Writing Tips For Your Business

The written word is important to any business. Whether it's on a website,
direct mail piece, or in a print publication, it serves to inform readers and
entice them to take action. So it is important to know how to use our words to motivate readers.

Emotion Is a Powerful Motivator

In order to get a response from our readers, it is important to evoke emotions. People respond to emotion much more quickly than they respond to cold, hard facts.

There's nothing wrong with presenting facts about your business or its products or offerings, but it's important to do so in moderation. Long, drawn out business and technical monologues tend to bore the reader, resulting in him leaving your website or tossing your mailing in the trash. It's much more effective to focus on what you can do for the reader.

Use Action Words

Writing in a passive manner does nothing to get a reader excited. In fact, it can be quite boring and monotonous. And bored readers rarely become customers.

It is important to use action words throughout our copy. This facilitates emphasizing the benefits of what we have to offer rather than just listing humdrum details. Action-packed writing is also more memorable, so if our readers should get sidetracked they are more likely to come back to it later.

What Do You Want Your Readers to Do?

Great copywriting has several important characteristics. But one of the most critical is also the simplest: In order to be effective, we must let our readers know what it is we want them to do.

The best way to let our readers know what we want from them is to simply come out and tell them. This is known as a call to action. Phrases such as "Order now" and "Sign up here" are good examples. But a call to action isn't complete unless you make it clear how the reader can perform that action. That means you need to include a link, phone number, or address they can use.

Set a Deadline

Deadlines are powerful motivators. If a customer is on the fence about buying your product or signing up for your newsletter, a deadline can make all the difference in the world.

You might only accept signups for a limited time. Or you could offer a discount if the reader acts now. Putting a time limit on things creates a sense of urgency, because readers fear missing out if they don't act quickly.

Nearly everything we do has some sort of motivating factor. So if we want our readers to act, we must give them the motivation to do so. By writing in a style that evokes emotion and encourages action, we increase our chances of turning a reader into a customer or subscriber.

I'll be back next week,

Crissy Herron Gipson
www.IndieBizChicks.com
info@indiebizchicks.com