Grammatical tools to use in persuasive copy

In order to achieve your desired outcomes, there are a number of grammatical tools that you can use to make your copy more persuasive.

Presuppositions

The presupposition is a powerful way to bypass the conscious mind and have the reader accept what you’ve written as fact and without questioning. It’s quite difficult to block or question presuppositions because they slip in. An example of a presupposition in action is:

• When (you do what I want you to do), you’ll find yourself quickly and easily (becoming the person you want to be or obtaining a coveted goal.)

Embedded Commands

It’s quite easy to conceal imperatives into a regular sentence or question, again bypassing the reader’s conscious and making a beeline straight to the sub-conscious. People reading the commands will think the writer is making a point or asking a rhetorical question.

Example: “Who KNOWS what will happen with this campaign? There could be an (h)ITCH NOW in one of the projects.

The words in capital emphasise the hidden/embedded command, and the grammatical error serves to distract the conscious mind.

Embedded questions are important.

Creating excitement and desire

Here are some ideas of language patterns that will create anticipation and excitement:

• In a moment, I’ll tell you / show you In the next few paragraphs / pages
• As you (what you want them to do), you’ll truly (exciting description).
• As you read this, (description of what they want or embedded command)

Establishing credibility and expertise

One way of building trust is being totally honest. Simply by mentioning the fault of your product or service makes you more honest.

Creating Rapport

It’s important to establish bond and trust as part of your communications with openings such as:

• “Like you…”, or
• “Like many people…”

Creating value

Convince people that it is worth it to invest in your product/service. Tell them why is it a better deal than your competitors. Answer the question: “Why should the prospect pay what I’m asking?”

Suggesting ease

Make it as easy as possible for people to order from you. You can use some language patterns to make what you’re offering look easier than perhaps it is.

Changing beliefs

Changing how a prospect feels about you, your industry, your company, your product or service can be tough. To change negative beliefs, you will need to reframe (change) perspectives by handling objections well. To do this:

• List all of the reasons why someone wouldn’t respond to your offer and think of ways you can answer them.
• Make your biggest promise and then back it up with your biggest proof. (Testimonials, case study, history, statistics, quotes from experts, etc.)
• Capture and hold their interest.

Get prospects to say ‘yes’ mentally a few times before presenting something you want them to believe.

Impress others, inclusiveness and exclusivity

People love to be part of a select group. People also buy if they realise the product is hard to get, or they are being invited to buy to the exclusion of others.

Fear of unpleasant experiences

People are most inclined to act if they are in pain or they fear some sort of loss. So incorporate this into your copy with formulas such as the following:

• The bottom line is the (loss/pain the reader will experience) using (your product/service) will save you.

Creating urgency and scarcity

If you want your advertisements to do well, you’ll need to add urgency and scarcity to them. Another way to create urgency is to think of the consequences of what will happen to the prospect if he/she does not respond to your offer.

Making a commitment

Once someone has made a commitment, it’s difficult to change your mind. Here are some tactics you can use to get  prospects to make a commitment:

• Free consultation
• Free evaluation period
• Try before you buy

Saving Money or Increasing Value

Everybody loves to save money. If your offering is not the cheapest, you’re going to have to show how valuable your offer is.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

Want to learn about other tools that you can use in order to make copy persuasive? If you do then you need to study our National Diploma of Copywriting. For more information, please follow this link.