In the following video, Mark Turrell, CEO of strategy and marketing firm Orcasci, presents select persuasion tactics that help you connect more closely with your fans in terms of the experiences that you offer them as part of a diverse portfolio. You should also use these tactics in your marketing and sales materials to achieve more sales income and donations.

1. Applying Persuasion Tactics to Your Portfolio of Offerings

Keep the first three persuasion tactics in mind when crafting the offerings that you make available to your fans and patrons. Diversify your portfolio by adding offerings that are designed to include a strong social component. Provide an interactive and immersive setting with opportunities for your patrons to connect directly with members of your arts organization and with other attendees, and share a stimulating experience with the friends that they bring along. Describe your offerings with language that is meaningful to your patrons and highlights these aspects.

2. Applying Persuasion Tactics to Your Outreach Activities

The use of persuasion tactics can make a big difference to the success of your marketing, sales and engagement efforts. You can implement them in the following way:

• Foster connections and the spread of your messages via immersive content and accessible language. In your materials, as well as in your ongoing outreach communication (newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), make extensive use of impactful photos, videos, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with artists from your company. Combine these visuals with language that resonates with the recipients and allows them to connect with you. This concept of accessible language is particularly important in the wording of your offering descriptions and your sales communication.

• Use social validation in your materials and on your website, Facebook etc. After every event and gig, remember to collect (see example wording below) and publish testimonials, reviews and referrals, and encourage patrons to share their experiences online and with their friends.

• The sense of urgency and scarcity is an important psychological driver that can be used to prompt people to take action. In your marketing and sales communication, highlight that there are only a few dates available and that seats or the works that you are selling are limited, or are likely to be going fast. Alternatively, ask the reader to take action by a certain deadline to get special treatment.

• Encourage social commitment by keeping your fans, donors and board members engaged over time. Invite them to interact with you on a regular basis, because this kind of personal involvement represents an investment that people make in you and your cause. After getting personally involved, people are more receptive when you ask them to visit one of your events or make a donation. This persuasion tactic applies to prospective major customers as well. They are much more likely to make a purchase after they have just been directly exposed to you and your art. You should therefore make sure that your key sponsors, as well as important prospects, experience your art and connect with you at one of your regular events or at a special performance for a select group.

Templates: How to Ask for a Testimonial

Using social validation is an important persuasion tactic. Below you find example wording for requesting a testimonial. Don’t forget to thank patrons who have taken the time to send you one.

a) Testimonial request for patrons of a standard event

I’d be grateful if you could write 1-2 sentences about how <EVENT NAME> affected you. Being able to post this on our website would make a great difference to us.
Thanks for your time and support. We hope to see you again soon!

b) Testimonial request for customers who booked you for a gig

I’m writing to ask you for a small favor.
Might you be open to writing 1-3 sentences that you could email to me about how <EVENT NAME> felt and about your experience of working with us? We’re updating our site and I’d be grateful if you’d share any thoughts that we could include with our testimonials.
Thanks a lot for your consideration!

Related pages:

> Create A Diverse Portfolio To Increase Your Income
> The Secrets Of A Successful Communication Plan For Artists
> How to Write An Offering Description That Sells
> How To Write Effective Sales Emails
> How To Spread The Word Across Social Networks
> Engage With Your Fans And Supporters All Year Round

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