Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step StoryBrand Guide for Any Business by Donald Miller

Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step StoryBrand Guide for Any Business Reviews

• 
  Mandi Ehman

  3.5 stars
  
  I believe in the Storybrand method and appreciate the step-by-step workshop nature of this book. But I think it would have been better if Miller had written the book as a stand-alone guide and not another marketing tool to grow the Storybrand brand. I know there are live workshops; I know there are trained guides; I know there’s a Business Made Simple University. At an intellectual level, I understand why he doesn’t miss an opportunity to introduce readers to those things, and I wouldn’t say it even felt particularly heavy handed, but I wish we could have just focused on the content itself rather than seeing it as part of the funnel.
• 
  Laura Simis

  This would be a great beginner’s guide for someone just getting started with marketing for their small business!
  This wasn’t a book I chose for myself, but I found many of the actionable items redundant. A lot of “fluff” for someone who already understood the basic concepts, but broken down into bite-sized pieces really well for someone who is trying to DIY an in-house marketing strategy for the first time.
• 
  Jason

  An introductory-level overview of some basic marketing tools and techniques, like clear messaging, landing pages and email sequences. As opposed to Miller’s “Building a Story Brand,” which offers a memorable framework for organizations of any type, this book was really geared more toward small businesses who need some very practical DIY marketing advice. (And I’m sorry, but I had to laugh at its claims that it’ll teach you more than what 90% of professional marketers know.) Don’t get me wrong: there is plenty of good advice, reminders and reinforcements in here. But I didn’t enjoy it as much as “Story Brand” and found the frequent up-sells to their website a little off-putting. (Also, there’s little to no mention of advertising, SEO, pricing strategy, differentiation from competitors, etc.)
• 
  Drew

  Lots of very practical helpful advice in this book.
  
  With a couple of specific caveats, it's mostly solid gold advice.
  
  As a marketer, I didn't hear a lot of NEW information, but it did help to wrap my brain around a summary of the main elements of full stack marketing for a company.
  
  Also helps to read a book like this, which is often more for a business owner or manager instead of a marketing person, to see how these kinds of initiatives are internally sold to stakeholders that approve or reject new marketing plans like these.
• 
  Amanda Tero

  If you sell anything, put this on your to-read list.
  
  I listened to this audiobook in a busy season where I couldn’t apply the principles, but it is totally going on my to-read-again list because I want to dig in and do the homework.
• 
  Tyler Williams

  There is definite some good practical help in this book. I think if you implemented some of it, it would work. However Miller, I’m doing what he suggests, positions himself as an expert in this topic, and continues to sell himself and his method as faultless throughout the entire book. And if it felt like he was just trying to sell me the whole time and he was using his methods... what would others think of me using the same system. Also, there was a surprising lack of humility for a book on a topic that is more like an art or an inexact science than formulaic... especially for someone like Miller who has seemed to champion humility in his first books. Honestly, the delivery was just so off putting that I probably missed some great advice.
• 
  Tom

  Once in a while I grab a new marketing book to look for new insights
  
  This is an advertorial / sales pitch for his services.
• 
  Joseph L.

  Watch a detailed review along with my favorite ideas and takeaways at:
  
  https://youtu.be/JE8nYkEvPZI
• 
  Kirill Borzov

  This is a fantastic book! It’s definitely not what I expected based in the title, but it was triple worth the time. The author(s) give clear practical advice on building a sales funnel and multiple examples on how to do that. This is basically your step by step guide to start making money for whatever you do. I already have a dozen of actions and ideas that I’m itching to implement.
  It’s a small book so if you’re interested, you should give it a try!
• 
  carla

  One of the early stage companies I advise asked if there were any good marketing books they could read to better understand process and how marketing works so I have been checking out a variety of books from high level to more tactical. This book is not right for them but I can say it is pretty easy reading and you can glean some super practical ideas from it. That said this isn’t really about marketing and the distinctions the authors draw between marketing and brand really irk me. I have used some of the story brand work elsewhere and found it to be useful and a little higher level than this book. That said if you run a small company or a mom & pop business and just need to GTD it this book is probably useful advice. It is not super strategic and you will need to search elsewhere for that.
• 
  Melody

  If you want to design a website, where do you even start? This step by step guide walks you through how to think about the content. With a big focus on an execution plan for getting it done.
  
  Read it more than once to understand the depth of the ideas presented in a very simple to understand way.
• 
  Erik Rostad

  Extremely practical marketing guide. Great workbook to get you on the right track.
• 
  Carina Duffy

  This is really a workbook - you really have to be ready to put in the time and do the work Donald's outlining in order to get anything out of this book (which is a good thing!).
• 
  Mayar El Mahdy

  2.5/5
  
  If you read the other 2 books, you don't need to read this. It has the same points, though, so it serves as a good refresher.
  
  
• 
  Vanessa Smith

  Probably one of the best marketing books I’ve ever read. Very practical, useful information. THIS is what should be taught in university.
• 
  LeikHong Leow

  Simple and easy to understand marketing book.
  
  I have tested some of the methods myself, and it works.
  
  Marketing should be easy, and it should a step by step guide to teach people how it works, and this book layout the guide.
  
  Highly recommend to those who like to improve their marketing.
• 
  Darrell Amy

  Right now, businesses need to reframe their messages to adapt to the evolving marketplace. Marketing Made Simple does exactly what it claims. You get a step-by-step, no-nonsense approach to crafting a message that resonates and then deploying it across your marketing and sales infrastructure.
  
  I am a huge fan of Storybrand. This book brings Storybrand to the street, showing you exactly how to deploy your message through the five stages of the sales funnel.
  
  If you don't have the infrastructure in place, by the time you finish implementing the five steps in this book, you will.
• 
  Andrae Palmer

  Simple and easy to undertsand
  
  Tis book is a valuable resource and the perfect companion to the storybrand book. I love how the authors explain how to create a sales funnel and how to create the different components. Once you read it you'll get some ideas to apply to your business right away. Great read and definitely recommend this book.
• 
  Greivin

  The book is heavy email marketing and short in story telling.
  
  What I liked about the book:
  
  I did like the content about story telling from a marketing perspective.
  
  The content about how to layout your website is great.
  
  What I didn't like:
  I am not interesting in email marketing, specially with the trend of video emails, and a great portion of the book is dedicated to that.
  
  Conclusion:
  Solid read on how to build a website and how to do an email marketing campaign. You definitely want to read this one out. Also the free pdf is great!
  
  I wish I had done a better research about the content in the rest of the book because I had the impression that it was about story telling.
  
  I would recommend the book if is in discount to someone who wants to know about email marketing.
• 
  Jung

  Even the most brilliant products and services will never sell without a proper marketing campaign. An efficient marketing campaign will educate potential consumers about your business and guide them toward a purchase. Start by crafting an excellent one-liner and designing a simple website, then cultivate a relationship with clients using a lead-generator and email campaign. Put the whole plan into action with six meetings.
  
  Actionable advice: Make your website pass the “grunt test.”
  
  A good website should be so simple a caveman could understand it. Look at your webpage and ask yourself this. If a caveman looked at your site, would he understand what the firm offers? Could he see how it’ll make his life better? And would he know what he needs to do to buy the product? If your imaginary Neanderthal would have grunted “yes” – congratulations, you’ve passed the test!
  
  ---
  
  Create a list of potential clients with lead-generating PDFs.
  
  Imagine you’re at a party, mixing and mingling with a diverse crowd. As the night goes on, you jump from one conversation to the next. Some are dull and listless, others are so thrilling that you crave for more.
  
  You’re nearing the end of the night. One or two fellow revelers have really caught your attention. You think meeting them again would be fun and rewarding. So, what do you do? Obviously, you give them some way to stay in touch; a business card, a phone number, or maybe just your email address.
  
  As a marketer, your goal is to be that exciting partygoer. To build a substantial list of potential clients, you want to be leaving the festivities with as many business cards as possible.
  
  The key message here is: Create a list of potential clients with lead-generating PDFs.
  
  In business lingo, a potential client is called a lead. A strong lead is a person who is both interested in your product and has willingly handed over their contact information. This second part is crucial. Having contact information, such as an email address, allows you to directly market to potential clients again and again.
  
  So, then, any good marketing campaign should include a way to collect contacts and generate strong leads.
  
  One effective way to do this is to use what’s known as a lead generator. A lead generator is any enticing offer or service that you can provide in exchange for contact information. This could be a free sample of your product, access to an event or webinar, or even something as simple as a digital flier with quality information.
  
  You can package this into lots of formats – even a good old-fashioned PDF can make a great lead generator. Your aim is to design something that, first, offers your potential leads clear benefits, and, second, won’t take more than 20 minutes to read.
  
  Let’s say you run an electric bicycle company. Your product could list the top ten ways in which e-bikes save time and money. If you run a digital business consultancy, whip up a PDF that gives five easy ways to optimize a sales website.
  
  There’s a trick to turning such information-based products into lead generators. You need to create a clear point of exchange. Place an advertisement or pop-up on your website that offers to email your insights to anyone who’s interested.
  
  Curious customers will gladly enter their contact information to receive your information sheet – and just like that, you have a way to contact future leads.
  
  ---
  
  Put your marketing campaign into action with six meetings.
  
  Meet Doug and Maria. This couple is happily married and they’ve just purchased their new home; a large, elegant Victorian mansion. The only problem is, their dream house is a bit of a fixer-upper. The roof is leaking, the walls need painting, and the kitchen could use a thorough revamp.
  
  So there they are, looking at their new ramshackle abode. They are understandably overwhelmed. But, rather than take a messy, ad-hoc approach to tackling the job, they sit down and write out a detailed plan, complete with steps and milestones.
  
  They’ve just made their project manageable.
  
  Luckily, the same approach can be applied to revamping your company’s marketing strategy.
  
  The key message here is: Put your marketing campaign into action with six meetings.
  
  By now you probably understand the benefits of creating a well-developed marketing pipeline of the sort.
  
  But assembling the whole thing and putting your new project into action can seem a bit intimidating. That’s understandable. And yet, even the most hesitant business can accomplish this goal. All you need to do is take one step at a time.
  
  To begin, schedule six meetings. Each will cover just one step of the marketing process, and the goal should always be to build a solid foundation before moving on to the next step.
  
  So how do you go about it all? Well, meeting one is where you set the overall goals and timeline for the rest of the project. The following two sessions are all about laying the marketing groundwork. Use one to craft the perfect one-liner and the second, to design a comprehensive wireframe website.
  
  For meeting four, put together a lead generator and plot out the two email campaigns you’ll use to target your leads. Then, for meeting five, put everything together to analyze it as a full sequence. Does it easily flow from one-liner to final sale? Can you imagine a customer going from step to step?
  
  Great, now’s the time to put the plan into action!
  
  But wait, what about the sixth and final meeting? Well, that one comes a bit after. In this meeting, look back at your results. Is your marketing plan hitting its goals? Why or why not? Try to identify where customers drop out in the process and use this information to tighten up your next campaign. With a little practice, you’ll create a well-oiled marketing machine.
• 
  Raelene Harris

  I love Donald Miller. Great introduction to marketing in which probably a whole semesters worth of class was condensed into 200pgs. Simple, actionable, understandable. A good read.
• 
  Jon

  Good, clear framework with plenty of examples
  
  The Marketing Made Simple framework gives small businesses a good place to start to develop a digital marketing system. It's full of specific recommendations and templates. These include: email scripts, meeting agendas, elevator pitches and more.
  
  Don and JJ are clearly effective communicators. They use simple, direct language. They are entertaining to follow. I found Don through his daily business video tips. A year of which is easily worth 1000x the price of this book. And available for free.
  
  The website framework they have is the best I've seen. I've read plenty about sales/nurture email scripts. But I have yet to come across as detailed a guide for what to include on your website home page. It's not theoretical, it works.
  
  There are a few opportunities for improvement.
  
  First, there were quite a few typos. Example: "The purpose of the fourth meeting is to decided what language..." I counted at least three.
  
  Second, the scope is limited to "email/website marketing". This would have been okay if it were made clear. But, the title of the book is not "Email Marketing Made Simple". It would have been nice to see how the framework extends to channel partnerships, advertising, print/mail and more. Our customer's email inboxes are only getting busier. "Email marketing" is providing diminishing returns.
  
  Finally, it was difficult to locate the templates to download. But maybe that's just me!
  
  Aside from these minor nuisances, Don and JJ have put together a fantastic asset for small businesses. I have a clear map for an email marketing system. They've stated what works in a novel way. And we've redesigned our website with many of their recommendations.
• 
  Heather

  Wow. I can’t speak more highly of this book and Building a Storybrand. In my opinion, you should absolutely start with the latter. If Marketing Made Simple is the frame of a house, Building a Storybrand is the foundation.
  
  I’ve brought Storybrand principles to two companies/teams so far with incredible success. To give an example, I just wireframed and completed a website, lead generation funnel, and nurturing sequence solely by following the steps outlined in this book with the help of a designer. My team invested $5k into the project. Without this knowledge, we could have easily paid $20k for a beautiful but completely useless website that doesn’t convert.
  
  For more context, I have no formal training or education in marketing. I, like many writers, fell into marketing by default. The knowledge gained from these two books has proven more valuable than all my years of trial and error. It’s simple, it’s just not easy—especially if you have a company or team set in their ways. Persist anyway—it’s magical.
  
  Be forewarned: this book will ruin you. You’ll notice major marketing mistakes everywhere you look. You’ll cringe knowing you made the same mistakes yourself.
  
  If you’re responsible for generating revenue and growth for a company or yourself, buy these books and do the work. It doesn’t matter what department you’re in or what title you have. Workshop Storybranding with your team and watch the lightbulbs come on. It’s powerful stuff.
• 
  Annie

  Reseña completa acá--->
  https://bit.ly/3BV0AFk
  
  Comencemos por…¿Cómo sé si debería leer este libro? ¿Es para mí? ¡Yo ni me dedico al Marketing digital!, en mi opinión las personas que deberían tener este libro en sus estanterías y leerlo ya mismo son:
  
  -Los profesionales del Marketing Digital (los más obvios)
  
  -Todo emprendedor que busque incrementar sus ventas, TODOS, sin excepción alguna.
  
  -Todo aquel que quiera crecer su marca/negocio y está perdido en el mundo de las ventas.
  
  -Todo aquel que busca como hacer un generador de contactos y quiere iniciarse en el mundo del email marketing.
  
  -Cualquier persona que quiera vender.
  
  Y, la razón principal, ¿Por qué deberían leer este libro? Marketing Simple nos va a dar la guía, totalmente paso a paso, para hacer un generador de contactos, crear una página web que venda (una que realmente funcione y que no solo se vea bonita), crear un guión de marca que simplifique el mensaje y haga que mayor gente se interese en nuestro producto/servicio y nos adentrara en todo el bonito, y útil, mundo del marketing y el correo electrónico.
• 
  Brit MacRae

  A quick, easily digestible read. While Miller isn’t breaking any new ground with this one, he does provide a step-by-step guide. It’s a book clearly focused on small companies getting started with lead generation and email marketing. Ironically, one of my biggest issues with this book was the limited scope that was covered. It would have been helpful to see an extended framework: partnerships, advertising, print/mail etc., but instead Miller zeroed in on email marketing alone.
  
  If the title was revised to “Email Marketing Made Simple" perhaps I would’ve given it a 5 star review with an initial shift in my expectations.
  
  Also, random note: there were quite a few typos in this book. Seriously. My detail-oriented brain was having a FIELD DAY. Who ran the edit on this???? Anyway, I digress.
  
  This book is worth the read if you’re looking for email marketing strategies, but if you’re looking for a COMPREHENSIVE step-by-step plan for your small business you’ll definitely need to supplement.
• 
  Cherry

  As a seasoned marketer I found this book a helpful refresher and a methodical guide on how to optimize digital marketing. Whether you are a small business owner who is looking to market your website or a marketing manager in a corporation, the authors provide step-by-step guide and solutions on how to create and implement a sales funnel that will help drive traffic and sales. It’s easy to read and well-structured. Each chapter includes exercises to put theory into practice and engage in your plans immediately. This is a practical guide that gets you thinking and implementing ideas and solutions right away !
  
  Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step StoryBrand Guide for Any Business
• 
  Cherisevanegten

  People see around 3.000 ads everyday. So around 21.000 a week… How do you stand out in a time where more and more companies are born? Marketing Made Simple: a fine beginnersguide to a segment of online marketing, explaining the basics of marketing, for instance building an effective website or making your storybranding a succes. As said a beginnersguide, I don’t believe employees working a marketing disciplined job find new elements in the book. Although, the book can presents a gamut of small tips to improve one’s online marketing discipline, within his/her company.
  
  I do believe the 5-step marketing plan Miller presents works, because I have worked with parts of it myself.
  
  In spite of that, I do miss other important parts of online marketing. SEO for instants, because: SEO makes your website (more) findable for your target audience.
  
• 
  Jonathan

  4/10
  
  “Customers are not interested in your story. They are, rather, interested in being invited into a story that has them surviving and winning in the end.” I suppose I wasn't interested in the story being told here.
  
  I don't do marketing, I don't sell anything. I still found most of this to be a little simple/common sense. I suppose that means most of this advice was solid, if not novel. This was an ok book, but the thing I can't get over is that its by the same Donald Miller that wrote
  Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality. That was one of the more impactful books I read in high school, so this was obviously a departure.