# Storybrand messaging Human Guide

## What This Is For
Clarify your message so customers will listen. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for brand and messaging: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Storybrand messaging agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for storybrand messaging.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Storybrand messaging guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- Focus on ONE desire per message — multiple desires dilute the story gap
- Tie the desire to survival (physical, financial, relational, or spiritual)
- Aspirational identity is powerful ("become the leader everyone respects")
- Different segments have different desires — write separate messaging per role, stage, and pain intensity
- "You want [specific desire]..."
- "Imagine [aspirational identity]..."
- "What if you could [single clear outcome]?"
- External: "my investments are scattered"; internal: "I feel overwhelmed"; philosophical: "people shouldn't need to be experts to retire well"
- A good villain is specific and relatable, not abstract — "Wall Street jargon designed to confuse you", not "complexity"
- Most brands stop at external problems, missing the internal ones that drive purchases
- "You're tired of [internal problem]..."
- "[Villain] has been keeping you from [desire]..."

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Core Principle, Scoring, The SB7 Framework, A Character (The Hero), Has a Problem, And Meets a Guide, Who Gives Them a Plan, And Calls Them to Action, That Helps Them Avoid Failure, And Ends in Success.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Clarify your message so customers will listen. Customers don't buy the best products — they buy the ones they can understand the fastest.
- Never make your origin story the centerpiece — that is hero behavior; brief, relevant credentials suffice
- "You don't have to figure this out alone..."
- **Core concept:** If you don't ask, they won't act. Use a Direct CTA (primary conversion action) plus a Transitional CTA (lower-commitment alternative).
- **Ethical boundary:** Never label a paid action as "free" or a Transitional CTA — the button text must match what happens on click.
- 6. That Helps Them Avoid Failure
- A taste of consequence is enough — don't run a scare campaign
- "Don't let [negative outcome] happen when [solution] is this simple."

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Storybrand messaging human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the wondelai/skills skill entry for `storybrand-messaging`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# StoryBrand Messaging Framework

Clarify your message so customers will listen. Customers don't buy the best products — they buy the ones they can understand the fastest.

## Core Principle

**The customer is the hero, not your brand.** Your brand is the guide who helps the hero win. Position yourself as the hero and you compete with your customer; position yourself as the guide and you serve them.

## Scoring

**Goal: 10/10.** Score any marketing copy or brand messaging by the Quick Diagnostic: 1 point per satisfied row (7 rows) plus up to 3 points for a one-liner that passes the cocktail party test (clear + repeatable in one hearing). Bands: 9-10 = customer is the hero, all three problem levels named, empathy + authority both shown, a 3-step plan, one obvious Direct CTA, and both success and failure stakes painted; 5-6 = SB7 partly applied but the internal problem, stakes, or CTA is missing; <=3 = brand-as-hero, feature-led, or no clear ask. Always state the current score and the specific changes needed to reach 10/10.

## The SB7 Framework

Every compelling story follows the same pattern. Use this structure for all messaging:

### 1. A Character (The Hero)

**Core concept:** The customer is the hero, and your job is to define the ONE thing they want. Be specific about that single desire.

**Why it works:** Naming a desire opens a story gap — the distance between where the customer is and where they want to be. That tension pulls them in because they feel understood and want the gap closed.

**Key insights:**
- Focus on ONE desire per message — multiple desires dilute the story gap
- Tie the desire to survival (physical, financial, relational, or spiritual)
- Aspirational identity is powerful ("become the leader everyone respects")
- Different segments have different desires — write separate messaging per role, stage, and pain intensity

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| Homepage headline | Desire as outcome | "You want a beautiful smile" (not "our dentistry is excellent") |
| Landing page | One desire per page | "You want to retire early" |
| Segmentation | Tailor desire per segment | CEO: "Scale without chaos" vs. IC: "Do your best work without friction" |

**Copy patterns:**
- "You want [specific desire]..."
- "Imagine [aspirational identity]..."
- "What if you could [single clear outcome]?"

See: [references/brand-script.md](references/brand-script.md) — fill out the BrandScript worksheet here when you need to draft all seven elements for a client from scratch.

### 2. Has a Problem

**Core concept:** Define the problem at three levels — external (tangible), internal (emotional), philosophical (the injustice) — and personify it with a specific villain.

**Why it works:** Companies sell solutions to external problems, but customers buy solutions to internal ones. Naming how the problem makes them feel — confused, overwhelmed, embarrassed — taps the emotional driver behind purchases.

**Key insights:**
- External: "my investments are scattered"; internal: "I feel overwhelmed"; philosophical: "people shouldn't need to be experts to retire well"
- A good villain is specific and relatable, not abstract — "Wall Street jargon designed to confuse you", not "complexity"
- Most brands stop at external problems, missing the internal ones that drive purchases

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |
|---------|-------------|---------|
| Website problem section | Name all three levels | External: "Scattered tools." Internal: "You feel overwhelmed." Philosophical: "Teams deserve clarity." |
| Email nurture | Lead with internal problem | "Tired of feeling like you're guessing?" |
| Ad copy | Personify the villain | "Stop letting confusing software steal your evenings." |

**Copy patterns:**
- "You're tired of [internal problem]..."
- "[Villain] has been keeping you from [desire]..."
- "It's not right that [philosophical problem]..."

### 3. And Meets a Guide

**Core concept:** Your brand is the guide, expressing empathy AND authority. Empathy shows you understand the pain; authority proves you can solve it.

**Why it works:** Customers are looking for a guide, not another hero — think Yoda, not Luke. Empathy makes them feel seen, authority (testimonials, logos, statistics) makes them feel safe, and together they create trust.

**Key insights:**
- Show empathy with "we understand" language; show authority with testimonials, client logos, statistics, awards
- Never make your origin story the centerpiece — that is hero behavior; brief, relevant credentials suffice

**Product applications:**

| Context | Application | Example |