Sun Yi noticed something peculiar about his social media posts. Content that made people respond with “I never thought of it that way” consistently outperformed everything else. Instead of accepting this as a coincidence, the digital strategist decided to investigate what was actually happening.

“My tagline for all my content ends with, ‘I never thought of it that way,’” Sun explains. “And a lot of times I noticed that when I say something, people will always react by saying, ‘Oh, I never thought of it that way.’”

Rather than accepting this pattern as random success, Sun took a systematic approach. “That was the thing that really made my content spread. People share and go viral sometimes. And I wanted to figure it out. I want to reverse engineer and figure out what it is about my content that makes people do that.”

Through his analysis, Sun developed what he calls “micro-storytelling”—a systematic method for creating engaging content within 15-30 seconds. Unlike traditional storytelling, which follows a setup, conflict, and resolution formula, micro-storytelling adheres to a specific three-part structure designed to create cognitive shifts.

“I always start the story with a myth that people believe, and then I give an example that everybody already knows that contradicts that myth, and then I’ll end with the truth, which is usually what makes people go like, ‘Huh? I never thought of it that way.’”

The efficiency of this formula is rooted in its psychological structure. “If you look at the three parts, it’s things they already knew individually, but they’ve never put them together like that,” Sun explains. The content doesn’t introduce new information—it reframes existing knowledge to create new insights.

Today, his methodology has taught over 30,000 students through his Domestika course and helped personal brands generate over $1 billion in revenue through his company Night Owls, a digital agency in New York City. His clients include Mel Robbins, Jay Shetty, Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph, and spiritual teacher Gabby Bernstein.

Deconstructing the Authority-Vulnerability Paradox

While many industry voices preach the importance of universal vulnerability, Sun identified specific conditions that determine when authenticity helps versus hurts creators.

“A lot of people talk about being vulnerable, being authentic, sharing your weaknesses,” Sun observes. But he noticed a crucial distinction in how audiences respond to vulnerability based on the creator’s established authority.

When Mel Robbins, a New York Times bestselling author, shares procrastination struggles, “people will look at that story and go, oh, wow, look how modest she is. Look how real she is. She’s so relatable.”

However, “let’s say some guy who lives with his mom, sleeping in her basement, who’s made nothing of himself, says, ‘Oh, I’m a procrastinator.’ People are going to be like, ‘Oh, no wonder you’re living with your mom.’”

Sun’s conclusion: “In ‘The Art of War,’ Sun Tzu said, ‘Appear weak when you are strong and strong when you are weak. You should be vulnerable, but only after you’ve established authority.’ If you’re a big creator or an authority figure, then yes, be vulnerable, but if you’re starting, you have to show authority.”

Sun’s thinking extends beyond individual content strategies to scalable business applications. Rather than seeing information overload as a problem, he identifies it as a strategic opportunity for personal brands.

“We’re living in an age where there’s like information overload,” Sun notes. “Some people will say doing a cold plunge and ice bath is amazing for you. And then there will be people out there who say, ‘Oh no, it’s useless.’ So, who do we believe?”

His solution: “What a personal brand can do is talk about what I’ve experienced, what I thought. I thought an ice bath was this, but the truth is… And then you give an example from your own experience.”

This approach positions creators not as universal experts, but as reliable sources for specific perspectives and viewpoints. “We’re going to share our experience. And because of our personality, some people out there who are like us are going to relate to that, and people who are not, are not going to relate to it.”

Sun’s Night Owl Nation, which has grown to over 2,000 members, operates on structured principles rather than organic growth alone.

“In Night Owl Nation, I teach storytelling,” Sun explains. “I noticed that people are just really bad at storytelling. So that’s what I decided to double down on.” To address this, he is further developing it with a “12-week storytelling boot camp” and in-person retreats.

His methodical thinking is also evident in his advice to struggling creators. Rather than encouraging broad creativity, he advocates systematic progress.

“A lot of times, they have this vision and they’re in a hurry to get there. And that stops them from focusing on what’s in front of them,” Sun observes about new entrepreneurs.

His solution: “Don’t worry about that. Just focus on the task at hand. Take the next best step and see what happens. Once you’ve taken that step, the next best step. Don’t worry about step 10 yet, because when you worry about step 10, you won’t take the first step.”

Transforming VidCon’s Creator Conversations

VidCon, regarded as the premier gathering for the creator economy, brings together content creators, industry professionals, fans, and brands for panels, networking, and community building. This year’s event is taking place from June 19-21 in the Anaheim Convention Center, California.

Sun’s upcoming VidCon keynote marks the arrival of his methodology on the industry’s biggest stage. His 45-minute presentation, “Micro-Storytelling for Social Media,” will take place in Room 207CD, where he’ll address creators directly about shifting their approach to content strategy.

“I’m hoping that people will start thinking about maybe personal branding in a slightly different way,” Sun explains about his VidCon goals.

The timing of his VidCon appearance reflects the creator economy’s growing appetite for systematic approaches. “We’re living in an age of short-form content. So short-form content mostly drives long-form content,” Sun notes, explaining why his micro-storytelling methodology has become essential for creators navigating platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Sun hopes his VidCon presentation will spark conversations about reframing personal branding beyond the typical advice creators receive. “Being a personal brand doesn’t mean you just have the answers. It means you have your answer,” he explains, suggesting his talk will encourage creators to focus on authentic experience-sharing rather than trying to be universal experts.

“Think of storytelling as therapy,” Sun concludes, revealing how his systematic approach creates value beyond marketing metrics. “That’s the little added bonus of telling stories.”