Ever feel like the FDA has your mouth stuffed with a sock and taped shut with duct tape?
Reading through the FDA guidelines for marketing products in alternative health can make you feel that way. Maybe add a pair of handcuffs for good measure.
And CBD sits squarely in the midst of alternative health products…there’s no way around that fact.
But if you just expand on those great little testimonials people share with you, you have a client success story…a case study. Just like testimonials, those can be shared.
How can that be?
They are stories.
People are hard-wired for stories. We love them.
We all daydream…those are stories our brains envision.
When I was a teen, I escaped from my insecurities and my boring life into stories. You’d always find me with “my nose in a book”.
I became a hero or heroine, solved mysteries... traveled the world.
I went back in history to England, Europe, China, and Mexico. I traveled into the unsettled future of On the Beach, Fahrenheit 451, and George Orwell’s 1984.
You can use the same captivating power of stories to market CBD products.
In a case study, you tell your client’s story to share their success without making medical claims.
There are just three steps to building success with a client story.
Pretty straightforward. Let’s talk about each…
Whether you’re a start-up or a company that has been around a while, you know the value of getting your products into the hands of real people.
When you do this, you have an opportunity to get testimonials that can become success stories.
If you only have a brief testimonial to work from, you need to reach out to the client. Start by getting their permission to share their story.
Then get more details to fill out the story.
Before they tried it: How did they feel or what was their life like?
Journey: How did they take/use the product?
After: What is their life like now?
Once you have all the details, now it’s time to write their story.
It needs to be long enough to cover the subject but probably not over two pages typed.
If it’s too long, you can lose readers.
The art of the story is in the telling. Put on your very best storyteller hat.
Keep the style friendly, engaging and conversational. The client is the hero you want the reader to identify with.
You want the reader to think…wow, he’s just like me.
He can’t sleep.
Maybe his muscles hurt after a workout. Or maybe his joints ache when he gets up in the morning.
Or maybe the client was suffering from too much stress.
You help the reader see the client before he tried your product.
Then you share his journey of using your product.
Follow this by showing the client now. They may not have superpowers, but maybe now they can keep up with their grandchildren.
Maybe they just came back from Machu Picchu.
Maybe they took a month-long trip to Europe or England. Share that photo of them on Hadrian’s Wall!
Your reader is seeing hope for themselves.
Don’t forget to let them know where they can get more information or order some products! Your order needs to tell them what they should do next.
Once written and you’re happy with it, now it’s time to share. In addition to putting it on your website, you need to take it social.
Share the story on your social media channels. Wherever your target audience hangs out.
Include it in your newsletter. Share it in an email sequence to new subscribers.
Submit it as a human interest article in a local or regional magazine.
Every exposure of the story works to enhance your reputation and build trust…the golden key to unlocking those marketing handcuffs and getting sales.
It’s what I do. I love telling stories to share your clients’ successes. And if one of those stories is your own…those are even harder to tell yourself. Message me, let's fix this and share your story.
Judith Culp Pearson receives three top honors
at the annual Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals in
Ft. Worth, Texas - October 7-9, 2023
