In persuasive messages, you are selling your ideas as well as your organization's image and goodwill. Persuasive messages use the persuasive approach, waiting until the end of the message to ask for the action you want. The types of persuasive messages discussed in this chapter are:

• Persuasive requests. These messages ask for donations, cooperation, gifts, or favors.
• Sales messages. These letters are written to sell a product or a service.
• Other types of sales messages. These messages include sales letters to dealers, replies to inquiries as sales letters, cover letters as sales letters, and sales letter series.

The persuasive approach usually uses the AIDA formula—attention, interest, desire, and action.