Persuasive Letter

Persuasive letters are exactly what the name says, an attempt at convincing someone to do something they may or may not want to do. There are two basic kinds of persuasive letters. There are the requests that the recipient will probably grant, and there are requests that they will want to reject. Obviously, the letters for requests likely to be rejected are much more difficult to write.

When writing letters to request something which the recipient is likely to grant anyway, simply state the request, giving them all the pertinent details and so on. Always remember that they are much less likely to accede to your request if they do not get all the details from you.

A perfect example of this kind of persuasive letter would be the request for a letter of recommendation. You are fairly certain that your request will be granted, but it is less likely to be granted, or is likely to be badly done, if you neglect to include the correct information. If you are writing this kind of a letter, be sure to tell the reader about the person or the organization to which he/she must write, and mention the address of the contact. Also, be sure to include all the information you can about what the actual letter of recommendation should finally include. Give the particular job description, or a detailed account of what qualities the organization is looking for, or the qualities and attitude likely to get you into a particular college. Remind them of who you are and how you know one another. And, most importantly, be sure to mention when the letter of recommendation is due.

When you write a letter to a person who is not at all likely to grant your request, it is even more imperative for you to be very persuasive. There can be a number of reasons why the reader may be disinclined to accede to your request. Possibly, they are already thinking of something else, like another product or a competitor’s service. They may not have any need for what you are offering, or may simply not want it. It is also possible that the reader may totally disagree with you about the importance of your request and may ignore it altogether. So, in order to get what you want, you must write a letter that is persuasive enough to overcome all these barriers.

To accomplish this, and be able to compose a good persuasive letter, you need to figure out four basic factors. Know the details of your request, pertinent facts about the reader, the particular action you want from the reader, and any objections they might have. So what are the strategies for doing all that?

First of all, figure out and define your audience. Decide how to best support your cause and think of what reasons or benefits the reader might find most convincing. Try to figure out in advance all the possible objections your readers might have or raise.

Then, take action accordingly. When you know the objections to be overcome, make a strong case. If you know that they are likely to have minimal or no objections, make a simple direct request, and give them all the pertinent information that they are likely to need.

If you think that they are likely to resist complying with your request, try to use a problem-solving approach. Raise their interest level and catch their fancy by mentioning some common ground that you share. Try to show them that any possible negative elements like the cost of acceding, or time spent on your request will be far outweighed by all the benefits that will follow from acting in a common interest. Tell them exactly what it is that you want them to do and how it is going to be of use to them.

The purpose of any persuasive letter is to get the reader to act in a specific way, and do a specific thing, to ensure which you need to provide them with enough information. You also need to anticipate and then overcome any possible objections that might arise. The letter must also build up a good image of you, as the writer, as well of your organization. And finally, and this is also very important, the letter must be able to create or strengthen a good relationship between you and your organization, and the reader. Quite possibly, you might want to contact this particular person again for some help in the future.