The colourful writing tip that works every time

Have you heard of the prize draw, Omaze?

It’s like a lottery, but instead of cash prizes, they offer houses.

Gigantic, luxury OMG-dream homes.

Sometimes it’s a London townhouse with 12-foot ceilings and 18 bathrooms.

Sometimes it’s a Devon farmhouse with views out to the sea and a deck perfect for sundowners.

They plaster their social media with video tours of models dipping manicured toes in pools and running dainty fingers across marble surfaces.

It’s irresistible.

Before I know it, I’ve bought a ticket, despite knowing I’m throwing my money away. (The odds are ridiculously slim.)

But I know why I, and so many others, are easily won over by their schtick.

It’s because Omaze offers something tangible. Something real. £3m in cash, whilst tempting, is harder to picture (I never play the cash lottery).

But that £3m house? I can practically smell it. (Eucalyptus and lemon, in case you’re wondering.).

I can almost feel the coolness of the marble and the water trickling over my (non-manicured) toes. The excitement is so real.

It’s the ultimate picture of a possible future - all laid out in glorious technicolour.

Boy, is it seductive.

And if you want people to jump into action, you need to communicate in colour too.

You need specifics. Detail. Visual imagery.

And most of all: emotion.

If you want people to:

• buy from you

• hire you

• promote you

• listen to you

• say ‘yes’ to you

… you need to paint a colourful picture of how their lives will be better as a result.

Writing in colour is one of the many persuasive writing techniques we teach in our masterclasses for marketing, sales and BD teams – in fact for any team that needs to win people over with their writing.

(That’s, er, pretty much everyone btw.)