The written word is one of the most important and powerful marketing tools any business can have. If done correctly, the written word can persuade people to look at your offer and ultimately become a paying customer.

However many business people fear the potential judgement and pressure of writing and therefore put off the idea of written copy or direct advertising in the written form, and the net result is a massive failure to capture their market place.

I myself am no literary expert, I suffer from severe dyslexia, and I have an inability to spell in any detail. Infact if you browse around my webiste, I'm certain you'll pick up more than a few typos.

However, this has not deterred me from writing, and over the years I have published thousands of articles and dozens of reports.

WHY you might ask?

Well I realised that it's better to say something of value, even if it's not polished or worthy of a writer's guild award, than say nothing at all and not get noticed.

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

Emotion is a powerful motivator:

People have gone to war, got married, got divorced, built empires, and torn down empires… simply because of emotion and words. Never underestimate the power of the written word and emotion.

In order to get a response from your readers, it is important to evoke emotions. People respond to emotion far more quickly than they respond to cold, hard facts, although a healthy dose of both will go along way to ensuring everyone's wellbeing.

There’s nothing wrong with presenting facts about your business, but it’s important to do so in moderation. Long, drawn out technical monologues tend to bore the reader, resulting in them 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. ALWAYS communicate the benefits and NOT the features.

Use action words:

Writing in a passive manner does nothing to get a reader excited, and bored readers rarely become customers.

It is important to use action words throughout your written copies. This facilitates emphasizing the benefits of what you have to offer rather than just listing details of the offer.

Know what 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, you must let your readers know what it is we want them to do.

The best way to let your readers know what you 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 your reader can perform that action.

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.