Persuasive writing for Marketing and Marketing Promotion

1. Certified Sales and Marketing Skills Programme
Persuasive Writing
Dr. Brian Monger
Copyright January 2014.
This Power Point program and the associated documents remain the intellectual property and the copyright of the
author and of The Marketing Association of Australia and New Zealand Inc. These notes may be used only for
personal study associated with in the above referenced course and not in any education or training program. Persons
and/or corporations wishing to use these notes for any other purpose should contact MAANZ for written permission.
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2. MAANZ International
• MAANZ International, is a Not for Profit, internet based
professional and educational institute which has operated for
over 25 years.
•
MAANZ International offers Professional Memberships;
• Marketing Courses (Formal and Short)
• And Marketing Publications
• www.marketing.org.au
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3. Dr. Brian Monger
•
Brian Monger is the CEO of MAANZ International and a
Professional marketer and consultant with over 40 years
experience.
Marketing In Black and White
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4. Persuasive Writing
• Messages are designed to change attitudes and opinions,
reinforce existing attitudes and opinions, and influence
people to use a product or a service.
• At other times, the organisation's objective is simply to
create a two-way dialog between itself and its various
publics.
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5. The Basics of Communication
•
To be successful, a message must be received by the intended individual or
audience. It must get the audience's attention. It must be understood. It must
be believed. It must be remembered. And ultimately, in some fashion, it must
be acted upon.
•
•
Failure to accomplish any of these tasks means the entire message fails.
To communicate is to make known—to project ideas into the minds of others.
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6. Forms of Communication
• Communication can be classified into two basic forms:
• 1. Auditory - audible –basically spoken communication
• 2. Visual – including graphic (basically symbolic- drawn or
written) and body language
• Communication often includes both forms simultaneously.
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7. The Communication Process
• Personal communication can be improved if we
understand the basic model of communication. The
communication process takes place in various situations for
different reasons, with the potential for many
interpretations. It has eight main elements:
•
•
1. sender/transmitter
• 2. message
• 3. receiver/respondent
• 4. encoding and decoding
• 5. feedback message
• 6. medium or channel
• 7. context/setting/situation
8. noise or interference – internal and external.
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8. E x te r n a l N o is e
C o n te x t/
S itu a tio n
C o n te x t/
S it u a tio n
M essage
M e diu m o r C h a n n e l
Encode
In te r n a l N o is e
Sender
D e c o d e ( P e r c e p t io n )
D e c o d e ( P e r c e p t io n )
R eceiver/
R espondent
Encode
M e diu m o r C h a n n e l
F e ed back
C o n te x t/
S itu a t io n
C o n te x t/
S it u a t io n
E x te r n a l N o is e
Figure 1 A Communication Model
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9. Context
• Context is the situation or setting within which
communication takes place, or the circumstances that
surround a particular piece of communication.
• Context plays an important part in how a message is
encoded and decoded. The same message can have a
completely different meaning depending on the situation,
since emotions and reactions to ideas and events vary in
different situations. .
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10. Noise or interference
• Noise is anything that interrupts the message or
communication flow between sender and receiver can lead
to misunderstanding, or to confused or ambiguous
communication.
• Noise can be external interference (competing messages;
visual or audible interference) or internal interference
(within the sender or receivers mind)
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11. Audience - Receivers
• The receivers are the people you must reach. In public
relations, potential or actual audiences are commonly
referred to as publics.
• A public can be defined in many ways.
• For marketing purposes, a public is often defined as a
market segment—a group of people who have comparable
demographic (income, age, education, etc.) characteristics
that will cause them to respond to messages in a similar
way.
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12. Media
• The media are the physical channels that carry the
message to the receiver.
• They may include newspapers, magazines, radio,
television, letters, speeches, audiovisuals, pictures,
newsletters, leaflets, brochures, and even the World Wide
Web.
• Every medium has advantages and disadvantages, as
explored in future units.
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13. The Message
• Your message must be applicable, believable, realistic, and
convincing. It must be expressed clearly and
understandably in familiar words and phrases.
• Above all, you must convince the receivers that the idea
you are presenting is beneficial to them.
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14. The Sender
• The sender is the organisation from which the message
comes.
• Every organisation has different publics, divergent
interests, dissimilar objectives, unique problems,
distinctive beliefs and peculiarities.
• As a writer, you must know the organisation's objectives so
that the messages you prepare will advance these
objectives.
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15. Communication Barriers
• Communication barriers occur as a result of a
misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the message.
• These barriers can be caused by the sender, the receiver,
lack of feedback, a poor choice of channel, the wrong
context or any other element in the communication model.
• Even when communication barriers appear, something is
communicated, but the noise or interference distorts the
intended message.
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16. Some of the common factors that
cause communication barriers are:
•
•
inappropriate choice of words
• inappropriate channel
• inappropriate message
• receiver inattention
• lack of courtesy by the sender or the receiver
non-verbal communication that does not support the words
• different cultural backgrounds
• poor layout and presentation
• inappropriate timing
•
inadequate feedback.
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17. Theories of Communication
• A message may move from the sender through the media
to the receiver without necessarily conveying ideas and
getting them accepted.
• Yet ideas do get accepted, and there are several theories
about how this is accomplished.
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18. Two-Step Flow Theory
• The flow of communication might be described as a series
of expanding contacts. It assumes that opinion leaders first
pay attention to messages in the media, analyze them,
interpret them, and then pass on the information to their
friends and associates.
• There are formal opinion leaders, such as the CEO of a
company, but there are also informal opinion leaders. All
of us rely on various people for information and guidance
because we believe they are knowledgeable about a
particular subject, whether it be baseball or how to get a
file transferred on a PC.
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19. Media Uses and Gratification
• Recipients of communication are not passive couch
potatoes. The basic premise of uses and gratification
theory is that the communication process is interactive.
• The communicator wants to inform and, ultimately,
motivate people to act on the information. Recipients want
to be entertained, informed, or alerted to opportunities
that can fulfil their needs.
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20. Cognitive Dissonance
• People will not believe a message, or act on it, if it is
contrary to their predispositions. A writer must, in this
instance, introduce information that causes them to
question their beliefs.
• This can be done in several ways.
• First, you can introduce information that says it is okay to
change; perhaps the situation has changed because of new
discoveries, and so on.
• Second, you can use sources or testimonials from people
the audience trusts.
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21. Media Effects
• One theory postulates that the mass media have limited
effects. The media may set the agenda in terms of what
people think about, but they have limited influence in
telling people what to think.
•
There is also the theory of moderate and powerful media effects. This
theory postulates that the media are influential in shaping public
opinion when (1) the public has little or no opinion on a subject, (2) the
subject is non-ego threatening, and (3) the reader or viewer has no
firsthand knowledge of the event or situation. In a highly urbanised
and global society, the public is increasingly dependent on the media
for information.
• Because of this, framing theory becomes more relevant.
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22. Framing
• The term "framing" was historically applied to journalists
and editors and how they selected certain facts, themes,
treatments, and even words to "frame" a story that would
generate maximum interest and understanding among
readers and viewers.
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23. Diffusion and Adoption
• The diffusion theory was developed in the 1930s. It holds
that there are five steps in the process of acquiring new
ideas:
• Awareness—the person discovers the idea or product.
• Interest—the person tries to get more information.
• Trial—the person tries the idea on others or samples the product.
• Evaluation—the person decides whether the idea works for his or her
own self-interest.
• Adoption—the person incorporates the idea into his or her opinion or
begins to use the product.
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24. Hierarchy-of-Needs Theory
• The hierarchy-of-needs theory has been applied in a
number of disciplines, including communication. It is
based on the work of Abraham H. Maslow, who listed
basic human needs on a scale from basic survival to more
complex ones:
• Physiological needs.
• Safety needs.
• Social needs.
• Ego needs.
• Self-fulfilment needs.
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25. Hierarchy-of-Needs Theory
• The main point is to understand that your audience is
looking for messages that satisfy needs.
• If you can identify and articulate those needs, you are well
on your way to being a persuasive writer.
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26. Applying Theory to Practice
• Understanding the concepts of opinion formation, the
process of information diffusion, and the psychological
needs of audiences have a great deal of practical
applications for the writer .
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27. Tailoring Messages to Lifestyles
• Writers increasingly use psychographics to tailor messages
to specific audiences.
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28. Guidelines for Effective, Persuasive
Communication.
• Approach everything from the viewpoint of the audience's
interest. What is on its mind? What is in it for each
person?
• Make the subject matter part of the atmosphere in which
audience members live—what they talk about, what they
hear from others. That means tailoring the message to
their channels of communication.
• Communicate with people, not at them.
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29. Persuasive Writing
• Your purpose is to persuade your target audience. Your
message may be delivered in one way, a few ways, or many
ways.
• As you work on message content, how-ever, keep in mind
the concepts of audience analysis; source credibility;
appeal to self-interest; clarity of the message; timing and
context; symbols, slogans, and acronyms; semantics;
suggestions for action; and content and structure.
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30. A Behavioural Communication
Model
• Awareness - Latent readiness - Triggering event - Behaviour
• Most theories of communication end with the receipt of the
message by the receiver. The assumption is that the reader
will be persuaded and that the sender's objective will be
accomplished.
• The behavioural communication model is better because it
forces practitioners to think in terms of what causes people
to pay attention to a message or take action.
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31. Audience Analysis
• A message, as already stated, must be compatible with
group values and beliefs.
• Tapping a group's attitudes and values in order to
structure a meaningful message is called channelling.
• It is the technique of recognising a general audience's
beliefs and suggesting a specific course of action related to
audience members' self-interests.
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32. Source Credibility
• A message is more believable to an audience if the source
has credibility, which is why writers try to attribute
information and quotes to people who are perceived as
experts. Indeed, expertise is a key element in credibility.
• The other two elements are sincerity and charisma.
• Ideally, a source will have all three attributes.
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33. Appeal to Self-interest
• Self-interest was mentioned in connection with both
Maslow's hierarchy of needs and audience analysis.
• A writer must at all times be aware of what the audience
wants to know.
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34. Appeals That Move People to Act
• Persuasive messages often include information that
appeals to an audience's self-interest. Here is a list of
persuasive message themes:
•
Make money Satisfy curiosity Save money
Protect family Save
time Be stylish
Avoid effort
Have beautiful things
More
comfort
Satisfy appetite Better health
Be like others
Cleaner
Avoid trouble Escape pain
Avoid criticism Gain
praise
Be individual Be popular
Protect reputation
Be loved/accepted
Be safe Keep possessions
Make
work easier More enjoymentBe secure
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35. Clarity of the Message
• Communication, as already stated, does not occur if the
audience does not under-stand your message. It is
important to produce messages that match the
characteristics of your target audience in content and
structure.
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36. Clarity of the Message
• One solution to this problem is to copy-test all public
relations materials on the target audience. Another
solution is to apply readability and comprehension
formulas to materials before they are produced and
disseminated. Most formulas are based on the number of
words per sentence and the number of one-syllable words
per 100 words.
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37. Timing and Context
• Professional communicators often say that timing is
everything.
• Your message also must arrive at a time when it can
conveniently be considered. If it is too early, your audience
may not be ready to think about it.
• November is not the time to talk about winter sports or
sports equipment, but May might be just right.
• News about a cure for male baldness gets full attention
from middle-aged bald-headed men at almost any time.
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38. Symbols, Slogans, and Acronyms
• You are not likely to produce a symbol that will become
world famous, but if at all possible, you should try to find
something graphic that symbolises a given organisation.
This is called branding, and corporations often spend
millions to establish a symbol that immediately means
reliability and quality to a consumer.
•
Slogans can be highly persuasive. They state a key concept in a few
memorable and easily pronounceable words. American Express tells
us, "Don't leave home without it," and Hewlett-Packard now uses
"expanding possibilities" with its logo. If you can coin a slogan that
expresses the basic idea of what you are trying to promote, it will help
you attain your objective.
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39. Semantics
• The dictionary definition of words may be clear and
concise, but there is another dimension to words—the
connotative meaning to various individuals and groups of
people. The study of meaning given to words and the
changes that occur in these meanings as time goes on is the
branch of linguistics called semantics.
• To write persuasively and to influence target audiences,
you must be sensitive to semantics.
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40. Suggestions for Action
• Persuasive writing must give people information on how to
take action, and the suggestions must be feasible.
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41. Content and Structure
• People are motivated by theatrics and a good story. They
are moved by bold action and human drama. Your
message should go beyond cold facts or even eloquent
phrases. If you can vividly describe what you are talking
about—if you can paint word pictures—your message will
be more persuasive.
• A number of techniques can make a message more
persuasive; many of them have already been discussed.
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42. Persuasion by Repetition
• Writers often make the mistake of failing to reinforce
messages. Repeating the message in various forms is
essential for the following reasons:
•
Not all members of your audience use the same media channels to get
their information.
• Repetition of the message, in various forms, reminds the audience
about an idea or product.
• Repetition helps break down earlier resistance to the message.
•
Repetition helps
overcome competing messages and
distractions.
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43. The Ethics of Persuasion
•
The public distrusts professional "persuaders," and the media often
refer to public relations people and political consultants as spin
doctors. Yet persuasion is an integral part of society. Everyone uses
words and visual symbols to share and evaluate information, shape
beliefs, and convince others to do or think things. The ancient Greeks
recognised rhetoric, the "science of persuasion," as worthy of study
and an essential part of public discourse.
•
In sum, persuasion is not a nasty concept. It does not have to be
manipulative, propagandistic, or full of half-truths.
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44. Writers should keep in mind:
•
Do not use false, fabricated,
• Do not ask your audience to link
misrepresented, distorted, or
your idea or proposal to emotionirrelevant evidence to support
laden values, motives, or goals to
arguments or claims.
which it is not actually related.
• Do not intentionally use specious,
• Do not deceive your audience by
unsupported, or illogical reasoning.
concealing your real purpose, your
• Do not represent yourself as
self-interest, the group you
informed or as an "expert" on a
represent, or your position as an
subject when you are not.
advocate of a viewpoint.
• Do not use irrelevant appeals to
divert attention or scrutiny from
the issue at hand. Among the
appeals that commonly serve such a
purpose are "smear" attacks on an
opponent's character, appeals to
hatred and bigotry, innuendo, and
"God" or "devil" terms that cause
intense but unreflective positive or
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negative reactions.

45. Writers should keep in mind:
• Do not distort, hide, or
misrepresent the number, scope,
intensity, or undesirable features of
consequences.
• Do not use emotional appeals that
lack a supporting basis of evidence
or reasoning and would therefore
not be accepted if the audience had
time and opportunity to examine
the subject itself.
• Do not oversimplify complex
situations into simplistic, twovalued, either/or, polar views or
choices.
•
Do not pretend certainty when
tentativeness and degrees of
probability would be more
accurate.
• Do not advocate something in
which you do not believe yourself.
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46. Communicating Value
• Communicating Value to customers and potential
customers is a major activity in Marketing and Business
Development.
• If customers don’t fully know about the value contained in
the Value Offer, the exchange is going to be limited –
perhaps they won’t be willing to exchange at all (don’t
know enough to want to exchange) or will not be willing to
pay much (not enough value perceived in the offer).
• Either way, to achieve more value for both you and your
customers, you need to communicate value effectively.
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47. The Promotional Mix
• The Promotional Mix (which is a subset of the Marketing
Mix) involves four main elements which are used to create
mostly external informative and persuasive communications
for the organisation:
• Advertising
• Sales Promotion
• Personal Selling
• Publicity/Marketing Public Relations
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48. The Integrated Marketing
Communication Concept
• Integrated Marketing Communications is a strategic crossfunctional approach in which an organisation coordinates
its Promotional Mix - advertising, sales promotion,
personal selling, and publicity in order to present a single
approach and consistent image for the product and the
organisation. The IMC process is used to plan, develop,
execute and evaluate coordinated, consistent and measurable
communication programs over time with key stakeholders.
• The elements are coordinated and integrated so they
reinforce and complement each other in order to create a
synergy that better accomplishes the organisation's
promotion objectives.
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49. Advertising
• Advertising is any paid form of commercial
communication through the mass media about a value
offering – a product (good, service, or idea) by an
identified sponsor (the organisation paying for the media).
• It is a one way form of communication. The most common
media used include magazines, direct mail, radio,
television, billboards, and newspapers.
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50. Personal Selling
• Personal selling is a special form of interpersonal
communication. Its goal is to provide information to a
prospective buyer in such a way that it elicits a purchase.
Personal selling is unique in that it is a form of dyadic (two
way) communication. In personal selling, messages flow
between one sender and one (or perhaps a few) receivers;
advertising, sales promotion, and publicity are mass
communication forms.
•
More money is spent on personal selling activities than on the other
promotional tools. Some estimate that firms spend ten times as much
on personal selling as they do on advertising.
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51. Sales Promotion (Incentives)
• Sales promotion is any activity that offers an incentive to
induce a desired response from target customers,
salespeople, or intermediaries over a limited period of
time.
• Sales promotion involves some type of inducement that provides an
extra incentive to buy. This incentive is usually the key element in a
promotional program; it may be a coupon or price reduction, the
opportunity to enter a contest or sweepstakes, a money-back refund or
rebate, or an extra amount of a product. While advertising appeals to
the mind and emotions to give the consumer a reason to buy, sales
promotion appeals more to the wallet and provides an incentive for
purchasing a brand.
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52. Direct Marketing
• Long considered to be an element of Sales Promotion, the
term Direct Marketing, usually covers direct mail and
telemarketing activities.
• The Australian Direct Marketing Association defines the term as
follows: Direct marketing is an interactive system of marketing which
uses one or more advertising media to affect a measurable response
and/or transaction at any location. The key element of modern Direct
Marketing is the development of in-depth Data Bases which provide
buyer details including preferences.
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53. Publicity and Marketing Public
Relations
• Publicity (also known as Marketing Public Relations) is a
type of communication that comes under the general
heading of Public Relations.
•
Publicity is news and information generally carried in the mass media
about an organisation and its products, policies, personnel, or actions;
it can originate with the media or the marketer and is published or
aired at no charge to the organisation for media space or time.
• Although publicity does not require any payment to the broadcast
media for time or to the print media for space, it is not free
communication. For example the marketer, may have to pay for the
cost of preparing news releases. The main drawback as a promotional
method is that publicity doesn’t allow a great deal of control.
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54. All Elements of the Marketing Mix
Communicate
• As discussed previously the marketing mix involves four
elements. Product; Price; Promotion and Place(ment)
• Each of these elements, not just the promotion element,
communicates something to existing and potential
customers.
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55. Practical Techniques of Creating
Persuasive Writing
• For simplicity we will refer to all techniques of persuasive
writing here as advertising.
• An ad is only good when it solves the specific problem you
want to solve.
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56. Basically, all advertising is about
communicating:
• the RIGHT information
• in the RIGHT way
• to the RIGHT people
• in the RIGHT place
• at the RIGHT time
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57. END
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58. END
MAANZ MXPress Program
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59. For more information about MAANZ International and articles
about Marketing, visit:
• www.marketing.org.au
•
•
•
http://smartamarketing.wordpress.com
http://smartamarketing2.wordpress.com
• .
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/MAANZ-SmartaMarketing-Group-2650
•
•
Email: info@marketing.org.au
Link to this site - - http://www.slideshare.net/bmonger for
further presentations
Marketing In Black and White
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