Crafting Compelling Narratives For Product Videos

Brands are obsessed with perfecting their sales script while completely missing what actually drives conversions - a compelling narrative that pulls people in. The fastest-growing personal brands don't pitch, they NARRATE. Every top-converting video sales letter follows the same emotional sequence:  - Denial  - Obsession  - Breakthrough This isn't randomized - it's a psychological architecture that builds belief before asking for the sale. In the Denial phase, you acknowledge the struggle and skepticism. During Obsession, you show the relentless pursuit of a solution. The Breakthrough reveals the transformative moment when everything clicked. This structure mirrors the actual journey your customers take. They don't want your fancy script - they want to see themselves in your story. When we build founder-led narratives for our clients, we're not creating pitches. We're crafting belief systems that make buying feel like the natural next step, not a forced decision. Stop obsessing over word-perfect scripts and start investing in stories that actually resonate. Your conversions will thank you.

The best product videos don’t talk about your product. They tell a story about your user. Not a monologue about your features. Not a glorified UI demo. The videos that actually land - the ones people watch, share, and remember - show your user in motion: - what they’re struggling with - what they wish existed - and how your product fits in like a puzzle piece. At Fabel Media, this story is at the core of each video. Before we begin the scripting and storyboarding stages, we ask three questions: 📌 Who’s the hero? 📌 What’s at stake for them? 📌 What changes once your product enters their life? That’s how you move from a generic explainer to a narrative your ICP connects with.

Customer stories are one of the most powerful vehicles for creating compelling narratives. When I worked at PandaDoc, I partnered with customer marketing extraordinaire Nicolas Szenberg and the talented crew at FAILURE ISLAND to produce a mini-series that shined light on the remarkable people who used the product. The format for those stories deviated from a traditional case study structure: problem -> solution -> results. The stories captured the hero (which was the customer and NOT the product) in a conflict and examined what they thought, felt, and how they acted. These positioned the product as an enabler on their journey to resolve conflict and do meaningful work. My favorite question to ask at the end of each interview was how they defined their success. The reason being success can mean different things to different people: - The founder would tell me about the genuine pride they felt in up-leveling their business - The operator would tell me about the time and headaches they saved chasing down people and documents - The administrator would tell me about the sense of accomplishment and positive affirmation's they received from their peers When we only focus on showcasing an arbitrary ROI stat (which most buyer's won't believe anyways) we miss the opportunity to share the remarkable victories of the customers. Decisions to buy products aren't solely based on logic. There's emotion wrapped in these decisions that heavily influence buyers. Unpack those stories to create memorable moments for your customers and inspiring moments for future buyers.

"𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭?"   Ever been there? That pit-in-your-stomach moment when you're supposed to craft a compelling narrative, but you're drowning in technical specs and feature lists?   𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: Most people think they need to understand every product detail to tell its story. But after 25 years of working with complex tech products, I've learned something surprising: The best stories don't start with the product at all.   Ｔｈｅｙ ｓｔａｒｔ ｗｉｔｈ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ．   Think about it. When you're stuck trying to understand a product's inner workings, you're probably asking all the wrong questions. Instead of "How does it work?", try "𝗪𝗵𝗼'𝘀 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴?" Instead of "What features matter?" ask, "𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?"   Here's what fascinates me: The most potent product stories I've seen weren't crafted by those who built the product. They were shaped by those who deeply understood the problems it solved.   It's like having a map before exploring a new territory. You need a framework that connects real human pains to real solutions. Without this, you're just throwing features at the wall and hoping something sticks.   So, here's what I do when faced with a complex product:   1️⃣ Start with the pain points (what matters to people) 2️⃣ Gather proof points (how this helps) 3️⃣ Connect the dots (why anyone should care)   Because at the end of the day, people don't buy products. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.   What's your experience with this? Have you ever had to tell a story about something you barely understood? How did you handle it?   #Storytelling #Leadership #Marketing