Copywriting is the art and science of getting your readers to take action. It can be used to make connections, challenge ideas, and persuade your readers to take a next step
Over the next few weeks I’m going to touch on three writing strategies you can use to make your copywriting more persuasive.
Every person has used it to convince ourselves or others to share a similar point of view or agree to a common idea. It happens all the time.
When you convince a friend to go out, bribe persuade your kids to eat their veggies, or negotiate a raise with your boss, you are using the power of persuasion to get what you want.
Sometimes we even persuade ourselves. Like when we convince ourselves to eat healthy and pretend that kale chips are chips. Kale are not chips and cauliflower is not a steak, but we use persuasive tactics to convince ourselves that it is because we’re trying to get ourselves to make better choices.
Before we dive in, there’s one thing I want to address.
I’m all for pure persuasive writing.
Authentic persuasive writing works to convince your reader while maintaining honesty, transparency, and respect for your audience. It’s about building trust and providing genuine value, which leads to a long-term relationship with your community.
Slimy persuasion, on the other hand, gives off major ick vibes and uses manipulation, deceit, or pressure tactics to coerce the reader to take action. It damages trust and credibility in the long run. I’m not here for that, and that’s not what we’re talking about here.
Ok, now that the *dads, Brads, and Chads* have left the room let’s dive in. (T. Swift really is a genius.)
Technically this is known as the principle of loss aversion. This technique dips into the psychological concept that suggests people really don’t like losing things they already have, even more than they like getting new things.
Instead of trying to motivate your audience with all the things they can get from your product and services it’s more impactful to remind them of what they have to lose by not using your products or services. Studies show it’s actually two times as powerful.
How to incorporate this into your writing: Ask yourself, what’s at stake for them?
Here are Some Examples:
Health and Fitness:
Financial Services:
Interior Design:
By using this technique in your writing you can craft compelling copy that motivates your audience to act by highlighting what they stand to lose if they don’t.
This approach leverages a powerful backed by science psychological trigger to enhance your marketing efforts and improve conversions.
Next up we’ll explore how to capitalize on the power of community.
Read more on making your copywriting more persuasive. Below I’ll share the rest of this series of posts as they’re published.
Hi I’m Shea-Founder of Hey Hey studio,
word and truffle fry connoisseur,
queen of overdoing just about everything,
and creative copywriter for brands forging a legacy.
Shea Poe
H.A.P.P.Y stands for Hack, About, Photo, Pimp, Yeehaw.
Creative copywriting that builds brands people don’t forget with words they’ll remember.
The writing hacks you need, the spoonful of happiness you want. It's easy to skim, promises to entertain, and helps you achieve copywriting that works.