STRATEGIES FOR WRITING PERSUASIVE LETTERS I. PURPOSE OF THE LETTER The purpose of the persuasive letter is to promote a product, service, idea, issue, or change which the intended reader may be hesitant to accept or may know little about. II. PREWRITING QUESTIONS To write an effective persuasive letter, you should answer the following questions carefully. 1. What is the product, service, idea, issue, or change you are promoting? 2. Who is your intended audience? What are your readers' beliefs, problems, and preferences? How do you view the readers regarding your purpose--agreeable, neutral, antithetical? 3. What possible objections may prevent your readers from responding favorably to what you are promoting? 4. What questions are these readers likely to have about your product, service, or idea? 5. What benefits will the readers gain from accepting your product, service, or idea? How can you best demonstrate these benefits? 6. What specific action do you want the readers to take, and when do you want the readers to take it? 7. How can you best attract and sustain your readers' attention? What detail, word choice, and slant will be most appealing? 8. How can you convince your readers that you are honest, logical, common-sensical, sincere, and reliable? III. WRITING STRATEGIES Because your readers might be reluctant to purchase your product, grant your claim, or respond favorably to your request, you have to establish a bond with them before specifically stating your purpose. This bond should be established through use of a core appeal or selling point, a theme you introduce in the opening paragraph and use as a key organizing principle for your letter. Whether you decide to emphasize durability of a product in a sales letter, reputation in a complaint letter, or recognition in a favor-seeking letter, the appeal you select should arise from careful consideration of both audience and purpose. In any persuasive request you write, a three-component plan will serve you well. This plan includes core appeal, supporting detail, and action. 1. Introduce a core appeal. Your task in the opening component is to establish a bond with your reader, to present a central appeal which serves as a foundation upon which you can build. (1)To establish firm footing with your readers, determine their circumstances, interests, and potential needs. (2)Once you have analyzed your readers, you might compliment them, ask a challenging question, or entice them with an appeal to interests you have identified. (3)You may suggest your purpose in this opening component, but slant details to encourage readers' favorable response before you explicitly state the action you would like your readers to take. 2. Provide supporting detail. Your task in the second component is to convince your readers that what you are proposing is worthwhile and justified or that there are good reasons to choose your product or service. If you are requesting a favor, making a claim or complaint, or asking for changes in policy or performance, provide all relevant facts and details. Try to anticipate and respond to all possible questions (including potential objections) which the reader may have. Demonstrate through your detail, organization, and tone that your request is factual, logical, and reasonable. Whenever possible, interweave reader benefits. If you are composing a sales letter, describe those features of your product or service relevant to your readers' interests and needs. Use psychological detail and reader benefits when describing the features. You might also consider presenting proof of the reader benefits: evidence, facts, testimonials, performance statistics, guarantees--carefully chosen details that will appeal to your readers and support the core appeal you have chosen. 3. State clearly the action you would like your readers to take. Your task in the third component is to motivate your readers to act by specifying what they should do. Your clear statement of action desired should be the logical conclusion of your preceding core appeal and supporting detail. Include a date for action if appropriate and provide aids to easy action (e.g., phone number, addressed and stamped envelope, simple order form, or reply card). In addition, provide a final reader benefit (either explicit or implied) as a stimulus to action. For sales letters, be sure to describe any special inducements (e.g., free gift, free trial, special price for limited time) that might seal the readers' decision to act. IV. REVISION TIPS To persuade readers to accept your product, service, or idea, reread your letter, considering carefully the following questions: 1. Have you described clearly the product, service, or idea you are promoting? (Placing descriptions in highly visible parts of the letter, such as in opening or closing lines of the letter or of individual paragraphs, will make your letter more effective.) 2. Have you encouraged a positive response from the readers by making reader benefits prominent and credible? 3. Have you chosen the line of argument most likely to persuade your readers? (Remember that in situations requiring persuasive letters, there is generally no built-in motivation for the readers to respond favorably.) 4. Are you sure that the action you want readers to take is clearly described, easy to complete, and dated when appropriate? 5. Are you sure that your letter is as concise and interesting as possible? (Most readers automatically discard long and monotonous letters.) 6. Is your tone consistently courteous and professional? This information excerpted from Business Writing Samples, edited by Professor Jeanne Halpern, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907. 2171 Tecumseh Park Lane West Lafayette, Indiana 47906 November 26, 19__ Mr. Alan Bradley Texaco Inc. 3970 West 10th Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46222 Dear Mr. Bradley: When one of Texaco's longtime customers receives a tankful of contaminated gas which causes a large repair bill, I am sure you and Texaco will be concerned. On October 31, 19__, I filled my Volvo with 15.5 gallons of gasoline at Leill's Texaco on Sagamore Parkway and North Salisbury Street in West Lafayette, Indiana. I then drove toward Purdue University for an evening of work. When I got within a few blocks of the parking garage on Grant Street across from the Memorial Union, the car began to sputter and buck. I managed through starting and stopping to get it parked in the garage, and I then went off to work for three hours. When I returned to the garage, I got the car started, drove one block, and again began having the same trouble until I could not start the car at all. I finally had the car towed to my home since I was reluctant to leave it parked where I might receive a parking ticket, nor did I want the car out on Halloween night. The next morning I again tried to start the car. It ran for an instant but again, as the night before, died. So I had the car towed to the Imported Car Center on Sagamore Parkway for service. Since the service man there had just installed a new fuel pump a month previously and had changed or checked the filters, he thought my suggestion about contaminated gas might be incorrect. But eventually he had to saw open the permanent filter, where he found a great deal of water and a mass of sludge, as he described it. By the time he had finished, the labor, parts, and towing charge amounted to $71.43, all caused because I had bought a tank of contaminated gas from the Texaco station. When I had returned to the Texaco station while my car was being repaired, I discovered that the pump from which I had purchased gas was locked. Obviously Bud Leill, the owner, could sell no more of the bad gas. He suggested that I get in touch with you about the cost of repairs to my car, the five days without its use, and the inconvenience the entire event caused me. Since it is quite obvious to me and to the service station employee who sold me the gas that the repair occurred only because I received a tankful of contaminated gas, I would like to request payment in full of the enclosed bill for $71.43. I believe you will agree that the payment is a fair request from a longtime customer of Texaco (See the enclosed letter). Sincerely, Dr. Robert O. Richfield Enclosures: Receipt for purchase of 15.5 gallons of gas Copy of repair bill for $71.43 Copy of Texaco goodwill letter (Note: Central appeal is the company's reputation for customer satisfaction; vivid, specific details in body of letter dramatize events; requested action is clear but courteous; enclosures document fairness of request.) This letter excerpted from Business Writing Samples, edited by Professor Jeanne Halpern, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907. 955 SW Pratt Topeka KS 66604 March 28, 1991 Frank Jones Topeka Board of Education 624 SW 24th Topeka KS 66611 Dear Mr. Jones, My husband and I bought our home in 1987 when our son was four years old. We chose to live within the USD 501 boundaries because we heard that many fine teachers worked in the district, particularly at Gage School, where Zach would be a student. Since then, we have seen instructors leave their careers for higher paying jobs elsewhere, increasing job turnover rates and raising the number of less experienced teachers in classrooms. Hiring and keeping dedicated personnel continues to challenge the Board of Education. Competition from other districts and the private sector means Topeka needs to offer an attractive and comparable employment package to qualified applicants. A salary schedule that rewards trained teachers for longevity and continuing their education would give the Board such a package and alleviate demanding annual contract negotiations with the teacher's union. Verifying hours earned by a teacher toward a graduate degree is an easy task. The teacher could submit a list from the degree granting institution of required courses. Then, each year before a contract is signed, a transcript is requested that proves the teacher has reached the next step on the salary ladder. Everyone benefits: the teachers because they get a raise sooner than under the old plan; the students because courses remain updated; the Board and the city because satisfied employees remain in their careers. To assure that our schools are staffed by talented professionals who enhance the district's prestige, I urge you to support the proposal for a salary schedule for teachers in Topeka. My brother taught high school in a district in Iowa that had a salary schedule. Personal experience tells me this feature doesn't guarantee a superb staff. Administrators must still do their jobs of reviewing and grading performance to weed out lazy and complacent instructors. However, his experience reveals that the salary schedule was one important factor for teachers choosing to continue teaching and registering a job satisfaction rating significantly highing than in neighboring districts without a schedule, and a factor in encouraging teachers to update their knowledge. Plan now for the next century and begin a salary schedule that will give us a level playing field with other districts, private industry, and government agencies. We can then build a team of teachers willing to commit to the long term goal of educating students to help them become better informed and more responsible citizens. Sincerely, Jane Belmont CAMELON REALTORS April 3, 1991 Rick Streetsher 2545 West 31st Street Topeka, Kansas 66611 Dear Mr. Streetsher, It was a pleasure meeting you Sunday at the Open House held at 2254 SW 32nd Terrace. I am sorry that house was not the right house for you. House hunting can be an exhausting experience. I would like to help you find the home that is just right for you, though! It can be difficult for a person not represented by a real estate agent to be aware of the real estate market. The homes in preferred locations and reasonably priced will not stay on the market long enough for the public to be aware of the new listings. I study the new listings throughout the area from a computer that gives me up to the minute information. Real estate agents are often thought to be dishonest. It is in my best interest to always keep my clients interest in mind. I would rather build up clientele than make a quick sale and not be remembered as an agent whom you could refer to others. Right now is a good time to buy real estate. Both interest rates and the rate of real estate capital gains are relatively low. I feel the time to buy is now before interest rates rise and while the price of homes is within reason. I feel I know the type of home that you are looking for. I will continue to search for a home that is right for you, and I will keep you informed on my progress. If you have any questions, please do no hesitate to call me anytime. I am looking forward to working with you in the future. Sincerely, Pendergast Smith Realtor PS:sbb 176 West 10th Street Topeka, Kansas 66604 913/278-6543 PERSUASIVE REQUEST For Discussion FAIRLAWN GREENS 5237 W. 20th Terrace Topeka, KS 66604 March 28, 1991 Mr. Jeff Alpert, President The Alpert Companies 7600 W. 110th Street Overland Park, KS 66210 Dear Jeff, As the Resident Manager of one of your properties, Fairlawn Greens Apartments, it is my responsibility to oversee the operation of this complex. A major part of operation, in any business, is its budget. Without having or following a budget, a business is very inefficient, unorganized, and can lead to unnecessary chaos. Fairlawn Greens will never face these problems once I am allowed guidelines concerning our budget. In the past year, Fairlawn Greens has had to replace and/or refurbish many of our rental units. I, having no access nor guidelines to our complex's budget, had to wait for approval to replace or refurbish the necessities and occasionally had to do without or substitute something of less quality. This is very inefficient operation and is causing dissatisfied residents and prospective clientele. I am aware to what is most important and what can wait, because I deal with these apartments every day. It would be to your benefit, as well as mine, for me to have budget guidelines so I am able to plan for future replacements and improvements instead of making last-minute phone calls only to hear "Its not in the budget this month." Fairlawn Greens has an excellent location in the expanding westside community of Topeka and could be an incredible apartment complex. My goal is to keep my satisfied residents and attract excellent clientele, but I have to assure myself I can satisfy our clients by knowing what I can provide them. Budget guidelines will give me that assurance. I am enclosing a hypothetical budget guideline for you to review. It simply will inform me what Fairlawn Greens is allotted each month in the different categories of apartment necessities. I know you will find it productive. Sincerely, Ann Caliconz, Resident Manager Fairlawn Greens Apartments Enclosure (Working Draft for Discussion) Washburn University Writing Center ----------------------------------------------------------------- Portions of this handout adapted from Jeanne Halpern's _Business Writing Samples_, Purdue University.