Lists / People
Donald Miller
storybrand / *Building a StoryBrand*
Donald Miller is the founder and CEO of StoryBrand and Business Made Simple, companies that help organisations clarify their messaging. His 2017 book *Building a StoryBrand* argues that brands improve customer engagement by casting the customer as the hero and the brand as the guide. The framework has been adopted widely in marketing, sales copywriting, and business strategy.
55/ 100
Authority scoreEstablished
1lists#38peak1primary1category
Frameworks
Attributed to Donald Miller
Mental models, principles, and operating frameworks extracted from sources where Donald is the credited author or speaker.
24frameworks
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The Aspirational Identity Transformation
Define who your customer wants to become and position your brand as the vehicle for that transformation
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Listen
The BrandScript
A one-page document that organizes your entire brand narrative into a clear, repeatable message using all seven story elements.
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand
The Controlling Idea
The single, central message that all marketing copy serves — the moral of the story you are inviting customers into
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Listen
The Customer Transformation Framework
Define who your customer becomes after working with you
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
The Direct and Transitional Calls to Action
Ask customers to marry you, and when they say no, ask for another date
Sales·from Building a StoryBrand - Clarify Your Message So Customers
The Fear Appeal Formula
A four-step process to communicate stakes without fearmongering
Communication·from Building a StoryBrand - Clarify Your Message So Customers
The Grunt Test
If a caveman can't understand your website in 5 seconds, you lose
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
The Guide Positioning Framework
Win trust and respect by expressing empathy and demonstrating authority
Communication·from Building a StoryBrand - Clarify Your Message So Customers
The Guide Positioning Model
Position your brand as the empathetic, authoritative guide in your customer's story — not the hero.
Communication·from Building a StoryBrand
The Identity Transformation Framework
Brands that participate in their customer's transformation create passionate evangelists
Self-Mastery·from Building a StoryBrand - Clarify Your Message So Customers
The Narrative Void and On-Mission Framework
Replace mission statements with living stories that align every stakeholder
Leadership·from Building a StoryBrand - Clarify Your Message So Customers
The One-Liner
A single memorable statement that makes people want to know more
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
The One-Liner Formula
A four-part statement that makes people want your business card
Communication·from Building a StoryBrand - Clarify Your Message So Customers
The Plan Element
Give customers clear stepping stones across the creek of uncertainty — a process plan for clarity and an agreement plan for trust.
Communication·from Building a StoryBrand
The SB7 Framework
Seven story elements that clarify your brand message so customers listen
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand - Clarify Your Message So Customers
The SB7 StoryBrand Framework
A seven-part story structure that clarifies brand messaging so customers listen, engage, and buy
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Listen
The StoryBrand BrandScript
A single-page messaging document that captures your brand's seven core sound bites for use across all marketing channels
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Listen
The StoryBrand Marketing Roadmap
Five almost-free steps to implement your brand message and grow revenue
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand - Clarify Your Message So Customers
The StoryBrand Messaging and Marketing Campaign
Seven marketing pieces that turn your BrandScript into revenue
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
The StoryBrand Website Framework
Five things every website must include to convert browsers into buyers
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand - Clarify Your Message So Customers
The StoryBrand Website Wireframe
Eight sections that turn your website into a sales machine
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
The Story Gap Principle
Open a gap between what the customer wants and what they have — then offer to close it — to magnetically drive attention and action
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Listen
The Three Levels of Customer Problems
Address the external problem customers describe, the internal frustration driving them, and the philosophical injustice they feel
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Listen
The Three Levels of Problem
External, internal, and philosophical problems unlock deeper customer connection
Marketing·from Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
Domains
Framework distribution
27frameworks
Marketing17 frameworks · 63%
Communication5 frameworks · 18.5%
Sales3 frameworks · 11.1%
Leadership1 framework · 3.7%
Self-Mastery1 framework · 0%
Bibliography
Sources by Donald Miller
6sources
Book
20252025202420172017—
Building a StoryBrand 2.0
Book
Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
Book·12 frameworks extracted
Building a StoryBrand 2.0: Clarify Your Message So Customers Listen
Book·14 frameworks extracted
Building a StoryBrand
Book·6 frameworks extracted
Building a StoryBrand - Clarify Your Message So Customers
Book·22 frameworks extracted
Marketing Made Simple
Book
Appears alongside
Top neighbors of Donald Miller
8people
01
A.G. Lafley & Roger Martin
playing-to-win / *Playing to Win*
1shared list
02Adam Grant
give-and-take / *Give and Take*, *Originals*, *Think Again*
1shared list
03Alice Schroeder
Buffett biographer / *The Snowball*
1shared list
04Andrew Lo
adaptive markets / *Adaptive Markets*
1shared list
05Andy Stanley
leadership communication / *Communicating for a Change*
1shared list
06Angela Duckworth
grit / *Grit*
1shared list
07Annie Murphy Paul
extended mind / *The Extended Mind*
1shared list
08Ashlee Vance
Musk biographer / *Elon Musk* (2015)
1shared list
Last updated
10 May 2026