If your writing doesn’t tell a compelling story, it will fall flat. 

One of the writers on our team ran into this issue recently. She was armed with all the right information, but she felt stuck trying to craft a story that would grab the reader and solve their problem.

Then I gave her this framework:

1. A character

2. has a big problem

3. finds a cure

4. which inspires them

5. calls them to action

6. to help others

7. and ends in success

It’s not the only way to write, but it can be a powerful strategy because it taps into basic human psychology. After all, our brains are wired to follow stories with conflict, resolution, and inspiration.

Let’s break it down.

Start with a Character

Every story needs someone your audience can connect with. As customer experience expert Jay Baer says, “If your stories are all about your products and services, that’s not storytelling. It’s a brochure. Give yourself permission to make the story bigger.”

So make your story bigger by featuring a character, whether it’s a customer, a team member, or even yourself. Whether you’re talking business strategy or customer success, this makes your story more human and relatable.

In this case, my writer needed a character to tell an engaging story about a CBD business founded by one of our clients. The writer originally led with some valuable information, like how CBD offers more therapeutic benefits than THC, but she was missing a powerful way to connect it to the audience. 

Once she led with Sarah Cho and her situation, the story started to come alive.

Introduce Their Big Problem

“Story is a yearning meeting an obstacle,” says fiction writer Robert Olen Butler. What he’s getting at is the need to introduce a hurdle that creates tension, making people lean in and pay attention.

Whether it’s a business hitting a roadblock or a customer needing a solution, this conflict is what drives your story forward.

Here, I helped our writer focus on Sarah Cho’s problem of dealing with a persistent, itchy rash that modern medicine couldn’t cure. By leading with that problem right away, the audience can better imagine themselves in Sarah’s skin, eager to learn how she found a solution.

Show How They Found a Solution

So what does your character do to overcome this problem? 

This is where you showcase your expertise, product, or idea, positioning it as the natural outcome of the story. Emphasis on “natural” — that is, your solution shouldn’t feel forced but rather the logical next step. 

We could have written, “Sarah had a rash. Then, she discovered CBD products and her rash went away.” Instead, we let the narrative play out naturally (without being verbose). This meant showing how Sarah turned to weed edibles to help. And while the THC removed the rash, it also triggered major anxiety. 

Then, we introduced supporting characters — her parents — who heard about Sarah’s problems and sent her a CBD care package. To her relief, both the rash and her anxiety disappeared.

Now, my writer could better support the narrative with her thorough research. This is where she could go into the chemical differences between cannabis and THC, the side effects of cannabis, and the benefits of full-spectrum CBD.

Explain How the Solution Inspired Them

Once the character finds the solution, it should inspire or change them in some way. 

When Sarah relieved her rash and anxiety through CBD, she felt inspired to learn more about the topic. She didn’t just become a CBD consumer; she was becoming an expert. Not only that, but she became an expert who was inspired to help others.

By translating this inspiration to the page, we can better inspire the reader and give  them an opportunity to learn more just as Sarah did. This keeps them engaged with more information, but it also creates a deeper connection to the character’s journey.

Show How They Were Called to Action

We’re drawn to characters because of how they change over the course of their journey. But more importantly (and very relevant for the type of content we were creating here), we’re interested in what these characters do with the knowledge they gain. 

Here, as Sarah learned more about the benefits of CBD, she wanted to help bring the relief she experienced to others. This directly led her to create her CBD business.

While we could have jumped ahead to this and simply stated why she created her business, it wouldn’t have been as powerful. Because we laid a foundation of character-problem-solution-inspiration, we were able to give credibility to Sarah’s products and brand, rooting the story in a combination of scientific research and an evocative personal journey.

Demonstrate How They Helped Others Along the Way

Great stories don’t end with just one person succeeding. To this end, you should show how your character’s journey has impacted others. 

Maybe they shared their newfound knowledge with their team or helped a customer solve a similar issue. Here, my writer chose to explain how Sarah’s company built a community of like-minded people who wanted to heal naturally.

This kind of ripple effect gives the story greater meaning and shows how one person’s experience can create positive change for many.

Show How They Succeeded

Although you should show how they’ve helped others, it’s important to tie it back to your main character and end on their own personal success in a way that feels satisfying and complete.

Note that this doesn’t necessarily mean showing the character’s victory every time — failure can be a form of success if you learn a valuable lesson from it, after all.

In our case, we showed how Sarah’s journey not only brought her financial success but also helped thousands of people around the world heal naturally.

Make Your Audience Care with Presscart

By following this framework, my writer ended up delivering an article that better resonated with the reader, attracting thousands of readers who could discover new solutions to their problems.

This article is just one example of how Presscart works to tell the stories of our clients in powerful, evocative ways. Whether you’re trying to build thought leadership or get more eyes on your product, we have the tools and the team required to create a story your audience will care about.

Get started today to see the difference Presscart can make.