I receive spam email all the time. Usually they try to get you to buy their product or go to their website. The tone in almost all of these emails is urgent. They try to stress the benefits of the product to the reader. They use such words as life changing, wonder drug, sale and value. The tone in these emails is meant to entice and persuade the reader. A particular example would be a letter I received from a Canadian drug company. They use ethos and pathos to entice the reader. They build their credibility by showing doctors in white lab coats and they use an array of other tactics. They use pathos by saying this drug will change your life and showing testimonials from others. The tone is very pushy as well. Overall its very interesting to see the different messages conveyed in the tone.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tone
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Hi David,
ReplyDeleteI receive similar emails much more frequently than I would like. I, too, am always struck by the power of "time-sensitive" marketing ploys. Do you think this is effective for some people? I often wonder if that urgency is just to ensure that people will read the message inside from start to finish, hopefully becoming convinced along the way, or if that time sensitivity is an effective persuasive tactic in itself. It works in other sales pitches, like that of the car man who can't guarantee the car will be there the next day if you decide to wait and think it over.
Just thinking it through... =) Thanks for sharing!