Hey, it's Payton!

Pinterest just dropped their 2026 trend report, and it's basically a roadmap to the human heart. 55% of people now prioritize emotional comfort, trends are accelerating 4.4x faster than seven years ago, and your audience is craving safety, authenticity, and hope.

In today's issue:

• Why slow communication beats instant everything

• How nostalgia works as an emotional safety net

• How to breed adventure back into your brand

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The world is loud, chaotic, and exhausting—like a coffee shop where everyone's shouting their order at once. Your audience is craving safety, authenticity, and hope.

So today, I'm breaking down 5 trends from Pinterest Predicts 2026 and showing you exactly how Christian creators can use them to reach people who are tired, overwhelmed, and hungry for something that actually matters.

Trend 1: Slow communication beats instant everything.

Gen Z and Millennials are ditching DMs for snail mail—searches for "penpal letters" are up 35%, "hand written letters" up 45%, and "snail mail gifts" up 110%.

People are exhausted by instant everything. They want communication that feels intentional, personal, and permanent. They need to feel like they were written for the reader, not blasted to a list.

One person. One table. One conversation at a time.

Use their name, reference past conversations, and write like you're sitting across from someone you actually care about. Instead of "Hey everyone, here's this week's tip," try "I was scratching my head about a question from last week…"

Here's how to do it: Create a simple tagging system in your email tool (Kit, Substack, whatever you use) that tracks reader engagement—who replied, who clicked specific links, who asked certain questions. Then reference those micro-interactions in your next email. "A few of you asked about X last week, so here's what I'm thinking…"

Slow, thoughtful communication builds trust faster than volume ever will.

Trend 2: Nostalgia is your audience's emotional safety net.

52% of people are rewatching classic TV and films, searches for "nostalgia toys" are up 225%, and "throwback kid" aesthetics are trending across the board.

When the future feels like an overblown balloon about to pop, people look to the past for comfort.

Use nostalgia strategically in your storytelling. Reference shared cultural moments, talk about simpler times, and use language that feels familiar and safe.

But here's the key: nostalgia works when it bridges memory and hope, not when it just makes people sad about what they've lost.

Open your next email, post, or sermon with a "Remember when…" story that ties directly to your point. Then ask: "What if we brought that feeling back, but in a way that fits today?"

Nostalgia isn't about living in the past. It's about using the past to show what's still possible.

Trend 3: Imperfection is more trustworthy than polish.

"Glitchy Glam" is trending—mismatched manicures, two-toned lipstick, asymmetrical everything—and Gen Z and Millennials are rejecting perfection on purpose.

Searches for "weird makeup looks" are up 115% and "eccentric makeup" up 100%.

The cultural shift? Symmetry is out. Authenticity—even messy authenticity—is in.

Show the cracks.

Share the behind-the-scenes mess, post the unedited draft, talk about the sermon that flopped or the campaign that didn't convert. People don't trust perfection anymore because it feels like a performance, not a person.

They trust realness.

Next time you hit "publish" on anything, ask yourself: "Where's the human in this?" If everything is polished to a mirror shine, add one sentence that breaks the fourth wall—"Honestly, I rewrote this intro four times and still don't love it, but here we go."

That one sentence builds more trust than ten perfectly crafted paragraphs ever will.

Trend 4: People are curating identities, not copying trends.

42% of consumers only participate in trends that suit them, which is a massive shift—trends used to be cultural mandates, now they're options on a menu.

People are asking: Does this align with who I am?

Not: Is everyone else doing this?

Stop chasing the dragon. In digital marketing, this is the attempt to recreate that one post of yours that popped off—you know the one, it got 10x the engagement and now you're trying to bottle lightning.

Stop.

Your content doesn't need to appeal to everyone. It needs to deeply resonate with the right people. The ones who'll actually show up, buy, or follow through.

Write one piece of content this week that intentionally excludes 80% of your audience. Be specific about who you serve and use language that signals "this is for you."

For example: "If you're a pastor leading a church under 200 people and you're tired of growth tactics that only work for megachurches, this is for you."

The tighter your message, the stronger your connection.

Trend 5: Your audience wants to do something, not just consume.

Sitting on the beach? Snooze.

In 2026, we're travelling for the thrill of it. Gen Z and Millennials will seek out full-throttle, adrenaline-inspired tourism—think river rafting through class 5 rapids, rappelling waterfalls on canyoneering routes, or timing trips around global sporting events.

Pinterest calls them "darecations," and they're a symptom of something deeper: people are tired of passive consumption. They want to be challenged. They want to participate.

Breed adventure back into your brand.

This could be as simple as gamification of a launch or as wild as inviting users on an actual experience (not just to a product or webinar).

Look at your next offer and ask: "What's the dare here?" Can you add a challenge component? A leaderboard? A live event that requires showing up, not just clicking a Zoom link?

Example: instead of "Join my email course," try "Take the 7-Day Storytelling Sprint—post one story every day for a week and tag me. Best story wins a free coaching call."

People want to do something, not just consume something.

Here's what all five trends are saying:

People are tired of noise and craving connection, meaning, and authenticity. They want slower communication, stories rooted in memory, imperfection over polish, identity over imitation, and honest hope over empty hype.

As Christian creators, this is our moment. We have the ultimate story of hope grounded in truth. We serve a God who meets people in their mess, not just their highlight reels.

The question is: are we telling that story in ways people can actually hear?

Next time you sit down to write—whether it's an email, a post, or a sermon—ask yourself: Does this feel safe? Does it honor their reality? Does it offer hope without pretending everything is fine?

If the answer is yes, you're already ahead of the trends.

BEST FINDS

Here are Payton’s Picks for the week. If you find something worth sharing with the rest of the Lab, reply to this email!

🧙‍♂️ Story

• Have you read arguably the best book on brand positioning and storytelling (StoryBrand).

• How to use the 7-Point Story Structure to Create Your Story’s Foundation (World Builders).

📧 Email

• How to maximize email deliverability during peak season (Adobe for Business)

• The 5 Email Marketing Metrics That Matter Most And How to Improve Them (Campaign Monitor).

💬 Marketing

• Have you read arguably the best book on the subject of marketing (Seth Godin).

• Take a cue from Dancing With the Stars, a 20-year-old brand with standout marketing strategies (Brand Vision).

👀 ICYMI

• I building my first deck-building game and could use any advice people are willing to hand out for free (LinkedIn).

• Is this the most clever show concept that has ever existed? (LinkedIn).

Before you go, here are 2 ways I can help:

🧪 The Lab Notes: My live swipe file to end idea bankruptcy. It’s packed with 300+ content ideas, 150+ viral hooks, 130+ lead magnet ideas, real marketing examples, and much much more!

👻 VeryGoodGhost Agency: We give Christian executives turnkey content (social, inbox, and beyond) that delivers scary good results without adding to their calendars.

Keep writing what matters,

— Payton