You’re doing storytelling wrong 🤬😩😕

And it’s costing you more than you think.

Author

Stephen Stanberry
November 13th, 2025

In partnership with

How to fail at storytelling friend! 
I’m getting straight to the point.

Start by convincing yourself you need everything except the one thing that matters.

When I started sharing my ideas, I had no clue what direction to take.
I kept stacking skills like trophies, believing each one would fix the gap I felt.

I convinced myself I needed to master:

Messaging
Brand visuals
Funnels
Editing
Voice work
Landing pages
Creative tools
Templates
Publishing systems
Automation
Outreach

And sure, in a perfect world it helps to understand a bit of all of this.

But none of it turns you into a storyteller people trust.
Not even close.

You become someone worth listening to by getting strong in one specific area.

Because that one area strengthens everything else you create.

To build a brand driven by story, you need to elevate:

Your posts
Your long-form writing
Your offers
Your experiences
Your voice

And all of this comes back to one core ability.

Storytelling.

Today I’m going to break down why this is true, the mistakes people make when learning it, and how to sharpen the skill so you stop hiding behind tactics and start leading with meaning.

Let’s get into it.

The Center Of All Communication

Every piece of content you publish depends on narrative clarity.

You can produce:

Podcasts
Short videos
Weekly emails
Breakdowns
Slideshows
Long essays
Short updates
Quote posts

All of these formats rely on a story arc your viewer understands instantly.
They all depend on emotion, pacing, clarity, and direction.

Let’s look at each content style.

Long-Form

For deep content like:

Podcasts
YouTube videos
Newsletters

You need structure.
You need a beginning, tension, and a shift.
Even creators who seem effortless have a narrative spine before they hit record.

Medium-Form

For formats like:

Threads
Carousels
Mini-stories

You still need narrative flow.
A setup.
A turning point.
A payoff.
These pieces work because the story does the heavy lifting.

Short-Form

Even your smallest content has a narrative beat.

Short clips
Static posts
Screenshots
Micro-lessons

All of these depend on a story moment your audience instantly understands.
Story is the center of every medium.

And story isn’t only the foundation of your content.
It’s the foundation of your business.

The Center Of Revenue

To earn consistently, you need three areas dialed in.

Here’s the breakdown.

Layer 1 — Visibility

This includes:

Your posts
Your emails
Your audience growth tools

Every one of these requires story to grab attention and hold it.

Layer 2 — Conversion

This includes:

Your offers
Your pages
Your pitch sequences

These all rely on emotional truth.
Story is how you turn interest into decisions.

Layer 3 — Delivery

This includes:

Your products
Your communities
Your support

Story makes your teaching memorable and your clients loyal.

This repetition is intentional.
You need to understand how central story is to everything you build.

It shapes your authority.
It strengthens your message.
It grows your income.

Let me simplify it even further.

Storytelling is the skill of drawing attention, guiding attention, and transforming attention.

So let’s break down the essentials.

Hooks (Pull Them In)

Your opening line must carry curiosity.
The only question is:
Does your reader need to know what comes next?

Here are the five elements that make a hook impossible to ignore:

Clarity. One clean idea
Fit. Directly tied to who you're speaking to
Recognition. They’ve felt this before
Emotion. A feeling they can’t ignore
Outcome. A reason to keep going

The more of these you include, the stronger your hook becomes.

Flow (Keep Them Reading)

Your story needs rhythm.
Your structure must be clean.
Your spacing must breathe.
This is the writing version of editing a video down to its strongest beats.

Here are the five foundations of flow:

Space. Easier to follow
Simplicity. No mental friction
Narrative. A person, a moment, a shift
Pacing. Mix long and short lines
Skimmability. Let the eyes glide

The more of this you use, the longer people stay with you.

Offers (Guide Them Forward)

Story earns trust.
But trust must lead somewhere.

A strong offer answers five questions:

What outcome does this create
How does the person get there
How long does it take
What makes it different
Why move now

When you can answer these clearly, your story becomes a bridge to revenue.

You now see the importance of storytelling and how it transforms everything you produce.

If you want support implementing this, join the community
You’ll get the full breakdown soon.

Talk soon,
Stephen

Your Boss Will Think You’re an Ecom Genius

If you’re optimizing for growth, you need ecomm tactics that actually work. Not mushy strategies.

Go-to-Millions is the ecommerce growth newsletter from Ari Murray, packed with tactical insights, smart creative, and marketing that drives revenue.

Every issue is built for operators: clear, punchy, and grounded in what’s working, from product strategy to paid media to conversion lifts.

Subscribe for free and get your next growth unlock delivered weekly.

Reply

or to participate.