Sean D'Souza: Words that sell minus the sales pitch

Sean D'Souza.

If you stepped into a restaurant and asked for a wine, you'd get a question back: which wine would you prefer? Red or white? And those questions would lead to more questions. Until finally you got down to the exact wine you were looking for.

Article writing has that kind of variety too. And because articles are so varied, it's easy to get confused with the terminology. So first we must ask: What is article writing?

The answer is simple: article writing is like the editorial you see in your newspaper. When you read the news in your newspaper, those are articles.

So aren't sales letters articles as well?

The sales letter has a different tone. It has different graphics.

If we go back to the newspaper analogy, the editorial is the news you read, and the sales letter are the advertisements. So why bother with article writing when you can just sell?

Article writing is powerful because we have a natural tendency to "put up a wall" when we are being sold to. Article writing is a powerful expression of ideas.

For example, with an article I can get you to: eat one type of food versus another; understand why you need to change that chair you're sitting on; switch to a superior brand of coffee. And the reason this happens is because information empowers you.

When you're empowered, you tend to pay closer attention.

When you're being sold to, you often gloss over the material. So the article is an extremely powerful - and non-threatening - way to get your customers to see things in a different light.

But things get confused if you don't know what kind of article you're setting out to write. So let's explore three main types of articles you could write: how-to, story type and FAQ writing.

How-To

This type of article writing is when you give specific facts. You may tell me why I need to wear sunglasses (to avoid problems when I'm older).

You may tell me a method to increase my prices (without losing customers). This is a lot different from the news articles you often see.

News articles are just a report of what's happened - a bus crashed into a store, or a cat ran up a tree.

The how-to article goes a bit further. It empowers you to achieve something, do something or experience something in a different way. A how-to article tends to have specific steps.

The Story Type

The story type article is educational, but in a story format.

So if you tell us the story of how you had your first workshop, then that transports all of us into your world, your triumphs, your mistakes.

It's a powerful form of article writing because people love stories. And it's not only easier to read a story-type article; it's also easier to write one.

The FAQ Type

FAQ is simply "Frequently Asked Questions".

The FAQ type of article is very dry, and instruction-based and it's easy to underestimate the value of this style.

After all, it doesn't very often generate any income, and is often something a client will read after they've committed to, or actually bought something. And yet the FAQ article is critical because it helps the client find their way around unfamiliar territory.

What these articles do is give the client the chance to consume your product or service in the best possible way.

So which type of writing is the easiest? They're all tough. They all require enormous practice.

The best method to write articles is to pick one way and keep at it.

Once you learn to write one type, it's easier to switch over to the other type without any drama. But if you try and go back and forth between the types of articles, you may well struggle.

My advice is to stick to the how-to type. It allows you to tell stories, give a how-to component and is also very instructional in many ways.

If on some days you feel like just writing a story, don't let me stop you. But don't believe for a second that one type is easier than the other.

They're all tough, and the sooner you get mastery over one type, the sooner you get mastery over all three.

Sean D'Souza is chief executive of Psychotactics and an international author and trainer. He is the author of The Brain Audit - Why Customers Buy (And Why They Don't).

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