This was originally sent as an email to Frame/Reframe subscribers:
Hey there,
This is Part 2 of an email series on how to write copy for Twitter/X and email. Specifically how to write copy that drives traffic to your offer WITHOUT using cringey, clichéd words that repel your audience.
Read Part 1 here if you missed it. It talks about the rationale behind shifting beliefs (and how it sets the stage for people to adopt your offer)…
Today, we’re going to talk about how exactly to shift beliefs. And how to do it in a non-adversarial way.
Let’s get started.
In Part 1, I shared examples of how NOT to shift beliefs, using a fictional offer (a course on speaking Spanish):
- Old/New Belief 1: You don’t need to study vocab and grammar for years before your first convo. You just need to show up with a handful of phrases and questions you can use and fall back on.
- Old/New Belief 2: You don’t need to have a perfect, full-blown convo to be “conversational.” You’re “conversational” even if you can talk to someone for 5-10 minutes.
- Old/New Belief 3: You don’t need to be in a Spanish-speaking country to practice your speaking. You can practice at any time with native speakers online.
These examples directly attack what people believe to be true. It doesn’t feel good to hear.
Instead, we want to shift beliefs in a more empathetic and engaging way.
We do this with stories.
Here’s why stories are a perfect tool for the job:
- Historically, humans have relied on stories to pass along important info and lessons. When info is shared as a story, it’s easy for us to pay attention and internalize it. But when it’s not, we tend to alter or invent new info to fill in the gaps and create our own story. (That’s why people end up “hearing” different things.)
- When we’re pulled into a story, we feel the things happening to the protagonist are happening to us. It mirrors in our brain activity. Through this, we develop more empathy and ability to see things from another person’s perspective.
- Stories help us look inside ourselves and make changes from the inside out. But only if we identify with the protagonist. In one study, researchers found that kids who read and identified with Harry Potter became more accepting of marginalized groups. This is how stories can lead to changed beliefs and behaviors.
(Sources: author & researcher Kendall Haven, BBC, researcher Loris Vezzali)
So how do we use stories in our content to shift beliefs and encourage new behaviors?
Here’s how:
- First, we meet people where they are. We acknowledge a story they’re telling themselves, which often reflects a commonly-held belief in the market.
- Next, we tell a story that introduces a new belief. The story can be about us, about someone we know, or a parable.
- Finally, we do this for each pair of old/new beliefs that influences the adoption of our offer. If we’re systematic about it, each story will lay the groundwork for people to see our offer as an obvious choice for them.
That’s it.
Now let’s put this to action with our fictional offer and turn our earlier (adversarial) statements into stories:
Old/New Belief 1:
I spent 2 years studying Spanish in school. I memorized verb tenses, made flashcards, and aced every test. But after 2 years, I still couldn’t hold a basic convo.
A while back, I heard of a polyglot who learned languages differently. This is how he did it:
He created a list of phrases he wanted to say. Then he asked a native speaker to teach him the phrases. He put them to use right away in his next convo. And from there, he discovered even more things he wanted to say. That was it. He still learned the vocab and grammar he needed in the process.
That’s how he quickly became conversational, became active into the local community, and met his current partner.
Old/New Belief 2:
A student of ours once went to a formal language exchange. She was supposed to converse for an hour with another language student — first in English, then in Spanish. But when it came her turn to speak Spanish, she froze and couldn’t think of what to say. She left feeling embarrassed and gave up on being “conversational.”
But when she joined our course, I told her to give it another try. This time, she set up a 10-minute convo online. She prepped a few questions and phrases she could fall back on, and introduced herself as a beginner speaker. She was surprised by how much she could say in a low-pressure, comfy environment. She realized she was already “conversational,” and it gave her the confidence to keep practicing.
Now she can converse with almost anyone, including her partner’s friends and family when they visit.
Old/New Belief 3:
I thought I had to be in a Spanish-speaking country to practice my speaking. So I’d read, watch, listen, and wait for my next trip to start practicing. When my next trip came around, I felt so overwhelmed in a new country that I didn’t get much practice in at all.
Then I learned something from a friend. Her family chats with native speakers online BEFORE they visit a country.
Before my next trip, I spent a month doing just that. I enjoyed the trip so much more because I had an easier time getting to know the local culture and the people.
During that trip, I made new friends, went out with them, and even went to a family gathering at one of their homes.
How does it feel to hear these stories?
Do you see how stories are a more empathetic and engaging way to shift beliefs?
Btw I used this Pixar framework for each story:
- Once upon a time there was…a prospect like you.
- Every day…they had a shared struggle.
- Until one day…they did something different.
- Because of that…they had a quick win, small benefit.
- Because of that….they had a huge win, big benefit.
- Until finally…their status today (the prospect’s dream).
It might seem repetitive to use the same framework for every story, but hey, it works for Pixar.
Now it’s your turn:
Find a pair of old/new beliefs that relate to your market and your offer. Then create a belief-shifting story around it using the PIXAR framework.
If you want, reply to this email with your story and I’ll send over some feedback.
In Part 3, I’ll show you how to connect your story to your offer. And how to do it in a way that moves different segments of your audience to action.
Btw I learned this framework from Nic Peterson, who talks about it in his YouTube mini-course, Stealth Influence (it’s free).
Talk soon!
Lillian
P.S. If you’re a creator or forward-looking brand that needs help with email copywriting, tap here to book a free 20-min strategy session.
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