How to Make Your Audience Feel Seen With StoryBrand
Welcome to Brand Materials, a brand strategy series where we’ll explore how to create a brand that feels aligned, human, and rooted in what actually matters to you.
Expect thought-provoking prompts, purposeful frameworks, and guidance that values clarity over performative noise. This is a strategic companion for founders who want to build something that fits their industry, their life, and their energy.
Your customer isn’t reading your business origin story — they’re scanning for their role in it. Most brand copy says, “Let me tell you about me”, but what your audience wants to hear is “How does this help me?” If your messaging reads like a memoir, it might not be converting.
The StoryBrand Framework asks you to reposition your story. It gives your audience the role of the hero, and you as the trusted guide. With this structure, your messaging becomes a map that invites your audience to step into a clearer, more compelling version of their future, with your brand as the bridge that gets them there.
In this post, we’ll explore how to apply the StoryBrand Framework to your business in a way that’s personal and designed to convert.
What is The StoryBrand Framework?
Most businesses struggle with one fundamental question: How do we talk about ourselves without it sounding like a biography?
The truth is that your audience isn’t looking for your brand’s backstory. They’re looking for themselves in your brand.
Instead of centering your journey, Donald Miller’s StoryBrand Framework positions your customer as the hero with a challenge to overcome. Your brand is the guide, the mentor, the trusted presence with the plan that leads them to success.
Think of your favorite movie: the main character faces a problem. They meet a guide. They follow a plan. They take action. And they either succeed — or don’t.
The same arc applies to your brand messaging. When your audience can recognize themselves in the story you’re telling — when they see their struggle named, their hopes mirrored, and a path made clear — they engage, trust, and act.
The 7 Steps of the Framework
Below, we’ll break down the seven key steps of the StoryBrand Framework, so you can shape a brand story that connects and compels people to take action.
The Character
Every story starts with a character. In the StoryBrand Framework, this character is your customer. They are the hero of the story, and they are about to be taken on an adventure. Make sure your story clearly identifies them and speaks directly to who they are.
Has a Problem
The second step is identifying the problem your customer is facing. What’s standing between your customer and the transformation they want? The more clearly you define their problem, the more compelling your story becomes.
Meets a Guide
Your brand plays the role of the guide in this story. Think of yourself as the mentor who’s already walked the path your audience is on. Show them you understand their challenges, and offer a way forward that feels achievable, not overwhelming. Offer wisdom, support, and a clear plan to help them overcome their problem.
Who Gives Them a Plan
A guide isn’t effective without a plan. Your customer needs to know what steps they should take to solve their problem. The plan should outline the steps they need to take, giving them the confidence that they can overcome their challenge with your help. Ask yourself, what simple, actionable steps can you offer to help your customer? How can you make this plan easy to follow?
And Calls Them to Action
People don’t take action when they’re confused. Your job as the guide is to give them a clear, simple plan that makes success feel achievable. Invite them to take the next step, whether it’s making a purchase, booking a call, or signing up for your newsletter.
That Helps Them Avoid Failure
In every good story, the hero faces possible failure if they don’t act. The same goes for your customer. Communicate the stakes—what’s at risk if they don’t take action? Without using fear-based messaging, highlight what they might continue struggling with. Will they stay overwhelmed? Miss out on opportunities? Keep second-guessing themselves? Instead of pressure, use clarity. Help them see why now is the right time. This adds urgency to your messaging and helps your customer understand the consequences of inaction.
And Ends in Success
Finally, show your customer what success looks like. Paint a picture of the transformation they’re going to experience after taking action with your help. What does life look like for your customer after they succeed? How does your brand help create that positive transformation? This step should leave your audience feeling motivated, with a clear understanding of the value your brand provides.
How to Apply the Framework to Your Brand
You’ve seen how the StoryBrand Framework works. Here’s how you can use it to make your own brand messaging more natural, structured, and compelling.
Start with Your Customer
Make your audience the hero. What do they want? What challenges are in their way? The clearer their journey, the more compelling your story becomes. If you’ve created an Ideal Client Avatar, revisit it here—this is where their desires, frustrations, and deeper needs become the foundation of your brand story.
Find the Problem
Your customer’s struggles go beyond the obvious. Sure, they may need a design overhaul or a business coach—but why? What’s the real friction in their life? Define both their external problem (the tangible challenge) and their internal problem (the emotions behind it). The stronger the emotional connection, the more they’ll trust you to guide them forward.
Position Yourself as the Guide
Your role is to help your audience succeed. Speak to their struggles with clarity and warmth, positioning your brand as the guide who’s been there before and knows the way forward.
Create a Plan
No hero wants to walk an uncertain path alone. Outline the simple, actionable steps they need to take, giving them the confidence that success is within reach. Make the process feel seamless, showing them exactly what working with you, buying from you, or learning from you looks like.
Highlight the Stakes
What happens if they don’t take action? Without falling into fear-based messaging, help them understand what’s on the line. Will they stay stuck in the same cycle? Miss out on an opportunity? Keep feeling frustrated? Framing this with clarity adds urgency, helping them see why they need to move forward now.
Show Success
Where does their journey lead? Help them visualize the transformation they’ll experience once they choose your brand. This is where storytelling and social proof (testimonials, case studies, before-and-after examples) can help solidify their decision—seeing proof of success makes the choice feel obvious.
Call Them to Action
No story is complete without a turning point. What’s the next step your customer needs to take? Whether it’s booking a consultation, signing up for your newsletter, or making a purchase, your call to action (CTA) should be clear and direct. Make it easy for them to say yes.
What You Might Be Wondering:
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Because storytelling is how we naturally process information. People relate to stories more than sales pitches. When your brand story mirrors the structure of a hero’s journey — where your customer faces a problem, meets a guide (your brand), follows a plan, and reaches success. It feels intuitive, builds trust, and makes decision-making easier for them.
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Brand-Centric Messaging: We create high-end wedding photography packages with an artistic, editorial approach.
Customer-Centric Messaging: You want wedding photos that feel timeless and cinematic—images that capture the real emotion of your day without feeling staged. We make that happen with an editorial approach designed to document your wedding as effortlessly as it unfolds.
See the shift? Instead of focusing on what the business does, the message focuses on the client’s desires, struggles, and transformation.
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If you offer services (coaching, design, consulting, etc.), start by identifying your client’s biggest struggle.
What keeps them stuck?
What transformation do they want?
How does your service act as the clear plan that helps them reach their goal?
Your messaging should reflect where they are now (frustrated, stuck, overwhelmed) and where they want to be (confident, thriving, successful). Frame yourself as the expert who guides them through that transformation.
Before (Brand-Centric Messaging): I provide 1:1 coaching and business strategy sessions to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
After (Customer-Centric Messaging): You have big ideas, but every time you sit down to work on your business, you feel stuck. You’re overwhelmed by strategy, unsure what steps to take next, and second-guessing every decision. Through 1:1 business coaching, I help you cut through the noise, create a plan, and take action—so you can finally build a business that feels aligned and sustainable.
The focus shifts from what the coach does to what the client experiences and achieves.
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Absolutely. Even if you sell physical products, your brand messaging should still reflect your customer’s journey. For example:
If you sell skincare, frame your customer’s problem (sensitive skin, ineffective products) and how your brand helps them achieve healthy, glowing skin effortlessly.
If you sell eco-friendly candles, focus on the experience—your customers want a calming, toxin-free home, and your candles are the solution that enhances their space.
No matter what you sell, your customer should see themselves in your brand’s story.
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Yes! Instead of listing your resume and backstory, tell a story that ties your journey back to your audience:
What struggles have you experienced that make you uniquely able to help them?
What values or insights shape the way you serve them?
How does your story align with their goals and aspirations?
Your About page should still be personal, but it should make your audience feel like they belong in your brand story.
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Here are three mistakes brands make:
Trying to speak to everyone. If your messaging is too broad, it won’t feel personal. Your audience should immediately recognize themselves in your brand story. Be specific about who you serve.
Being too vague. If your messaging isn’t clear on the problem you solve and the steps to success, potential customers won’t feel confident taking action.
Lacking a strong call to action (CTA). If you don’t tell people what to do next (book a call, buy now, download this resource), they’re more likely to do nothing.
Recap & Next Steps:
In this post, we explored how to use the Storybrand Framework to clarify your messaging and position your customer as the hero of their story. By focusing on their journey and positioning yourself as the guide, you can create messaging that drives meaningful action. Let’s recap:
Define your customer’s journey
Position your role as the guide
Show them the next step forward
Purposeful storytelling builds trust and invites your audience into a shared journey. When you craft your messaging with empathy and intention — positioning your audience as the hero, understanding their struggles, and guiding them toward success — your story becomes unforgettable.
Read the Next Post: Emotional Branding
Next, we’re diving into emotional branding. We’ll explore how to create emotional connections through storytelling, design, and messaging.
If your brand feels like it’s the kind of presence that makes people not only buy but remember and return, this post will help you infuse more meaning, depth, and human connection into your brand experience.
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