In his USA Today Bestseller, DotCom Secrets, Russell Brunson introduced the concept of The Attractive Character — saying, “creating your Attractive Character can mean the difference between making one thousand dollars and one hundred thousand.” — and entrepreneurs went wild.
He’d struck a chord.
More specifically, he’d managed to demystify a tactic that the best entrepreneurs on the planet use to build massive, loyal followings full of raving customers and fans.
He didn’t just demystify it, though.
True to form, he revealed a process that anyone can go through to create an attractive character.
This process, if you follow it, will result in a bigger following, more customers, and more raving fans.
Here’s how it works.
But if you want all the juicy details… get a free copy of his book by clicking the link below.
Get Your Free Copy of DotCom Secrets Now!
What is the Attractive Character?
In entrepreneurship and marketing, an attractive character is a persona created in order to build a following, influence customers, and drive action.
This persona isn’t hypothetical, though — it’s a real person that the business uses to tell compelling stories and create a personality for its brand.
The figurehead for the attractive character could be the founder, CEO, head marketer, actor, or a particularly successful customer.
Think…
- Jared from Subway
- Jake from Statefarm
- Flo from Progressive
Not satisfied with that definition?
Here’s how Russell Brunson explains it…
“An Attractive Character is not someone who is extraordinarily good looking, although they might be. What I’m talking about here is a persona that attracts clients or customers and helps you build your following to eventually make sales. An Attractive Character allows you to build a platform anywhere you want, whether on email, Facebook, or YouTube. It doesn’t matter where you show up; your AC will draw people to you.”
Throughout this article, you’ll see tons of examples of brands using attractive characters to drive their target market to take action — both big and small.
These will help you build your own.
We’ll also walk you through the step-by-step process for creating an attractive character.
But before we get into that, a quick word about why you should have an attractive character for your business.
Why Should You Create an Attractive Character for Your Business?
I recently had a new logo created for my copywriting business.
It’s really nice.
Check it out…
Fancy, huh?
Okay. Now try to build a relationship with it.
I’ll wait.
…
You can’t?
Why not?
Because it’s an image! Not a person.
And people build relationships with people… not images and not businesses.
If you want to build relationships with your customers and influence them in meaningful ways, then you need to create an attractive character. This will help you tell compelling stories, illustrate your values, and drive people to take action.
Here’s Russell again…
“If you loved Harrison Ford as Han Solo in 1977, you probably paid to see all the Star Wars sequels and Raiders of the Lost Ark, too. And guess what? Nearly forty years later, guess who’s showing up against to bring you a little more Han Solo? It’s amazing to think that one movie created over a generation ago can still pack the theaters and sell tickets by the millions. That’s the power of Attractive Characters. We love them. We want to be like them. We relate to their stories. And we buy what they’re selling.”
But Attractive Characters are just great for movies…
“This is one of the biggest secrets behind the most successful online businesses in the most competitive markets, like weight-loss, dating, financial investing, supplements, and ecommerce. All these types of businesses can use an Attractive Character.”
In other words, you should create an attractive character to help people connect with your business and to drive them to take the actions you want them to take.
How do you do it?
Let’s dive into the details.
The Four Elements of an Attractive Character
There are four things you need to understand about an attractive character before we get into the nitty gritty steps.
Four elements.
These are the qualities that make your character attractive.
We’ve all seen the TV character that we’re supposed to like… but that we really don’t. The same thing can happen if you’re not careful by implementing each of these four elements into your attractive character.
1. Backstory
Every attractive character needs a backstory.
Where did they come from?
How did they get to where they are?
What obstacles did they face and how did they overcome them?
The best example of this is — before his scandal — Jared from Subway.
You wouldn’t, and shouldn’t, care about Jared if you just saw him at a Subway down the street eating sandwiches like a madman.
You’ve got no context to make you care.
But what if you found out that Jared used to weigh 425 pounds — and he got down to 190 pounds just by eating Subway every day?
Now that is interesting!
(Especially if you want to lose weight)
Russell Brunson is our founder and primary attractive character here at ClickFunnels… and we often tell his story on the landing pages of our products…
Why?
Because his story resonates with our target market.
The backstory you use could be your own story, a story of one of your customers, or even the story of an influencer who loves your products.
The important thing is that the backstory frames your product as the solution to the attractive character’s woes.
2. Attractive Character Speaks in Parables
Attractive characters speak in parables.
What do we mean?
We mean that attractive characters don’t just tell people what to do… they influence their followers with compelling stories and anecdotes.
Here’s how Russell explains the concept of parables…
“A parable is a story about something that happened in your Attractive Character’s life. Most people let life pass them by, and they don’t stop to take note of the interesting things that happen to them. But you’re different. You have the ability to use the things that happen throughout your life to teach and inspire others — as well as sell products… When you stop teaching facts and start teaching through parables, your messages will stay with an audience longer.”
This, too, is something that Russell Brunson is great about doing with his emails.
Here’s an example.
3. Attractive Character Shares Their Flaws
You might think that your attractive character needs to be perfect…
Eloquent…
Sexy…
Funny…
Smart…
… blah blah blah.
But you’d be mistaken.
In fact, people don’t connect so well with “perfect people”… they connect with real people who have flaws and make mistakes.
Think of your favorite book or television characters.
They’re not perfect.
They’re interesting and fascinating because they’re imperfect… because you can relate to them in some meaningful way.
That’s why it’s important for attractive characters to not just have flaws, but to share those flaws and be honest about them.
Here’s how Russell puts it…
“No one wants to hear about the perfect person — because you can’t relate. Yet most of us try to put on a perfect facade for our audiences, thereby alienating the real men and women we are trying to reach. Conversely, as soon as the audience knows you’re not perfect, that you have character flaws, then they will start to empathize with you. They’ll like you more because you are like them: not perfect.”
4. Attractive Character Harnesses the Power of Polarity
Another common mistake that people make when creating attractive characters is this: they don’t want them to be controversial.
But attractive characters are controversial.
And that’s partly why they’re so attractive — at least, to your target market.
They stand for what they believe in, have opinions, and aren’t afraid to polarize people who disagree with them.
Here’s Russell again…
“As soon as you start taking sides on important issues, you’ll develop haters, but you’ll also develop a group of raving fans. Those raving fans are the people who will buy your products and services.”
One example of this is Ryan Michler, a conservative influencer on multiple social media platforms. He knows what he stands for and he’s not afraid to say it.
Unsurprisingly, his most controversial posts are often his most popular.
How to Create Your Attractive Character From Scratch
By now an ephemeral form of what your attractive character looks like should be forming in your mind.
You can almost grasp it.
But not quite.
That’s okay.
We’re going to walk you through five simple steps to create your attractive character from scratch, introduce this persona to your audience, and use it to influence them and drive action.
Step 1. Choose the Attractive Character Source
The first step is to choose who’s going to be your attractive character.
Will be a fictional character that you’ll create and use in your advertising — like Flo from Progressive or the gecko from Geico?
Or will it be a real person — maybe a customer who’s had amazing success with your products?
Or will it be you?
Spend some time thinking about who will be best to represent your business as the attractive character… and then choose someone (or create someone).
Step 2. Choose an Identity Type
So you’ve chosen or created someone to be your attractive character and to represent your business.
Now we need to get clearer about who this person is and what they’re like.
What is their personality?
There are four different attractive characters’ “personality types” for you to choose from. Here they are. Choose the one that will be most compelling to your target market.
The Leader
Leaders are attractive characters who lead their audience confidently and unapologetically from point A to point B.
They know how to inspire their followers and they tell compelling stories that influence their followers to take action.
The leader has a similar backstory to their followers (which makes them relatable) and so they also understand the pitfalls and challenges that their audience will face along the way.
But the leader has already achieved the result that the audience wants to achieve.
They provide the guidance, empathy, and clarity needed to help their followers do the same.
One example of this is how Gary Vee uses his platforms to help entrepreneurs achieve the success they crave.
The Adventurer or Crusader
The adventurer or crusader persona is much more scrappy than the leader.
They don’t have all the answers… and they don’t pretend to.
But their journey — and their determination to get the answers — is compelling to people who want the results this attractive character is trying to achieve.
This persona gives his audience a lot of attention and provides new valuable information and insights as he comes by it.
Rachel Pedersen is a wonderful example of this.
She’s constantly trying new things in the marketing world and creating free and paid resources for other marketers and entrepreneurs based on her own success.
It’s sort of like a “Look what I did! Here’s how I did it!” type of attractive character strategy.
The Reporter or Evangelist
If you can’t think of someone to be your attractive character who can provide your audience with the answers and stories they need, then the reporter or evangelist is a great option.
This persona puts on the hat of a reporter or researcher and sets out to find the answers they don’t already have.
Maybe they interview hundreds of people. Maybe they write a book. Or maybe they document their research via a newsletter.
Whatever the case, as they’re growing and learning, they’re taking their audience along with them.
Russell writes, “Becoming a reporter is a great way to start a business in a niche you don’t know much about.”
One example of this would be Joe Rogan. He knows he doesn’t know a lot… but he tries to get to the bottom of serious and fascinating problems by publicly interviewing expert guests.
The Reluctant Hero
This is the person that Russell Brunson has selected and maintained in his role as the attractive character for ClickFunnels.
As he defines it, “This is the humble hero who doesn’t really want the spotlight or any fuss made over his discoveries. But he knows the information or the secrets he has are so important that he must overcome his shyness and share them with the world.”
You can see this in the way Russell talks and presents himself. He’s just a normal guy who’s discovered some amazing secrets. And he feels compelled to share those secrets with his audience.
Step 3. Create Your Storyline
Once you’ve selected the personality type for your attractive character, next up is outlining their storyline and backstory.
Who were they?
Who are they now?
And how did they get here?
You’ll want to follow a traditional and proven story arc when you’re crafting your attractive character’s storyline. Choose one of the following formats and use it.
Loss & Redemption
Loss and redemption stories are powerful because they show people who’ve gone through deep, dark challenges and come out the other side better because of it.
Format: I had everything. I was on top of the world. Life was great. Then __________ happened. I had to figure my way out of __________. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I went through __________, and I learned/received __________. Now I __________.
Us vs. Them
Earlier we discussed the power of polarity. Controversy will attract your target market, making them raving fans, and providing them with a rallying cry against outsiders.
Format: Things were good. But then __________ tried to stop me. I overcame.”
Before & After
You see these types of stories a lot in the fitness or weight-loss markets. Before and after pictures of people’s fitness journey.
And they work really well.
It’s natural to want to know how someone got from point A to point B if that’s something you’re trying to do in your own life.
Format: First I was __________. Now I’m __________.
Amazing Discovery
Imagine a good friend of yours goes out to find treasure. He does.
But that’s not all he finds.
He also finds something that he thinks will change your life. And he wants to give it to you.
Want to know what it is?
Of course, you do!
Format: Oh my gosh, you guys… wait til you hear about this amazing new thing I just discovered! You’re not going to believe it, but I hit it out of the park on my first try! I wasn’t sure it would work, but it’s amazing. You’ve got to try it!”
Secret Telling
Everyone loves secrets — except people who get excluded from knowing what those secrets are.
And so promising to reveal great and exciting secrets to your audience is a great way to get their attention.
Format: I’ve got a secret… if you want to find out what it is, you need to do __________.
Third-Person Testimonial
Testimonials or case studies of your customers’ success with your products are compelling assets. And you can use those to tell stories that influence your audience.
Format: __________ was struggling. But by using our products, he was able to __________. Here’s how he did it!
Step 4. Write Your Soap Opera Sequence
You now know who your attractive character is, what they’re like, and how they got to where they are today.
Great!
Now it’s time to share that persona with your audience.
You can do this by crafting what we call a Soap Opera Sequence — this is just a series of 5-7 emails that introduces your attractive character, tells their story, and promotes your products.
Check out the video below to learn more.
Step 5. Send Daily Seinfeld Emails
Obviously, you don’t want to stop contacting your audience after just the 5-7 emails in your soap opera sequence.
Seinfeld emails are a strategy you can use to keep your attractive character in touch with your audience every day — while also promoting your products and making sales.
Check out the video to learn how this works…
Final Thoughts on the Attractive Character
There you have it!
That’s everything you need to know to create an attractive character and use that persona to influence your audience and make more sales.
What’s next?
If you’re ready to learn more about how Russell Brunson bootstraps his businesses from the ground up, click the button below to get a free copy of his USA Today Bestseller…