If you want to learn how to write so that people will not only read what you write…but also be compelled to take action based on your words, then take these steps.
You need to identify persuasive writings and examine the writing style. Think of the last time you read something which made you take action. It can be a simple headline for an ad which caught your attention or an inspiring story in the local paper.
When you identify the persuasive writings, you can can then examine it by reading actively.
It’s natural for most people to read passively. You see some text which catches your eyes and before you know it, 30 minutes have passed. At most, you get a good feeling if you’ve learned something from the text. Reading passively doesn’t build your writing skills.
Start browsing and reading things that catch and keep your attention. Study and anaylyze the text. What words are being used? What length are the sentences and paragraphs? What is the tone of the message? How does the author transition from one paragraph to the next?
What is the main point the author is trying to convey? Who is the author writing to? These are just some of the things you want to study in depth.
You want to read text from many different authors so you get a variety to examples to follow. When you approach reading actively for a while, you’ll naturally begin to write in a way which is more attractive to others but more importantly, it’s attractive to you.
If writing becomes easier for you, you will be apt to write more. As they say, the more you practice, the better you get. So the biggest stepping stone for you is to get more comfortable just writing. Once you're comfortable then you'll start writing more without hesitation.
To read more actively, write down what you’re reading. Yes, copy the words you read onto a blank sheet of paper or legal pad. This will force you to read slower and actually examine the words and sentence structure.
Persuasive writing is a skill that any marketer should perfect. Even if you outsource your copywriting, you will find that having the ability to write persuasively can win you more friends in the right places.