Why Story Outlasts Short-Term Hacks

Algorithms dictate our feeds, and “quick wins” often dominate marketing conversations. It’s easy to forget the one thing that truly connects people to brands: story.

This past week I was on a podcast to talk about why story beats short-term performance hacks, how to balance brand and metrics, and why founder-led marketing is more than just a trend (it’s a growth driver).

Today, you’re getting a detailed recap of the conversation and some of my top takeaways.

• Performance is the tax you pay for being unknown — founder stories are the rebate.

• Algorithms throttle logos but amplify humans — so put a face on your feed.

• You don’t need another paid channel — you need the founder’s camera roll and a workflow.

(Yes, I really use em dashes regularly, one in each bullet point!)

The full episode is available on Spotify or YouTube.

Why Story Still Wins

When the podcast host, Sana, asked why storytelling outperforms quick hacks, I pointed out that story has been our primary way of learning and connecting since childhood:

Stories make brands memorable. They’re what people share over coffee, not ad impressions or click-through rates.

When Brands Lose the Plot

We talked about brands that lost sight of their story — like Kodak, which missed the digital photography wave. In contrast, Polaroid doubled down on stories of the people behind the camera and found a new audience.

You have to stay true to your values and evolve to remain relevant.

Balancing Brand & Performance

Virality can be tempting, but it’s not a strategy.

Spending less than 30% on brand at any stage could be a red flag.

I shared that there’s no perfect ratio for brand vs. performance spending, but some benchmarks help:

• IPA’s 60/40 rule suggests 60% brand, 40% performance.

• WARC’s PACE Principle finds 50/50 often delivers the best results.

And when over-investing in performance, returns diminish — sometimes by half.

Limited Resources? My Advice

If you’re a startup or nonprofit without big budgets, clarity matters more than cash.

If your audience can’t explain your brand in one sentence to a friend, you’ve missed a referral opportunity.

The Case for Founder-Led Marketing

You’re familiar with this concept if you follow me. We discussed the power of founder-led storytelling — where people connect with the person behind the brand.

Airbnb’s CEO, for example, has 10x the social following of the brand itself and openly shares stories, challenges, and insights. Airbnb even shifted from heavy SEO spending to story-led brand campaigns, resulting in 90% of its traffic being direct or unpaid.

Data backs it up. Companies with active founder-led marketing often have market caps 3.5x larger than those without it.

Think You’re “Not Interesting Enough”?

Every founder has a story. Most of the population doesn’t share your experiences, even if they feel routine to you. That’s unique enough.

Lean into your journey, including the highs, lows, and lessons.

How I Balance Creativity and Performance

Sana asked how I juggle my various roles — brand strategist, educator, nonprofit founder, and e-commerce business owner — without burning out on metrics.

My approach:

• Track signals of traction (event registrations, email opens, shares, site traffic, repeat engagement).

• Look holistically at brand awareness, not just individual posts.

• Test, experiment, and learn — like with Maker Matcha, which I’ve grown entirely through organic strategies.

• Focus on community over clicks.

What’s next?

This conversation is a reminder that whether you’re a startup founder, nonprofit leader, or scaling business, story isn’t the soft side of marketing — it’s the foundation.

Performance obviously matters, but without narrative, you’re just chasing clicks instead of building connections that last.

If you want to build a brand that lasts and a story people actually care about, just reply to this email or connect on LinkedIn.

What’s coming up?

This week, we ran 2 in-person versions of the above workshops.
Here are 2 important reminders and takeaways:

1. AI is only as good as the inputs — mission statements, messaging pillars, and real examples are critical to getting high-quality, on-brand results.

2. Practical, hands-on training beats theory — our participants left knowing how to build a grant research PT, do tone analysis, and draft donor letters with AI.