Dive Club 🤿

Episode: Julian Lehr - How Storytelling Works at Linear
Host: Ridd
Release Date: July 2, 2025

Introduction to Julian Lehr and His Role at Linear

Julian Lehr, the storytelling lead at Linear, discusses his journey from discovering the product to shaping his role within the company. Initially intrigued by Linear's resemblance to Superhuman for issue tracking, Julian became one of the first beta users. His engagement deepened when he authored a blog post that caught the attention of Linear's co-founder, Jory, leading to his eventual recruitment.

"Linear is a purpose built tool for planning and building products. Coming to that word purpose built took us like three years." — Julian Lehr [00:00]

Defining the Role: Moving Beyond Traditional Marketing

When Julian joined Linear, the role was vaguely defined, intentionally avoiding traditional B2B SaaS marketing responsibilities like customer stories and webinars. The objective was to foster a more creative and unique approach to marketing.

"What we didn't want was sort of like a traditional B2B SaaS marketing role... We want something more creative, something more interesting, something new." — Julian Lehr [02:24]

Within weeks, the team identified effective strategies, starting with a comprehensive readme designed for recruitment. This manifesto not only resonated with their target audience—front-end developers, designers, and engineers—but also received positive feedback for its polished design and innovative CSS animations.

"It was well designed. It had some nice CSS animations that I think people hadn't seen before." — Julian Lehr [02:55]

Building an In-House Creative Studio

As Linear grew, Julian's role evolved to lead a dedicated creative studio within the company. The team expanded from three to six members, encompassing brand designers, design engineers, and storytellers. Their focus shifted to creating original and engaging landing pages that stood out in a crowded market.

"Design something that people hadn't seen before... we really doubled down on that and spent a lot of time to make these landing pages as original and interesting as possible." — Julian Lehr [03:54]

The Interplay of Copywriting and Design

Julian emphasizes that effective storytelling is a blend of content, design, and the overall feel of the material. He believes that writing should be treated as a design job, where the aesthetic presentation of copy is as crucial as its message.

"Writing is mostly a design job. Copy can look great in a Word document or in a Notion doc and then you put it on an actual landing page and you realize that it doesn't work." — Julian Lehr [06:18]

When evaluating copy, Julian relies heavily on intuition, considering factors like font weight, size, spacing, and line breaks to ensure the text not only conveys the message but also feels right visually.

"Spacing is probably more important... a page is like a story, and spacing means that you're pausing for a second until you sort of tell the next thing." — Julian Lehr [19:54]

Evolving the Tagline: From 'Opinionated' to 'Purpose Built'

One of the significant challenges Julian faced was crafting a concise and accurate tagline for Linear. After three years of iteration, the team settled on:

"Linear is a purpose built tool for planning and building products." — Julian Lehr [08:36]

This shift from describing Linear as "opinionated" to "purpose built" better encapsulated the company's focus on creating a tool specifically designed for its intended use, avoiding the pitfalls of being too generic or overly complex.

Creative Process: Navigating the Messy Middle

Julian describes the early stages of a project as chaotic, involving extensive back-and-forth between copy and design. The team collaborates closely in tools like Figma, allowing for rapid prototyping and iteration until a cohesive concept emerges.

"It's a lot of back and forth, a lot of terrible ideas... until at some point it just clicks and you find the right thing." — Julian Lehr [15:19]

To overcome creative blocks, Julian changes his "scenery" by switching tools or mediums, such as moving from digital platforms to pen and paper, which helps stimulate new ideas.

"I like to change scenery... switch between tools. I do a lot of writing in Figma... sometimes I have to switch to a Google Doc or to something else completely." — Julian Lehr [17:15]

Leveraging AI in the Creative Process

Julian incorporates AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance his writing process. While AI doesn't replicate his voice, it serves as a valuable tool for unblocking creativity and refining ideas by generating alternative phrasings and synonyms.

"I find it really helpful to unblock me and to refine some ideas... It's like playing with Legos a little bit." — Julian Lehr [18:18]

Packaging Design: Making the Intangible Tangible

Drawing parallels between digital products and physical packaging, Julian explains how Linear's online presence serves as its packaging. The design elements aim to evoke tangible feelings, making the digital tool feel more accessible and relatable.

"Linear is a digital product. It's intangible. But I think it's important to think about what might Linear feel like if you were able to touch it." — Julian Lehr [20:57]

He highlights the importance of materials, spacing, and aesthetics in creating a satisfying and intuitive user experience, similar to how Apple meticulously designs its product packaging.

"There's this sense of, like, polishness... something that's satisfying to touch." — Julian Lehr [22:57]

The Power of Storytelling in Marketing

Julian underscores storytelling as a fundamental aspect of effective marketing. It serves as a bridge between complex product features and user understanding, distilling intricate concepts into compelling narratives that resonate with the audience.

"Stories are like shared beliefs... the more people believe in a shared narrative, the stronger it becomes." — Julian Lehr [00:44]

He advises finding unique and unexpected ways to present a product, emphasizing that novelty can capture attention and differentiate the brand in a saturated market.

"Find something that's unique and that people haven't seen before... predict what people expect and then do the exact opposite." — Julian Lehr [25:30]

Building Connections Through Writing

Beyond marketing, Julian leverages his writing to refine his thoughts and connect with like-minded individuals. Sharing his ideas publicly has led to meaningful interactions, collaborations, and personal growth, demonstrating the profound impact of content creation.

"Writing is a thinking process for me... It helps me with my thinking and allows me to meet a lot of interesting people." — Julian Lehr [31:12]

He advocates for the underrated power of writing on the internet, noting that even modest reach can result in significant and impactful connections.

"You can influence people's decision making and their thinking... it's a really powerful medium." — Julian Lehr [32:11]

Advice for Aspiring Storytellers

Julian offers practical advice for individuals looking to craft effective stories around their products or ideas:

1. Become the User: Immersing yourself in the user experience to understand the core problems and needs.

2. Find Unique Analogies: Use creative metaphors to make complex problems and solutions more relatable.

3. Prioritize Simplicity: Convey your message clearly without overcomplicating it, ensuring it resonates with your target audience.

4. Embrace Iteration: Accept that finding the right narrative may take time and multiple revisions.

"Stories are a data compression algorithm that takes all of that complexity and summarizes it and packages it nicely in a very easy to consume, compelling narrative." — Julian Lehr [39:01]

Maintaining Craftsmanship as Linear Scales

As Linear expanded, maintaining a consistent and unique storytelling approach became more challenging. Julian explains that Linear treats itself as a consumer brand within the B2B space, focusing its marketing efforts on individual contributors like engineers and designers rather than solely on corporate decision-makers. This bottom-up approach ensures that the product remains user-centric and beloved by its core audience.

"Our marketing is still very much targeted at the end customer... that makes the tool good, is that people actually enjoy using it." — Julian Lehr [48:17]

Conclusion: The Integral Role of Storytelling at Linear

Julian Lehr's insights highlight the pivotal role of storytelling in shaping Linear's brand and user experience. By intertwining creative copywriting, thoughtful design, and a deep understanding of user needs, Linear has cultivated a strong and loyal community. Storytelling not only differentiates the product in the market but also fosters meaningful connections with users, driving both personal and professional success.

"The magic happens when all three things come together. But those two elements are more important than the written copy on the page." — Julian Lehr [38:18]

Thank you for joining this deep dive into storytelling at Linear with Julian Lehr. For more insights and episodes, visit Dive.club.