How to Tell Your Brand’s Whole Story in Just a Few Words

Founders struggle to pitch their brand. How do you distill a complex company into a single sentence that will compel customers to buy?

In 2017, Donald Miller published an answer to that: It’s a book called Building a StoryBrand, and it’s now sold more than a million copies and has cemented him as the king of brand storytelling. In it, he explains that brands must tell stories the same way that movies do: Your story must center on a hero (your customer) who needs a guide (your company), and the guide provides a plan, a call to action, and helps them avoid high-stakes failure. The story must engage emotional and philosophical elements. And it must do so simply and clearly.

Miller recently released an updated version of his book, along with an AI tool called StoryBrand AI, which can craft taglines, marketing plans, and more. In this conversation, he explains the most important part of brand storytelling — being a guide! — and how to communicate your value in a single, powerful sentence.