Persuasive WritingWriting Persuasively will save you from the Bin! So, what is it? And how do we apply it?The key to any door when using persuasive writing is - INTRIGUE!That’s why I’ve chosen e-mails as the perfect example. E-mails are now a major part of most people’s daily routine, and consequently effect the redistribution of billions of $$$ annually. 
How many e-mails land in your Junk Box every day? How many of them are actually worth reading? How many of them want something from you, namely money? How many of them are written using the same formula? How many of them are written persuasively? HOW MANY DO YOU ACTUALLY OPEN? Without intrigue, you won’t even make it over the first hurdle. You’ll be checked and deleted before even stating your case. So, what are, the ingredients of, ‘successful’, persuasive writing? Notice my use of successful in that sentence. Why? Because. There are short cuts that will get you the desired end result, but they’re only short term and will ultimately lose you all credibility. To actually earn the respect and loyalty of your readers requires. Intrigue + Sincerity + Continuity + Quality + Credibility Result = Trust  The E-mail ProcessI’m now going to try to highlight this persuasive writing topic, by comparing it to what I consider to be cheesy marketing tricks!I begin my day, every day, at 6am. Honest! I light the gas; turn on my PC while the water boils, knock-myself up a super strong coffee, then sit down to browse the latest gems hot off the press. After ripping through my Inbox and performing the necessaries, I pop over to my Junk mail box, cause you just never know what might be lurking in there. Should a particular offering stimulate my interest, not an easy task by any means, they win my click and successfully make it over the first hurdle. Mission accomplished. I’m intrigued. Okay, I’m intrigued, but they’ve still got a long way to go. Next step, they’ve got to build their credibility. The first thing I do before even starting to read, is browse their page for the little telltale signs of mass-produced, out-dated, cheesy marketing tricks. The following format is, what is considered to be today’s winning formula by many top Internet marketing Gurus. Dear friend. Bla…Bla…Bla… Attention! This is a time sensitive offer, due to incredible demand… Insert… Ticking clock, complete with slowly diminishing countdown enforcing the point Then you’ve got the six million mandatory testimonials by people you’ve never even heard of to fight your way through Followed closely by. This offer is just too good to miss A gentle reminder of the ticking clock $3,000 in worthless freebies they can’t sell anyway Another testimonial An extra time sensitive worthless freebie Act now! The punch line… Not $99… Not $69… Yours now for only $39… But you must act NOW… The 30 day money back guarantee Another testimonial And finally, two P.S’s and another final freebie *
It’s so transparent; it’s embarrassing. But, it’s working. Millions of us end up buying from this drivel. So, having won the click using Intrigue, they then went onto lose all credibility by using this format to present their case, and I clicked out and didn’t buy anyway. But the thing to bear in mind is, that these people are one or two hit wonders, Spamers. Yeah they’ll make a few bucks, but then they’re back to the drawing board with no credibility with which to start over. Meanwhile, the more legitimate of us, marketing real quality, will be far ahead of the game. *
To sum up this example of persuasive writing, be a real person. Don’t try to dazzle people with effects. Be sincere, be genuine; don’t apply unnecessary pressure. We’re all sick of the rubbish on the Net. We’re sick of the rip-offs and false promises. How many times have you clicked on a freebie, spent 20 minutes reading garbage only to find your freebie isn’t even free at all. There’s always a catch. Try honest persuasive writing, you will win! LOOK OUT! THE DAYS OF THE COWBOY ARE NUMBERED!
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