How To Convince Others: The Copywriter’s Secret Weapon

When you’re trying to convince someone of something, whether it’s a romantic partner or a business partner, the first step is figuring out your audience. You need to know what that person is looking for and what kind of language will speak to them. 

In other words: You need to write toward an emotion rather than just delivering facts because people don’t buy from you because of logic alone. They buy because of emotion and human connection.

Takeaways
1. Master the art of persuasive copywriting techniques.
2. Discover the copywriter’s secret weapon for success.
3. Use storytelling to captivate and convince readers.
4. Understand the psychology behind persuasive writing.
5. Craft compelling calls to action to drive results.

1. Know Your Audience

First, you need to know your audience. To convince someone, you must first know what they want, need, and desire. This makes the difference between writing content that will get them interested in your product or service (and keep them coming back) versus content that just causes frustration or confusion.

Knowing your audience also helps with headlines and calls to action because it’s easier to come up with something that speaks directly to who they are and how they think rather than trying to guess at what might pique their interest by appealing generically to everyone on the internet.

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2. Understand The Trifecta Of Persuasion

There are three essential components to persuasive writing:

Know your audience. If you don’t know who your target audience is, how will you ever appeal to them? You need to get in touch with what motivates them and how they think so that you can write something that resonates with them.

Understand the trifecta of persuasion. The copywriter’s secret weapon isn’t just one thing; it’s a combination of three: words, headlines, and stories. These three elements are what make copywriting click with readers on an emotional level and it works every time!

3. Make your headlines work harder

Good headlines are concise, and they get right to the point. They’re also written in a way that makes people want to read the article (and maybe even share it).

In the legal field, persuasive writing can be a game-changer. Discover strategies and tips to enhance your persuasive writing skills in our detailed guide on writing to persuade, designed specifically for lawyers aiming to make compelling cases.

What’s A Good Headline Look Like

The best headlines are short, punchy, and catchy. If it takes you more than 10 seconds to figure out what your headline is saying or if you have to read it twice before you understand what’s happening you’re doing something wrong. 

To keep things simple, try sticking with one or two words for your main subject matter: “Why Dogs Are Better Than Cats” works better than “A Comparison Between Dogs And Cats”.

Before writing anything else, take some time thinking about how you’d describe this article in one sentence or less.

4. Use Power Words

You can use powerful words to create an emotional response, grab attention, make your writing more persuasive and memorable, and make it more credible.

Power words are words that have a lot of personal meaning for you. For example, I love my dog. I hate spiders. These are both powerful words because they have deep emotional resonance for me (and probably most who read this). 

They’re also very specific not everyone loves their dog or hates spiders; these are personal experiences that make them particularly powerful for me and the few others who share them with me.[1]

5. Tell Stories

In the world of copywriting, telling stories is a secret weapon. Stories have been used for centuries to convince people to do things they otherwise wouldn’t do—as well as to stop them from doing things they shouldn’t be doing.

For example, consider this story:

There once was a young man who wanted nothing more than to become a successful writer. He spent years reading every book on writing he could find and learning from the masters. He practiced his craft until finally, his work was good enough that someone even encouraged him to submit some pieces for publication. 

The first few articles were rejected by editors, but eventually, one was accepted for publication in a magazine for which he wrote regularly now that he’d built up some positive feedback from readers and editors alike (and from himself). 

The young man couldn’t wait until his first paycheck arrived so that he could buy himself something nice with it maybe even something expensive like new shoes or clothes!

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6. Give Away Information For Free

You want to give away something for free. The best way is to write an ebook and offer it as a download on your website. If you’re not technical, hire someone who is (you can usually find them on freelancer websites like Upwork).

If you sell products or services, try offering a free trial period or consultation—and then make it hard for people to cancel so they have to stick around!

Finally, if you run an eCommerce store or sell physical goods through an online marketplace like Etsy, try giving away samples of your product in exchange for contact information that allows you to market directly via email later on.

7. Tap into people’s emotions

In the marketing world, we’re taught that emotion is king. It’s the key to persuasion, selling, and getting people to do what you want. If someone can’t connect with your message on a personal level, if it doesn’t speak to them in their heart of hearts, then there’s no way they’ll buy from you.

In my previous job as a copywriter at an advertising agency, one of my clients was an online dating site. The team had spent weeks brainstorming how best to attract men to the site, after all, men were their target demographic and they wanted them to sign up and spend money as soon as possible! 

But even though we considered all sorts of ideas for marketing campaigns (including some very funny ones), nothing worked until we tapped into feelings and emotions around love: “Are you tired of dating?” our new ad read. “We’re tired too.”

8. Use Testimonials And Case Studies To Offer Proof That Your Product Works

Testimonials and case studies can be very persuasive and valuable tools when it comes to selling a product. A testimonial is a personal story of how your product worked for someone else. 

It’s important that the person giving the testimonial share his or her full name, picture, and contact information so you can verify their identity and credibility. Case studies are more detailed looks at how a product worked for specific people or groups of people you should include both types in your sales copy!

Case studies give readers great insight into who might benefit from using your product, as well as what problems they might have been facing before using it (and how those problems were resolved). They also help demonstrate that customers get real results—which means better conversions!

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9. Talk About Benefits, Not Features

Features are the things a product can do. Benefits are what that product does for you. We all know that “feeling beautiful” is a benefit, not a feature of makeup. But it’s also true that “looking like you’re wearing no makeup at all” isn’t exactly a benefit. So how do you persuade customers to buy your products? 

You need to convince them that your features will lead them to experience real benefits and this is where copywriters come in!

Benefits help sell more than features ever will because they deal with emotions and people’s motivations rather than facts and specifications. They let us feel good about buying something: if I have cute shoes, then maybe I’ll be able to make friends easier at my new job! 

Or if my friend has an amazing new phone case from Casely-Hayford (which I want), then maybe he’ll notice me! 

The trick is recognizing what kind of value each product offers not only its intended use but also the intangibles that make it desirable or exciting and expressing these values clearly through writing so potential customers can see why they should buy yours instead of another company’s version of the same thing.

10. Put People At Ease With Your Writing Style

One of the best ways to make others feel comfortable is by using simple language. This can mean a lot of things: short sentences, active voice, short paragraphs, and words (i.e., keep it conversational). It also means friendly language, as in not being formal or stuffy (unless that’s your style). Finally, it means natural tone not overly dramatic or flowery in your writing style.

11. Use The Right Words By Focusing On Specific Pain Points And Solutions

Words are powerful. When you use the right words, you can convince people that their pain points are real and that your solution is the best one out there.

To do this, focus on specific pain points of your audience and use language that shows them you understand what they’re going through. 

It’s not enough to say “you have a problem” or “this thing sucks” you need to show them exactly what it is about their current situation that makes it suck so much for them: 

How much time do they spend doing something repetitively (and ineffectually), how many hours are spent looking for the right information online before finding something useful… whatever applies to your product/service?

You also want to show them how solving those problems will make their life better: by saving money or resources; by making them more productive; by giving them a way out of some situation they’ve been stuck in for too long…

12. Use The Right Words By Being Familiar With (Seo)

In addition to being a writer, I also work as an SEO copywriter. I know how important keywords are in marketing and sales copy. It’s not enough to simply write what you think your audience wants to hear you have to use the right words.

Here’s why: when you search on Google or another search engine, what words do you use? You’ll likely type in long-tail keywords (aka phrases that contain more than one word) like “how do I get rid of ants?” or “how can I improve my writing skills?”. 

These phrases will help people find your website when they’re looking for specific information about ant-repellent methods or improving their writing style.

You won’t just want any old keyword but rather one that is relevant, balanced, and optimized for SEO purposes so it ranks highly in SERPs (search engine results pages). 

The ideal combination of factors is called keyword expansion whereby using the main topic into several related topics within a document helps increase relevance and visibility when it comes time for Google crawlers/bots to index them all together into their database.

This makes sure no matter what search term someone uses during their next query session they’ll still find related content there too!

Mastering the art of storytelling can greatly enhance your writing. Explore our guide on how to write an anecdote to learn how to weave engaging and relatable anecdotes into your content, whether legal documents or creative pieces.

14. Use Comedy Or Satire To Call Attention To An Issue Or Point Out A Complication In The Everyday Life

Comedy and satire can be great ways to get people’s attention. They can also be used to highlight an issue or problem. Finally, comedy and satire can be used to point out a complication in the everyday life.

Take for example this article about how people who are opposed to vaccinations are often ignorant about how vaccines work:

15. Use A Trigger Word In The Headline To Create An Emotional Response

You can use a trigger word in the headline to create an emotional response and get people to read on. For example, I found this headline while searching for a new laptop on Amazon:

Don’t Buy This Laptop. It’s Awful

How could you not click through? Of course, once you do, it turns out that the company was just trying to get people’s attention with their headline and make them want more information about their product. But it works!

You could also try using a trigger word like “free,” “new,” or “now” for your link text and even for copywriting generally because of its effectiveness at getting us to take action (i.e., click).

Conclusion

The next time you have to convince someone of something, remember that it’s not just about what you say and how you say it. It’s also about the words that surround your message and the emotions they create in your audience. If you can tap into their hopes and fears, they’ll be more likely to accept your point of view—and even embrace it!

Further Reading

Copywriting Secrets: Explore advanced techniques and strategies to unlock the power of persuasive copywriting.

Using a Secret Weapon for Writing Success: Discover a secret weapon that can elevate your writing to new heights of success.

Mastering Persuasive Writing: Dive into the art of persuasive writing and learn how to captivate your audience effectively.

And here’s the FAQs section with semantic-based questions and answers:

FAQs

What are the key elements of successful copywriting?

Successful copywriting combines compelling storytelling, a deep understanding of the target audience, and a clear call to action.

How can a secret weapon enhance my writing?

A secret weapon in writing could be a unique approach, a powerful insight, or a specific technique that sets your content apart and makes it more impactful.

How can I improve my persuasive writing skills?

Improving persuasive writing involves understanding psychological triggers, addressing objections, and using language that resonates with the reader’s emotions.

What’s the role of storytelling in copywriting?

Storytelling in copywriting engages readers emotionally, making your message memorable and relatable, ultimately driving them to take the desired action.

How do I balance creativity and professionalism in my writing?

Balancing creativity and professionalism requires adapting your tone and style to the context while infusing creativity to capture your audience’s attention.