Here’s how you can time travel with words using this psychology-based technique…
The Technique: Future Pacing
Means…making people imagine something in their lives that might be possible in the future.
It’s an NLP (Neurolinguistic programming) technique used for persuasion.
It can be positive & negative.
Here’s what I mean…
Positive: Making your prospects imagine a positive outcome.
You want to get them closer to this outcome by positioning your product as the solution.
Like Discord does it.
Negative: Making your prospects imagine a negative outcome.
You want to position your product as something that removes their pain from this negative outcome.
Like insurance companies do.
In marketing & copywriting, use future pacing to make someone imagine…
1. What happens if they take the action
2. What happens if they don’t take the action
3. What happens as they read along your copy
This is how you keep your prospects interested and engaged longer.
Now that you understand what future pacing is, let me show you some quick tricks to help you implement it.
This can help you with:
- Sales
- Writing
- Marketing
Here are 4 tricks to make future pacing work for you:
1. Before & After
Showing a direct contrast between how things were V/s how they can be is amazingly aspirational.
It acknowledges your current position and makes you hope for an ideal future stance.
Even if it’s simple. Like this shower ad.
2. Risk-free phrases
People want to feel secure. Always. Especially in the future.
Engage their future sense of security with phrases like…
-If you don’t like it…
-But you are free to…
-If you don’t get value from it…
And pair it with a guarantee or compelling offer.
3. Referrals
It’s the best marketing trick to ensure there’s a compelling future outcome that promotes a present action.
It’s not the referral that excites people.
It’s the result of what that referral brings to their future.
Like Airbnb’s genius referral campaign.
4. Wild assumption
Making a wild assumption is a great future pacing tactic because it has an element of surprise.
Perfect for hooks because it makes you anticipate what might happen, making you eager to read the rest.
Look at how Kieran Drew did it.
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