🌱 StoryGrowth by Matt Allyn

Become a masterful storyteller and build deep connections with yourself and your audience.

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In 5 steps I am going to break down one of my posts which gets comments like these:

Posts that get the most comments like these are carousels, which I loooove making.

I think carousels are massively undervalued because they don’t typically get the reach that reels or videos do (though they can). I love using carousels to go deeper with my core audience and from a views to save ratio, they are always higher than any reel I make.

They’re also effective because:

1. You audience can go at their own pace and fully absorb the topic or idea
2. They read it in their own voice which can be far more psychologically powerful

Finally, I seem to approach my communication differently when I know I’m making a carousel and this approach allows me to convey a topic more clearly and concisely (which is what I’m breaking down for you today)

Change Their Perspective

All content can be placed into one of five buckets: Connection, Unique Perspectives, Education, Social Proof and Offer. These 5 types of content hold different amounts of value to your audience (which you can read about in the Content Value Ladder post).

The carousels I typically make are Unique Perspectives, which are 2nd most valuable.

A unique perspective is using a metaphor, counter example or story to shift someones perspective on a topic. That is such a valuable thing to do for someone because you’re not asking them to DO anything (like an educational post, you have to go do 3 things to achieve a goal).

Instead you’re saying, “you know how understand this thing? Well it’s the same for this thing.”

Then they go, “ohhhhhhhhh that totally make sense.”

And now they are energetically freed up to go take action on the thing they probably already knew they should be doing anyway.

Let’s break down my example so you can see it in action and do it for yourself.

The Break Down

I will share every slide of the post I’m breaking down, but if you’d like to check it out on Instagram, click here.​

Please note, a great carousel isn’t filled with tons of words. It’s to speak quickly and concisely.

Step 1 - Hook

Your first slide is your hook. Keep it as short as possible (I cheated by adding smaller text).

You have a few options here:

1. How to break through what’s holding them back
2. How to achieve a specific desired outcome

I went with #1.

When speaking about fears, be sure they are aware that this is holding them back and they desire to change it. That’s what will get them to read more. My audience wants to break through the fear of judgement so they can share their truth because they already know, in doing so, they will get more engagement.

Step 2 - Metaphor or Story

Most people go right into the answer, which, in this post, the answer is just, “post more.”

That would be a terrible post because they already know this to be true.

It’s like saying, “Want to get stronger? Go to the gym”

Not super effective.

The next step is to go RIGHT into your metaphor, counter example, or story.

I use slides 2-6 to do this. That’s HALF of my carousel spent on the metaphor.

If you can imagine yourself on the other end of the phone reading this, nodding your head, and being like, “yeah that totally makes sense!” then… I’VE GOT YA!

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Pro Tip:

People always ask me how I come up with metaphors because it’s hard for them.

Well, think of it like playing a new sport. How do you get good at it?

Practice.

(I just used a metaphor there 😉)

The second tip is to start with your answer and understand why that’s the answer.

For this carousel, my answer is to just post more vulnerable shit.

Why? Because you only get over the fear of judgement by being judged and working through it.

So then I ask myself, “In what other areas of life is that also true?”

Then I spend some time thinking about it. It doesn’t always come at once. Maybe I go for a walk, workout, or just wait a few days. I actively try to think about it AND I just let it go. Sometimes I find it, sometimes it find me in the shower (you might call this practice).

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Step 3 - The Answer

In the final slides (save the 10th for step 4), you should be able to connect the metaphor to the thing you want to prove. That is your answer.

I chose to use some social proof to basically say, “See, this is how I’ve done it. Here’s my proof. I’m not special. The judgement scares me too. I’ve just chose to post even when I’m scared.”

You can also direct a question right at them:

“So why are you waiting to feel confident to post? When you really know you must post to feel confident.”

I actually really like that one. Maybe more than what I originally posted.

By asking your audience a question, they are forced to be honest with themself.

“Yeah, what am I waiting for?”

~Deep breath~

“Okay, I’m gonna post today.”

Step 4 - CTA

This is optional as I didn’t do it in this carousel.

Add a Call to Action on the final slide:

• A question to engage them deeper in the comments
• A prompt to get them started
• Ask them to share it with a friend
• Tell them to save it for next time they are struggling with taking action
• Promote a freebee or newsletter that solves the next step

Step 5 - The Caption

Everyone always asks about the caption, so here’s how I think about it.

If my carousel feels complete. Then the caption stays simple.

Sometimes it’s a one liner.

Sometimes this is when I ask a question (if I didn’t on the final slide)

Or in this instance, because I was really happy and felt complete with the carousel, I chose to keep it short and use another metaphor in my caption to drive it home, which was still short and sweet.

If I feel like I needed to go further with my explanation, I will expand on it in the caption instead of cluttering the carousel with more words or trying to explain two ideas at once.

This (1) helps the carousel stay clear and to the point and (2) creates separation for the reader to digest one line of thinking, then read the next idea in a new space.

I do this in the caption of this carousel. Note: This carousel is story (Connection Content = No. 1 on the Value Ladder), not a Unique Perspective.

Sometimes, I write such a good caption, it becomes a carousel a few weeks later.

The whole point of this

Online coaches have a deep desire to TEACH something with their content. We’ve been conditioned over the last decade to give away our best information (education) and clients will come flocking. You may have seen that is not working that well.

As mentioned earlier, telling people they need to go do more work is less valuable than simply changing their perspective. They don’t need to do anything. They have received all the value they need simply by reading your post and having their mind blown.

That’s it.

That’s ALL you need to do.

If I want to teach HOW to get more vulnerable or where to start, that can be it’s own Educational post.

Your Turn

Okay… if you have 10 minutes, I challenge you to make one of these RIGHT NOW.

Don’t mark this as unread or save it in a folder you’ll never go back and check.

This email is only valuable if you take action.

You don’t even have to finish the idea or go in Canva and make a carousel. Just jot a few notes down:

1. What is holding my ideal client back or what is their desired outcome
2. What is the solution?
3. Come up with the metaphor: What else in life is that also a solution to?

That’s it.

Pro Tip: Write down some shitty metaphors. Try to get it wrong. The bad ones will lead you to the good ones (or the bad one becomes a good one as you think it through more)

See ya next week.

Love you,

Matt

P.S. Let me know what you liked about this email on Instagram @matthew.allyn so I can do more of it!

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