You Don't Have to Mad Gab Your Messaging

"Jon, I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!"

Three, no, four "hate it's".

Tiffany's voice shook on the other end of the call.

"Hi, Tiffany, um, good to connect with you. What do you hate?"

"I haaate StoryBrand!"

For context, this was our onboarding call, and she was using ALL the vowels today. That's a big-time hate.

Channeling my inner Larry King, I prompted, "Because...?"

"Because I went through all the prompts, did their exercises, used that stupid worksheet thing they have, and my brand-new message doesn't sound ANYTHING like me! I loved the book, but the course was AWFUL for me!"

Before I could respond, Tiffany continued.

"So, I tried ChatGPT, ya know, just put in my prompts, did a few things, and it was fun and exciting with how fast it was, and I even told it to ask me gobs of questions about my business, my crowd, all that, but Jon, it still sounded SO just blah, you know? Just total Vanilla Town!"

"Tiffany, who told you to just use StoryBrand or ChatGPT to create your new message?"

The backstory flooded out in the next few minutes.

Some marketing 'guru' (read: overnight 'success' bro/former crypto trader/former AirBnB host in front of a rented Lambo - not me) told her,

"Tiffany, if you want to stand out as a coach, you gotta power up your messaging! It's all about the messaging from stages, bro! Just go through StoryBrand or ChatGPT and you'll totally have this eye-poppin', cash-stackin' way to talk about your business! It's so easy you don't need to hire a copywriter or a messaging coach."

Sidebar: That same marketing bro is now peddling Faraday bags for preppers, but I digress.

Yes, you need to get your voice out there in a natural, powerful way so your audience can connect with your message.

Let me be clear: Even though I'm not a StoryBrand coach, I am a fan of Donald Miller and StoryBrand.

(StoryBrand evangelists, put down the pitchfork and re-read that last sentence.)

We use some StoryBrand principles in our client work, but it's simply one tool in our toolkit, not the holy grail of messaging.

Final caveat: I also use ChatGPT, custom GPTs, Claude, and the whole LLM gang daily.

The problem is that far too many coaches, consultants, and advisors rely on ChatGPT or some Mad Gab approach to messaging.

With a few keystrokes, it's almost like they expect this anointed scroll of perfect messaging and marketing to flow from heaven.

"Just say this in every conversation with a prospect, and they'll throw gold bars at your feet, begging to work with you!"

However, the expectations of a StoryBrand and a ChatGPT often don't match the experience of using those tools.

Sound familiar?

The biggest challenge is that no template or LLM, as incredibly powerful as it may be, can truly articulate what matters to you.

Without that organic, human-to-human connection, your messaging — how you talk about what you do — will not feel as natural or compelling.

You may come up with some exciting, even tantalizing phrases, but the heart won't be there.

It takes another human who can draw out those values in a natural, relaxed way.

That's one of my gifts: Helping incredible but stuck experts like yourself figure out a better, stronger way to share why you do what you do.

Then, we can amplify that message to a larger audience through speaking opportunities.

And all without completely reinventing yourself, sounding scripted, or doing anything outside your values or personality.

Let's make this your new reality for 2025.

Not sure where to start? Send me a note to start a conversation.