According to the StoryBrand framework, the key elements of a powerful brand story are:
1. A Character: The customer is the hero of the story, not the brand. Focus on the customer's desires and needs.
2. Has a Problem: Identify the customer's external, internal, and philosophical problems.
3. Meets a Guide: Position your brand as the guide who understands the customer's struggles and has the wisdom to help them overcome obstacles.
4. Who Gives Them a Plan: Provide a clear solution or plan to address the customer's problem.
5. And Calls Them to Action: Challenge the customer to take a specific step towards solving their problem.
6. That Ends in Success: Show how your product or service leads to a positive outcome for the customer.
7. And Helps Them Avoid Failure: Highlight the potential negative consequences of not using your solution.
Additional key elements include:
• Empathy and Authority: Demonstrate both to be an effective guide for your customers.
• Clear Messaging: Use simple, direct language that resonates with your audience.
• Genuine Storytelling: Share authentic experiences and values that reflect your brand's mission.
• Focus on Internal Problems: While addressing external issues, emphasize solutions to customers' internal frustrations.
By incorporating these elements, you can create a compelling brand story that engages your audience and drives business growth.
This strategy is totally flexible and can be adjusted to meet the needs of small businesses that are closest to their customer base. Recommended.

really pleased to get a copy of this book, had wanted to read the original for a long time and this is an updated version - very clear strategy that I believe dose work and super clear steps to implement. I would recommend this to anyone with anything to promote!

How to Get Your Customers to Actually Hear You

Business owners and marketing people face more challenges today than ever. Customers are bombarded with messages and ads from morning until night from more screens and sources than ever. In this overwhelming, blaring cacophony, what can you do to make sure your message is heard?

Let Building a StoryBrand 2.0 by Donald Miller be your guide. This book is the perfect tool to help you grow your business/organization by reaching, connecting with, and inspiring your prospects to choose you.

The Problem: You struggle to communicate your brand's message in a way that resonates with your audience. Your potential customers are overwhelmed with information, and your message gets lost in the noise.

The Solution: StoryBrand has helped over 1 million of business—from start ups to Fortune 500 companies—significantly increase their revenues. This updated version (hence the “2.0” in the title) has 10,000 additional words of step-by-step, practical marketing help. It’s full of updated, real-world examples so you can see StoryBrand in action. Plus, throughout the book, it has calls to action so that you can implement the framework in your own business as you are learning the concepts. You can implement your simple, clear message immediately to connect with more customers.

How Building a StoryBrand 2.0 can grow your business:
1. Learn the Seven Points in Every Compelling Story in Human History: Miller explains the stories that all humans respond to throughout history, giving you a template to follow that will capture attention.
2. Clarify Your Message: Simplify your brand message so that it is understood and remembered by your audience.
3. Apply the Framework: Use your StoryBranded messaging for your website, brochures, social media, etc. and see your business grow.

Your Business’ Future: The StoryBrand 2.0 framework will transform your brand's communication. Your message will cut through the noise, engage your customers, and drive growth. You'll see your business thrive as you connect with your audience on a deeper level.

Buy the Book: Don't let your message get lost in the noise. Take the first step towards clarity and success by reading Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Let Donald Miller's guide help you craft a compelling story that resonates with your customers and propels your business forward.

A great guide for helping you focus your message in such a way that it captures customers' attention and leads them through the sales funnel. It walks you step by step through how to use story to engage your customer and offers templates for creating your own engaging content. Very clear and useful with plenty of examples.

I’ve been a fan of Donald Miller since his Blue Like Jazz days and I've followed his journey from storyteller to brilliant marketer closely.

This book is a game-changer. If you’re an author (or really anyone) who struggles with knowing what to say to connect with your audience—or worse, you feel completely overwhelmed trying to talk about your books in a way that actually works—this is the book you didn’t know you needed.

Miller lays it all out so clearly, and the framework he teaches is simple yet transformative. For me, it’s completely shifted how I approach marketing. I wish I’d listened to his wisdom sooner because now I can finally see how to position my books in a way that resonates with readers. It’s not just about selling—it’s about connecting.

I like how he uses tons of examples from well-known advertising campaign, and puts his framework in the context of storytelling principles (hero, hero in a hole, the guide, the villain, etc.,) His instructions is practical, it’s doable, and this book is a joy to read. It’s like having a wise, no-nonsense mentor walk you through marketing step by step. I can’t recommend it enough.

I have to say this is one of those books where I’m not entirely sure how to review. Marketing has always fascinated me and yet it always seemed like such a complex subject matter, and yet in Building a Storybrand 2.0, Donald Miller does a wonderful job of breaking down why some companies fail and other succeed in their messaging, and then breaks down just how you can do it to. Can it really be this ‘simple’? (note I am not saying easy) I can definitely see where Miller’s method could be extremely useful. Time will tell. Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley allowing me access to a early review copy of Building a Storybrand 2.0.

Donald Miller uses a step-by-step process to guide you in transforming your marketing. Put yourself in your customer's shoes and weave a story of how your product will make their lives better. In the end you have a clear and concise call to action that appeals to your customer's needs and wishes. The book includes detailed instructions on creating a landing page that draws your customers in and encourages them to buy.

I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I read the first edition of Building a StoryBrand a few years ago and found it helpful for streamlining marketing messages. Naturally, I was curious about this updated version, especially since it promised new insights into incorporating AI in marketing. Unfortunately, this edition didn’t bring much to the table that wasn’t already covered in the original or readily available with a quick online search.

While I appreciate the effort to refresh the content, it didn’t deliver enough to justify a re-read for me. 2 stars.