Persuasive Marketing Writing Involves Emotions

Goal of Persuasive Marketing Writing

Persuasive Marketing Writing goes far beyond common marketing communications or public relations. Persuasive Marketing Writing is more than writing well. Persuasive Marketing Writing convinces and instigates action.

Persuasive Marketing Writing is initially based on insights gained from neurophysiology. In addition, it also uses insights from psychology, sociology, anthropology and economics. Persuasive Marketing Writing addresses the questions "why", "what", and "how" while common marketing communication responds to the question "what." 

To convince, Persuasive Marketing Writing addresses the Fundamental Elements of Persuasion to match conscious and unconscious needs with solutions. Persuasive Marketing Writing also guides the reader and instigates action.

Persuasion and Neurophysiology

Persuasion is deeply linked with the physiology of our brain. Throughout its evolution, the human brain has acquired three components that progressively appeared and became superposed: the brainstem, the limbic system, and the cerebral cortex.

The cerebral cortex is the outermost layer of the cerebral hemisphere. Cortices are asymmetrical. Both hemispheres are able to analyze sensory data, perform memory functions, learn new information, form thoughts and make decisions. 

The limbic system is responsible for emotions and feelings like anger, fright, passion, love, hate, joy and sadness. Information retention and long-term memory are stimulated by the firing of the amygdala, which performs a key role in processing nearly all emotional events. Emotions help deciding what to pay attention to, which messages someone will ultimately remember.

The brainstem is responsible for body functions necessary for survival (breathing, digestion, heart rate, blood pressure) and for arousal (being awake and alert).

Fundamental Elements of Persuasion

Three elements need to be satisfied to convince the reader of a statement:

1. Content or "What is the message": 

   The message is based on the positioning statement, the strategic approach and the evidence to support your message. This is the traditional approach used for marketing writing and communications. Content addresses the cerebral cortex of the brain. A reader learns new information; analyses and compares information; makes decisions and stores the information.

2. Credibility of the writer and message: 

   Readers filter messages depending on their perception of the credibility of the author or message. The more credible the writer, the more information passes the filter to the cerebral cortex, where the message is analyzed, compared and so on. This absorption filter implies trust, which is an emotion. Hence, a message needs to go through the limbic system to be treated in the cerebral cortex. 

   Credibility of the writer and message is fundamental for persuasion. Messages that seem to mislead will close the absorption filter for an extended period of time. Hence, credibility implies that the message must be truthful and straight forward. 

3. Emotional Involvement of the Reader: 

   To be persuasive, a message has to go through the limbic system. As we have seen, trust is the gatekeeper for information passed to the cerebral cortex. Emotions tell the reader when to pay attention. Furthermore, emotions are processed faster than logical thought and have the final say in moments of indecision. To be persuasive, the message MUST stimulate an emotional reaction from the reader. 

   Emotions are stimulated by psychological, sociological, cultural, economical, and historical experiences and associations. Thus, to stimulate an emotion, the message needs to create these associations.

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