Brand Storytelling: Winning hearts and loyalty through authentic stories

Brands, like people, can be annoying when they only talk about themselves. It's like that person at a party who goes on and on about their achievements, while you're looking for an escape.

Most brands do this by shouting about their features and awards, expecting us to listen. But just like with people, we tune them out because we're not looking for a transactional relationship.

We want shared values and a deeper connection. This is where brand storytelling comes in. Brand storytelling is a strategic approach based on research and built with authenticity and empathy for those you serve.

A good story helps you build meaningful relationships with your audience making you a natural choice when they decide to buy. 

Here we’ll share a step-by-step guide on how to craft your best brand story with examples, tips, and tools that help you get started right away. Ready?

A brand story is the narrative that expresses your brand identity, values and mission. It's the reason people feel something when they think of you. 

Customers don't just buy products, they buy into a brand's values and meaning. This is the core principle behind brand storytelling, a powerful marketing strategy that builds a deep, emotional connection with your audience. This approach isn’t merely a creative whim; it’s supported with robust research and business education from institutions like the Harvard Business School.

A strong brand story is discovered by listening to your audience. It follows a classic structure that makes your customers the heroes.

1. Pinpoint the conflict

Every hero's journey starts with a problem. You have to first identify your audience’s pain points or unmet needs. The best stories don't start with you telling them about your fantastic features. The best stories are based on showing that you understand your audience's problems and pursuits. This approach works because, as a study by Wibowo et al. (2024) confirms, stories rooted in conflict are more likely to improve brand recall.

How to do it:

• Listen to your audience: Pay attention to customer complaints, questions, and feedback. What frustrates them most?

• Identify pain points: Is it a lack of time, money, knowledge, or something else? Your conflict is their problem

• Frame the problem: Put their struggle into a relatable narrative. For example, organic egg brand Pete & Gerry’s identified customer concerns about organic sourcing, quality concerns and supply chain transparency. They then built sub-brands, each with a specific story designed to address those different conflicts

2. Position the customer as the hero

Here's the most important rule: your customer is the hero who drives your brand story's narrative. Your brand is just the wise guide who provides the tools and wisdom the hero needs to succeed. When customers feel they are the hero, they are more invested in the journey.

How to do it:

• Shift the focus: Stop making your brand the main character. Your customers' journey, not your product, is the central plot. Pete & Gerry’s created 3 customer personas and developed a tailored story for each of the concerns we mentioned in the previous section. The customer was always its central character 

• Use your brand as the guide: Your brand's role is to offer solutions, support, and a path forward—not to be the star

• Show, don't tell: Highlight customer success stories, testimonials, and case studies. Show how your product helped them overcome their conflict and achieve their goals. The MailerLite Wall of Love is a perfect example of this. It's full of stories where the customers are the heroes who improved their business, saved time, and increased their sales

3. Develop your plot

Once you have your hero and their conflict, you need to build the plot. Show their initial struggle, the challenge they face, how your brand helps them, and their final transformation.

A real-life example is the "hen-hugger" persona from the HBS case study of Pete & Gerry’s. This persona is shown to transition from a place of uncertainty about the lack of transparency around the treatment of hens to confidence after trusting Pete & Gerry's ethical practices. 

How to do it:

• Start with the struggle: Begin by describing the problem. What was life like before they found your brand?

• Introduce the solution: Show how your product or service provides the tools they need to overcome their obstacles

• Reveal the transformation: Describe their success after using your product. How has their life improved? Use quotes and specific details to make the story feel real. For example, Gillian of Breve Films had a clear conflict: managing thousands of contacts was "becoming unwieldy." Her plot shows a journey from a frustrating, manual process to a simplified, empowered state. With MailerLite, she was able to gather new subscribers and organize her followers, becoming the hero of her own business story

4. Identify the story’s moral

Every powerful story has a moral, that is, a core takeaway that the audience can apply to their own lives. For a brand, this moral must align with your values and reinforce your mission. This is what brings people closer.

How to do it:

• Define your values: What does your brand stand for beyond your product? Is it sustainability, community, or simplicity?

• Connect values to the moral: The moral of your story should be the lesson that your audience learns from the hero's journey

• Live your moral: Your brand's "moral" must be evident in everything you do, from your products to your business practices. Think of initiatives like Patagonia’s support for environmental causes or The North Face’s pledge to sustainability. 

MailerLite's "Lite" philosophy is its moral, proving that it believes in a customer-friendly approach that removes complexity while still offering advanced features.

Brand stories can be categorized into several types, each with its own purpose and appeal at the emotional level. By selecting the right type of story, you can connect with your audience in a more specific, targeted way.

These are a few of the most common types of brand stories:

1. Functional brand stories

These narratives highlight the tangible value and features of a product. They tell a story about how a product solves a specific, practical problem. While they're rooted in facts, they make the product's utility feel memorable. 

For instance, Mavi Jeans used a functional story to highlight its extended jean sizes, emphasizing the "Perfect Fit" for a wider range of body types. This brand narrative assures customers that the brand understands and can solve their specific sizing challenges.

MailerLite's functional story is its intuitive design and powerful features. As one user said, it's like a "Swiss Army knife of email marketing—but way less intimidating." This story of simplicity and power is what draws customers in.

2. Underdog brand stories

Everyone loves a good underdog story. These stories chronicle a small brand's struggle and ultimate success against a bigger competitor or a difficult challenge. These narratives are powerful because they evoke feelings of empathy and admiration. They humanize the brand by showcasing its perseverance and authenticity.

A real-life example is that of the beverage brand, Nantucket Nectars started by two college graduates with "a blender and a dream". This story makes customers feel like they are supporting a genuine, hardworking company, not just buying a drink.

Similarly, the story of Fridja, a small e-commerce brand, is an underdog tale. Founder Ben Fridja believes his "superpower" is that people want to buy from other people, not from faceless brands.

3. Lifestyle brand stories

Lifestyle stories don't sell a product; they sell a way of life. These narratives create a sense of aspiration and belonging by associating the brand with a desirable aesthetic, value, or culture. The product becomes a prop in a larger, appealing story. 

Mavi introduced its "Maviterranean" category using the imagery of a laid-back, fashionable Mediterranean lifestyle. This story wasn't about the jeans, but about the relaxed, Mediterranean-inspired life the brand represented while giving a nod to its Turkish roots.       

In a similar way, Spotify's year-end “Wrapped” campaign is a lifestyle story. It doesn't sell songs; it tells the story of your year in music, creating a personal brand narrative with wit and humor that reinforces the listener’s identity in their minds. 

4. Social mission brand stories

These are powerful narratives that align a brand with a cause. The story goes beyond the product to show the brand's commitment to a bigger purpose, creating a deeper emotional connection.

Dove's "Real Beauty Pledge" featured real women instead of models, and its story was about promoting self-acceptance, not just selling soap. 

Nike's powerful brand narrative stands for values it believes in. For example, its pro-hijab campaign showed how hijabi women can be fantastic athletes. 

Another great example is of Kopi Nusantara, a coffee brand that told a story about its commitment to local farmers. The story's visuals and emotional core made customers feel more connected to the brand, increasing brand loyalty and purchase intent.

An average person receives over 100 emails every day, so it’s easy for most emails to go unnoticed. If you've ever deleted an email just from the subject line, you know the struggle is real.

That’s where the power of brand storytelling comes in. And email is the most effective way to do that because your mail lands in the customer’s inbox and doesn’t have a chance of getting lost because of the whims of a social media algorithm. Email is a direct, personal channel for telling your story. Let's explore some reasons why brand storytelling work so well in emails:

Storytelling captures attention in crowded inboxes through narrative hooks

A dry subject line like "New Product Alert" or "Sale!" is easily ignored. Our brains are hardwired to pay attention to narratives. When a subject line hints at a compelling story—something like, "The day our oven almost set us on fire," or "How one small business owner saved her sanity"—it's an invitation to a story. 

But remember, the hook is only the beginning. The body of the email is where you deliver on that promise. You don't just list a product's features; you show how it fits into the narrative. For example, the oven story isn't about a product; it’s about a messy problem that your product solved. This approach makes your email feel less like a sales pitch and more like a welcome escape from the usual inbox clutter.

Facts tell, but stories sell

When you tell a story, you're not just presenting information; you're creating a feeling. This emotional connection is a powerful driver of engagement. Studies show that customers with an emotional connection to a brand are more valuable, spending more and actively promoting it to others.

A good story is rarely a one-off event

It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In email marketing, this means you can create a series of emails that build on each other, like a mini-series for your brand. This sequential messaging creates anticipation and keeps your subscribers coming back for more.

Take, for example, a series of emails that follows a customer's journey from struggle to success, or a behind-the-scenes look at how a product is made. Each email reveals a new part of the narrative, building a sense of momentum and a feeling that the subscriber is on a journey with you. This turns a simple mailing list into a community of people who are excited to see what you'll share next.

Tactical ways to apply brand storytelling in email

• Welcome series: Use this as your first impression to tell the founder or origin story. This is where you can share your "why," and add a personal touch to your communication. Hyggekrog’s founder, Jennifer Peddio, does this with her subscribers by telling them her story and mentioning that she personally writes all the emails.

• Customer spotlight emails: Share real user journeys and transformations. You can feature stories like that of Fridja, which highlights its user content from social media platforms.

• Behind-the-scenes content: This is your chance to tell the story behind your brand's values, team culture, or product creation. Instead of simply listing facts or linking to a webpage, use the email itself to take your subscribers on a journey.

  For example, instead of just saying "we're a sustainable brand," tell the story of a specific challenge you overcame to source ethical materials for a new product. Use a short, compelling narrative in your email, including photos or a brief video.

  You can also turn a simple "About Us" page into a compelling series of emails called "Meet the Team," where you feature a different employee's story each week, humanizing your brand and building trust.

Now that you've got your narrative down, how do you actually tell it in an email? Don’t worry, we’re not asking you to be the next Hemingway. Here are a few tips to make your email storytelling stick:

• Hook them with emotion, not jargon. Get to the heart of the matter right away to drive an emotional response. Use plain language that speaks directly to your audience's feelings, desires, or pain points 

• Make it a binge-worthy series. No one wants to read a giant wall of text. Break a longer story into smaller, episodic sequences. This builds anticipation and keeps your target audience engaged, encouraging them to open the next email to see what happens. It's like releasing a new episode of a podcast or a new chapter of a book

• Be you, consistently. Every story you tell should reinforce your brand's voice and values. If your brand is quirky and fun, your stories should be, too. If you're all about being helpful, every narrative should reflect that. This is crucial for building trust. As we've seen with MailerLite's "Lite" philosophy, sticking to your core values is what makes people believe in you

• Show, don't just tell. The best stories use visuals to bring the narrative to life. Include photos, GIFs, videos or illustrations to make your story more engaging and memorable. A quick GIF can convey more emotion than a paragraph of text, and a short video can build a connection you can't get with words alone

• End with a human ask. Don't just ask for a sale. Invite them to be part of the story. Use a human-centered call-to-action (CTA) like, "Join us," "Be part of the story," or "What's your story?" This turns a transaction into an invitation to a shared experience

MailerLite is the perfect tool for a brand storyteller as it lets you change abstract ideas into powerful, automated email campaigns that feel deeply personal. Let’s see how:

Welcome emails

Your welcome email series is your brand's grand introduction. Instead of saying "thanks for signing up," use this opportunity to tell your origin story. Share the "why": why you became an entrepreneur, what problem you set out to solve, and the values that drive you.

Yvan Derogis, the founder of Neoseed, uses a welcome series to introduce his paid newsletter. When a new subscriber signs up, they receive a series of emails built with the MailerLite automation builder that tells them what to expect. 

He uses this series to share essential information about his business and provide content that inspires free subscribers to become paying ones.

Check out some welcome email series examples to inspire your creativity. 

Email campaigns

Email campaigns are your chance to tell stories that align with seasons, values, or specific lifestyles. For instance, instead of sending out a simple "Summer Sale!" email, you can tell a story about the season. For a swimwear brand, this might be a narrative about the feeling of a first dive into the ocean, using imagery and language that evokes relaxation and freedom. 

Or, a campaign for a hot chocolate company during winter could tell a story about cozy mornings and warm mugs, positioning the product not just as a drink, but as a comforting part of a cherished routine.

You can segment your target audience to tell tailored stories. Targeting subscribers with personalized content through segmentation helped Gregory John, founder of Buildcamp, sell out his bootcamp in just 6 hours and generate a waitlist 5 times the size of the opening! His use of segmentation, along with beautiful email designs and helpful content, allowed him to create a super effective email strategy.

Check out how to create and schedule a campaign.

Customer stories

We already established that your customer is the hero of your compelling brand story. Use their successes and journeys as powerful narratives to show the real-world impact of your product. Encourage subscribers to share their stories and feature them prominently in your newsletters. 

Testimonials gathered through MailerLite’s automation workflow helped Modest Mitkus of Pathpages build trust with potential customers. People who showed interest in his templates got testimonial emails on how other customers found success with it. 

Automations

Automations allow you to build branching narratives that respond to user behavior. This ensures that every story you tell is perfectly timed and relevant, making your brand feel smart and intuitive.

For example:

• When a new subscriber joins your list, you can create a welcome automation that tells your founding story or shares the "why" behind your brand

• An automated series of emails can guide a customer from getting started with their purchase to achieving their desired outcome. The automated email series celebrates their decision, offers helpful tips, and shares inspiring stories from other customers before inviting the new customer to share about their progress

Check out some of our automation examples for inspiration! 

Community building

True brand storytelling is a two-way street. Your community can become your greatest storytellers by sharing their experiences with your brand. This invites them to participate in your narrative, strengthening their connection and customer loyalty.

Use your emails to invite user-generated content (UGC) that aligns with your brand's mission. Check out how emergency medical kit brand Live The Creed shares user stories in its email to show how critical it is to have their gear during emergency situations. 

Building a great story requires the right tools to listen to your audience, develop the brand narrative, and distribute it effectively. Here are some key tools for each step of the process:

Customer research

You can't tell a compelling story for your audience if you don't listen to them first. Understanding their pain points and what they care about is the first step in positioning them as the hero. 

You can use forms and surveys to get customer feedback. Asking open-ended questions like, "What's the biggest challenge you face with X?" or "How did our product change your daily routine?" will give you the raw material you need to build a powerful story. Tools to use include:

• Google Forms or Typeform: Create simple, engaging surveys to gather valuable feedback

• MailerLite's embedded forms: Build forms or surveys directly into your emails or website to collect customer insights

Story development and narrative mapping

Once you have your research, you need to turn those insights into a coherent narrative. You can create a storyboard that outlines the conflict, the guide (your brand), and the resolution, ensuring your story flows logically and emotionally resonates with your audience. You can use:

• Miro or Notion: Visualize the hero's journey, map out customer personas, and plot your narrative arcs to ensure your story flows logically

Brand voice and messaging tools

Your story is built on more than just words—it's about the voice behind them. The right tools help ensure your tone, style, and vocabulary are consistent.

• Grammarly: A comprehensive tool to check grammar and spelling, making every sentence polished and professional

• Hemingway App: Helps with clarity and conciseness by highlighting complex sentences and passive voice

• AI-powered tools (Jasper, Copy.ai): Learn your brand voice to generate new story ideas or marketing copy

• MailerLite’s AI writing assistant and subject line generator: Get help with the ideation and creation process

While AI tools can't replace a human writer, they can help you quickly create drafts for ad copy, email subject lines, or even full blog posts that you can then edit and refine, saving you valuable time.

Content creation

A story is only as good as its delivery. You need to create content that captivates your audience. This is where creative tools come in. 

• Canva: Design visually stunning assets to support your story

• Descript: Easily script and edit video narratives, adding music, sound effects, and voice-overs

• MailerLite’s MCPs (Model Context Protocols): Connect your AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT to MailerLite’s MCPs to create a personal AI assistant that helps build entire email campaigns, repurpose content or brainstorm ideas

Distribution and engagement

Finally, you need to get your story in front of your audience and get them to engage with it. 

• MailerLite: Send story-based email sequences with powerful automation, segment your audience, and deliver tailored narratives that feel personal and timely

• Buffer / Later: Schedule and manage your social storytelling across different platforms

• MailerLite’s smart sending and send emails by time zone: Use AI to find the best time to send emails, increasing engagement

• MailerLite’s auto-resend feature: Automatically resend emails to subscribers who didn't open the first time, helping you reach up to 30% more people. Vegan food brand Biovie increased their open rates by 45% with just this one feature!

Successful brand storytelling is more than just a marketing tactic; it's a fundamental shift in how we build a business. By focusing on shared values and making the customer the hero, you can create emotional equity and long-term customer loyalty that no amount of traditional advertising can buy.

It's the difference between a product and a purpose. Whether it's through a personal founder's story or a collection of real customer testimonials, effective brand storytelling is a strategic imperative backed by data, case studies, and academic research. It’s the way you become a brand that people truly care about, a brand that's a natural choice when the time comes to buy.

So, are you ready to stop shouting and start connecting? It's time to build your compelling brand story. And with the intuitive tools and powerful automations of MailerLite, you have everything you need to start writing your most important narrative today.