I've been spending a ton of time doing research on social media lately, and I've noticed something. Everyone says storytelling sells, but nobody’s explaining how to actually write a good story.

To be fair, it’s not easy to teach the art of telling a good story. That’s why you mostly see generic advice like:

• “Be vulnerable”
• “Have a good hook”
• “Use curiosity”

But…how do you do those things?

It’s not just that some entrepreneurs are natural-born storytellers and others aren’t.

The ones who are successful at using stories to sell gave themselves a leg up. They learned the narrative techniques of best-selling fiction and nonfiction authors. They dissected hit movies and books. They soaked up wisdom from the best storytellers out there.

They studied the core storytelling framework that hooks audiences and doesn’t let them go.

I'm not talking about using cheap tricks to go viral—we’re talking about naturally telling stories that stick with your audience, long after they’ve finished reading.

I’m going to show you that exact framework in this newsletter, don’t worry!

(I’ve also got a cheat sheet for you at the end.)

But first, I need you to know two things.

⭐ Thing 1: You can use this framework anywhere ⭐

Use it to write a full novel or an Instagram reel. Use it to craft stories for newsletters, keynote speeches, and webinars.

And once you’ve studied this framework, it’ll come so naturally you won’t always even realize you’re using it. But you will see the results in your sales, conversions, and deepening connections with your audience.

⭐ Thing 2: The framework is deceptively simple ⭐

This framework—like everything you’ll learn about writing craft—has many layers.

It’s a tool you can implement immediately to see strong business results, AND it’s something you can study for decades to come to continue improving your craft.

And believe me, I have been. I’m the author of over 20 books, and this is the framework that I use to tell compelling stories, some of which have hit bestseller charts.

I gleaned it from decades of studying master storytellers and the craft of writing—and from studying marketing and working with entrepreneurs like you.

Let’s dive in.

🧲 MAGNETIC STORY FRAMEWORK 🧲

The elements of a magnetic story that sells:

Protagonist:
Who is the main character of your story?

In fiction, this is simple—the protagonist is the person the story follows. When you’re writing stories for your business, though, this is a trick question.

On the surface, the story could be about you. It could be about a client, someone you saw at the coffee shop—or even a completely fictional character in a made-up anecdote.

But: the protagonist is your customer.

Whoever is technically at the center of your story, they MUST act as a mirror for your for your real protagonist, your customer.

Desire/Need: ​
What does your protagonist want, and what—more importantly—do they really need?

The Desire/Need dichotomy is the first of the two narrative gaps that create deliciously magnetic tension in your story.

(It also maps to your customer’s pain point.)

Your protagonist desires a trip to Greece. They need a way to integrate that peace into their daily life.

Your protagonist desires to create viral content. They need to create connections.

In both examples, you can see that the desire and need aren’t always at complete odds. But achieving the desire rarely actually meets the need, and most of us are much better at stating our desire than understanding what we actually need.

That’s why if you can illustrate that in a story, it makes your audience feel incredibly seen.

Misbelief/Truth:
​What false belief is standing in the way of them achieving their goal? And what is the one truth they need to realize in order to go forward?

The Misbelief/Truth dichotomy is the second narrative gap that creates tension.

(And it also touches on the pain point, but in a deeper psychological way.)

The misbelief is the stuck mindset that’s holding them back, while the truth is the shift that will let them move forward.

THIS IS CRITICAL.

Because if your protagonist wanted something and it was within reach, they’d just get it and they wouldn’t be hunting around for a solution to ease their pain.

They need to shed their misbelief and recognize the truth if they’re going to succeed.

First Door of No Return/Struggle: ​
What causes the protagonist to walk out into a path of struggle, instead of staying in the status quo? And what about that struggle teaches the protagonist to overcome that misbelief? (Or drives them to finally seek help?)

In fiction, the first Door of No Return is the moment when the protagonist can't ignore the call to action. Whether by choice or because they've been dragged kicking and screaming ahead, it's time for them to embark on a journey.

That journey, of course, won't be easy. They're trying to achieve their goal—get the girl, save the world, throw the One Ring into the fiery heart of Mordor—but obstacles are in their way.

In fiction, we call this the try-fail cycle.

When you think of any movie or book, this makes up the majority of the story time. The protagonist tries and fails to achieve their desire, over and over again—with different disastrous outcomes.

Why?

Because they’ve refused to let go of the misbelief they’re holding.

We all have to experience struggle to actually learn the true lesson.

(Though we can learn it through the stories of others, why is why telling YOUR OWN story is such a powerful selling tool!)

As the audience, we watch this struggle-bus section and root for the protagonist to leave behind their misbelief and discover the truth—for them to figure out that what they desire isn’t actually what they need.

We’re rooting for…

Transformation:
​What’s the moment of realization?

This is it.

This is the climax of the movie, the turning point in a customer journey, the moment we’ve all been waiting for!

This is the second Door of No Return, where the protagonist has realized the key to success has been within them all along, and they have what it takes to cross the finish line.

This doesn’t have to be a big event—in fact, even in the most epic explosion-y, car chase-y movies, the transformation moment is often held in a single expression. The selfish character meets another's gaze, then throws herself off a cliff to save the world. The emotionally wounded character pauses with one foot out of the cab, then takes a deep breath, sits back down, and tells the cabbie to take him to his true love's address.

The climactic events around the transformation may be busy and chaotic, but the transformation itself is in that shared glance, that deep breath.

And if you’ve set up your protagonist’s desire/need and misbelief/truth dichotomies well and illustrated them with the struggle, it will be extremely powerful.

Outcome: ​
What happens as a result of this journey?

This is the Promised Land. It’s the happy ending, if you’re writing an inspirational story—or a tragic ending, if you’re writing something meant to inspire your audience down a different path.

In fiction, this is the “denouement,” which shows how things turned out.

In a selling story, this is where you show your audience their dreams coming true, bringing them deeper into your world.

OK—that’s the framework.

Try using it next time you write a story and see how much more powerful it feels!

Of course, knowing how to tell good stories is only one part of the equation. Next, I'll dig into an equally important part: How to find stories in the first place.

See you then!

ACTION STEPS

📌 Save this article so you can find it later, then download my printable Story Framework Cheat Sheet so you’ll always have this on hand.

Happy storytelling!
Jessie