8 Tips and Strategies for Better Persuasive Writing

How you use words can influence people to act or think in a way that is advantageous to you. This is done for a variety of reasons, whether you want to influence people, make them act, or simply make a point.

From advertisements to essays, persuasive writing is used in a wide variety of media. It’s not as simple as stating a fact and expecting people to believe you though.

Writing persuasively takes skill. You must be able to avoid antagonizing people while simultaneously convincing them to agree with you.

What is Persuasive Writing?

Unlike other types of writing that are written to inform or entertain, persuasive writing is specifically done to persuade. You write it to sway your readers into agreeing with a certain point of view.

It’s closely related to argumentative writing, which is where you stick to facts and include two sides of a debate, leaving the reader to make an informed choice. The difference is that, in persuasive writing, you focus on information that supports your side as you want the readers to agree with you.

Of course, there is a line between persuasion and manipulation. Ethical persuasive writing always sticks to the facts without any kind of alteration. You’re simply telling them something that makes sense, is hard to refute, or is simply a good deal.

How To Write Persuasively

When it comes to persuasive writing, it’s not enough to simply inform. You must frame information in a way that a reader is convinced that yours is the better way.

Not all people are persuasive. Fortunately, it’s a skill that can be learned and improved on. Here are a few tips and tricks to writing more persuasively.

1. Focus on the Best Possible Audience

Writers often make the mistake of generalizing their audience in the hopes of persuading as many people as they can. But that only dilutes what you are saying.

Instead, pick the audience that will likely have an interest in what you want to say. Not only will your arguments be more focused, but you’ll be able to bring more specific information to your audience.

For example, if you wish to reduce the miscellaneous fees being charged in school, it is best to appeal to the parents who currently have kids enrolled. They’re the ones who feel the burden of the payments and are the ones who’ll be most interested in putting pressure on the administration.

When writing for them, always keep in mind these kinds of questions:

• What do they currently think?
• How likely are they to agree with you?
• What will make them take action?
• Which method of persuasion will work the best?

2. Hook Your Audience Using a Declarative Statement

Your audience must know what you’re talking about otherwise you’ll leave them confused. It’ll be hard to convince an audience that doesn’t even understand what you’re writing about.

From the start, give a concise explanation of your stance. Adding a few supporting pieces of information will further make it clear to the audience what your position is.

This gives them an idea of what the entire piece will be about. Those interested will read until the end to see if they’ll agree with you.

3. Tell the Reasons Why

When you want people to consider your arguments, always give them the reasons why. Knowing the reason for your stance gives them confidence that you’ve given it some thought and that you know what you’re talking about.

People don’t like being told things or asked to do something without a good reason. Provide that to them and they’ll be more receptive to what you have to say.

4. Be Authorative

Establish yourself as an authority to the topic. This means backing up your claims with examples, facts, and other information.

Authority also comes certainty and confidence. Express those by using the active voice as it’s generally more assertive and direct. Look at the two sentences below.

• Passive: It was demonstrated earlier that heart attacks can be caused by stress.
• Active: Research shows that stress can cause heart attacks.

Also, avoid hedging. Phrases like “should be able to…” or “it can be said that…” weaken the tone of your writing. It makes you sound like you’re unsure of what you are saying.

5. Engage Through Emotion

The best way to persuade someone is by pulling at their emotions. Show your audience that you care and you’re the same as them in some way. It’s good practice to create a reader profile to better understand who your audience is and what makes them tick.

What problems, desires, and thoughts do you share with your readers? By establishing a mutual connection involving these, you bridge the gap of unfamiliarity.

Once established, that is when you tell a story. A good story makes someone connect with certain emotions and points of view. Further enhance the story by using descriptive language.

Saying “Cancer is now curable” isn’t the same as “Imagine telling a cancer patient that they are no longer going to die.” The second is much more vivid, emotive, and engaging.

6. Repetition

Stragetically repeat your main points to keep them fresh in your readers’ minds. It normalizes your arguments to their minds, making them easier to remember.

Find different ways to make the same points. This way, you don’t sound like a broken record. If you started with a direct statement then reiterate your arguments through rephrasing, anecdotes, and examples.

7. Address Objections

No matter how solid your arguments are, people are likely to have objections. Rather than leaving them unanswered, discuss them in your writing. The last thing you want is for your readers to finish reading your piece thinking, “Your right, but…”

You set aside their doubts by immediately answering any potential objection. This shows that you know the topic well and that you’ve thought it through.

8. Be Organized

A well-organized piece flows smoothly, giving readers what they need exactly when they need it. Creating an outline of your work helps you arrange your thoughts in a coherent pattern. It can be as simple as a list of your main arguments with supporting information beneath each one.

It’s easy to lose track of your ideas halfway through writing an essay. It results in paragraphs that hard to connect, making the whole thing less understandable.

Apart from using well-placed transition phrases and sentences, make sure that each paragraph supports the next. You can’t put paragraph B first when it needs the context from paragraph A to be fully understood.

Why Learn Persuasive Writing?

When used correctly, your words can push other people into taking action, realizing new perspectives, and revising their opinions. It’s a powerful skill to have, and one that you must take advantage of.

Making people agree with you is a notoriously difficult thing. People don’t like being told things, much less being pushed to act. Trying to persuade others to do so will likely make them push back or double down. So how do you convince people without them becoming antagonistic?

Persuasive writing hones your ability to make logical, well-researched arguments. In doing so, your critical thinking skills are enhanced as you look at counterarguments and pick at their flaws.

There’s also the amount of research you need to do in understanding the topics you write about. As your research skills grow, so does your writing ability. Clarity and conciseness go a long way in being able to persuade someone.

When you become an expert in persuasive writing, you leave your readers unable to do anything but agree with you—not because you’re forcing them to, but because you simply make such foolproof arguments.

What other tips do you have about persuasive writing? Share them in the comments below!

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