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All people have "hot buttons" -- topics that charge them with emotional energy and motivate them to act. Some hot buttons that grab readers' attention are:

• Status
• Money
• Job
• Security
• Power/Control
• Safety
• Saving Time
• "Looking Good"
• Being State-of-the-Art
• Productivity
• Reputation

Targeting your readers' hot buttons requires that you think deeply: What subjects make your readers break into a sweat? What issues keep them awake at night? Touch on these topics, or show how your message relates to them. You may have to deliver your message very differently to different readers. One person may buy your service because it provides security, while another may buy the same service because if offers profit.

Throughout your text, allude to the great things your readers will experience because of using your product or service, and the awful consequences they can avoid, just by doing business with you. Remember to touch the readers' hot buttons -- don't stomp on them. A letter that starts, "You can be a billionaire tomorrow!" addresses the desire for money, but in a tacky way. Imply that terrible things will happen without your product or service, and imply or mention the wonderful things that will happen with it. You will be persuasive while maintaining your professionalism and integrity.

For example, suppose that your company wants to buy a Caribbean island to use as an executive retreat, and you have been assigned the task of finding one. You've discovered the perfect isle, but it's not on the market. You must write to the owner of the island, hoping to persuade him or her to entertain an offer from your firm.

Now, imagine two scenarios, assuming two different owners of the same island: Owner 1 is a large multinational corporation that is currently using the island for its executive retreat. Owner 2 is the 80-year-old great granddaughter of a Caribbean plantation owner. By researching local sources, you learn that the island has been part of the family's estate for generations, but that many of the woman's descendants are leaving the islands to pursue their fortunes on the mainland.

What "hot buttons" will you target for Owner 1? Probably you will highlight your favorable price and terms; perhaps you can make an indirect appeal to their need for prestige, by noting that the incredible success of their firm may well have put them in the market for an even bigger, lusher island.

Would these hot buttons have any impact on the 80-year old lady? Of course, the price would be relevant, but not nearly as relevant as it would be to the business executive at Owner 1. For her, you may want to emphasize your respect for the environment, your intention to maintain the island in its pristine condition, and perhaps your willingness to name a central beach or other location after her or her great-grandfather. Show her that if your firm owned it, the island could still be a memorial to her family name.

Same island, same goal --- different hot buttons.

You might have many points to choose from when writing your document. Choose points that help fulfill your purpose by moving your readers: Your readers will reward you with their attention.