What makes copies convincing?

Persuasive writing can benefit your business in a number of contexts and situations. It could help you get more conversions on a landing page on your website. It can make your direct mail campaign more effective. It might even help you win back a customer on the go about to cancel their subscription.

What exactly is it that makes texts so convincing to an audience? And what efforts can you make to enable more persuasiveness?

The goals of the convincing copy

Persuasion is a complex subject. If you assume that we are all perfectly rational and that we all think and experience the world in the same way, persuasion could be reduced to making a logical argument. But by now it should be clear that we are not such rational creatures.

Related: How to improve your company’s content marketing

So if you want your copy to be convincing, there are three key things you need to do:

• Attract attention. First, you need to get the attention of the people you want to convince. The world is big and full of advertisements. If you are hoping to convince someone with a written message, you need to get noticed.
• Be familiar. Would you talk yourself into buying a brand new car for $ 400? This is good business, but something is wrong – why would someone sell a new car so cheaply? Before you can convince someone of anything, you need to build trust and authority.
• Convince the audience to take action. This is arguably the biggest factor in Conversion rate optimization; You have to force your readers to act. By gaining attention and trust, you can convince a reader that your product is really useful or practical. But if you don’t take the next step and buy it, your efforts are in vain.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these points.

attract attention

For starters, we need to attract attention.

We can do that with:

• Importance. There is more than 4.2 billion websites on the Internet, more are added every day. If you don’t make your copy obvious, prominent, and easy to read, it won’t get noticed.
• Brevity. People do not have the time, patience, or attention span to read an exhaustive treatise on the subject. If you want your text to be convincing, it has to be short. This is why bulleted lists and snappy headings work so well.
• Originality. If you tear down someone else’s marketing copy or write something lazy and cliché, your users will notice. You need to make an effort to write a fresh and original copy.
• Aesthetics. Aesthetics are also important, although it is less about your core content and more about your presentation. Use a clean, easy-to-read font and stay true to your branding image.
• Entertainment / humor. For some brands, it is also helpful to have texts that are entertaining, such as a bit of humor. This makes your copy noticeable and immediately relatable.

build up trust

Building trust with copywriting alone is difficult as a lot will depend on your existing brand reputation. Nevertheless, you can build trust with:

• Sincerity / authenticity. People long for authenticity. If you write like any other company or toss around tired, familiar phrases, people will not take you seriously. Instead, inject your personality and be honest.
• Authority and knowledge. You will instill more confidence when you can demonstrate more authority and knowledge on the subject. What can you say to convince people that you know what you are talking about or that science is on your side?
• Other signals of trust. Small touches can be powerful signs of authority. Here it can be helpful to mention brands you’ve worked with in the past, describe your partners, or mention your team’s combined experience.

Convince the audience to act

After all, you work on convincing your audience to take action.

To do this, focus on:

• Simplicity of action. Remember people have short attention span and limited patience. If you want them to do something, it has to be quick and easy. Your forms should only have a few fields and your inquiries should be realizable immediately.
• Driving action words. You will get more conversions if you use strong action words and commands. For example, say, “Save $ 500 by completing this form” instead of “Did you know you could save $ 500?” All you have to do is fill out this form. “
• Logical advantages. While most of us routinely make irrational decisions (and don’t think you are exempted from them), explaining the logical benefits of action can be helpful.
• Urgency. Combat constant procrastination by emphasizing the temporary nature of this offer (or otherwise suggesting its urgency).

Related: How to rate your content marketing success

Belief is not a perfect science. Even if you follow all of the recommendations in this article and find the right persuasive elements, chances are your text will not win over your target audience. Keep studying the nuances of your target market and experimenting with new techniques; Eventually you will find the right balance.