You have a great product or service … but the world isn’t noticing.
You’ve tried clarifying your message, using catchy copy, overhauling your website, and spending more money on paid advertising.
So why aren’t you seeing a return on your investment in digital marketing?
You’re probably missing one (or all three!) of these pieces — a hook, story, and offer — in your marketing framework.
Or maybe you have these components, but they’re too weak to turn prospects into customers.
Russell Brunson is the co-founder of Click Funnels who popularized this framework. He said, “If something’s not working in your [sales] funnel, it’s always either your hook, your story, or your offer. Every time.”
We want to give credit where credit’s due: our team has learned a lot about this framework from Brunson. Today we’re breaking it down for you. Whether you’re creating digital marketing content for a product page, Facebook ad, webinar, sales funnel, or website, this framework will convert the curious into customers
Hook
We’ve emphasized the importance of inviting people into a story because your customers think in terms of narrative, even if they don’t realize it. We’ll cover this component next in greater detail.
First, every story begins with a strong hook — a statement that makes customers respond, “Whoa. I have to know more.”
Here are three important things to keep in mind when you’re working on a hook:
1. The hook does not increase the value of the product or service — that’s the job of the story and the offer.
Remember, a hook’s main job is to pique curiosity. A hook is usually a short, bold statement that grabs attention.
2. The hook shows the target audience you understand their problem.
Even though a hook is short, it should still communicate empathy and mention the prospective customer’s pain point. The first sentence of this blog is an example of a hook that demonstrates empathy.
3. Different hooks will catch different customers.
When you’re fishing, you use hooks with different shapes and sizes depending on the kind of fish you’re hoping to catch.
This concept extends to digital marketing too. You should have an ideal customer or client — we’re not advocating that you try to market to everyone. But the individuals that make up your target audience are also unique and will respond to different hooks. Have fun with hooks and “cast” different ones. Test different ways to catch the attention of your target audience and take note of what works best.
Story
Narrative is the brain’s default “grid” for interpreting reality. So how do you win over prospects?
You invite them into a story.
After you’ve grabbed your target audience’s attention with a strong hook, you’ll want to tell a good story about how your product or service alleviates their pain points and changes their state or destiny.
You can do this a couple of different ways.
First, you can tell a story with you at the center. Talk about how you had the same problems yourself until you created a solution that solved them and changed your destiny.
Second, you can tell a story with your target audience at the center. We recommend going with this story whenever possible. In this scenario, your target audience is the hero, and you’re their guide telling them how your product or service will help them on their journey toward change.
People always have some objections before investing in a product or service. In your story, you want to dismantle those objections or hesitations. When you’re writing your story, ask these questions:
- What hesitations or objections does my ideal customer have that I can resolve?
- What false beliefs do they have about my product or service?
- What false story are they living now, and how does my story trump theirs?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll be able to tell a better story prospects will want to sign up for.
Offer
The offer is the last component of this framework for digital marketing success.
An offer is more than a product or service — it’s a product or service bundled with other things to increase the value.
Here’s the good news: when you create an offer, you’re not decreasing the price to compete with other brands. You’re adding value to make your offer irresistible!
So what can you offer to increase the value of your product or service? Here are some ideas:
- Free shipping
- Two products for the price of one
- A free Ebook with their purchase
- A discount on your product in exchange for a monthly subscription
- Ongoing customer service
- A video with step-by-step instructions on getting the most out of your product
Brainstorm ways to increase the perceived value of your offer and capture that in your marketing framework. This is called a “value stack” because you’re building a “stack” of reasons your target audience should invest in your product or service instead of someone else’s.
If you want to learn more about creating an irresistible offer, check out this short video by Russell Brunson.
Hook, story, offer: these are the 3 ingredients for a successful marketing framework. If you’re investing time and money in digital marketing but not seeing results, try revising your framework in light of what you’ve learned today. If you still need help refining your hook, story, or offer, schedule a call today. Our team at Sigl Creative is always excited to adapt this framework to any brand, product, or service so you can share your passion with the world.