Copywriting Formula to Master Storytelling
Learn how to write great stories by understanding human emotion and the psychology of copywriting. Get a simple 5-step formula to help you master storytelling and write effectively for social media.
Justin Welsh
The Diversified Solopreneur | Building my one-person business to $5M+ in annual profit and sharing everything I learn along the way at https://t.co/27OAdtwjh5
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A simple 5-step copywriting formula to help you master storytelling:
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) June 6, 2023 -
If you don't understand human emotion, it's tough to write great stories.
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) June 6, 2023
I struggled to write effectively for the first 6 months on social media.
- I didn't have a system
- I didn't understand the psychology
- I didn't know anything about copywriting -
Because of that, I dreaded writing each day.
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) June 6, 2023
I stared at a blank screen, and then sloppily threw together some messy content.
When I finally pressed "post", all of my worries came true.
Nobody read it.
Nobody engaged.
Nobody cared.
That sucks. -
I have an easy formula for writing compelling stories.
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) June 6, 2023
It's my variation of PAS (problem/agitate/solution) called PAIPS.
- Problem
- Agitate
- Intrigue
- Positive Future
- Solution
I'll break down a piece of content that had 276k impressions using this format.
Let's go: pic.twitter.com/FHP3zIJKLH -
1. Highlight Something Painful:
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) June 6, 2023
The 1st line highlights a painful problem that people in my audience experience:
They feel taken advantage of at work.
This line is intended to do 2 things:
1. Elicit a strong emotional response
2. Get the reader to the next line
Then... pic.twitter.com/QIKb3ePmCO -
2. Agitate the Pain:
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) June 6, 2023
Next, we're going to turn the knife. Make it hurt a bit.
This gets under the reader's skin and makes them...well...agitated.
Once someone is agitated, they are much more likely to be open to a solution.
Here's how I went from problem to agitation: pic.twitter.com/5FlrtuYYAn -
3. Introduce Something Intriguing
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) June 6, 2023
Next, I introduce something intriguing.
I want the audience to think, "Wait, what's that?"
So in this post, I introduce something called the Creator Funnel.
My goal is to get them to lean in with interest to carry them through the content. pic.twitter.com/fDM8U7fm7t -
4. Paint a Positive Future:
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) June 6, 2023
Now that we have the audience's attention, I work to paint a picture of what a positive future would look like.
A positive future tied to following the intriguing Creator Funnel.
You can see that here: pic.twitter.com/8lskD3r07N -
5. Present Your Solution:
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) June 6, 2023
The last step is to introduce our solution into the equation.
In this particular instance, the solution was my newsletter, and my intention was to drive subscribers.
You can see that here: pic.twitter.com/JcfkbPxxYf -
6. The Results
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) June 6, 2023
This post ended up with:
- 276,798 impressions
- 1,646 engagements
- 371 comments
And 600+ new subscribers to my newsletter (nice).
Mission accomplished. -
TL;DR
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) June 6, 2023
- Pain
- Agitate
- Intrigue
- Positive future
- Solution -
So, next time you have something important to launch or say?
— Justin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) June 6, 2023
Grab this no-fail formula.
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