course.
To help drive the concepts home further, the course also offers assessments at the end of each module.
You can find the meat of both the book and the course in the form of a detailed explanation of the marketing funnel.
Below is an overview of the marketing concepts taught in both the Marketing Made Simple book and course.
The Framework of Marketing Made Simple
To understand the Marketing Made Simple funnel (or any funnel, really), you need to first understand how consumers establish, maintain, and nurture relationships with brands.
The first stage of a consumer-brand relationship begins with curiosity, then enlightenment, then commitment.
The Marketing Made Simple funnel will facilitate the movement of the consumer-brand relationship for you.
Beginning with the one-liner.
One-Liner
A one-liner is a single statement you can use to help people realize why they need your product or service.
It’s meant to hook potential customers and pique their curiosity in your brand.
You create a one-liner by writing 1-2 sentences about the problem your brand addresses, the solution it offers, and the results a customer can expect.
It’s that simple.
Once you’ve written down your one-liner, then you’re ready to guide the consumer to your website – where you will pique their curiosity some more and even enlighten them.
Wireframed Website
Your website guides customers through the curiosity phase of the relationship. The reason companies make mistakes on their website is that they aren’t looking at the website like their customers are looking at the website.
You must put yourself in the customer’s shoes if your marketing is to succeed!
We’ve laid out everything you need to know about a StoryBrand website here, so you can walk through the process thoroughly and accurately.
The main point that both the book and the course drive home is that your website must pass the StoryBrand grunt test.
Meaning within the first five seconds someone lands on your site, they should be able to answer 1. What it is you offer 2. How it will make their lives better, and 3. What they need to do to purchase from you.
Keep those three points in mind when you’re wireframing your site.
Once you have your site polished and StoryBranded, then it’s time to give your lead generator (or magnet) some thought.
Lead Generator/Magnet
Your lead generator guides your customer through the enlightenment phase of the consumer-brand relationship. The lead generator is an excellent way to generate highly qualified leads for your business and it also allows a customer to continue to engage with your brand without having to place an order.
It’s a win-win for both you and the prospect.
They get valuable information, and you get their contact information.
And that is the main point of the lead generator.
Exchanging valuable information for valuable information.
Your lead generator can be anything from a PDF to a video series to a webinar.
However, it should accomplish these objectives:
- Positions you as the guide
- Stakes claim to your territory
- Qualifies your audience
- Creates trust by solving a problem
- Is worth an email address
- Has a catchy (but clear!) title
If you can check all these off, then you have an effective lead generator.
Now, what do we do with these leads?
We nurture them through an email campaign.
Email Campaign
An email campaign is a series of emails, delivered regularly, that offer value to your customers. The email campaign is meant to guide your customer through the commitment phase of the relationship.
So, the final email in the campaign should be a sales email (more on that later).
The six emails that StoryBrand recommends for your campaign are:
- Delivery of asset
- Problem and Solution
- Testimonial
- Overcome an Objection
- Paradigm Shift
- Sales Letter
Other than the “Delivery of the asset” email (which is simply you emailing the prospect the lead generator they requested), you can find a detailed walkthrough of each of these emails in our blog post on StoryBrand email marketing.
Some rules of thumb on these emails are:
- Be succinct
- Deliver value
- Include a CTA in each email
Other than those three rules, you have a lot of freedom to play with this sequence and get it right for your prospects.
The final email in this sequence should be a sales letter/email.
Sales Letter
The sales letter/email is meant to close the deal. It’s wise and best practice to close out your campaign with a sales letter. You can also send one-off sales letters to qualified leads to get them to make a purchase.
The sales letter is essentially a culmination of all the previous emails.
For a breakdown of the sales letter, check out our blog post on StoryBrand email marketing.
A few things to keep in mind when you’re writing your sales letter are:
- Include the direct call to action and include it more than once
- Be clear and specific when illustrating the success your client will experience
- Don’t be afraid to sell — It shows confidence in your product/services’ ability to overcome their problem and helps position you as their guide
With the sales letter written, the email campaign and marketing funnel are completed.
Here are some final words on how you can get the most out of Marketing Made Simple.
How Can You Make the Most of Marketing Made Simple?
You will only see results when you execute what you learn in the book or the course. You don’t have to do it all at once, but you do need a plan to get it done.
Dr. J.J. Peterson even wrote his doctoral dissertation on how well the Marketing Made Simple framework helped businesses and he found a strong correlation between those businesses that execute every aspect of the marketing funnel and those who experience tangible results.
So, in short, you can make the most of the Marketing Made Simple framework by starting on it, finishing it, and trusting in the process.
Hundreds of other businesses have seen results with the StoryBrand Marketing Made Simple framework.
We believe you can too.
