A look inside Detraform's storytelling for business
April 1, 2023 | 6 min read
We start every project by crafting a brand story to drive your website. But your customer – not your company – will be its hero.
Written by Genevieve Michaels | Illustration by Giovanna Cianelli
A strong website doesn’t focus on you. Instead, it centres your customer’s journey, and the challenges they must overcome. Your brand’s still an important character, but you’re a supportive guide, not in the starring role.
That’s why the first step in our process is an in-depth interview, using Donald Miller’s StoryBrand framework. Trusted by companies including Intel and Berkshire Hathaway, the StoryBrand method creates a Hero’s Journey around your brand.
Before even beginning design or copy, we’ll use this framework to create a Brand Script that will lay the groundwork for your entire website project.
By exploring your customers’ Hero’s Journey, your Brand Script gets everyone at your organization telling a clear, concise story about what you do and the value you bring.
At Detraform, we augment the Brand Script with core and secondary messages that can be used throughout your communications. Often, this script becomes a key strategic tool that clients keep relying on long after their website is completed.
It’s really important to get into a space where we can talk about the business in a client-focused way. Our process is about shifting the conversation, so that it's not about your company.”
— Sarah Jampen Almazan, Detraform chief copywriter
The Brand Script contains a full, descriptive narrative of your customer Hero’s Journey. We’ll also provide the most important text on your website: the homepage headline, a company one-liner, a set of core messages, and a set of secondary messages.
The core messages reflect the customer journey, so our clients often use them in materials like presentation decks and LinkedIn headlines.
The secondary messages are centred around key differentiators and value propositions, so they can help with micro content, like paid ads and social posts.
Empathizing with your customer by mapping their hero's journey
The goal of our Brand Script stage is to help our clients speak about their business, in a way that is client-focused. An effective website isn’t about your company — it’s about what it can do for your customers.
Founders, leaders, and executives spend hours thinking about their business goals, objectives, their KPIs, what they need to do to get there. And that’s their job!
But as a consequence, companies can end up over-focusing on themselves if they write their own website copy. Their communications can become egocentric, no matter how customer-focused they actually are.
Contact Detraform for help crafting the words, ideas, and visuals that will bring your brand to life.
The Storybrand framework helps them shift out of that, and into a mind space that’s focused on their client's journey and transformation. We aim to get our clients thinking differently throughout this process. By shifting their mindset, we create a website and Brand Script that they can rely on — containing core messages, secondary messages, and their client's emotional journey.
Often, our clients are under a lot of pressure to produce great results. But throughout the Brand Script and copywriting stages, all our clients need to do is show up, have fun, and be intuitive.
We’re the ones who are responsible for the final output — with their feedback and approval, of course! (See a complete list of our process and deliverables.)
Stage: Brand Script
Formalizing your brand narrative with The Brand Script
Deliverables: • A narrative of your customer hero’s journey (guided by you). • Your homepage headline, company one-liner, core messages and secondary messages
The Brand Script is the foundation for your entire website: copywriting, design, illustration, and structure.
All these elements come together to tell story — your customer’s journey, and how you will guide them through the challenges to success.
The Brand Script stage is where we explore that story. We’ll conduct an in-depth interview that’s up to two hours long. Then, we’ll create a Brand Script, and revise it with you through 1-2 rounds of feedback.
The interview is a lot of fun. Often, our clients are used to being responsible for the final output. Here, what's great is that they get to just enjoy the process. The pressure is on me to deliver!”
— Sarah Jampen Almazan, Detraform cheif copywriter
People respond well to symbolism and imagery that already has a cultural significance. So during the interview, we’ll talk about existing stories, from classical myths to Hollywood movies, books, or fairy tales.
For example, what kind of guide is your company — a fairy godmother, or a Mr. Miyagi? What kind of villain are they facing — a fire-breathing dragon, or a Dr. Evil?
This is also a way to get some illustration and branding ideas. What kind of references and storytelling feel true to your brand?
Stage: Brand Script feedback
Because that interview stage was so in-depth and collaborative, the revisions are usually quite painless.
Expect one to two straightforward rounds of revision. We will present the first version of the Brand Script via screen share, read through it together, and give clients the opportunity to leave further comments via Google Docs.
We might hold a follow up call if there was a misunderstanding or big issue, we might have some follow up calls, but typically, we’re able to untangle most revisions just through comments.
Stage: website copy
Writing all the words on your website
Deliverables: • All the other words on your website, made easy to visualize in a wireframe
This stage is about being a digital strategist as well as a copywriter, whereas the Brand Script is all storytelling. Because the messaging is already fleshed out, translating the script into website copy feels pretty intuitive.
On every page, we’re thinking about what action we want the visitor to take. What’s the CTA? Are there any SEO guidelines? Are we breaking down their products and services properly?
Usually a lot of the stuff that the client might have felt unsure about in the brand script stage, comes together here for them. With the website copy, their brand story becomes something tangible, and more explicitly revenue-generating.
Again, feedback at this stage is pretty straightforward — clients will share simple requests like “I don't like this word,” or “rewrite this sentence.”
Stage: website wireframe
Visualizing your web copy with series of simple Google Slides.
To help you visualize your finished website, we’ll format your approved copy into a wireframe.
This is a series of simple Google Slides that echo the flow and structure of your website. It will help you visualize how the copy will look within the finished product, while keeping the focus on the words themselves and not the design.
We’ll also establish the header navigation, footer links, and button text.
After approving the wireframe, we consider the messaging and copywriting stage locked in, and any revisions requested later on are billed at our hourly rate. You’re ready to move on to Phase 02 — Make it beautiful, where we’ll handle art direction, custom illustrations, and design.