6 Tips for Writing an Engaging Brand Story

Your About Page tells people who you are and what you do, and overall provides a good overview of your business. 

But your brand story...

Your brand story inspires an emotional connection with your target audience. And it separates you from your competitors. It humanizes your brand. 

So how do you write a brand story that makes your ideal customer feel like they know you and want to join your inner circle?
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​Here are 6 tips...

1. What's your beginning, middle, and end?

As with any story, your brand story has a beginning, middle, and the end (or as I like to call it, the resolution/way forward).  Consider these three questions to help you structure your story.

And I'll use my own summarization of the Cocokind's brand story as an example to illustrate each section of your brand story.

The Beginning:

• What was the issue that triggered you to find a solution? In other words, why does your brand exist?

Cocokind's founder, Priscilla Tsai used to suffer from skin issues so bad, that she would put moisturizer on in the dark because it stung. Eventually, she figured that there has to be a better, less painful way.

So, she began researching the ingredients she was using and began living a more holistic life, including using cleaner ingredients instead of the antibiotics she was prescribed.

That's when she realized the lack of accessibility to clean, effective, and sustainable skin care products.

The Middle:

• When did you realize you had "made it" or that your solution was working?

Through her own research, she realized 3 problems she wanted to solve: 1) the onus is on consumers to understand what's in their skin care, which is totally unfair; 2) the incredible amount of waste produced by the skin care industry; and 3) the omnipresent aspirational beauty that exists in skin care marketing.

So she set out to create her own skin care line that resolved these issues, and when a few of their online-only products went viral on social media, she realized it was time to build a community that could connect directly with their consumers.

The Resolution:

• Where is your brand today?

Today, Cocokind is disrupting the skin care industry and leading the way with price, product, and sustainability transparency, empowering customers with knowledge, normalizing skin care issues, and creating a community that values each individual as they are.

2. Communicate your values.

Make sure your values are clear in your brand story by showing how you commit to those values.

In Cocokind's story, it's very clear that the brand set out to change the skin care industry and resolve 3 major issues, which lay the foundation for the values on which the brand is built: transparency, sustainability, community. And a value that I would add to this is "kindness." Not only is "kind" part of the brand's name, but the way it looks out for its customers by making sure customers are receiving quality products, paying a fair and accessible price, and ensuring the brand and its customers are able to invest in more sustainable skin care are all acts of kindness.

3. Be transparent.

Get detailed and specific. The more transparent you are, the more trust you build. 

Transparency is one of Cocokind's leading values and it's abundantly clear in their brand story that they want to empower customers with knowledge - not just about ingredients, but also about what they're paying for, and how they're being sustainable.

4. Be relatable

Be relatable by showing your target customers that you understand their pains and problems, and that you have a solution for those pains and problems.

Cocokind's story starts with the founder's own personal skin issues which are very relatable to many people with sensitive skin. Additionally, the problems that the founder identified, are also issues that everyone who has skin and has bought skin care products can relate to. 

5. Write in your brand voice.

Speak authentically in your brand voice. When someone reads your brand story, they should be able to feel and visualize who you are. To capture your brand voice, make sure you know who your Brand Avatar is and who your Customer Avatar is.

Cocokind's brand voice also sets them apart, because they have a clear, empowered, big sister energy about their communication that feels real. Like your'e talking to a friend or big sister who is looking out for you. 

6. Make clear what sets you apart.

What sets you apart isn't just going to be a unique feature or service (though that may be part of it), but it's also going to be all of the above I just mentioned - your values, your voice, your relatability, and your transparency.


Do you have a brand story that shows what sets you apart and gets people excited about your brand or moved to support your business or organization?

Feel free to reach out if you'd like help writing a compelling brand story that builds an emotional connection with your audience.