Two things: Yes, I’m a StoryBrand Certified Guide. And no, I may not be your best choice. In this post, I’m giving a few non-self-promoting tips to use when choosing a StoryBrand Certified Guide to help you with your marketing.
Because with hundreds of StoryBrand Certified Guides to pick, what can you do to ensure you pick the right one for you? Here are a few tips for choosing a StoryBrand Guide:
1. Make sure they are still a StoryBrand-Certified Guide.
You may have searched on Google or LinkedIn for “StoryBrand Guide.” If you found someone who claims to be a guide, search for them on https://marketingmadesimple.com/. This is the best source to find current guides. If you don’t see someone on there, and they claim to be a StoryBrand Guide, they are lying to you.
2. Decide if you want to work with an agency or a solopreneur.
Agencies can do a lot of marketing tasks, but so can solopreneurs. Both StoryBrand-certified Agencies and Guides have access to the hundreds of certified people in the StoryBrand community. Here’s what I mean:
Agencies often have people in-house to handle a variety of marketing tasks. For the stuff they don’t handle, they’ll find an outside contractor to do (likely another StoryBrand Guide).
Like agencies, solopreneurs can find another StoryBrand Guide help them out on anything they don’t personally handle. These solopreneurs will then run point on your project, making sure everything gets done on time and correctly. Unlike agencies, solopreneurs don’t have anyone in-house to handle the stuff they don’t do.
3. Determine if you care more about high quality or low costs.
StoryBrand Guides aren’t the cheapest on the market–nor should we be. We’re trained in a framework that we pay thousands of dollars each year to stay up-to-date on, allowing us to provide effective marketing solutions to our clients. But that doesn’t mean costs are astronomically high when you hire a Guide. The nice thing about a lot of Guides is that we don’t have the kind of overhead costs that big marketing agencies incur, so we can charge less than huge agencies.
While you may be able to get hourly consulting services for as little as $300, the done-for-you-stuff typically starts at $1,500. For instance, if you want a BrandScript , One-Liner, and Brand Message Guide, expect to pay at least $1,500. If you want that, plus a wireframes homepage, expect to pay at least $2,500.
One thing you may not need to do
Since the StoryBrand framework, either in part or in whole, applies to just about an industry, you may not need to choose someone based on the industries they serve. I understand that this might seem crazy but hear me out. As a StoryBrand Guide, I consistently work with new industries, and I’m right at home with them.
Because each of these industries has a problem they solve, and they want to clearly state why their prospects should choose them over the competition.
I use the StoryBrand framework to help them identify the overarching problem they solve and clarify why their prospects should choose them.
And it’s why you may not need to pick a guide solely based on them having worked in your specific industry. If you have concerns that someone won’t feel comfortable doing marketing for your industry, just ask them. The StoryBrand community tends to consist of pretty transparent individuals who want to clearly answer your questions.
Wrapping up
I get that I may not be your Guide. But if you liked this post, and you want to talk about your marketing, then click the button below. I’d love to see if I can help (and if I’m not the right fit for you, I’ll do my best to refer to another Guide who is).
