r/GrowMyBrand

People don't buy because your product is good. They buy because your product proves you believe something they believe. Your origin story is the proof.

The Structure That Works:

The Before: What was broken? (Not for you for your customers. What problem existed?) The Moment: What changed? (Did you experience it? Learn about it? Couldn't unsee it?) The Attempt: What did you try? (What failed? What worked?) The Now: Why do we do this? (Not "we want to be a billion-dollar company." Why does this matter?) The Invite: What should you know? (One thing they need to understand about how we work)

Real Example: "We built this because we got tired of paying $500/month for tools that do one job poorly. We're not trying to replace your entire toolset we're specifically solving for X, deeply, because that's the problem that was keeping us up at night. If that's your problem too, we built this for you."

What makes it work:

It's about the problem, not the solution

It's honest (not polished, but authentic)

It identifies who this is for

It explains the philosophy, not just the product

Avoid: We're a passionate team of entrepreneurs... (everyone says this)

Founded in 2020... (timeline doesn't matter, philosophy does)

Long storytelling that should be a paragraph but is three paragraphs

Week 1: 3 likes. Week 2: 4 likes. Week 3: ready to quit. Week 11: a stranger said my post changed how they run their business. You don't see the seeds germinating. Keep planting.

Most brands have no real voice. They sound like corporate robots or try to be quirky and end up being annoying.

Real brand voice comes from a real perspective. Here's how to find yours:

Exercise 1: Voice Pillars (Do this with your team) Answer these three questions:

How would our ideal customer describe us if they loved us? (Not adjectives specific behaviors/phrases)

What do we actually believe about this industry that's different from what everyone else believes?

If we got angry at something in our industry, what would that be?

Your answers become your voice pillars. If you believe "most productivity apps make work more complicated," then your voice is clarifying, not complicating.

Exercise 2: The Voice in Action Write the same message three ways:

1. How a corporate brand would say it

2. How a "influencer bro" would say it

3. How YOU would say it to a friend

Don't pick 1 or 2. You already sound like one of those. Pick 3 and refine it.

Voice in Practice: Use contractions. "Don't" instead of "do not."

Use shorter sentences. Varied. Length creates rhythm.

Use "you" and "I" more than the brand name. Share a real opinion.

Not a polarizing take a thoughtful one.

Red Flag: If your voice could be swapped with a competitor's and nobody would notice, you don't have a voice yet

• What you noticed (observation from your world)

• What most people get wrong about it

• What actually works

That's it. Every post I've written using this structure has outperformed everything else. It works because it's teaching, not performing.

Spent $800 on a logo refresh. Zero new clients. Spent $0 writing one honest post about a mistake I made got 3 DMs from potential clients in a week. Brand isn't what it looks like. It's what people feel when they think of you.

Lost two major contracts to someone with half my experience but a polished LinkedIn and a consistent posting schedule. Clients don't just buy skills anymore. They buy familiarity. If they've seen your name 10 times before the call, you've already won half the deal. Start showing up before you need to

Positioning isn't about attacking competitors. It's about owning a specific mental real estate that competitors can't claim.

The 3 Positioning Moves:

Move 1: Redefine the Category Apple didn't say "our computers are better." They redefined what a computer was from a business tool to a lifestyle device. Now they own simplicity in tech.

What if your category wasn't what everyone thinks it is? Warby Parker didn't own glasses better than LensCrafters they owned "eyewear as a fashion statement, not a medical device."

Your task: Reframe what people think your category is about.

Move 2: Own a Specific Attribute Nobody Else Can Take You can't be the best at everything. But you can be the only one claiming a specific thing.

Dollar Shave Club: not better razors, but "razors that respect your intelligence and time."

Allbirds: not comfortable shoes, but shoes made from sustainable materials that don't sacrifice style.

What's one thing true about your brand that's hard for competitors to claim? Not because they couldn't, but because they didn't first and now it's yours?

Move 3: Target a Specific Person Competitors Are Ignoring Instead of fighting everyone for the mass market, own a specific segment completely.

Peloton targeted gym-avoidant wealthy people, not gym enthusiasts.

Olaplex targeted color-damaged hair, not everyone with hair.

When you own a specific person completely, word-of-mouth compounds. That person tells other people like them.

Red Flag: If your positioning is defensible against a competitor because we do it better, you're in a commoditized space. Move up. Redefine the category, own an attribute, or pick a person.

She said: "I hired you because I felt like I already knew you." We'd never met. She'd just read my stuff for two months. That's the game. Content isn't marketing. It's relationship-building at scale.