The Art of Persuasive Copy

Is it possible to be persuasive without being pushy? Of course it is. 

Just because you are in business, own or run a business or work in sales, it doesn’t mean you spout ingenuine sales jargon at every turn. 

In fact, you are an honest person and when you talk to your customers, in person or on the phone, you are helpful and genuine. Marketing drivel simply isn’t part of your vocabulary.

But what happens when you need to get something on the page? Is it as easy to sound honest and direct when committing your words to print? How can you write genuine copy that eradicates marketing fluff, yet still sells?

Here are 5 tips to get you started.

1.Don’t make it all about you

Remember who your customer is.

Brands and services often focus on promoting themselves first. They look at what they do, what they are selling and use all the wonderful adjectives that make them sound desirable. 

But what about the audience? 

In this instance, you need to make sure they understand what they’re going to gain and how they are going to feel once they have your product. All of this will quickly show your audience what they are they going to miss out on if they don’t choose you. 

2. Use ‘active’ verbs

Those who ever wondered when GCSE English was going to help them in ‘real life’ might have just opened another browser window in order to Google what an ‘active’ verb is. 

Action-orientated wording is far more effective when it comes to stressing a point or addressing an issue quickly and concisely. It will make you sound dynamic and lively rather than sluggish which happens when using the cumbersome phrasing of the passive voice (see what we did there?) 

“Your business can be changed with bespoke websites made by Rubix”

OR

“Rubix’s bespoke websites will change your business”

After all, you want your copy to read as smoothly as possible from start to finish.

3. Be concise

Continuing on from ‘active’ verbs…if you want your audience to take action, then you cannot allow them to lost interest. Make your point powerfully, then swiftly move along to your Call To Action (CTA). 

Pique their interest effectively and make it their choice to pursue more information. Provide the simplest pathway for them to follow in order to reach something like a blog post or a landing page or even a video. 

Being concise and precise will yield results and help build a loyal customer base. 

4. Language Techniques

Again, English teachers all over the world are drilling creative writing techniques into their students (metaphorically of course). Writing persuasive copy is the perfect opportunity to use them. 

Here are a few that can make a difference to audience engagement: 

• Rhetorical questions
• Alliteration
• Repetition
• Lists of three
• Statistics

Really want to know why these techniques can help with your copy? Of course you do. It’s because they’re easy, eye-catching and essential. They’re so easy, eye-catching and essential that 8 out of 10 readers of this blog will go away and try them in their own copy.

5. Agitate and solve

First, you need to identify the problem you know your audience has. Then you simply need to agitate and aggravate their pain before offering your perfectly placed solution that is going to make everything better. 

The key is not about how much you can antagonise your audience but how much you can empathise with them. You want your audience to know how much you understand their pain because you have been there. You’ve dealt with it and eliminated it. 

If you can truly empathise, then the credibility of your product or the service you offer is far greater. 

Cover Image by congerdesign from Pixabay