StoryBrand is frustrating | STFO 🐔

What follows is a guest contribution from Billy Broas:

Let me pick up where our friend Louis left off and take a closer look at StoryBrand.

First, Donald Miller deserves credit. He took a timeless narrative pattern and turned it into a marketing framework that thousands of businesses use every day. His phrase “The customer is the hero” is one of the stickiest lines in modern marketing. No small feat.

For me, the most underappreciated part of his StoryBrand framework isn’t its seven steps, but the structure behind the steps.

The Overlooked Genius of StoryBrand

The real brilliance of StoryBrand is its one-to-many approach to messaging.

You create one clear core message, then apply it everywhere: website, sales deck, emails, ads, landing pages. One source, many outputs.

Brand designers have done this for decades. Create a brand manual—fonts, colors, logo—and push it across every visual asset.

But when it comes to long-form messaging? Most people just wing it.

I’ve worked with coaches, consultants, and service providers for years. And I can’t tell you how often they invest heavily in design, yet forget their words.

No, copywriting formulas like AIDA or PAS don’t solve this. Those are downstream tools, helpful for structuring a single page, but they don’t give you a core message to work from.

That’s where StoryBrand stands out. It treats messaging like an operating system, and that gives you three things most businesses lack:

• Reusable messaging (no need to reinvent the wheel)
• Aligned content (everything speaks the same language)
• Faster execution (you’re not writing from a blank page every time)

That’s rare, and it deserves more recognition.

Where StoryBrand Might Frustrate You

So, is StoryBrand the best framework for creating a core message?

That’s where I push back.

Here’s a quick recap of StoryBrand’s seven steps:

1. A Character (the customer)
2. Has a Problem
3. Meets a Guide (your business, the “Obi-Wan” to your customer)
4. Gets a Plan
5. Is Called to Action (take the next step)
6. Avoids Failure (what’s at stake if they don’t act)
7. Ends in Success (a better future on the other side)

It’s a strong story structure, but that’s also the issue: Narrative frameworks aren’t naturally plug-and-play.

They work great for high-stakes moments: keynotes, brand videos, About pages. But for core messaging you need to reuse across emails, landing pages, and quick-turn content?

That’s where it gets clunky.

Try writing a “Step 3 – The Guide” headline. Not easy, and when you’re in the stress of a product launch, that friction hurts.

Also, and this happens with any strong structure, when your framework is built around a single narrative arc, it’s tempting to see every message through that lens. But not every story needs to be the Hero’s Journey. Other stories exist.

An Issue with “The Guide”

The “Guide” role in StoryBrand (Step 3) is powerful, but for some businesses, it can feel lofty.

It’s a great fit if you’re a coach, therapist, strategist, or someone who naturally plays the mentor role. But what about a plumber? A bookkeeper? A taco truck owner?

Do they really see themselves as Obi-Wan Kenobi? Probably not. And that’s okay.

That’s why I prefer a different term: Trusted Merchant. You’re not a mystical guide, you’re just someone who shows up, does a good job, and earns trust. In Hero’s Journey terms, think Olivander the wand maker, not Dumbledore the headmaster.

Final Take: Credit Where It’s Due

Donald Miller accomplished something important: he gave business owners a better way to talk about what they do.

StoryBrand brings structure, puts the customer at the center, and draws from a timeless narrative arc. It’s helped countless businesses bring clarity to their message, and that’s no small contribution.

In daily use, however, I find it clunky to apply. The steps don’t always easily translate into headlines, emails, or landing pages. And the “Guide” role may not feel natural for everyone.

That said, StoryBrand made the case that small businesses need more than a clever tagline: they need clear, consistent, long-form messaging they can use everywhere.

For that, Donald Miller, I salute you.

—

Billy Broas is the author of Simple Marketing for Smart People and creator of The Five Lightbulbs messaging framework.

Louis Grenier Recovering Frenchman, bowel cancer survivor, husband, dad, marketer. louis@stfo.io

​

PS: While I have you, Reader, you're invited to Blend the F*ck In Bingo: Agency Edition.

Play games, win prizes while dissecting the most eye-roll-inducing agency tropes. And also, come away with ideas on how to make your marketing business stand the f*ck out.

​Click here to register for this event.

It's going to be weird.