or build a system
StoryBrand hands you a storyline. The Distilled Brand® gives you a strategic messaging platform you can own, repeat, and scale.
Script vs. system
Most frameworks will show you how to tell a story. But telling a story isn’t the same as building a lasting brand.
You don’t need you a set of lines.
You need a system that ensures your message works everywhere; your website, offers, sales calls, marketing.
Because story without positioning is just theater. And you’re not here to play pretend.
Find the right words
Develop relevant content
Create an irresistible offer
StoryBrand®️ is great for companies drowning in complexity who need a “quick win” narrative.
BUT…
That narrative doesn’t help if it’s not differentiated or you don’t know how to use it
Chances are, you’re here because you read Building a StoryBrand (or even Marketing Made Simple) and are convinced it’s what you need. After all, it just makes sense. However, as a former StoryBrand guide (I was one of the first 20 certified), I can tell you that while words may be free, even the best ones don’t help if you’re missing key ingredients.
The Missing Ingredients in StoryBrand
StoryBrand forces clarity. But it skips the two parts that make clarity powerful: Audience and Positioning.
Without positioning, your message might sound nice, but it won’t stick. And without understanding your audience, you risk being generic, forgettable, and interchangeable with every brand following the same template.
That’s why we start where StoryBrand doesn’t. By clarifying your essence, your differentiators, your proof, and your voice, your message isn’t just clear; it demonstrates your authority.
StoryBrand gives you a script. The Distilled Brand® gives you a system.
Carrie Skowronski – Owner Leadology
Retail Leadership Development
Matthew Moore – Owner Extension.Team
Paid Media Agency
Two ways to build a system not a script
The Brand Messaging System
Group Program
Perfect for: Founders and small businesses who want a complete, repeatable system to align their positioning, messaging, and offers across every touchpoint.
You’ll Get:
- Clear positioning that defines your real differentiation and who values it most
- A repeatable system for websites, content, sales, and marketing
- Messaging distilled into a framework you can use everywhere
- Offer design that makes your value obvious and scalable
Best If You Want:
A full messaging engine that powers all your marketing and sales.
“I love the framework. I keep seeing why marketing was so hard for me before. Now I know it was the messaging. Even my offer was complicated. Now I see where and how to go back and fix all those things.”
The Brand Messaging System
Guided Experience
Perfect for: Founders and small business owners with a small team who wants to move quickly with direct, high-touch, one-on-one support.
You’ll Get:
- Help with your most pressing question from business to brand clarity
- Work side-by-side (1:1) with me to build a complete messaging system
- Everything wrapped up in 30 to 45 days, depending on schedules
- A complete brand messaging playbook to get your teams
Best If You Want:
A full messaging engine to power your marketing and sales without working in a group setting.
“Having the one-to-one support really helped me bring together all the other programs I’d been through. I finally have the structure, the confidence, and the clarity to be consistent; this was the missing link.”
You don’t need a script. You need a system.
StoryBrand will help you tidy up your homepage copy, but a messaging engine runs across your entire business. With a messaging system, every webpage, every pitch, every piece of content flows from the same distilled source.
The difference is clear:
StoryBrand®
The Distilled Brand®
Neutral, accessible, “template” style.
Easy to understand, but oversimplifies, which leads to generic, fill-in-the-blank messaging.
express a unique POV, not a templated story.
Develop your unique point-of-view and write the story of your brand through your customer’s eyes.
Can feel “same-y” across brands
Stays surface level without adding the depth brands need to differentiate.
stops at the homepage or sales funnel.
Doesn’t help with positioning, offers, or ongoing content.
Provides depth + differentiation that scales.
Get to your essence; that’s what makes you different. Skip the Mad Lib templates.
Creates a repeatable system
Leverage your differentiated positioning and messaging through all of your marketing materials.
“I had been through programs before, but this one gave me the clarity and the language to talk about my business in a way that actually connects with the right people. Now, everything I do, my offers, my content, my conversations, feels aligned.”
“The program has structure, is simple to follow, and has no “woo woo stuff.” I now have more confidence in my marketing as my message and the value I provide to clients is clear.”
The Brand Messaging System™ aligns your message everywhere
Questions about a script vs a system
How does StoryBrand help?
StoryBrand gives you a simple framework to focus your message on your customer. Unfortunately, it does not help you with the next step in the process which is what do you do with your message.
Will StoryBrand help build a marketing plan?
No. StoryBrand is a framework to help you clarify your message, by itself, it does not help you market your brand.
Are you a certified StoryBrand Guide?
No. While I was one of the first twenty guides certified, after six years, I decided not to renew my certification.
Do you help with create BrandScripts?
No. Since I am no longer a certified guide, I can’t help you create a BrandScript.
Why should I choose you?
Here’s my brief pitch. I was one of the first twenty guides trained. In April 2023, I decided not to renew my certification. Prior to this, I helped over a hundred clients clarify their message using the StoryBrand framework, so I understand exactly what you are struggling with right now.
Clarifying your message is challenging on your own because you’re too close to what you do. Trying to see your business the way your customers do is literally like trying to see the forest for the trees. No matter how hard you try, you’ll struggle to pull the right message from your head.
To get there, you likely need a guide. Someone who can help you find the essence of your message so you can tell your brand’s story everywhere.
Ready to Distill Your Messaging and Brand?
StoryBrand will help you tell a clearer story. I know. I was one of the first 20 StoryBrand Certified Marketing and Messaging Experts (Guides) and stayed that way for five years until I recognized its shortcomings. That’s why I created The Brand Messaging System™.
The Brand Messaging System™ goes beyond filling in the blanks on a Mad Libs worksheet and helps you become the kind of differentiated brand worth telling stories about.
I have a saying at The Distilled Brand®️: you can’t scale what you can’t say. And you definitely can’t scale the same thing everyone else says. Instead, nail your position, distill your message, and align your brand across all customer touchpoints.
This isn’t theory; it’s been battle-tested across hundreds of businesses.
