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Persuasive writing

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<strong>Reader first</strong> Top companies 60% more likely to focus on reader needs, twice as likely to engage readers emotionally. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/businesspeople-holding-target-against-their-faces-1011274288" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by Andrey_Popov</em></a>

Top organizations use reader-centric approach

High performers focus on readers 71% of the time — IABC UK study Seventy-one percent of high-performing organizations focus their...
<strong>Better than sex?</strong> Talking about ourselves activates the same pleasure centers in the brain as sex, science says. Problem is, your audience members want you to focus on them. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/caucasian-man-holding-modern-target-dart-480671788" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by Olivier LeMoal</em></a>

Writer centered vs. reader centered writing

Stop We-We-ing on reader It feels so good to talk about ourselves. Better than sex? Talking about ourselves activates the...
<strong>You’re so vain, you probably think this piece is about you</strong> Don’t go We, we, we all the way home — without the contract. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/hands-holding-colorful-wooden-letters-shaping-610741004" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by stockphoto-graf</em></a>

What is reader-centered writing?

Avoid Institutional Narcissism Richard Roll, an economics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, studies narcissism in CEOs. Turns...
Write about the reader instead of about how you know and understand the reader. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/thank-you-160061219" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by docstockmedia</em></a>

How to craft reader-focused writing

Stop it with the ‘At XX, we …’ construction At Wylie Communications, we believe that writers should write and that...
<strong>WWDCD?</strong> Learn to move people to act from the master of persuasion. <a href="https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/perfect-target-gm181075181-25601095"><em>Image by kickimages</em></a>

Learn reader-centered business writing from Dale Carnegie

Take a tip from the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People I was coaching a communicator for...
<strong>Don’t leave the me out of the What’s In It For Me?</strong> How do you keep young people from smoking weed? Not by threatening their sex lives. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/photo-pretty-nice-sweet-lady-holding-1724691877" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by Roman Samborsky</em></a>

Use WIIFM marketing to persuade

Focus on what the reader wants If you wanted to keep teens from smoking weed, what message might you communicate?...
<strong>What’s the problem?</strong> Use this story template to make your next case study, testimonial or narrative more dramatic and powerful. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/investor-lawyer-executive-speed-urgency-delay-1050029477" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image from Roman Samborskyi</em></a>

How to write a case study [example]

Zimmer Inc. uses the P-S-R format Roz Chast's "Story Template" offers a good structure for corporate storytellers to follow: What’s...
Arousing fear can backfire if you don’t offer a simple way to reduce risk. This four-part model overcomes that obstacle to move readers to act. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/young-man-painted-skull-on-his-2094013162" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by pixel-shot</em></a>

How to develop fear appeals in persuasion

Avoid losing readers with these 4 steps Fear appeals persuade. But they can also paralyze. Arousing fear can backfire if...
<strong>Better sorry than safe? </strong>Arousing fear can be more effective than promising rewards at moving people to act. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-man-mexican-calaveras-makeup-wearing-497335528" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Image by nito</em></a>

What’s the effectiveness of fear appeals?

Why accentuate the negative? Fear appeals work. Better sorry than safe? Arousing fear can be more effective than promising rewards...
<strong>Easy as 1-2-3</strong> Here’s how to write a how-to story — aka a tipsheet or service story. <a href="https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/make-the-first-step-gm504908890-83414357" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by IvelinRadkov</em></a>

Try this how-to story template

Tips for writing a tipsheet Service stories aren’t news articles. Which means that the inverted pyramid isn’t the right structure....

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