{"id":20146,"date":"2019-02-08T01:49:36","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T05:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/?page_id=20146"},"modified":"2023-03-25T12:34:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-25T16:34:30","slug":"fear-appeals","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t be afraid of fear appeals"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Make \u2019em sick, make \u2019em well<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_31752\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31752\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"31752\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals.png\" data-orig-size=\"450,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"fear-appeals\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Negative messages work,&lt;\/strong&gt; according to a meta-analysis by Kim Witte and Mike Allen of 100 studies and 50 years of research on fear appeals. &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/es\/image-photo\/catrina-skull-makeup-halloween-isolated-on-496379590&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image by pixieme&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals-300x200.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals.png\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals.png\" alt=\"Fear appeals\" title=\"Fear appeals\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31752 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals.png 450w, https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals-300x200.png 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 450px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 450\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"31752\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals.png\" data-orig-size=\"450,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"fear-appeals\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Negative messages work,&lt;\/strong&gt; according to a meta-analysis by Kim Witte and Mike Allen of 100 studies and 50 years of research on fear appeals. &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/es\/image-photo\/catrina-skull-makeup-halloween-isolated-on-496379590&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image by pixieme&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals-300x200.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals.png\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals.png\" alt=\"Fear appeals\" title=\"Fear appeals\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-31752\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals.png 450w, https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31752\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Negative messages work,<\/strong> according to a meta-analysis by Kim Witte and Mike Allen of 100 studies and 50 years of research on fear appeals. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/es\/image-photo\/catrina-skull-makeup-halloween-isolated-on-496379590\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Image by pixieme<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<table class=\"indextable\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5px\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\">\n<h3 class=\"indextableheader\">Why fear appeals?<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"indextabletdleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2022\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-15037 size-full lazyload\" title=\"What\u2019s the effectiveness of fear appeals?\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals-150.png\" alt=\"What\u2019s the effectiveness of fear appeals?\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-15037 size-full\" title=\"What\u2019s the effectiveness of fear appeals?\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals-150.png\" alt=\"What\u2019s the effectiveness of fear appeals?\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/td>\n<td class=\"indextabletdright\">\n<p class=\"index-story-headline\"><a title=\"What\u2019s the effectiveness of fear appeals?\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2022\/03\/effectiveness-of-fear-appeals\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">What\u2019s the effectiveness of fear appeals?<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"index-story-deck\">Why accentuate the negative?<\/p>\n<p class=\"index-story-intro\">Better sorry than safe? Arousing fear can be more effective than promising rewards at moving people to act.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"indextable\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5px\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\">\n<h3 class=\"indextableheader\">How to write fear appeals<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"27%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2022\/02\/appeal-to-fear\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"18345\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/benefits-copy-moves-readers-to-act-150\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/benefits-copy-moves-readers-to-act-150.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"150,150\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"benefits-copy-moves-readers-to-act-150\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/benefits-copy-moves-readers-to-act-150.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/benefits-copy-moves-readers-to-act-150.jpg\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-18345 size-full lazyload\" title=\"How to appeal to fear\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/appeal-to-fear-150.png\" alt=\"How to appeal to fear\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"18345\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/benefits-copy-moves-readers-to-act-150\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/benefits-copy-moves-readers-to-act-150.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"150,150\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"benefits-copy-moves-readers-to-act-150\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/benefits-copy-moves-readers-to-act-150.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/benefits-copy-moves-readers-to-act-150.jpg\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-18345 size-full\" title=\"How to appeal to fear\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/appeal-to-fear-150.png\" alt=\"How to appeal to fear\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/td>\n<td width=\"73%\">\n<p class=\"index-story-headline\"><a title=\"How to appeal to fear\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2022\/02\/appeal-to-fear\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to appeal to fear<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"index-story-deck\">Make \u2019em sick, make \u2019em well<\/p>\n<p class=\"index-story-intro\">Lead with the problem \u2026 Follow up with the solution to appeal to readers\u2019 anger and anxiety.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\">\n<hr \/>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"indextabletdleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2022\/03\/fear-appeals-in-persuasion\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-15037 size-full lazyload\" title=\"How to develop fear appeals in persuasion\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals-in-persuasion-150.png\" alt=\"How to develop fear appeals in persuasion\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-15037 size-full\" title=\"How to develop fear appeals in persuasion\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals-in-persuasion-150.png\" alt=\"How to develop fear appeals in persuasion\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/td>\n<td class=\"indextabletdright\">\n<p class=\"index-story-headline\"><a title=\"How to develop fear appeals in persuasion\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2022\/03\/fear-appeals-in-persuasion\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to develop fear appeals in persuasion<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"index-story-deck\">Avoid losing readers with these 4 steps<\/p>\n<p class=\"index-story-intro\">Arousing fear can backfire if you don\u2019t offer a simple way to reduce risk. This four-part model overcomes that obstacle to move readers to act.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table class=\"indextable\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"5px\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\">\n<h3 class=\"indextableheader\">More on fear appeals<\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"indextabletdleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/fear-appeal-theory\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-15037 size-full lazyload\" title=\"Quotes on fear appeal theory\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/quotes-150.png\" alt=\"Quotes on fear appeal theory\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 150px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 150\/150;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-15037 size-full\" title=\"Quotes on fear appeal theory\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/quotes-150.png\" alt=\"Quotes on fear appeal theory\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/td>\n<td class=\"indextabletdright\">\n<p class=\"index-story-headline\"><a title=\"Quotes on fear appeal theory\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/fear-appeal-theory\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Quotes on fear appeal theory<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"index-story-deck\">What writers &amp; others say<\/p>\n<p class=\"index-story-intro\">\u201cYou can\u2019t underestimate the power of fear.\u201d \u2014 Patricia Nixon, former American first lady<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Make \u2019em sick, make \u2019em well Why fear appeals? What\u2019s the effectiveness of fear appeals? Why accentuate the negative? Better sorry than safe? Arousing fear can be more effective than promising rewards at moving people to act. How to write fear appeals How to appeal to fear Make \u2019em sick, make \u2019em well Lead with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31752,"parent":3866,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-20146","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v23.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Don\u2019t be afraid of fear appeals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Negative messages work, according to a meta-analysis by Kim Witte and Mike Allen of 100 studies and 50 years of research on fear appeals.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don\u2019t be afraid of fear appeals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Negative messages work, according to a meta-analysis by Kim Witte and Mike Allen of 100 studies and 50 years of research on fear appeals.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wylie Communications, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WylieCommunications\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-25T16:34:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals-fb.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Don\u2019t be afraid of fear appeals\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Negative messages work, according to a meta-analysis by Kim Witte and Mike Allen of 100 studies and 50 years of research on fear appeals.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals-twitter.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AnnWylie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/\",\"name\":\"Don\u2019t be afraid of fear appeals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-08T05:49:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-25T16:34:30+00:00\",\"description\":\"Negative messages work, according to a meta-analysis by Kim Witte and Mike Allen of 100 studies and 50 years of research on fear appeals.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/persuasive-writing\/fear-appeals\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/fear-appeals.png\",\"width\":450,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Negative messages work, according to a meta-analysis by Kim Witte and Mike Allen of 100 studies and 50 years of research on fear appeals. 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