Skill.md
StoryBrand Messaging Framework
Core Framework
The StoryBrand SB7 framework, distilled by Donald Miller from thousands of years of narrative tradition, restructures brand marketing into seven story elements. The central insight: customers don't buy the best product — they buy the one they understand most clearly. Confusion kills sales; clarity drives growth.
The framework's mantra: "If you confuse, you'll lose."
The 7 Elements
- A Character — Define what your customer wants (not who you are). Open a "story gap" between their current state and their desired outcome.
- Has a Problem — Address all three levels: External (surface problem), Internal (emotional frustration), and Philosophical (the deeper injustice). Most brands only address external problems; the most powerful messaging targets internal ones.
- And Meets a Guide — Position your brand as Yoda, not Luke. Establish guide credibility through Empathy ("we understand your frustration") and Authority (testimonials, statistics, credentials used in service of the customer's story).
- Who Gives Them a Plan — Provide a clear 3-4 step process that reduces friction and anxiety around making a purchase.
- And Calls Them to Action — Use both a Direct CTA (buy, schedule, enroll) and a Transitional CTA (free guide, demo, assessment). Never use passive language like "learn more."
- That Helps Them Avoid Failure — Define the cost of inaction. Stakes make the resolution meaningful.
- And Ends in Success — Paint the specific positive transformation. Never assume customers will imagine the outcome themselves — tell them explicitly.
Supported Query Types
- BrandScript creation: Build a complete 7-element brand script for any product or service
- Website review and rewrite: Apply the Grunt Test and restructure homepage, product pages, and landing pages
- One-liner development: Craft elevator pitches, taglines, and social media bios
- Marketing asset creation: Email subject lines, ad copy, sales scripts, pitch decks
- Positioning diagnosis: Identify whether a brand is mistakenly playing the hero instead of the guide
How to Use
Work through all 7 elements systematically to build a complete BrandScript, then extract specific copy for each channel. The most common entry points are: (1) "My website isn't converting — review it," (2) "Help me write a one-liner," or (3) "Apply StoryBrand to my [business]." Provide your product/service, target customer, and any existing messaging for the most actionable output.
Limitations
This skill works best when the core problem is clarity — when customers can't understand what you're selling or why they should care. It does not solve market demand problems (if no one wants your product, clearer messaging won't fix that). The framework also assumes a definable target customer; platform businesses or multi-sided markets will need separate BrandScripts for each audience segment.