Free Resource
StoryBrand Messaging Checklist
Walk through the seven elements of the SB7 Framework. Answer the questions, check the boxes, and clarify the message that will drive your marketing forward.
Why Message Clarity Matters
Most businesses lose customers not because their product is bad, but because their message is confusing. The StoryBrand SB7 Framework gives you a proven structure to clarify your message so customers listen.
Use this checklist as a self-assessment. For each of the seven elements, answer the guiding questions and check off each item you can confidently say "yes" to. Any unchecked box is an opportunity to sharpen your message.
Character
Your customer is the hero — not your brand.
Every great story starts with a character who wants something. In your marketing, the character is always your customer. You need to clearly define what they want as it relates to your brand.
Guiding Questions
- →What does your customer want as it relates to your product or service?
- →Can you state this desire in a single sentence?
- →Is this desire something your customer would immediately recognize?
Checklist
Problem
Define the villain and the three levels of conflict.
Stories need a villain. The problem your customer faces has three levels: an external problem (tangible), an internal problem (how it makes them feel), and a philosophical problem (why it's just plain wrong).
Guiding Questions
- →What is the external problem your customer faces?
- →How does that problem make them feel (internal frustration)?
- →Why is it unjust that they have to deal with this (philosophical wrong)?
Checklist
Guide
Position your brand as the trusted guide.
Customers aren't looking for another hero. They're looking for a guide — someone who understands their problem and has the authority to help them solve it. You demonstrate this through empathy and competence.
Guiding Questions
- →How do you show empathy for your customer's struggle?
- →What proof of authority do you have (results, credentials, testimonials)?
- →Does your customer immediately feel understood when they land on your site?
Checklist
Plan
Give your customer a clear path forward.
Customers trust a guide who has a plan. A plan removes confusion and reduces the perceived risk of doing business with you. It can be a simple process plan (3 steps) or an agreement plan (promises you make).
Guiding Questions
- →Can you describe your process in 3 simple steps?
- →What commitments or guarantees do you offer?
- →Does the plan make buying from you feel easy and low-risk?
Checklist
Call to Action
Tell people exactly what to do next.
Customers don't take action unless they're challenged to. You need a direct call to action (the primary ask) and a transitional call to action (a lower-commitment entry point) for those not ready to buy yet.
Guiding Questions
- →What is the single, direct action you want customers to take?
- →Do you have a transitional CTA for people not ready to commit?
- →Is your CTA button visible, repeated, and impossible to miss?
Checklist
Failure
Show what's at stake if they don't act.
Stories only work if something is at stake. You must help customers understand the negative consequences of not solving their problem. This isn't fear-mongering — it's honesty about the cost of inaction.
Guiding Questions
- →What will your customer lose if they don't solve this problem?
- →What does failure look like for them — financially, emotionally, relationally?
- →Are you painting a vivid enough picture of what's at stake?
Checklist
Success
Paint a picture of what life looks like after.
End the story with a vision of success. Show your customers what their life will look like after they use your product or service. Be specific — vague promises don't inspire action.
Guiding Questions
- →What does your customer's life look like after they work with you?
- →Can you describe the transformation in concrete, emotional terms?
- →Do your testimonials and case studies illustrate this transformation?
Checklist
Putting It All Together
Once you've worked through all seven elements, you have a completed BrandScript — the foundation of every piece of marketing you create. Use it to rewrite your website, sharpen your sales pitch, align your team, and build campaigns that actually convert.
If any boxes are unchecked, that's where your message is leaking clarity. Start there.