The story you keep skipping over

Why the small story sells better than the big one

Author

Stephen Stanberry
October 8th, 2025

friend, yesterday I showed you seven headline formulas.
The kind that make people stop scrolling and think, “wait, what’s this?”

But here’s what I didn’t tell you.

Headlines get attention.
Stories build trust.

And most people?
They skip the story that actually matters.

They write about success, not struggle.
They show wins, not wobbles.
They tell people what they know, instead of what they felt.

I used to do the same thing.

Back when I started posting online, I thought every story had to be big.
A huge turning point.
A wild lesson.
Something dramatic enough to deserve a headline.

But the stories that get replies?
They’re never the big ones.

They’re the tiny, throwaway moments that carry something real inside them.
The message from a client that made you rethink your offer.
The bad day that turned into a new boundary.
Something your kid said or did.

Those are the ones people remember.
Because they sound like them.

If you’re writing content and it feels hard to connect…
go smaller.

Don’t look for something impressive.
Look for something honest.

Till tomorrow,
Stephen

PS: I did promise you 40 more of these plug-and-play templates yesterday so you can grab them here. I keep updating these, so bookmark it.

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