Build an Attractive Character your stories sell when facts stall

You can feel when a brand speaks from the throat versus the chest. The throat pushes facts. The chest tells you why it cares. When readers stop opening your emails, it’s rarely because you forgot another tip, it’s because they don’t know who’s talking. An Attractive Character isn’t about filters or perfect lighting, it’s about a believable persona that holds your stories together so people feel safe following you from one idea to the next.

Start by picking an identity that fits how you naturally show up: leader, adventurer, reporter, or reluctant hero. If you’re the kind who would rather be doing the work than talking about it, the reluctant hero often feels right. Then write a backstory that belongs with your offer. A career coach I worked with kept burying the fact that she’d been laid off twice before becoming a director. When she finally told that story plainly, one reader replied, “I feel like you’re in my head.” Her coffee in the photo had gone cold by the time she answered all the DMs.

Collect five parables from life. A mentor’s nudge to press ‘publish’ even when you felt unready. A late bus that forced you to give a talk without slides that landed better than the deck ever did. These are your seeds. Sprinkle them across emails, talks, and videos, each ending with a specific takeaway and a next step. Choose one belief you’ll defend. You might lose followers who disagree, but the right people lean in when they know where you stand. Honestly, fence‑sitting is riskier, because no one remembers neutral.

Behind this is narrative transportation, identity signaling, and the commitment‑consistency loop. When your stories carry people, they borrow your lens for a few minutes. When they say “that’s me,” they lean toward actions that fit that identity. And when they agree with a small belief, they’re more open to the next small belief, and the next. That’s how stories sell without feeling like sales.

Pick the persona that feels most like you, then write a simple backstory that connects your hardest wall to the problem you now solve. Jot five short parables from your life that end with a lesson, pick one belief you’ll defend even if a few people leave, and load two stories into your next emails. Keep the tone warm, flawed, and useful. Hit send tomorrow morning while your coffee’s still warm.