writing persuasive messagesinfluencing human motivation. obviously, the more closely a persuasive...

The “you” attitude is important in any business message, but it’s absolutelyvital in persuasive writing. If your audience members don’t believe that youhave their best interests at heart, they won’t be easily persuaded by anythingyou write. Follow the advice of successful persuasive writers such as BrianClark: Audiences don’t really care about what you have to say until you candemonstrate that you understand and care about what’s important to them.1

In this chapter, you’ll apply what you’ve learned so far about writing to theunique challenges of persuasive messages. You’ll explore two types of per-suasive messages: persuasive business messages (those that try to convinceaudiences to approve new projects, enter into business partnerships, and soon) and marketing and sales messages (those that try to convince audiencesto consider and then purchase products and services).

“When it comes to writing engaging content, ‘you’ is the most powerful word in the English language, because people are ultimately interested in fulfilling their own needs.”—Brian Clark, Entrepreneur and blogger

www.copyblogger.com

COMMUNICATIONMatters

Writing Persuasive Messages

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter, you will be able to

1 Apply the three-step writing process to persuasive messages

2 Describe an effective strategy for developing persuasive business messages

3 Identify the three most common categories of persuasive business messages

4 Describe an effective strategy for developing marketing and sales messages

5 Explain how to modify your approach when writing promotional messages forsocial media

6 Identify steps you can take to avoid ethical lapses in marketing and salesmessages

C H A P T E R

9

209

Brian Clark, widely considered to beone of the most influential bloggers inthe field of marketing communication,knows that successful persuasion startsand ends with the audience.

Access interactive videos, simulations, sample documents, document makeovers, and assess-ment quizzes in Chapter 9 of mybcommlab.com for mastery of this chapter’s objectives.

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USING THE THREE-STEP WRITING PROCESS FOR PERSUASIVE MESSAGES

Whether you’re convincing your boss to open a new office in Europe or encouraging poten-tial customers to try your products, you’ll use many of the same techniques of persuasion—the attempt to change an audience’s attitudes, beliefs, or actions.2 Because persuasivemessages ask audiences to give something of value (money in exchange for a product, forexample) or take substantial action (such as changing a corporate policy), they are more chal-lenging to write than routine messages. Successful professionals understand that persuasionis not about trickery or getting people to act against their own best interests; it’s about lettingaudiences know they have choices and presenting your offering in the best possible light.3

Step 1: Planning Persuasive MessagesIn today’s information-saturated business environment, having a great idea or a great prod-uct is no longer enough. Every day, untold numbers of good ideas go unnoticed and goodproducts go unsold simply because the messages meant to promote them aren’t compellingenough to be heard above the competitive noise. Creating successful persuasive messages inthese challenging situations demands careful attention to all four tasks in the planning step,starting with an insightful analysis of your purpose and your audience.

Analyzing the SituationIn defining your purpose, make sure you’re clear about what you really hope to achieve.Suppose you want to persuade company executives to support a particular research pro-ject. But what does “support” mean? Do you want them to pat you on the back and wishyou well? Or do you want them to give you a staff of five researchers and a $1 millionannual budget?

The best persuasive messages are closely connected to your audience’s desires and inter-ests.4 Consider these important questions: Who is my audience? What are my audiencemembers’ needs? What do I want them to do? How might they resist? Are there alternativepositions I need to examine? What does the decision maker consider to be the most impor-tant issue? How might the organization’s culture influence my strategy?

To understand and categorize audience needs, you can refer to specific information,such as demographics (the age, gender, occupation, income, education, and other quantifi-able characteristics of the people you’re trying to persuade) and psychographics (personal-ity, attitudes, lifestyle, and other psychological characteristics). When analyzing youraudiences, take into account their cultural expectations and practices so that you don’tundermine your persuasive message by using an inappropriate appeal or by organizing yourmessage in a way that seems unfamiliar or uncomfortable to your readers.

If you aim to change someone’s attitudes, beliefs, or actions, it is vital to understand his orher motivation—the combination of forces that drive people to satisfy their needs. Table 9.1lists some of the needs that psychologists have identified or suggested as being important ininfluencing human motivation. Obviously, the more closely a persuasive message aligns with arecipient’s existing motivation, the more effective the message is likely to be. For example, ifyou try to persuade consumers to purchase a product on the basis of its fashion appeal, thatmessage will connect with consumers who are motivated by a desire to be in fashion but prob-ably won’t connect with consumers driven more by functional or financial concerns.

Gathering InformationOnce your situation analysis is complete, you need to gather the information necessary tocreate a compelling persuasive message. You’ll learn more about the types of information toinclude in persuasive business messages and marketing and sales messages later in the chap-ter. Chapter 10 presents advice on how to find the information you need.

Selecting the Right MediumMedia choices are always important, of course, but these decisions are particularly sensi-tive with persuasive messages because such messages are often unexpected or even

210 Unit 3: Brief Business Messages

Having a great idea or a greatproduct is not enough; you need to be able to convince others of itsmerits.

Clarifying your purpose is anessential step with persuasivemessages.

Demographics includecharacteristics such as age, gender,occupation, income, and education.

Psychographics includecharacteristics such as personality,attitudes, and lifestyle.

You may need to use multiple mediato reach your entire audience.

1 LEARNING OBJECTIVEApply the three-step writingprocess to persuasive messages

Persuasion is the attempt to changesomeone’s attitudes, beliefs, oractions.

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Chapter 9: Writing Persuasive Messages 211

TABLE 9.1 Human Needs that Influence Motivation

Need Implications for Communication

Basic physiological requirements: The needs for food,water, sleep, oxygen, and other essentials

Everyone has these needs, but the degree of attention an individualgives to them often depends on whether the needs are being met; forinstance, an advertisement for sleeping pills will have greater appeal tosomeone suffering from insomnia than to someone who has no problemsleeping.

Safety and security: The needs for protection from bodilyharm, to know that loved ones are safe, and for financialsecurity, protection of personal identity, career security, and other assurances

These needs influence both consumer and business decisions in a widevariety of ways; for instance, advertisements for life insurance oftenencourage parents to think about the financial security of their childrenand other loved ones.

Affiliation and belonging: The needs for companionship,acceptance, love, popularity, etc.

The need to feel loved, accepted, or popular drives a great deal of humanbehavior, from the desire to be attractive to potential mates to wearing theclothing style that a particular social group is likely to approve.

Power and control: The need to feel in control ofsituations or to exert authority over others

You can see many examples appealing to this need in advertisements:Take control of your life, your finances, your future, your career, and soon. Many people who lack power want to know how to get it, andpeople who have power often want others to know they have it.

Achievement: The need to feel a sense ofaccomplishment—or to be admired by others for accomplishments

This need can involve both knowing (when people experience a feelingof accomplishment) and showing (when people are able to show othersthat they’ve achieved success); advertising for luxury consumerproducts frequently appeals to this need.

Adventure and distraction: The need for excitement orrelief from daily routine

People vary widely in their need for adventure; some craveexcitement—even danger—whereas others value calmness andpredictability. Some needs for adventure and distraction are metvirtually, such as through horror movies, thriller novels, etc.

Knowledge, exploration, and understanding: The needto keep learning

For some people, learning is usually a means to an end, a way to fulfillsome other need; for others, acquiring new knowledge is the goal.

Aesthetic appreciation: The desire to experience beauty,order, symmetry, etc.

Although this need may seem “noncommercial” at first glance,advertisers appeal to it frequently, from the pleasing shape of apackage to the quality of the gemstones in a piece of jewelry.

Self-actualization: The need to “be all that one can be,” to reach one’s full potential as a human being

Psychologists Kurt Goldstein and Abraham Maslow popularized self-actualization as the desire to make the most of one’s potential, andMaslow identified it as one of the higher-level needs in his classichierarchy; even if people met most or all of their other needs, theywould still feel the need to self-actualize. An often-quoted example ofappealing to this need is the U.S. Army’s one-time advertising slogan“Be all that you can be.”

Helping others: The need to believe that one is making adifference in the lives of other people

This need is the central motivation in fundraising messages and otherappeals to charity.

Source: Adapted from Saundra K. Ciccarelli and Glenn E. Meyer, Psychology (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2006), 336–346; Courtland L. Bovée,John V. Thill, and Michael H. Mescon, Excellence in Business, 3rd ed. (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2006), 327–333; Abraham H. Maslow, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” Psychological Review 50 (1943): 370–396.

unwelcome. For instance, some people don’t mind promotional e-mail messages forproducts they’re interested in; others resent every piece of commercial e-mail they receive.Permission-based marketing (see page 000) can help companies avoid antagonizing theirtarget audiences.

Social media can be particularly effective for reaching out to customers and potentialcustomers. However, as “Writing Promotional Messages for Social Media” on page 000explains, messages in these media require a different approach than traditional marketingand sales efforts.



Organizing Your InformationThe most effective main ideas for persuasive messages have one thing in common: They areabout the receiver, not the sender. For instance, if you’re trying to convince others to joinyou in a business venture, explain how it will help them, not how it will help you.

Limiting your scope is vital. If you seem to be wrestling with more than one main idea,you haven’t zeroed in on the heart of the matter. If you try to craft a persuasive messagewithout focusing on the one central problem or opportunity your audience truly caresabout, chances are you won’t be able to persuade successfully.5

Because the nature of persuasion is to convince people to change their attitudes,beliefs, or actions, most persuasive messages use the indirect approach. That means you’llwant to explain your reasons and build interest before asking for a decision or for action—or perhaps even before revealing your purpose. In contrast, when you have a close relation-ship with your audience and the message is welcome or at least neutral, the direct approachcan be effective.

For persuasive business messages, the choice between the direct and indirectapproaches is also influenced by the extent of your authority, expertise, or power in anorganization. For instance, if you are a highly regarded technical expert with years ofexperience, you might use the direct approach in a message to top executives. In contrast,if you aren’t well known and therefore need to rely more on the strength of your messagethan the power of your reputation, the indirect approach will probably be moresuccessful.

Step 2: Writing Persuasive MessagesEncourage a positive response to your persuasive messages by (1) using positive and politelanguage, (2) understanding and respecting cultural differences, (3) being sensitive to orga-nizational cultures, and (4) taking steps to establish your credibility.

Positive language usually happens naturally with persuasive messages because you’repromoting an idea or a product you believe in. However, take care not to inadvertently insultyour readers by implying that they’ve made poor choices in the past.

Be sure to understand cultural expectations as well. For example, a message that seemsforthright and direct in a low-context culture might seem brash and intrusive in a high-con-text culture.

Just as social culture affects the success of a persuasive message, so too does the culturewithin various organizations. Some organizations handle disagreement and conflict in anindirect, behind-the-scenes way, whereas others accept and even encourage open discussionand sharing of differing viewpoints.

Finally, when trying to persuade a skeptical or hostile audience, you must convince peo-ple that you know what you’re talking about and that you’re not trying to mislead them. Usethese techniques:

j Use simple language to avoid suspicions of fantastic claims and emotional manipulation.

j Provide objective evidence for the claims and promises you make.

j Identify your sources, especially if your audience already respects those sources.

j Establish common ground by emphasizing beliefs, atti-tudes, and background experiences you have in commonwith the audience.

j Be objective and present fair and logical arguments.

j Display your willingness to keep your audience’s bestinterests at heart.

j Persuade with logic, evidence, and compelling narratives,rather than trying to coerce with high-pressure, “hardsell” tactics.

j Whenever possible, try to build your credibility beforeyou present a major proposal or ask for a major decision.That way, audiences don’t have to evaluate both you andyour message at the same time.6

The choice of approach is influencedby your position (or authority withinthe organization) relative to youraudience’s.

Persuasive messages are oftenunexpected or even unwelcome, sothe “you” attitude is crucial.

Organizational culture can influencepersuasion as much as social culture.

Audiences often respond unfavorablyto over-the-top language, so keepyour writing simple andstraightforward.

Limit your scope to include only theinformation needed to help youraudience take the next step towardmaking a favorable decision.

Most persuasive messages use theindirect approach.

Persuasion skills for every business professional

Persuasion is an essential business skill, no matter whatcareer path you follow. This video offers great tips forunderstanding, practicing, and applying persuasive skills.Go to http://real-timeupdates.com/bce5 and click on“Learn More.” If you are using mybcommlab, you canaccess Real-Time Updates within each chapter or underStudent Study Tools.

REAL-TIME UPDATESLearn More by Watching This Video



Step 3: Completing Persuasive MessagesCredibility is an essential element of persuasion, so the production quality of your messagesis vital. If your message shows signs of carelessness or incompetence, people might think youare careless or incompetent as well.

When you evaluate your content, try to judge your argument objectively and try not tooverestimate your credibility. When revising for clarity and conciseness, carefully match thepurpose and organization to audience needs. If possible, ask an experienced colleague whoknows your audience well to review your draft. Your design elements must complement, notdetract from, your argument. In addition, meticulous proofreading will identify anymechanical or spelling errors that would weaken your persuasive potential. Finally, makesure your distribution methods fit your audience’s expectations as well as your purpose.

DEVELOPING PERSUASIVE BUSINESS MESSAGES

Your success as a businessperson is closely tied to your ability to encourage others to acceptnew ideas, change old habits, or act on your recommendations. Unless your career takes youinto marketing and sales, most of your persuasive messages will consist of persuasive busi-ness messages, which are any persuasive messages designed to elicit a preferred response in anonsales situation.

Even if you have the power to compel others to do what you want them to do, persuad-ing them is more effective than forcing them. People who are forced into accepting a deci-sion or plan are less motivated to support it and more likely to react negatively than ifthey’re persuaded.7 Within the context of the three-step process, effective persuasioninvolves four essential strategies: framing your arguments, balancing emotional and logicalappeals, reinforcing your position, and anticipating objections.

Framing Your ArgumentsMany persuasive messages follow some variation of the indirect approach. One of the mostcommonly used variations is called the AIDA model, which organizes your presentationinto four phases:

j Attention. Your first objective is to encourage your audience to want to hear about yourproblem, idea, or new product—whatever your main idea is. Be sure to find some com-mon ground on which to build your case.

j Interest. Provide additional details that prompt audience members to imagine how thesolution might benefit them.

j Desire. Help audience members embrace your idea by explaining how the change willbenefit them and answering potential objections.

j Action. Suggest the specific action you want your audience to take. Include a deadline,when applicable.

The AIDA model is tailor-made for using the indirect approach, allowing you to saveyour main idea for the action phase (see Figure 9.1). However, it can also work with thedirect approach, in which case you use your main idea as an attention-getter, build interestwith your argument, create desire with your evidence, and emphasize your main idea in theaction phase with the specific action you want your audience to take.

When your AIDA message uses the indirect approach and is delivered by memo or e-mail, keep in mind that your subject line usually catches your reader’s eye first. Yourchallenge is to make it interesting and relevant enough to capture reader attention withoutrevealing your main idea. If you put your request in the subject line, you’re likely to get aquick “no” before you’ve had a chance to present your arguments:

Careless production undermines yourcredibility, so revise and proofreadwith care.

2 LEARNING OBJECTIVEDescribe an effective strategy for developing persuasivebusiness messages

The AIDA model is a useful approachfor many persuasive messages:

j Attention

j Interest

j Desire

j Action

Instead of This Write This

Request for development budget to addautomated IM response system

Reducing the cost of customer support inquiries

The AIDA model is ideal for theindirect approach.



Figure 9.1 Persuasive Message Using the AIDA ModelRandy Thumwolt uses the AIDA model in a persuasive message about a program that would try to reduceHost Marriott’s annual plastics costs and try to curtail consumer complaints about the company’s recyclingrecord. Note how Thumwolt “sells the problem” before attempting to sell the solution. Few people areinterested in hearing about solutions to problems they don’t know about or don’t believe exist. His interestsection introduces an additional, unforeseen problem with plastic product containers.

Catches the reader’sattention with a bluntstatement of a majorproblem

Increases therecipient’s desire orwillingness to takeaction by outlining asolution

Motivates the readerone last time with aspecific cost savingsfigure, then requests aspecific action

Builds interest in apotential solution tothe problem byemphasizing how badthe problem is andhighlighting anassociated problem

A

I

D

A

Pointers for Developing Persuasive Messages• Open with a reader benefit, stimulating question, eye-opening fact, or other attention-getter.• Balance emotional and logical appeals to help the audience accept your message.• Indicate that you understand the reader’s concerns.• Elaborate on the principal benefits as you continue to stimulate interest and build desire.• Support your claims with relevant evidence.• Confidently ask for a decision, stressing the positive results of the action.• Include pertinent action details such as deadlines.• Make the desired response simple to understand and easy to accomplish.• Close with one last reminder of how the audience can benefit.

Eleanor:

In spite of our recent switch to purchasing plastic product containers in bulk, our costs for thesecontainers are still extremely high. In my January 5 message, I included all the figures showingthat we purchase five tons of plastic product containers each year, and the price of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) rises and falls as petroleum costs fluctuate.

In January I suggested that we purchase plastic containers in bulk during winter months, whenpetroleum prices tend to be lower. Because you approved that suggestion, we shouldrealize a 10 percent saving this year. However, our costs are still out of line, around $2million a year.

In addition to the cost in dollars of these plastic containers is the cost in image. We have recentlybeen receiving an increasing number of consumer letters complaining about our lack of arecycling program for PET plastic containers, both on the airplanes and in the airport restaurants.

After conducting some preliminary research, I have come up with the following ideas:

• Provide recycling containers at all Host Marriott airport restaurants• Offer financial incentives for the airlines to collect and separate PET containers• Set up a specially designated dumpster at each airport for recycling plastics• Contract with A-Batt Waste Management for collection

I’ve attached a detailed report of the costs involved. As you can see, our net savings the first yearshould run about $500,000. I’ve also spoken to Ted Macy in marketing. If we adopt the recyclingplan, he wants to build a PR campaign around it. The PET recycling plan will help build ourpublic image while improving our bottom line. If you agree, let’s meet with Ted next week to getthings started. Please call me at ext. 2356 if you have any questions.

Cost Cutting in Plastics

plastics cost analysis.PDF (96 KB)

[email protected]

The AIDA approach has limitations:

j It essentially talks at audiences,not with them

j It focuses on one-time events notlong-term relationships

Apply this figure’s lesson on an actual document. Go to Chapter 9 of myb-commlab.com for Document Makeovers.

With either the direct or indirect approach, AIDA and similar models do have limita-tions. First, AIDA is a unidirectional method that essentially talks at audiences, not withthem. Second, AIDA is built around a single event, such as asking an audience for a decision,rather than on building a mutually beneficial, long-term relationship.8 AIDA is still a valu-able tool for the right purposes, but as you’ll read later in the chapter, a conversationalapproach is more compatible with today’s social media.



Balancing Emotional and Logical AppealsFew persuasive appeals are purely logical or purely emotional, and a key skill is finding theright balance for each message. An emotional appeal calls on feelings or audience sympa-thies. For instance, you can make use of the emotion inspired by words such as freedom,success, prestige, compassion, free, and comfort. Such words put your audience in a certainframe of mind and help people accept your message.

Many marketing and sales messages rely heavily on emotional appeals, but mostpersuasive business messages rely more on logic. And even if your audience reaches aconclusion based on emotions, they’ll look to you to provide logical support as well.A logical appeal uses one of three types of reasoning:

j Analogy. With analogy, you reason from specific evidence to specific evidence. Forinstance, to convince management to buy a more robust firewall to protect your com-pany’s computer network, you might use the analogy of “circling the wagons,” as whencovered wagons crossing the continent gathered in a circle every night to form a safespace within.

j Induction. With inductive reasoning, you work from specific evidence to a general con-clusion. To convince your boss to change a certain production process, you could pointout that every company that has adopted it has increased profits.

j Deduction. With deductive reasoning, you work from a generalization to a specific con-clusion. To persuade your boss to hire additional customer support staff, you might pointto industry surveys that show how crucial customer satisfaction is to corporate profits.

Every method of reasoning is vulnerable to misuse. To avoid faulty logic, practice thefollowing guidelines:9

j Avoid hasty generalizations. Make sure you have plenty of evidence before drawingconclusions.

j Avoid circular reasoning. Circular reasoning is a logical fallacy in which you try to sup-port your claim by restating it in different words. The statement “We know temporaryworkers cannot handle this task because temps are unqualified for it” doesn’t prove any-thing because the claim and the supporting evidence are essentially identical.

j Avoid attacking an opponent. Attack the argument your opponent is making, not youropponent’s character.

j Avoid oversimplifying a complex issue. For example, don’t reduce a complex situationto a simple “either/or” statement if the situation isn’t that simple or clear-cut.

j Avoid mistaken assumptions of cause and effect. If you can’t isolate the impact of aspecific factor, you can’t assume that it’s the cause of whatever effect you’re discussing.You lowered prices, and sales went up. Were lower prices the cause? Maybe, but the salesincrease might have been caused by a better advertising campaign or some other factor.

j Avoid faulty analogies. Be sure that the two objects or situations being compared aresimilar enough for the analogy to hold.

Reinforcing Your PositionAfter you’ve worked out the basic elements of your argument,step back and look for ways to bolster the strength of yourposition. Are all your claims supported by believable evi-dence? Would a quotation from a recognized expert helpmake your case?

Next, examine your language. Can you find more power-ful words to convey your message? For example, if your com-pany is in serious financial trouble, talking about fighting forsurvival is a more powerful emotional appeal than talkingabout ensuring continued operations. As with any other power-ful tool, though, use vivid language and abstractions carefullyand honestly.

Emotional appeals attempt toconnect with the reader’s feelings or sympathies.

Logical appeals are based on thereader’s notions of reason; theseappeals can use analogy, induction,or deduction.

Using logical appeals carries with itthe ethical responsibility to avoidfaulty logic.

Make sure your logic can stand on solid ground

Get sound advice on using logical appeals correctly andeffectively. Go to http://real-timeupdates.com/bce5 andclick on “Learn More.” If you are using mybcommlab, youcan access Real-Time Updates within each chapter orunder Student Study Tools.

REAL-TIME UPDATESLearn More by Reading This Article

Choose your words carefully totrigger the desired responses.


writing persuasive messagesinfluencing human motivation. obviously, the more closely a persuasive...

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