How to Coach Yourself and Others Influencing, Inter Personal and Leadership Skills | Page 30

great way to get your readers motivated is to use a list of benefits, just pile on all the
great benefits of what you are offering or what they will get when they do what you are
asking.
Here’s an example:
• When you feed your dog Special-J Dog Food, you’ll notice your dog will :
* Be more content and happier
* Sleep better
* Have a shinier, healthier coat
* Be less likely to get sick
* Recover from injuries faster
* Have cleaner breath
While writing, ask yourself, “How can I motivate my reader(s) to act now? How can I
light a fire under them? What are all the benefits they will get if they act?”
5. Show the Consequences.
How will your readers lose out by not doing what you suggest? Paint a word picture for
them. What pain will they experience if they don’t do as you ask. This doesn’t mean
make threats. That will set up resistance. Just tell them some of the negatives of not
doing what you want, choosing an alternative to what you are offering…or doing nothing.
An example:
• Many dog foods are not nutritionally balanced, especially imported dog food. The last
thing you need is for your dog to get sick, start losing his or her hair, becoming listless,
just because you have been serving your dog canned food that isn’t as healthy.
An important point when using this technique is to NOT dwell on the negatives for too
long. People are exposed to negative news all day long. If you spend too much time on
the consequences, you might lose them. Keep it short.
Ask yourself, “How will they lose out if they don’t act now?” “What pain will they
experience if they don’t do as I ask.?”
6. Ask Questions.
When you ask lots of questions of your readers, you get them involved. And once they
are involved, you can lead them where you want them to go. One old time use of
questions in sales and copywriting is to ask several questions in a row that get the
prospective customer to say “Yes”. This will, more often than not, get them into a
positive mood and more receptive to your request.
Another good way to use questions in your writing is to make suggestions rather than
orders.
“Why not order now while you are still on this website,: instead of just using “Order
now!!”. Questions are an ideal way to insert embedded commands.
Some examples:
• How do you know your dog is getting the proper nutrition he/she deserves?