Special Report #6

How to Write Persuasive Letters, Emails

and Other Written Correspondence
Using Psychological Motivators

By Lou Larsen
INTRODUCTION
At some point in your business and personal life, you’re going to have to
convince someone—in writing—that they need to do what you want them
to do. It could be buy one of your products, invest in your business, stop
a factory from polluting the local neighborhood.

That’s why writing persuasive business letters is a vital skill to have

today.

In this report, you’ll find a large variety of psychological motivators,

behavioral change patterns, and belief alterers all designed to get the
results you want.

This special report contains worksheets you should use to compile your
persuasive communication. You should print a copy of them before you
write. That way you can gather your info and your thoughts about the
letter you are going to write. The boxes in the left hand column are
prompts to help you formulate your successful business letter.

At the end of this report are some examples of famous persuasive

business letters that got fabulous results. It’s always a great idea to
model success.

Let’s get started...

BEFORE YOU WRITE
First you need to gather intel on who the person you are targeting is and
what might motivate them to do as you ask.

Who is this person?

What is his or her priorities?

What would be their motives for

helping you?

What is your outcome?

What is their outcome?

WRITING THE LETTER
Introduce who you are and why you are writing. Then use the following
principles of basic direct response copywriting to get the ball rolling.

What’s the problem?

Who are you? And why should the

reader listen to you?

Offer solutions - How can you

combine your outcome with their
outcome

What specifics are you going to

use? Numbers of people involved,
affected, etc.? How much are they
going to make? Save? How much
time is needed?

What do you want them to do?

What are the benefits of doing

what you ask?

What are the consequences of not

doing what you ask?
THE PROS & CONS CHART
When writing a persuasive letter, you have to consider both sides of
implementing what you want. That way you can give all the benefits of
the action you want taken AND his or her possible arguments against
doing what you want them to do. With that information you can then
counter their arguments.

Arguments for Arguments against

PSYCHOLOGICAL MOTIVATORS YOU CAN USE:
Applying the basics of advertising copywriting to a business letter is
great. It’s been done for years with excellent results. But with the latest
studies in the persuasion arts we can amp up the motivation a reader
would need to take action. Here are a few you can use (you don’t need to
use all of them):

USE QUESTIONS
(Questions involve the reader more
than statements do. Ask your
reader a few questions to keep her
or him involved. It’s an excellent
idea to start off your letter with a
question, especially one that gets
answered with a “Yes.”)

USE MILTON ERICKSON

LANGUAGE PATTERNS
(Artfully vague language that slips
by the conscious mind’s defenses.)
"A person can..." (Useful for
consequences - "A person can get
seriously hurt...")
Find more of Erickson’s hypnotic
languge patterns here.

FUTURE PACE
(Place your reader in the future
that you envision or the
consequences of not doing what
you ask. Make it sensory rich where
they can actually see, hear, feel,
even smell and taste the future.)
“Imagine…”
STORY TELLING
(Tell a true story of someone
benefiting what you are suggesting
or the consequences of someone in
a similar situation.)

EMBEDDED COMMANDS
(These are a very effective way of
using verbal subliminals to make
your reader more compliant. All
you have to do is couch the
command in a sentence or question
and highlight it in some way.)

Read this article to make you an

expert in using embedded
commands.

INVOKE HIERARCHY OF VALUES

(What’s important about what you
are asking? What’s more important
to them? For example, you might
be tired of litter in your town. The
mayor can help. Getting votes in
the next election is more important
to him. How can you tie more votes
to getting the litter cleaned up?)

APPLY A META FRAME

(Here we put a bigger frame of
reference about what we’re talking
about. We give the reader the
whole picture.)
Here’s a more in-depth article on
using Meta-Frames.

INVOKE THEIR IDENTITY

(Who does your reader see herself
as? What is her identity? What label
does give herself? How would not
doing what you’re asking go
against her identity?)
RHETORICAL DEVICES
These are specialized linguistic tools to win arguments. They are
techniques that writers use to convey to the reader a meaning with the
goal of persuading them towards considering a topic from a different
perspective.

They can be used to strengthen your argument/claim or weaken your

opponent’s arguments or claims.

There are many types of rhetorical devices. Here, I’ll just give you the
most persuasive. Effective writers have been using these for years.

Two common rhetorical devices are irony and metaphor.

When you use irony in your letter or email, you do so primarily to convey
to your target recipient a discrepancy that is often used as humor in order
to ridicule and idea or course of action.

Metaphor as a rhetorical device in your letter is primarily to express to

your audience a new idea by linking it to an existing idea with which the
audience is already familiar.

By making the new concept appear to be linked to a familiar concept, the

writer using the metaphor hopes to help the audience understand the
new concept.

Here’s an example that uses both irony and metaphor from Abraham
Lincoln talking about a political opponent of his:

"He has dived down deeper into the sea of knowledge and come up
drier than any other man he knew".

This quote uses a body of water as a metaphor for a body of knowledge

with the irony of someone who gained so little from his education that he
achieved the impossible of jumping into a body of water and climbing
back out without getting wet.

Here are some more rhetorical devices you can use:

Inductive reasoning takes a representative case or facts and then

draws generalizations or conclusions from them. Inductive reasoning
should be based on a sufficient amount of reliable evidence. The facts you
draw on must be a decent representation of the larger situation.
Example:
 “Fair trade agreements have raised the quality of life for coffee
producers, so fair trade agreements could be used to help other
farmers as well.”

In this example the specific case of fair trade agreements with coffee
producers is being used as the starting point for the claim. Because these
agreements have worked the author concludes that it could work for
other farmers as well.

Deductive reasoning begins with a generalization and then applies it to

a specific case. The generalization you start with must have been based
on a sufficient amount of reliable evidence.

Example:

“Genetically modified seeds have caused poverty, hunger, and a

decline in bio-diversity everywhere they have been introduced, so
there is no reason the same thing will not occur when genetically
modified corn seeds are introduced in Mexico.”

In this example the writer begins with a large claim, that genetically
modified seeds have been problematic everywhere, and from this draws
the more localized or specific conclusion that Mexico will be affected in
the same way.

Allusion is a short, informal reference to a famous person, place, or

event:

● “If you don’t help the small businesses in this town, you can expect
World War II all over again.”
● “Plan ahead: it wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.” --Richard
Cushing
● “If the mayor doesn’t follow this course of action, people will
remember him as Homer Simpson.”
● “This place is like the Garden of Eden.”

Notice in these examples that the allusions are to very well known
characters or events, not to obscure ones. The reference serves to
explain, clarify or enhance whatever subject is under discussion, without
sidetracking the reader.

Allusion can be wonderfully attractive in your writing because it can

introduce variety and energy into an otherwise limited discussion. And it
can delight your reader by reminding them of an applicable story or
person that they are familiar with. This helps to explain something
difficult. The instantaneous pause and reflection on the allusion refreshes
and strengthens your reader's mind.

Anadiplosis: The last word or phrase is repeated to begin the next.

● “Suffering breeds character; character breeds faith.” – Rev. Jesse

Jackson

● “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

– Yoda

● “NLP Language Patterns lead to more sales, more sales lead to a

much more enjoyable life.”

Bear in mind that this isn’t redundancy which uses repeated words more
than necessary.

Asyndeton:This is where you omit conjunctions (and, but, or), which

helps to increase the tempo and highlight a specific idea representing it in
a concise form.

● “That government of the people, by the people, for the people shall
not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln

● “He was a bag of bones, a floppy doll, a broken stick, a maniac.” –

Jack Kerouac

● "An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest. The air

was thick, warm, heavy, sluggish." - Heart of Darkness by Joseph
Conrad

Litotes: These are essentially double negatives, expressed by denying an

opposite idea; often used ironically.

• “She’s no dummy.” (she’s intelligent)

• “This is no small problem.” (this is a big problem)

• “London is not an ordinary city.” (it’s an extraordinary city)

Amplification: Here you repeat a word or expression for emphasis.

• “Love, real love, takes time.”

 • “Development, proper development, needs dedication.”

There are plenty of resources online for more rhetorical devices. There
are a lot of them. You don't need to use all of them. Just sprinkle them
around your letter where you see fit.

DID YOU ALSO REMEMBER TO…

Supply your contact information? (Phone number, email address,
Skype username, etc. Make it as easy as possible to contact you.)

Keep it short? (No more than two pages, preferably one.)

Use specifics? (Use as many specific numbers and examples as you can.
Specifics are far more convincing than generalities.
A FRAMEWORK
Here's a template you can work with for your letter or email.

Dear Mr. Thompson,

I am writing this letter because I believe that the water supply...

(Complete this sentence with your own personal belief about the wolf
reintroduction program.)

The first reason I believe this is...because... (This is your opportunity

to give facts to back up this reason.)

Isn’t it true (WHAT)?...because...

The final reason I believe this is...because...

It is true that some people disagree with me. They say that... (Give
one or two reasons why people feel different from your viewpoint) .

However, this is not correct. It has been discovered that... (Write a

sentence or two that present facts proving these arguments wrong.)
As you can see, the water supply... (Use this space to restate the
opinion that you expressed in the first paragraph) .

I hope that you will consider this letter when you look at any future
action regarding the Heron Water Reservoir in New Mexico.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
LETTER EXAMPLES
Here are some example letters that have been used successfully.

EXAMPLE #1 (Letter to Business)

Dear Mr. Jones,

Vertigy helps grow your bottom line by decreasing your commercial water costs.

Since our company specializes in water filtration and your company uses water to run
your plant, we may be able to solve a real need for you.

Past clients have saved an average of 30 percent on their water bills and, based on our
research, we believe we could find similar savings for you. What happens when you think
about a 30% decrease in your bill?

I would like to arrange a brief personal meeting with you to discuss our product
offerings sometime in the next two weeks. The sooner I come in, the sooner you will see
increased savings and a better bottom line.

Thank you for your time and attention. I'll call you next week to follow up, but please feel
free to contact me if you'd like to discuss the opportunity sooner.

Regards,
EXAMPLE #2 (Letter of Complaint)

Dear Mayor Navarro:

In the past few months, I have been noticing a lot of garbage along the roadsides on Kelley
Island. As we are both residents here, I think we both would like to see the roads clean and
beautiful.

Keeping our island beautiful is important to our island’s economy, to keeping tourists
interested, and to keeping the residents happy.

I hope that you will agree with me and that there is something we can do to accomplish
the goal of making Kelley Island the perfect place for people to live, visit, and do business.

So many people come to visit Kelley Island every year that we can’t afford to lose their
interest.

Executive Travel magazine recently named Kelley Island one of its “Top Ten Best
Romantic Getaways in the USA”. These tourists looking for romance don’t want to see an
island covered in disgusting rubbish.

What would happen to the economy of Kelley Island if people stopped coming because it
was so dirty? The merchants here would have to go out of business and take away some of
the wonderful services we are lucky to have at our convenience here on the island.

Finally, people who live here do so because of its incredible beauty. If we want to keep
our island full of happy residents, we need to keep our streets clean. Who wants to live in a
place that is covered in cigarette butts, broken bottles, and fast food wrappers?

It may seem very expensive to send out cleaning crews to pick up the trash all the time.
That is why I think the local police should start handing out more tickets to people who
litter.

This way, people will both not litter as often and we can use the income from the fines to
pay for crews to pick up the roadsides!

You might notice how good it feels when you consider keeping our island trash-free and
gorgeous and the voters happy!

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Robert Fulton
EXAMPLE #3 (Albert Einstein’s 2nd Letter to President
Roosevelt)

The letter that launched the arms race and the Cold War. A warning to President
Roosevelt of the possibility of constructing "extremely powerful bombs of a new
type" with hints that the German government might be doing just that.

March 7, 1940

I wish to draw your attention to the development which has taken

place since the conference that was arranged through your good
offices in October last year between scientists engaged in this
work and governmental representatives.

Last year, when I realized that results of national importance

might arise out of research on uranium, I thought it my duty to
inform the administration of this possibility. You will perhaps
remember that in the letter which I addressed to the President I
also mentioned the fact that C. F. von Weizsäcker, son of the
German Undersecretary of State, was collaborating with a group of
chemists working upon uranium at one of the Kaiser Wilhelm
Institutes - namely, the Institute of Chemistry.

Since the outbreak of the war, interest in uranium has

intensified in Germany. I have now learned that research there is
carried out in great secrecy and that it has been extended to
another of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institutes, the Institute of
Physics. The latter has been taken over by the government and a
group of physicists, under the leadership of C. F. von
Weizsäcker, who is now working there on uranium in collaboration
with the Institute of Chemistry. The former director was sent
away on leave of absence, apparently for the duration of the war.

Should you think it advisable to relay this information to the

President, please consider yourself free to do so. Will you be
kind enough to let me know if you are taking action in this
direction?

Dr. Szilard has shown me the manuscript which he is sending to

the Physics Review in which he describes in detail a method of
setting up a chain reaction in uranium. The papers will appear in
print unless they are held up, and the question arises whether
something ought to be done to withhold publication.

I have discussed with professor Wigner of Princeton University

the situation in the light of the information available. Dr.
Szilard will let you have a memorandum informing you of the
progress made since October last year so that you will be able to
take such action as you think in the circumstances advisable. You
will see that the line he has pursued is different and apparently
more promising than the line pursued by M. Joliot in France,
about whose work you may have seen reports in the papers.

EXAMPLE #4 (Leonardo Da Vinci’s cover letter and resume to

Ludovico il Moro, the Duke of Milan)

Most Illustrious Lord, Having now sufficiently considered the specimens of all those who
proclaim themselves skilled contrivers of instruments of war, and that the invention and
operation of the said instruments are nothing different from those in common use: I shall
endeavor, without prejudice to any one else, to explain myself to your Excellency,
showing your Lordship my secret, and then offering them to your best pleasure and
approbation to work with effect at opportune moments on all those things which, in part,
shall be briefly noted below.

1. I have a sort of extremely light and strong bridges, adapted to be most easily carried,
and with them you may pursue, and at any time flee from the enemy; and others, secure
and indestructible by fire and battle, easy and convenient to lift and place. Also methods of
burning and destroying those of the enemy.

2. I know how, when a place is besieged, to take the water out of the trenches, and make
endless variety of bridges, and covered ways and ladders, and other machines pertaining to
such expeditions.

3. If, by reason of the height of the banks, or the strength of the place and its position, it is
impossible, when besieging a place, to avail oneself of the plan of bombardment, I have
methods for destroying every rock or other fortress, even if it were founded on a rock, etc.

4. Again, I have kinds of mortars; most convenient and easy to carry; and with these I can
fling small stones almost resembling a storm; and with the smoke of these cause great
terror to the enemy, to his great detriment and confusion.

5. And if the fight should be at sea I have kinds of many machines most efficient for
offense and defense; and vessels which will resist the attack of the largest guns and
powder and fumes.

6. I have means by secret and tortuous mines and ways, made without noise, to reach a
designated spot, even if it were needed to pass under a trench or a river.

7. I will make covered chariots, safe and unattackable, which, entering among the enemy
with their artillery, there is no body of men so great but they would break them. And
behind these, infantry could follow quite unhurt and without any hindrance.

8. In case of need I will make big guns, mortars, and light ordnance of fine and useful
forms, out of the common type.
9. Where the operation of bombardment might fail, I would contrive catapults, mangonels,
trabocchi, and other machines of marvelous efficacy and not in common use. And in short,
according to the variety of cases, I can contrive various and endless means of offense and
defense.

10. In times of peace I believe I can give perfect satisfaction and to the equal of any other
in architecture and the composition of buildings public and private; and in guiding water
from one place to another.

11. I can carry out sculpture in marble, bronze, or clay, and also I can do in painting
whatever may be done, as well as any other, be he who he may.

Again, the bronze horse may be taken in hand, which is to be to the immortal glory and
eternal honor of the prince your father of happy memory, and of the illustrious house of
Sforza.

And if any of the above-named things seem to anyone to be impossible or not feasible, I
am most ready to make the experiment in your park, or in whatever place may please your
Excellency - to whom I commend myself with the utmost humility.
EMAIL TEMPLATES
Of course you can use all the previous information to write a persuasive
email, but the best emails are short and to the point. Here are some
examples you can use right now (with minor tweaking for your specific
purpose).

APPLYING FOR A JOB

Subject: Available to help - please read

Hello!

I was told you're looking for someone to handle some specific challenges in your
business.

I wanted to introduce myself and let you know I'm uniquely suited to solving these
problems for you.

Here's a link with more about me and my experience.

http://www.yourwebsite.com

When you have time this week, I'd love to have a quick chat for you to assess if
we would be a good fit working together.

What's your availability for a short call?

ASKING A QUESTION

Subject: Can I ask you a question?

Hey, I just wanted to ask you a quick question.

[INSERT QUESTION HERE]

I appreciate your insight on this. Thanks.

FOLLOW UP

Subject: Following up.

 Hey, I just wanted to follow up with you.

I sent you an email a little while ago. I wanted to check up on that conversation
and see how things are going with you now.

Just to refresh your memory, I emailed you about [ DESCRIBE IN A SENTENCE

THE MAIN POINT OF THE PREVIOUS EMAIL ]

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you!

SCHEDULE A PHONE OR SKYPE CALL

Subject: Call this week?

Let's get on a short call to talk about [ INSERT WHAT YOU WANT TO TALK
ABOUT ]

What's your availability like this week?

Thanks. I'm looking forward to our discussion!

Okay, you get the idea of how to create a quick and to-the-point email.
CONCLUSION
The most important take-away from all of this is you need to get your
reader’s emotions involved. Stay away from flat language. Jargon is fine,
if it is appropriate for your target reader.

Think benefits and consequences. Put them in your letter. Think of all the
reasons why your recipient would say no (arguments against). How can
you counter these reasons?

When you do send a persuasive business letter, and it works. Send me a

copy and I’ll include it in the next edition of this report.

Warm regards,
Lou Larsen
www.blog.nlp-techniques.com

If you need help crafting your persuasive letter or email, why not contact
me? I’ve helped hundreds of people and businesses with their fund raising
letters, cover letters, letters to government officials and sales letters. My
rates are quite reasonable.
[email protected]

Take a look at the next page...

SPECIAL REPORTS CATALOG…

Each report is packed with use-it-now details so you can achieve what the title
promises meaning you’ll get what you want faster while avoiding most of the pitfalls
of all the people who have tried in the past…

1. Quick & Easy Catalog Copy. Do you sell a line of products? Do you want to sell
more of them? Do you want to upsell? If you answer “YES!” then you need this
special report. Get this special report here:http://blog.nlp-techniques.com/catalog-
copy-special-report-1

2. How to Write Stories that Make Your Products Sell Like Mad.Here’s how you
can structure the same types of stories top copywriters use. In the AIDA (Attention,
Interest, Desire, Action) model of copywriting, stories are perfect for the “Interest”
section of the copywriting sequence. If you don’t gain prospects interest, you’ve lost
them. Click on this link to put stories into your advertising copy: http://blog.nlp-
techniques.com/selling-stories

3. Delicious Food Descriptions. Now have the ability to influence the customers'
decisions towards menu items that generate more profit. If you own a restaurant,
catering business, food stall...or...you have dreamed up a food product (or a line of
products), you need this report to entice people (especially people with large social
and professional networks) to try your offerings! Go here to find out more:
http://blog.nlp-techniques.com/write-persuasive-food-descriptions-special-report-3

4. Subliminal Mind Hacks. Do you want the skills to influence others quickly and
effortlessly? How great would it be if you could just say a couple of sentences or ask
a couple of questions and see the person change right in front of you? Let me tell
you. It's uncanny! Subliminal Mind Hacks is based on solid research and in-depth,
hands-on experience. If this sounds useful to you, click on this link: http://blog.nlp-
techniques.com/subliminal-mind-hacks

5. Super Sales for App Creators. If you create iPhone or Android apps and want
the maximum exposure with maximum sales using a variety of psychological
methods, then this Special Report will guide you through the gauntlet of this highly
competitive field. http://blog.nlp-techniques.com/app-copywriting/

6. How to Write Persuasive Letters, Emails and Other Written Correspondence

Using Psychological Motivators . [This is the report you’re reading now!]

More NLP Digital Products here:

http://blog.nlp-techniques.com/digital-nlp-products