Story as a Weapon: 7 Sentence Formulas to Survive Brand Wars

Author Donald E. Miller · Publisher Willbook · Published 2018-09-30 · ISBN 9791155811856

About the Book

Amazon Best Seller #1 (Business & Money)
Praised by Goodreads, the #1 most trusted review group

The book that saved 3,000 brands

The average person is bombarded with over 3,000 ad messages a day. Only 1-3 of them register in their minds, and the rest become noise.
Is your message successfully getting through to your customers despite this high competition? If not, your business, brand, or current marketing efforts are headed for disaster.

This book is a secret guide to building a 'story,' which is arguably the most crucial element in marketing. It's not about creating a story that simply promotes our brand, but one that captivates the customer's heart. Customers aren't interested in a product's superiority, features, or benefits. They judge within 5 seconds how much a product can help their lives. This book focuses on creating customer-centric stories and effectively communicating them.

Author Donald Miller is primarily a writer. Having topped Amazon's overall bestseller list with his memoir, he discovered a consistent formula during his analysis of countless content pieces for story creation. This formula was followed by global phenomena in movies, novels, TV shows, and even advertisements. He systematized these unbeatable principles, often called the Hollywood Formula, into 7 steps and founded a consulting firm to apply this formula to advertising and marketing. The company's name is StoryBrand. StoryBrand now rescues the brands of over 3,000 business leaders annually.

Indeed, few deny the power of stories. A clear story wins hearts, while a vague one leads to massive losses. Stories possess the power to determine success or failure. However, applying already successful storytelling examples is often impractical. And simply copying them can have the counterproductive effect of undermining brand credibility. Ultimately, what's needed is a powerful story tailored to our brand. The strength of this book lies in the process of creating your own story as you follow the author's explanations. Anyone can create their own story by following the 7-step formula presented by the author.

These formulas are not just for large companies. The essence of the 7-sentence formula is its applicability to all brands equally. Marketing managers at large corporations, owners of small businesses, advertisers seeking unique ideas, and even individual entrepreneurs running solo businesses on their social media can change the way they introduce themselves forever through the 7-sentence formula.

Now, let's speak clearly. What your brand does, and what unique value only this brand can deliver. Because you are the only one who can accurately speak about your brand. Ultimately, this book inspires a fundamental reflection on not only stories but also what your brand should look like. This is why the sincerity is felt in the countless accolades sent by companies to the author and the book.

Table of Contents

Foreword · 10

Part 1: Why Your Marketing Failed
They Don't Care About Your Story · 14
There's a Formula to Story · 27

Part 2: Stories That Become Weapons
The StoryBrand 7-Step Formula · 42
Step 1_The Character · 58
Step 2_Faces a Problem · 72
Step 3_Meets a Guide · 89
Step 4_Is Given a Plan · 103
Step 5_Is Called to Action · 113
Step 6_Helps Them Avoid Failure · 126
Step 7_Ends in Success · 137
The Foundation of It All_What Customers Truly Want · 151

Part 3: Secret Weapon to Grow My Company
Starting Phase_Website · 164
Next Phase_Internal Organization · 177
Final Phase_Roadmap for the Company · 193

Afterword · 234
Notes · 236