What’s the Big Deal about Persuasive Writing?

So the other day, my 11 year old told me he was going to be learning about persuasive writing at school. I was definitely intrigued by that, since it’s a subject of interest to me. I told him to be sure to tell me about the things he would be learning.

Well a few days later, instead of telling me what he learned, he presented me with this letter…

As you can probably see, it’s an essay detailing why he should be allowed to have a pet rat.

He included information about the positive characteristics of rats. He also illustrated how the domestic rat is nothing like its wild counterpart. He even explained how the pet dogs we already have are more likely to catch a disease than a pet rat. He closed his argument by saying he would pay for everything and take care of it himself.

And LOL…he then finished the letter with a P.S. that read “I will need two rats since they are so sociable.”

Very persuasive indeed and although the letter didn’t work in this case (I am not the rat buying parent target market), it could certainly persuade a parent who was interested in getting their child a pet.

But what does a letter by a grade sixer have to do with content marketing? A lot, actually. I know many content publishers get a bit panicky when they hear the words “persuasive writing” or “copywriting” or anything like that. But it needn’t worry you because persuasive communication is a natural thing and actually a big part of our daily lives.

If you’re passionate about a topic and believe in the product (or really want a pet rat), it comes naturally. You may not realize it, but you spend your whole day trying persuading people. Whether you’re telling a friend a movie or book is really good or you’re convincing your reluctant child to eat his vegetables, persuasion forms a large part of our day.

So the next time you feel writing persuasively in a blog post, a sales page or anywhere else is difficult…remember, you have plenty of practice in persuasiveness. All you have to do is believe in what you’re doing, get out there and tell people about it.

A Few Other Things You Might Want to Read

• What is Persuasive Writing Anyway?
• Better Content Marketing – Lessons 4 and 5
• Writing Effective Product Descriptions
• Content That Actually Sells Stuff

Leave a comment    

Share

About the Author

Alice Seba is the owner and creator of Contentrix.com. With a focus on using content to create relationships, loyalty and results from writing, she loves helping online business owners get more bang out of their content.