Strengthen Your Copywriting Skills with:
Write Now!
Persuasive Writing Prompts
Augusten Burroughs once said, “The best way to be a writer is to be a writer.” And that’s why we’re here … to help you be a successful writer!
Write Now! is a library of persuasive writing prompts, created just for you, and delivered on video by a variety of working copywriters. These copywriters are part of a successful community of professionals writing for the direct mail industry, corporate websites, sales emails, online sales letters, B2C, B2B, non-profits, and even their own businesses; basically all forms of marketing writing.
To help you practice — and strengthen — your own writing skills while banishing “blank page syndrome” or writer’s block, each copywriter has come up with helpful tips, from personal experience. We hope you enjoy this ever-growing selection of prompts.
Write Now! Persuasive Writing Prompts are presented by The Professional Writers’ Alliance (PWA) — a professional association just for direct-response industry writers. Learn about the many benefits of a PWA membership.
Write Now! Persuasive Writing Prompts Library
Write Now! 30-Day Challenge
Hone your writing skills and banish writer’s block with 30 daily writing prompts from the copywriting industry’s top experts.
You Know More Than You Think You Do
We’re all full of interesting information and hungry to learn more. Learn something new today and share it wide.
Email a Story with Good Advice
Collect 7 pieces of advice to share with a college graduate and write a story email. Do the same for a client.
Write the Next Chapter of Your Life
Take control of your life by being responsible for every moment. If you do, each chapter will end the way you want.
Where Do You Generate Your Best Ideas?
Like all writers, you must determine when and where you usually come up with your best ideas.
Open the Loop
Ignite your prospect’s curiosity by leaving loops open.
Get Unstuck by Going in Reverse
Trick your mind out of writer’s block by writing deliberately bad copy… you’ll be surprised how many good ideas will grow.
Find the Story in Your Prospect’s Mind
Base your stories on what keeps your prospect up at night and how your product can solve his problem.
Ask Your Prospect 20 Questions
Have a list of 20 or more questions to ask prospects about your product … both prospects that love it and those that find it useless.
List Your Prospect’s Pain and Pleasure Points
In this writing prompt from Brian Kurtz, you’ll dig deep to discover what motivates your prospect.
How Do You Want to Be Remembered?
Another exercise to build up your storytelling chops… this time doing some soul-searching to define what people will remember about you.
Describe Your Perfect Childhood Day
To build up your storytelling chops, reminisce about your favorite day as a child, teenager, and adult, and write down your stories.
Write a Vacation Postcard
In this exercise from Christy Goldfeder, get your imagination going and create a picture by vividly describing a vacation memory.
Interview a Famous Person
Practice your interview skills by writing a question script for someone you admire.
Try a Before-and-After Approach
When writing persuasive copy, you must convince your reader that your product will change his life.
Powerful Proofing Tips
Use Nick’s techniques for making your copy stronger.
Write Every Day
Practice makes perfect in most skills, and writing is no exception.
Decide When You Really Like to Write
Build a strong writing habit by choosing the best time of day for you and sticking to it.
Kung Fu Writing
The more you know your market, product, and topic by doing research before you write will make you a great writer.
The Power of Headlines
Take a trip to a local store and scoop up all the magazines with headlines that catch your attention. Model these proven headlines to suit the product or service you’re selling.
A Surefire Way to Improve Your B2B Writing Skills
To start your day or if the creative juices aren’t flowing, follow Steve Maurer’s writing prompt to get yourself going.
Your Major Marker Event
Ted Capshaw, leader, coach, facilitator encourages all writers to be in touch with their feelings. Listen to Ted’s Truth on how to do that.
Copy Your Hero’s Copy
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned copywriter, practice is the key to long-term success. Steve Slaunwhite, B2B marketing guru, shares a fun and easy way to do just that.
Jumpstart Your Headline Writing
Copywriter Elizabeth Blessing shows you a simple technique to stimulate your headline writing.
Your Most Powerful Tool: The Verb
Good verbs infuse your writing with more spunk. Listen to copywriter and editor, Jennifer Stevens, and practice using your most powerful tool.
Put Your Most Important Word Last
It’s a proven fact that people tend to remember the first and last items in a series best. And, the words in the middle always get lost. When writing copy, always save your strongest words for last.
Write from Emotion
Spinning yarns and telling stories is an art. And being able to make others get caught up in your story by writing from emotion is a gift.
Solve a Problem
Murphy’s Law says ‘Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.’ And, it seems to happen most often on vacation or away from home. These events trigger emotions. Learning how to get past those emotions to solve the problem and then telling the whole story makes for strong copy.
Assessing Your Assets
Put on your thinking cap to figure out what makes your product or service unique. Watch this video by master marketer, Brian Kurtz, to get on your way to writing strong copy.
Tell Me Your Biggest Fear
Fear can be paralyzing and brings strong emotion to the heart and mind. Write about your biggest fear and how it makes you feel. Emotions sell and fear is one of the biggest. Practice writing stronger copy with this tip from Christina Gillick.
Paint a Vivid Picture
The 4 P’s of copywriting are vital to the success of any copy. Use this prompt from Charlotte Crockett to develop your skills to help prospects picture your product benefits.
Write a Story in Two Sentences
Join email copywriting master storyteller, Ben Settle for an exercise that will make you a dramatically better storyteller, too.
Sell It Like the Evening News
Practice writing short headlines that grab attention with this prompt from Pam Foster, AWAI’s Director of Copywriting Training.
Write a Story About an Object
Pick an ordinary object and create a story about it … so you can connect with your reader’s senses. Watch this video by Heather Robson, web copywriter and Managing Editor of Wealthy Web Writer, to see how you can get creative and write about an “object d’art” — bringing it to life through a story.
Make Benefits Irresistible
In this Write Now! exercise, you’ll discover a new way to take ordinary benefits and make them extraordinary … one of the secrets to strengthening the results of your copywriting. Watch this video by Sandy Franks, Copy Chief at AWAI, to see how you can create irresistible benefits and get someone to say yes to your sales letter.
Make Your Copy Better
In this Write Now! exercise, you’ll discover a simple approach — a single question to ask yourself — that will help you improve your copy. Watch this video by master web copywriter and teacher Nick Usborne to see what he does to strengthen every piece of copy before he sends it to his clients.
Become an Email Subject Line Machine
Practice writing stronger email subject lines with this video from Pam Foster, Director of Copywriter Training at AWAI.
Your Favorite Childhood Storybook
Take a playful approach to your writing practice by describing your favorite childhood story. Watch this video by Rebecca Matter, President, AWAI, to see how you can strengthen your copywriting by writing about the sweet memories that come from recalling a favorite childhood book.
Write About Your Best Date Ever
Think about the best date you ever had – or maybe the worst – and write a story about it. Watch this video by copywriter Mindy McHorse, Managing Editor of Barefoot Writer, and turn a great date – or a lousy one – into a compelling story that delves into all the senses.
