Page 115 · Module 05, Market Your Message · this screen continues that page
All 108 frameworksStoryBrand Framework - SB7
Your website, pitch deck, or marketing copy is confusing. People spend time on your
The prompt
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Who should run this prompt
Module role profileWho should build and review your marketing? Marketing fails at two points: when the message is unclear, and when it reaches the wrong people. The roles on this page cover both failure modes. Internal roles help you build, sharpen, and distribute. Outside perspectives — especially the cold customer — tell you whether what you built actually works before the campaign launches.
The roles below are who the book suggests running this prompt — this lesson’s prompt doesn’t open with a single swappable role clause, so pick one and adapt the prompt’s own wording yourself.
◆◆◆◆◆ → ◆ seniority, board level down to specialist◈ outside the organisation
How to make any role sharper
- Add years of experience: "...with 15 years in enterprise SaaS" produces different depth than just the title.
- Add what they care most about: "You care most about [X]" shapes every word of the output.
- Add their communication style: "Be direct. Flag risks first. No jargon." changes the tone entirely.
Use this when
The problem it solveswebsite and leave without understanding what you do or why it matters to them. Your message is accurate it just doesn't land.
How the framework works
From the printed pageDonald Miller's StoryBrand framework, published in 2017, is built on a single insight: customers don't care about your story, they care about their story, and whether you have a role in it. The SB7 structure positions the customer as the Hero, gives them a Guide (your brand), names the Problem (external, internal, and philosophical), provides a Plan, issues a Call to Action, describes Success, and shows what's at stake in Failure. When your marketing follows this structure, confused prospects become engaged ones.
The method, in four moves
Do these in orderNever position your brand as the hero you are the guide who helps the hero succeed.
Name all three problem layers: external (practical), internal (emotional), philosophical (why it's wrong).
The plan must be simple three steps maximum. Complexity kills action.
Use this structure for your website homepage first, then apply it to email, ads, and pitches. Clarify your message so customers stop, listen, and act The most common StoryBrand mistake is failing to name the internal problem. The external problem is what they Google. The internal problem is what keeps them awake. Customers buy solutions to external problems but they buy from brands that understand their internal ones. Name the internal problem explicitly in your copy. PRO TIP
Where the framework comes from
Donald Miller, Building a StoryBrand, 2017
Pairs well with
As printed with this frameworkModule 05 — Market Your Message
Build the system that makes your right customer find you.
10 frameworks, printed on pages 114–133.
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