Writing Storytelling Content for Brand Marketing

If your story doesn't hit in the first 5 seconds It's Over You don’t get minutes to earn attention anymore. You get moments. That’s why the best ads today don’t start by selling. They start by storytelling, fast. Take this campaign: It opens like a zombie thriller. Not a product demo. Not a stat dump. Not a polished brand shot. But a story that grabs your brain before it even knows what it's watching. So why does it work so well? 📌 It uses genre to create instant tension Within seconds, we’re in a world. It’s not just an ad, it’s a scene. A story. One you can’t look away from. 📌 It anchors emotion before explanation We feel before we understand. That’s what powerful stories do 📌 It educates through narrative By the time we realize the message (synthetic materials take 200+ years to decompose), we’re already emotionally invested. 📌 It aligns cause with creativity This isn’t preachy. It’s precise. The storytelling is the message. The product is the punchline. Want to build content that hits like this? Here’s a storytelling framework to try: 1️⃣ Hook with conflict Every good story starts with tension. Show us something broken, scary, or just plain weird. Make us lean in. 2️⃣ Introduce transformation What changes? What insight or solution comes next? Keep us moving through the arc. 3️⃣ Reveal your message last Don’t start with “what”, start with “why care.” Let the product or idea emerge from the emotion. 4️⃣ Make it feel cinematic Use sound, visuals, pacing, not to show off, but to bring your audience into the moment. 5️⃣ Keep it short, sharp, and story-first We’re in the TikTok era. But attention spans haven’t died, they’ve just gotten pickier. Stories still win. Always. The best storytelling doesn’t sell the product. It sells the belief behind the product. And if you want your brand to rise above the noise Stop pitching. Start telling better stories. #storytelling #branding #sellwithstories #marketingtips I share storytelling and creativity to help you and your company sell more and grow. Let's Connect! 1. Try my other course on LinkedIn Learning: https://lnkd.in/gTh8R5Mc 2. Join 10,000 others learning weekly growth tips at: https://lnkd.in/eCDKabp2 Use the 3-Act E.P.I.C Structure to turn stories into sales: https://lnkd.in/e9_eczTG 3. 3 Ways To Grow Guide: https://lnkd.in/gZaq56hT (no sign-up needed)

Here’s the deal: most paid ads suck because they don’t tell a story. They shout “Buy now!” or “Limited time offer!” but forget the one thing that grabs attention and keeps it—emotion. People don’t buy products. They buy feelings. Here’s how to use storytelling to make your ads actually work: 1️⃣ Start with a relatable problem Make the viewer think, “That’s me!” Set the stage with a situation they know too well. 2️⃣ Introduce a hero (your customer, not you) Show how they overcame that problem. Your product? It’s the guide, not the star. 3️⃣ Trigger emotion Make them feel something—hope, relief, excitement. Emotion drives action, logic justifies it later. 4️⃣ End with transformation Show the before and after. Make the result crystal clear. Remember, a good story isn’t about features or benefits. It’s about making your audience see themselves in your ad. So next time you’re writing copy, skip the pushy CTA and craft a narrative instead. Your ROI will thank you.

We doubled our (qualified) inbound lead volume. It all started with our BrandScript. When we used the StoryBrand framework to update our homepage copy, we started converting a LOT more website visitors into actual leads. But...before we could do that, we had to fill in the 7 parts of this key storytelling tool: The BrandScript Here are the 7 points you've gotta get clear (if you want your website to convert more visitors): 1) The Character: What do they want? What do your customers really want, as it relates to your product/service? (Hint: Dig deeper. What they say they want isn’t always what they REALLY want.) 2) The Problem: What’s standing in their way? What’s the villain in their story? Can you personify the root cause of their problem (like we did with “The Client” as the villain in our brand campaign at Teamwork)? 3) The Guide: Why are you the right guide? Answer these 2 questions to make it easy: Empathy: How can you show you understand their struggle? Authority: How can you prove you’ve solved similar problems before? 4) The Plan: What’s the path forward? Keep it simple: What are the 3-4 steps that customers take to reach success with your product/service? 5) The Call to Action: What do they need to do next? What’s the one thing you want them to do? (Schedule a call? Request a demo?) Also, what’s a transitional CTA for those not ready for a direct commitment yet? (Lead magnet, pricing calculator, etc.) 6) Success: What wins do they experience if they follow your plan? List the positive outcomes that will happen for them. We often spend too much time here as marketers, but you still can't skip this step. 7) Failure: What pain are you helping them avoid? Be clear about the negative consequences--if nothing's at stake, they won't take action. What's been the toughest part of your BrandScript to get right? #B2B #marketing #StoryBrand #messaging #webdesign btw...we walk through the step-by-step process to create your own BrandScript in the 1st video of our free 5-part StoryBrand video course. It's available free & ungated on the Business Builders YouTube channel. 📺 Or you can use the link in the comments to get the course delivered to your inbox (along with some free fillable templates). 📧

A client just told me that a report we wrote generated $400K in influenced pipeline. Given their initial investment and average deal size, we're pretty happy with that. Here's what I think we did right: - We started with empathy, not data. We all know that we need to tell a story with data. Data, no matter how objectively interesting, is just more bloody numbers without story-telling. But the story works better if we start with the question: "What narrative will also make the reader feel deeply seen and understood?" In general, I like to build my content around the idea that most people are overworked and underappreciated. Making them feel seen, validated and supported is the job of good content. You want to feel like a sigh of relief. - We were more useful than the typical ebook. We didn't just do a data dump. We had good data, but, on its own, it would get a "huh, interesting, fine, I'm getting on with my day." Instead, we turned it into practical, specific, do-this-right-now advice that would help the reader feel smart in their next team meeting. That resulted in significant organic reach, as people did the unimaginable and...actually shared this report with other people. - We got some really, really good interviews. We got internal SMEs (the type who spend all day talking to clients) to comment on (well, rant about) the data. Because the company culture at this particular brand is to be a) honest and blunt and b) extremely smart, I had a bunch of excellent sound bites to include. They added a lot of punch to the data and made the report something worth actually reading. The overall effect is that you got a specialist consulting session for the price of your email address. - We really cared. It's a little embarrassing, really. The hard-nosed marketer in me feels like this one shouldn't be true. But I've seen it time and again with my clients. With content, you get out what you put in. I don't mean you need to be impractically creative, or spend wildly too long on every piece. But setting a high standard for being meaningful, actionable, clear, and rigorous consistently translates into better marketing results. What do you all think? What else goes into a high ROI piece of content? I'd love to know!