The goal of persuasive copywriting is to entice people into trying, buying or supporting whatever it is that you're selling - whether it's a service, product or idea.

Sounds pretty simple. After all, "please" should help you out significantly, right? Well, that might work as you try to get your grandmother to buy a PTA membership or raffle ticket, but it's not a very powerful tool in copywriting. There are, however, some tried and true methods that will get you much more attention.

One of the easiest tools of persuasive copywriting is the success story. People love stories. All you have to have is a real person who used your product successfully. It doesn't have to be an "I read your book and made a million" story. It just has to be the true story of someone who was positively impacted by the product. But what if this is a brand new product or service and you're still looking for your first sale? The answer may be in your hands - literally.

If you've developed a product (service, etc) from conception, your own reasons for doing so may be the best success story imaginable. Tell how and why the idea came to you. The "necessity as the mother of all invention" angle is a perfectly acceptable success story.

There are some other important things to keep in mind as you use persuasive copywriting for your product. Techniques that absolutely work, range from pointing out flaws (to make the reader believe totally in your honesty) to reminding the reader that there's tangible benefits associated with this purchase.

Have you ever given in to an impulse purchase? Most of us will admit that we've purchased something just because "it was there." The aisles at checkout stands are perfect examples. You're standing there (sometimes with impatient kids), and you have nothing to do but look at the candy, magazines, lighters, air fresheners and a myriad of other products. Suddenly, it occurs to you that you are likely out of hand soap, so you purchase a small designer bottle at twice the price you'd have paid on the soap aisle. But it's convenient and you suddenly realize that you seriously need or want this product.

Use that same tactic in your persuasive copywriting. Urge the reader to select your product, and to make that selection immediately. Make it easy to acquire and remind the reader of the positive outcome that will follow.

You may think you don't have the power to write persuasive copywriting. It does take some practice to write effectively, but you probably already have what's most necessary - a belief in what you're selling.

Stop and ask yourself what it is that makes this product worth having, this idea worth supporting, the service worth buying. Whatever the answer, that's the basis for your persuasive copywriting. All you have to do is to translate that belief into content that will encourage an action from the reader.