Catch Your Readers persuasive-writing training program

Think Like a Reader

How do you write social media and other messages that grab a group of people’s attention and move them to act? One secret to reaching readers is to position your message from your audience’s point of view.

In this session, you’ll learn a four-step process for finding your voice and making your message more relevant, valuable and rewarding to your audience. Specifically, you’ll learn how to:

• Cut through the clutter of completing messages with the formula people use to determine which messages to pay attention to.
• Boost audience interest in your message with the two rewards of reading.
• Position your writing and strategy with the No. 1 question to answer on your reader’s behalf.
• Focus your message on the value to the audience with a two-minute perspective shift that will
• Make your message more relevant to readers with the most popular word in the English language (Hint: It isn’t free or sex!)

Master a Better Structure

What is the structure of persuasive writing?

It’s not the inverted pyramid. The pyramid has been proven in the lab to reduce readership, understanding, engagement and action, according to research by the Reuters Institute and others.

In this session, you’ll learn to organize persuasive messages using a structure that’s been proven in the lab to outperform the traditional news structure. Specifically, you’ll learn how to:

• Organize your message to grab readers’ attention, keep it for the long haul and leave a lasting impression
• Try three effective elements of a great lead — and five leads to avoid
• Stop bewildering your readers by leaving out an essential paragraph. (Many communicators forget it)
• Avoid the “muddle in the middle”
• End with a bang with our three-step test

Cut Through the Clutter

Readability helps everyone — those with high literacy rates as well as low, according to new research by the Nielsen Norman Group.

When you make your writing easier to read, your audience members will read it faster, understand it better and enjoy it more. Specifically, you’ll learn how to:

• Find the right length for your paragraphs … your sentences … your words
• Hit the right word count — for humans as well as for Google
• Avoid causing your reader to skip your paragraphs
• Quantifiably improve your copy’s readability using a free tool (You probably already have it, but you might not know it)
• Make your copy clearer and more concise with a seven-step system
• Plus: How to use ChatGPT to write persuasively

Reach Readers Where They Look

Even highly educated scientists read, on average, only 20% of the words on a webpage. So how can you craft messages that reach nonreaders?

In this program, you’ll learn how to pull readers into your message, make your piece more inviting and even communicate to flippers and skimmers. Specifically, you’ll learn how to:

• Reach “readers” who spend just seconds looking at with your piece
• Craft the piece of display copy that 95% of people read — but that many communicators drop
• Reach flippers and skimmers and other nonreaders by running a simple test on your message
• Make your message more reader friendly by using the palm of your hand
• Write better headlines, decks and other pieces of display copy

Plus: Live Editing Sessions

Put the “master” in the Master Class by practicing and perfecting the skills you learn in the workshop. You’ll:

• Master the techniques you’ve learned in two-minute practice sessions, then get Ann’s award-winning ideas for improving your work.
• Work with your peers to turn lame digital marketing pieces into high-quality content, then find out what Ann would do.
• Get written feedback on your own work from your colleagues.
• Watch Ann transform your work in live editing sessions in class.

Master the techniques writing coach Ann Wylie has used to earn more than 60 communication awards, including two IABC Gold Quills — the Pulitzer Prizes of business communications.