How to Write Persuasive Content

Any content you publish can be categorized as persuasive messaging. Even when you are not selling a product, your communication has the purpose of persuading customers to do things like go to your website or donate to a cause. In order to successfully market your products and services, you need to be able to persuade your audience. How, then, can you do this? Here are four tips on how to write persuasive content.

Understand What Your Audience Values

How can understanding my audience help me write persuasive content?

As always, you need to understand your audience in order to persuade them. If you do not understand who you are persuading, then your message will likely not be as effective. Knowing what your audience values is key to persuasion. Figure out what their attitudes are–both positive and negative. Speak to what your publics like and fix what they hate. Of course, this all has to align with your brand. Never sacrifice content for persuasive strategies you think will be effective. If the messaging is sub-par, your company will not come across as credible. Therefore, you need to understand what your audience values and desires in order to better market your products and services while also remaining consistent in your branding.

Decide Between Gain-framed vs. Loss-framed Messaging

How can I integrate gain-framed and loss-framed messaging when I write persuasive content?

Not every persuasive message needs to be gain-framed or loss-framed, but these are effective methods of persuasion. What are gain-framed and loss-framed messaging? Like the names suggest, gain-framed messaging focuses on what the customer will obtain from a product or service whereas loss-framed messaging focuses on what the customer will lose out on by not purchasing a product or service. How, then, do you know which to use?

Gain-framed messaging is the most effective when you have a lot of benefits to offer. If the customers are overwhelmed by what all they can gain by purchasing your products or services, they will be more likely to complete the purchase. This works well on future-minded people as they want to purchase products that have long-term benefits. When writing these messages, focus on the positives. Show your customers everything they will gain from your products, even past the product itself.

In contrast, loss-framed messaging is the most effective when there are consequences to not purchasing products or canceling a subscription. Most people are afraid to lose what they already have. If that is threatened, then they are more likely to be persuaded. Many people also do not want to feel left out. By showing customers what they would lose by not purchasing a product or canceling a subscription, they will be more likely to purchase the product and keep the subscription.

Write Implicitly or Explicitly

How can writing implicitly and explicitly make my content more persuasive?

Implicit and explicit writing have their pros and cons. When you write implicitly, you are leaving the receiver to make their own judgments based on the content. While this is risky, if they come to the conclusion you wanted, they will be more easily persuaded as they came to the decision themselves. However, explicit writing takes out the risk as you say exactly what you want the customers to think and do. While this is effective and less risky, there may be less retention than implicit writing. How can you know which type is right for you?

When choosing to write implicitly or explicitly, the one you should use always depends on the situation. Write implicitly when you are confident the receivers will understand your intended message and call to action. If someone needs to know exactly what you mean, it’s not worth the risk. So then, you should write explicitly to be as clear as possible. Now, you can use both of these persuasive strategies. You just need to make sure that the content does not become confusing.

Call Customers to Action

How can calling my customers to action make my content more persuasive?

In order to best persuade customers, you need to call them to action. Give them something they should do after the message, whether it be purchasing a product or following your social media accounts. Having your customers complete these actions will make them more loyal to your company as they have already committed, at least slightly, to your company itself. Check out Brittany Leaning’s article, “50 Call-to-Action Examples You Can’t Help But Click,” on HubSpot to learn more about calling customers to action.

Persuasive messages are everywhere. In order for your company to effectively persuade its customers, you need to understand how to write persuasive content effectively. Want to learn more about writing persuasive content? RedMoxy has you covered! Click here to contact us and learn more.