Building a Storybrand Website Examples

I highly recommend Donald Miller’s book Building a Storybrand.

This book helped me clarify my marketing message, and greatly improved the look and feel of my website. By implementing the Storybrand process into my niche websites I increased my email subscribers, reduced bounce rate, and increased my monthly recurring revenue.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the chapter titled “Building a better website”. In this Chapter Donald Miller gives us five simple steps to create a better website using Storybrand. This is an incredibly powerful section, and only took me about one week to modify my website to following the Storybrand framework.

Today, I’m going to show you a few Storybrand website examples so that you can implement the Storybrand process into your website.

I am not going to cover everything from the Storybrand book in this blog, the book goes deep into detail about how to fully craft a message to reach your customers. In this blog I am just giving you some Storybrand website examples to get you thinking about how you can improve your website. The intention of this blog is to help you improve your website performance by reviewing successful Storybrand websites.

For an overview of the Storybrand book and the five tips to building a better website, you can check out the blog Building a Storybrand Book Summary (By Donald Miller). Though, I highly recommend you pick up a copy for yourself, it’s a small investment that has generated thousands of extra in revenue for me.

Now, let’s get started. We are going to review the following Storybrand website examples:

• The Entrepreneur Ride Along
• AssociatePI
• Colorado Mobile Drug Testing
• AaronCrowley.com
• Knott County Family Healthcare

And remember, if you haven’t already, join the 1K challenge. It’s my current challenge to all entrepreneurs to drive 1,000 new organic website visitors to your website (and exactly what I do to get my first 1,000 visitors).

Storybrand Website Example #1 – AssociatePI

AssociatePI.com is one of my niche websites, it’s my favorite niche (you can see all of my niche site ideas here). If you are following the Niche Site Ideas Case Study where I go step by step through the process of building a website in this niche, then you are very familiar with AssociatePI and you know how much of an impact it made when I re-wrote the homepage of my website using Storybrand. This one simple change increased my revenue by about $2,000 per month. And the best part is, I did not perfectly follow the Storybrand framework. You will see in the photos below, I still have too many options in my menu bar and it’s still a little too wordy, yet I STILL doubled my monthly email leads and increased my revenue by $2,000 per month. This goes to show you, it doesn’t have to be perfect and you will still see results.

See the two images below. This is a before and after shot of my website. Notice in the after photo I made a couple of clear changes:

• Middle call to action button
• Top right call to action button
• Few words less options
• Clear images

AssociatePI – Before Storybrand

AssociatePI – After Storybrand

1) Middle Call to Action Button

Most of my sales come through my email list. So, I added a big clear orange call to action button to download my free practice exam. Downloading this lead magnet puts them on my email list. It is big and clear, right in the middle of the page above the fold. Notice in the before image I had the orange button, I was on the right track, but it wasn’t clear. It just said “CPCU Practice Exam”. It wasn’t clear what it was, it was a very weak call to action.

Also, see all those white buttons and hyperlinks below the orange button? My website visitors had no clue what to click! It was way too noisy, and my bounce rate reflected that. In the after photo, after Storybrand, I removed the clutter and made this call to action bigger with a clear message “Download Free Practice Exam”. Now, above the fold, the ONLY option the website visitor has is to click the call to action button or scroll down to learn more.

2) Top Right Call to Action Button

Again, another obvious call to action. I added the same lead magnet to the top right in my menu bar. This menu bar shows on every page. This ensures that every page the user visits, they see my lead magnet. I did not do this before Storybrand, I implemented this technique after reading the Storybrand book. It’s drastically helped to increase my email subscribers.

3) Few Words Less Options

Look at the before image of my website. Notice how many words there were? Notice how many hyperlinks and buttons there are? There are so many places for the website visitor to click. They don’t know what to do! So, they ended up leaving my site.

A confused website visitor will leave your website. You need to make it easy for them. Choose the one thing you want them to do and make it easy for them to perform that one action.

So, in the after photo, after I implemented the Storybrand framework, notice how there are less words and the header is clear. There is one clear call to action, one place for the user to read and click. Even this is a little wordy, I could probably cut it down to fewer words. But in general, I find that a clear title explaining your value proposition in big bold letters, with a smaller clarifying subheading, and one-sentence explainer works great. Make sure to have your call to action button right below your subheading or explainer sentence.

4) Clear Images

In the before image of my website, I used a stock photo of happy students. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I sell study materials, so it made sense to me.

In hindsight, it was a total waste. It didn’t communicate anything to my website visitors. It had nothing to do with my brand and the people pictured in the stock photo are about twenty years younger than my target market.

In the after photo, after implementing Storybrand, I changed this to a photo of my online course. I show a real computer with a real snapshot of the course. This immediately communicates that I sell study material, I help students pass their exams, and it’s all online in a clear concise easy to read format.

Storybrand Website – Results

The results after implementing Storybrand to my website were astounding. I made the change in 2017 and it made an immediate impact.

Bounce Rate

The bounce rate on my homepage decreased from around 40% to about 1%. This means, of everyone that lands on my home page (15,000 unique users in this time period), only 1% of them left before clicking through to the next page. That is a HUGE improvement from 40%!

Exit Rate

Exit rate dropped from 25% to 6%. This means, whenever someone is on this page, only 6% exit at any time.

Average time on page

The average time a website user spends on my homepage dropped from one 1:36 to 0:28.

Now, normally I’d say that’s a bad thing. You want people to stay on your website as long as possible. But a home page is different. You want the website visitor to quickly find what they want and navigate from your homepage to the next section of your website, whether that be your sales page, blog, or email opt-in page.

And in this case, since I know my bounce rate and exit rate dropping drastically during the same time period (down to a bounce rate of 1%), I know that people are not leaving my site from the homepage. Instead, this decrease in time spent on the homepage means that my website visitors are finding exactly what they want quickly and they are quickly navigating to the next page. That is exactly what you want from the homepage. You want your website visitors to click through to your lead magnet, your sales page, or whatever your most important action is.

Email List

My monthly email subscribers jumped from around 150 per month to 300 per month. Doubling my monthly subscribers. Unfortunately, I switched from Aweber to Convertkit within the last year, so I don’t have a good graph showing how my subscribers spiked after implementing Storybrand.

As of today, I’m averaging around 400 new email subscribers per month thanks to the strong call to action on my homepage and the call to action in the top right corner of my website.

Revenue

Take a look at my revenue graph for AssociatePI in 2017. Notice the big spike in revenue? That is in direct correlation with the time that I went through a total website redesign and implemented the Storybrand framework. This is directly correlated with my email subscribers doubling. Around 90% of my sales come through my email list, so when my email subscribers doubled after using the Storybrand framework, my revenue nearly doubled as well. This one book directly resulted in an average increase of $2,000 in revenue per month.

You can experience these same results. I recommend you take some of what I did with my website to tweak your homepage and sales pages. I strongly urge you to pick up a copy of Building a Storybrand for yourself, the book goes into a lot more detail with more examples so you can build the Storybrand framework into your website and sales message.

Storybrand Website Example #2 – The Entrepreneur Ride Along

Guess what, the website you are looking at is a Storybrand website! You didn’t have to go far to get a Storybrand website example.

I am keeping this website simple, not too much content, so the Storybrand implementation is primarily on the homepage of The Entrepreneur Ride Along. Check out the homepage for a quick review of a Storybrand website. Reviewing the homepage for The Entrepreneur Ride Along I’ve implemented a few key elements of the Storybrand framework:

• Clear heading – “Profitable Online Business Ideas”. This clearly articulates what this website is about, and how I help entrepreneurs. The goal here is to help new entrepreneurs with the free download of my five favorite niche site ideas.
• Clear value – “I help entrepreneurs make money online with small profitable niche site ideas”. This clearly articulates the value proposition of The Entrepreneur Ride Along.
• Call to action – Notice the clear and obvious call to action on my homepage. “Learn More”. There is one button to click. There is almost no other action you can take. Click the button and learn more about my five favorite niche site ideas for your next online business.
• Button in header – Again, another obvious call to action. Just like I did with AssociatePI (Example #1 above). I added a button in the top right corner. A call to action to download my leadmagnet. The menu bar shows on every page. This ensures that every page the user visits, they see my lead magnet. This is one of the keys to a Storybrand website.
• Menu options – I have four simple menu options. Work with me. Blog. Resources page. And my lead magnet to download my business ideas. There is no confusion here, my website visitors know exactly what their options are and where I want them to click.

For those interested in the progress of The Entrepreneur Ride Along and the progress I’m making, I recommend you join the 1K challenge. Here I’ll show you exactly what I’m doing with this website (and my other niche sites) and how you can mimic what I do to drive 1,000 new organic website visitors to your site.

Storybrand Website Example #3 – Colorado Mobile Drug Testing

Enough about my own websites. Let’s look at another Storybrand website example.

This one is Colorado Mobile Drug Testing. The business is owned and operated by my friend and fellow mastermind member Chuck Marting.

Chuck’s website was designed by a Storybrand certified consultant, one of the people that design websites on behalf of Storybrand, so we know this website was created according to the Storybrand framework.

After hiring a certified Storybrand expert to redesign the website, Chuck saw a 500% increase in traffic. He attributes this to the new simplified design, which clearly states “MOBILE, IN-OFFICE, AND AFTER-HOURS DRUG TESTING”. That clearly defines what Chuck’s business does.

Reviewing the homepage for Colorado Mobile Drug Testing I’ve identified a few key elements of the Storybrand framework:

• Clear heading – “Mobile, in-office, and after-hours drug testing”. This clearly articulates what services Chuck provides, and how he can serve you.
• Clear value – “Be confident your team is drug-free”. This clearly articulates the value proposition of Colorado Mobile Drug Testing. As an employer, you want to be confident that your team is drug-free.
• Call to action – Notice the clear and obvious call to action on Chuck’s homepage. “Schedule A Call” in a big yellow color. It sticks out from the rest of the page. There is one call to action above the fold in the middle of the page, and one in the top right corner. I know nothing about drug testing, nor do I have employees or need drug testing, but I know when I look at this homepage that the first thing I should do is click to schedule a call.
• Menu options – four simple menu options. There is no confusion here, I know exactly what my options are and how I can work with Colorado Mobile Drug Testing. Chuck mentioned that he removed the “about us” menu option from his website after going through the Storybrand process. Donald Miller makes this very clear in Storybrand, your customer doesn’t care about how your grandfather’s grocery store that he founded in the 1930s inspired your organic food business. They don’t want to see photos of your office. They just want to know how you can solve their problems. In Chuck’s case, his customer needs an emergency drug test for their employees. They don’t care how he started the business, they just need his services as soon as possible.

You can see the full website and how Chuck is using the Storybrand framework here: //coloradomobiledrugtesting.com/

Storybrand Website Example #4 – Aaron Crowley

Here is another Storybrand website example.

This website is AaronCrowley.com. The business is owned and operated by my friend and fellow member of my mastermind group, Aaron Crowley.

Aaron uses the Storybrand framework in each of his websites. Reviewing Aaron’s homepage, I can see a few clear elements of the Storybrand framework:

• Clear heading – “I help stone shop owners who have mastered their craft to master their business”. This one sentence tells me who this website is for and what Aaron does.
• Call to action – Aaron’s call to action is “Learn More”. Aaron provides a number of services for stone shop owners including coaching, a mastermind, and a book. This “learn more” button leads the website visitor to Aaron’s services. This call to action Cleary sticks out on the page, it’s a big blue button above the fold on the homepage. As soon as I read the heading, if I am a stone shop owner, I am going to click the “learn more” button.
• Few Words – In total, there are two sentences of text above the fold on Aaron’s homepage. In those two sentences, Aaron communicates everything you need to know. 1) He’s Aaron. 2) He helps stone shop owners with their business. That’s it, two sentences and I know exactly what Aaron does and how he can help me. No need for a big long “about us” paragraph explaining how Aaron got into the business and the first time he ever saw a stone. Less is more in this case.
• Menu options – Three simple menu options. “Learn more”, “Podcast”, and “Book”. I know exactly what my options are, and I know where I should click to learn more about Aaron’s services. I don’t have to think when I look at this website, I quickly know who this website is for and what I should do with my next action (I should click to learn more).

You can see the full website and how Aaron is using the Storybrand framework here: //aaroncrowley.com/

Storybrand Website Example #5 – Knott County Family Healthcare

Let’s look at another Storybrand website example. This one is Knott County Family Healthcare. This business is owned and operated by my friend and fellow mastermind member Kevin Davis.

Look at how Kevin implemented Storybrand into his website:

• Clear value – “We provide same-day appointments so our patients can receive the quality care they need as quickly as possible”. This clearly articulates the value proposition of working with Knott County Family Healthcare. You will receive quality healthcare, and you will be seen the same day you schedule your appointment.
• Call to action – Notice the clear and obvious call to action on Kevin’s homepage. “Call for an appointment now”. It’s a big red button that you can’t miss. It sticks out from the rest of the page. The call to action is above the fold in the middle of the page. I know when I look at this page, I can get a same-day appointment for quality healthcare and I can do so by clicking that big button to schedule an appointment.
• Success images – One of the Storybrand principles for building a website is to use images that portray success and trust. When seeing a doctor, you want to know who you are working with. Kevin uses a photo of himself and his wife Dena, the two brains of the operation that run the business. This helps to build trust with the website visitors.
• Testimonials – Success stories ease the mind of the website visitor. Showing real success stories and testimonials show the website visitor that others have used this product or service to solve their problems. Kevin has a tab on his menu bar for success stories. This shows real people that have worked with Kevin at Knott County Family Healthcare. Kevin uses videos, the most powerful form of a testimonial, to show real people that have had real success working with Knott County Family Healthcare

You can see the full website and how Kevin is using the Storybrand framework here: //kcfh.net/

Storybrand Website Examples – Summary

We covered some great examples of Storybrand websites in this blog. Again, I highly recommend Donald Miller’s book Building a Storybrand. This book will help you with your marketing message and it will help you build a better website. It helped me, and it helped all of the websites shown in this blog.

If you are interested in learning more about Storybrand and the Storybrand framework for crafting a better marketing message, check out the blog Building a Storybrand Book Summary (By Donald Miller).

Special thanks to the members from my mastermind group, Chuck, Aaron, and Kevin for allowing me to use their Storybrand websites as examples in this blog.

Building a Storybrand Summary – Read The Full Book

I strongly urge you to pick up a copy of Building a Storybrand for yourself.

This book directly resulted in around $2,000 extra in recurring revenue per month on one of my niche sites. I used the Storybrand process towards the end of 2017 and saw a drastic increase in revenue simply because I understood the framework and applied the five website tips that Donald Miller gives, and applied these five tips to my website.

You can do this too. Start by picking up a copy of the book on Amazon here.

Join The Traffic Challenge

Now that your website is optomized with the Storybrand framework, you need more traffic. I recommend you take my one-week challenge to drive 1,000 website visitors to your website. I call it my 1K in 1-week traffic challenge. I’ll show you exactly what I did when starting The Entrepreneur Ride Along to drive 1,000 organic website visitors to the site in the first week.