Do you throw a bunch of facts and figures their way .. . or try to convince them with logic .. . or just yell at them? If you do, chances are those approaches don't get you very far.
Consider this: Every time you sit down to produce a sales package, use copywriting skills to make your pitch compelling and persuasive. In other words, you use the magical art of persuasion to get your way.
These same skills and secrets can also help you "get your way" in every aspect of your personal life.
The art of persuasion is not about manipulating people. It's about finding a way for everyone to win .. .. and presenting it in such a way that others will listen to you, agree with you, and follow your recommendations.
It doesn't matter if you're writing a memo, sending an e-mail, giving a speech, having a conversation, or building a sales package: Six basic principles of persuasion apply.
Let's say you're trying to convince your 14-year old to save part of his allowance. In this case, here's how you might apply the six principles:
1. Know your "prospect" (who you're dealing with).
For openers, you would talk to your teenager much differently from the way you would talk to a younger child. Your reasoning and information had better be right on with him -- or he'll catch you on any cracks in your argument.
More important, though, you have to figure out what truly motivates your teen. Even though he might not understand his own emotional motivators, you can. And these motivators are what you will use to get him to see your way of thinking.
2. Make the message about the other person and his interests, needs, and desires .. . not about you.
"Your father and I would be happy if .. . " just won't make it. Instead, lay out a clear plan for your teen, showing him that if he starts saving now, he'll be able to buy his first car by the time he's 17. Now you're talking about HIS interests, needs, and desires.
3. Spell out the benefits he will get.
In this case, the main benefit for your teen -- owning a car -- is his strongest motivator. But there are many others in his "core complex." So you also remind him that owning a car will give him freedom, status among his peers, and the ability to get a good job .. . not to mention how much more attractive he will be to the opposite sex.
You might even sweeten the pot by promising to take him and his best friend to a movie every time he saves $200. (This is like offering a "Free Gift" premium in a sales package.)
4. Make benefits concrete and easy to imagine.
Your 14-year-old can easily relate to the benefits you've outlined for him -- and imagine himself enjoying them -- because you have based them on his core complex.
5. Support your claims with proof and logic.
Don't try to convince your teen with vague promises. Be prepared with a chart showing how quickly he'll be able to achieve his dream by saving a small amount every week.
6. Keep it simple.
One overriding idea presented in several ways is more compelling than a string of different ideas.
You could muddy the issue by telling him how much "fun" saving can be .. . and how exciting it will be for him to see the effect compound interest will have on his bank account. You could, but you'd be wasting your time -- and weakening your argument. He wants that car! And owning that car is the most important motivator in his life right now. So stick with that single, simple idea.
Though this example is about convincing your 14-year-old to save part of his allowance, you can see how easy it would be to adapt these six principles of persuasion -- the very same secrets you use to write good sales copy -- to any social or business situation.
The Power Of Our Words
I'm not talking about being paid to write, which (unless you're Stephen King or J. K. Rowling) is pretty much perceived as a minimum pay service. I'm talking about leveraging your written words to draw readers (like a magnet) to a website that you own, from where you can market, sell and resell numerous information products for profit.
Like everything online, success depends on one thing and one thing only... volume of traffic (ie: the number of people who see your site).
It has emerged that one of the most proven and cost effective traffic generation methods available to website owners also happens to be the one task that most website owners try to avoid... that is writing articles.
Yet, writing articles is one of the very best ways to create a constant flow of targeted traffic to your website. With a little effort and a sound, repeatable formula, you can easily write articles that are guaranteed to:
A: Draw traffic to your website
B: Create Ad copy to sell you products
C: Strengthen your presence and credibility on the internet
Using the following techniques can gain the attention of the search engines and get your products and ideas noticed by real people at the same time.
There's no mystery about the basic structure for writing articles. Each one should have a beginning (the lead), a middle (the content) and an end (the conclusion)... not too difficult is it?
There is however one added ingredient you need to ensure that your writing is picked up by the search engines and subsequently attract a steady flow of traffic. That extra ingredient is 'Targeted Keywords'.
Please don't be put off by the idea of writing an article structured around keywords. The process is very straight forward... you can click on the link in the resource box at the end of this article to view a short video which explains the step by step process in more detail.
Once you've done your keyword research and have a final list of words or phrases you want to use throughout your piece, do the following:
1. Use your keyword (or keyword phrase) once in the title
2. Use your keyword (or keyword phrase) once in the lead
3. Use your keyword (or keyword phrase) a couple of times in the first paragraph
4. Use your keyword (or keyword phrase) in a scatter pattern throughout the content of the piece
5. Use your keyword (or keyword phrase) once in the conclusion
Using this basic structure (keyword-focussed title, lead, content and conclusion) will guarantee that your article gets the attention of search engines and also human readers.
This sure-fire structure is your most effective traffic generator yet, but wait, there's one more thing! A secret weapon which almost no one else on the internet is using... it's your local library.
A visit to your library to find material you can use within your article structure gives you a massive offline advantage over just about every other internet marketer or writer.
You see, if people are writing articles which include the keywords "japanese garden" for example, and conduct research purely online, they are highly likely to see other very similar articles written by people doing exactly the same research.
Taking your research offline, using books, newspapers and magazines for your source information, provides a totally new perspective which is far less likely to be seen in other online articles, putting you way ahead of the competition.
Use that research material together with your keyword-focussed article writing structure to produce something in the range of 400-600 words and you have your article.
Now, don't panic, writing 400-600 words is no big deal. Think of it like this. One double-spaced page with a one-inch margin all around will hold about 200-250 words. If you've done your research and taken notes, the chances are that you have more than enough ideas and information to fill a minimum of two such pages.
Using the previous example "japanese garden", you could then title your article "Seven Steps to Japanese Garden Heaven". Okay, maybe not the sharpest title, but it would certainly tell human readers (and the search engines) what your article is about.
Take the research you've done and split it into seven major benefits for people searching online for information to help them create their own Japanese Garden.
Your lead might be something like this: "Imagine the calm and simple serenity you could enjoy strolling through your very own Japanese Garden..."
Then take each of the seven steps you mentioned in the title and turn each one into a section for your article. If you want a short piece, make each section one paragraph long. If you want something more substantial, make each section two or three paragraphs long.
When you reach the conclusion do these two things:
1. Sum up your article's lead or title in your final paragraph (including the keyword or keyword phrase)
2. Quit!
Use this basic structure for writing articles and you'll find it amazingly easy to create very successful, keyword-focussed material that will bring visitors flocking to your website -- even if you don't think of yourself as a writer!
Find out more about how articles can turbo charge your website traffic by clicking on the FREE video link in the resource box below.
Both The American Writers & Artists Institute & Dave Foster are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Dave Foster has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Marketing, Finances and Video Marketing. Dave Foster owns and operates the "Solo Profits" blog and podcast, helping to guide individual entrepreneurs and home-based business owners to online success. Draw upon the wealth of solo business information at the "Solo Profits" blog - Here ==>. Dave Foster's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.
Alternator And Starter Repair The Power Box automatically maintains accessory functionality when the engine is stopped so that hybrid operation is transparent to the driver and passengers