Persuasive Writing

Persuasive Writing AIDA AIDCA AIDPPA DDPC PPPP

Emphasize Control “The First USA puts the right person in charge of your interest rate. You.”

Tap into Fear “What will you do when you lose your job or health or…”

Promise to unlock a Puzzle “Learn how to double your income in one month”

Promise exclusivity Our credit card is not for everyone. Not everyone who applies for membership is approved.”

Tantalize “Think how wonderful it would be to wake up tomorrow knowing you never have to work again.”

Show what’s in it for me “Save up to 60% on all your future purchases on brand name items.”

Use headline grabbers Learn to develop your own customized WEB site in less than one hour.

Paint a Picture “Imagine spending your Christmas break relaxing on the balmy, sunny beaches of some exotic island in search of Mr./Ms. Rich Right

Stress Convenience “Never stand in line for another ticket”

Emphasize the Negative “Are you making these seven common mistakes in managing your office staff?”

Play on the underdog appeal “They thought I lost my mind when I invested in ….”

Ask Provocative Questions “If a disaster strikes your company, how long would it take you to recover?”

Use the “barker” techniques “Call your friends and get ready to rock…because you are about to become our next PCH winner!”

Appeal to curiosity/greed “If you thought you couldn’t get a car, a boat, a trip, a six figure income for life, guess again. For only $22.50…”

Elicit guilt; stress urgency “In the 10 seconds it took you to read these words, 10 people died from..” “In one week companies in your city will pour thousands of tons of pollutants into the air you breathe unless..”

Use Bullets People skip-read, so: Bullet important points Bullets help to clarify information

The Persuasive Business Letter Action-oriented Prods the reader to do something Motivates the reader to expend effort

Three Components of Persuasive Letters Attention getter Explanation of the proposed request Action getter

Four Categories of Appeals to Gain Reader Attention Health Wealth Pleasure Curiosity

Interest-creating opening with a problem “With the recent change of WBCY-FM to a hard rock music format, those of us who enjoy listening to musicals such as Phantom, Cats, etc. are stuck. There remains only one such station in our community. And because of no competition, there is little music and increased advertising.

Avoid Running Afoul in Persuasive Writing Show the reader what personal benefit is to be gained for them. Ex: I must raise $ to win the election Ex:The amount of $ is what it will cost to help your rep win the election

Selling Reader Benefits, Not Product Features Features simply describe; Benefits sell

Common Mistakes This product is the only one on the market which can do this, that, and those. (selling the features but failing to sell the product.)

Features/Benefits “This machine can do this, that, and those and what this means to you is that you can do, save,

Getting the Reader’s Action Action steps should be what and when specific the tone of the action step should be assumptive (the customer wants what you have to share.)

Your Task You work for a company in which 15% of the orders are processed later than time agreed upon with the customer. Your department’s service is the lowest in the division. You are getting lots of heat from the area manager. The problem has been going on for several months with no apparent solution.

Problem cont. Your district manager has just hired a new management trainee to help you. She hasn’t been assigned any permanent duties. The company is planning on paying her out of the temp/overtime budget. The plan is to use her only as long as needed.

Problem continued Two tasks to be accomplished: 1. Keep our customer base intact and happy. Figure out how to touch base with our customers to ensure quality customer service. 2. Send a memo to the district manager’s office to see if he would be willing to front half of the new girl’s salary ($15,000)

Persuasive Writing