Inspirational writing is not just for motivational speakers, novelists, teachers, and screenwriters. It can also be essential to business writing, marketing, and much more.
So much of marketing depends on inspirational writing. It’s how you can get what you want—whether you want to sell products, draw in more customers, or have your reader consider making a donation as part of a successful fundraising appeal.
Inspiring someone with your writing is often the most effective way to influence or persuade them to take action.
In this article, I’ll share four ways to use inspirational writing to motivate your readers to do what you need them to do.
Ready? Let’s jump in.
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1. Tell a Story People Can Empathize With
Pause for a minute and ask yourself: What does most inspirational writing have in common?
There are many possible answers.
Most inspirational writing provides the reader with hope and encouragement.
Another answer would be that most inspirational writing involves telling a story. Storytelling is among the most powerful strategies marketers use to influence their readers, especially when readers can see themselves and the people they know within the story.
What types of stories are good for inspiring others? The great thing about storytelling marketing is that you can write any story you need to market your product or service.
You can write authentic or fictional stories, serious or lighthearted. But the essential criteria are the characters, especially with business writing. Typically, you want the character to face challenges readers can relate to and overcome—with the help of your product or service.
People love to transport themselves into a character’s position in the story. Another powerful marketing technique is getting readers to empathize with the characters you write about. Once they have identified with your story, it is much easier to steer them toward your call to action.
Where can you find the material for an inspirational story?
One great place to start is your own life and the lives of your friends and family members. You can also find material by reading novels, biographies, and the news.
Also, it’s typically best to follow the advice of “show, don’t tell” when writing an inspirational story:
- Don’t spend too much time explaining why something is exciting—it might feel a little flat.
- Instead, focus on the core message that’s inspiring about a story and then aim to tell the story in a way that illustrates it naturally.
Inspirational writing can take a few tries to convey the right message to your audience. Having proper spelling and grammar, plus ensuring your content has the right tone, will go a long way. Super Copy Editors will expertly proofread and edit your inspirational writing to ensure it influences your readers. Learn more about how we help marketing teams.
2. Find (Or Fake) Your Passion
Another tip for inspirational writing is to make it as easy on yourself as possible.
How do you do that? Passion. Write about what you are passionate about.
If you are passionate about what you’re writing, you can find the words to get people to feel the same way.
The more interested you are in a topic or story, the easier it is to write about it inspirationally. We’ve all had the experience of hearing someone explain something they’re passionate about, and that excitement can be contagious.
If you are employed by or own the business in charge of marketing your product or service, you should have at least an incentive, if not a passion, for selling your product or service to the best of your ability. Tap into that passion and write about why your solution makes a difference and helps improve people’s lives.
OK, but what if you are just being paid for your inspirational writing?
The same principles apply even if you don’t have a passion for writing about what you are selling. Perhaps you are a marketer or a copywriter and not a business owner. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who would benefit from your product or solution or believes strongly in its benefits.
Use the five W’s:
- Who would be interested in this product or service?
- What words would they use to describe how this offering makes them feel?
- Where would it make the most sense for this story to take place?
- When would you need to use this product or service?
- Why do you need to use it?
The why is especially important in inspirational writing. Focus on why people should use this product or service and develop an emotional story around it.
Does this mean you have to be excited about the story or topic for the rest of your life?
No, but you should be while you’re working on the project. Pretend you’re a novelist or journalist—search for what’s interesting about the topic or story, the people involved, and the details.
Curiosity goes a long way here. As Einstein said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
3. Write Naturally
Another essential part of inspirational writing is connecting with the reader emotionally.
The best way to do this is to “converse” with them as naturally as possible. Write naturally, friendly, and humanly.
You won’t reach people emotionally by simply giving them a mechanical list of your product’s features. You need to weave them into a story with a problem, a solution, characters, and empathy.
- Writing simply and clearly is also essential for inspirational writing. People don’t naturally talk about product specifications and statistics.
- Technical jargon and industry terms are not going to resonate with most people. That type of language might kill any emotional connection you have with your readers.
- Pretend you’re writing a letter to a friend for the first draft of your inspirational writing. Then you can clean it up during the revision and editing process.
4. Ensure Your Writing Is Error-Free
People will respond to your writing on a much higher level if everything they are reading is clear, concise, and mistake-free.
Grammatical and spelling errors might indicate sloppiness to your readers and a lack of passion or care about producing quality content on your part.
Inspirational writing works best when the message is clear. Errors in spelling and grammar will take away from your content’s message and authenticity.
Additionally, using the proper tone is crucial for inspirational writing. Your readers will feel comforted, excited, and inspired to use your product or service with the appropriate writing tone. Without it, it’s unlikely readers will feel inspired—and more likely, they will be confused and frustrated.
Don’t forget! Download “How to Make Your Writing Inspirational to Supercharge Your Marketing Efforts” to keep it handy and take action on it. Click here to download it now.
Final Thoughts
Inspirational writing is a powerful tool for marketing, internal company motivation, and more.
It resonates with people. They put themselves in the characters’ shoes and will empathize with their situation and the story being told.
You can use these aspects of inspirational writing to bolster your marketing efforts and engage more thoroughly with your readers, which means they will trust you more.
To ensure that your content is error-free, grammatically correct, and conveys the proper tone, have Super Copy Editors professionally proofread and edit your marketing materials. Our team has the experience and knowledge to ensure your inspirational writing hits all the right buttons with your target audience and gets them engaged and ready to do what you want them to do next. Click this link to get a free proofreading quote.
