How to Use Power Words to Boost Conversions

Short story: I used to be a corporate drone. But then I discovered how to write logical arguments with emotional appeal, and now I make six figures as a copywriter.

I wish that was the case, ahh, but give me twenty-six tiny lead soldiers and I will conquer the world anyway. Although these days the soldiers are pixels, rather than the lead type of yesteryear—still, they can sway the masses on Instagram in Turkmenistan and beyond.

Copywriters have long known the power of certain words.

Digital marketers use these words to influence readers and get their audience to take action. Remember, all website visitors are potential customers—now you can use these same power words in your own marketing materials.

See! Magic is easy-peasy.

When used correctly, power words make your writing persuasive and influential. They can even make people take action that they wouldn’t otherwise take.

“Yikes! Sound all a bit deceptive if you ask me. What kind of scam is this?”

Not really!

It is merely framing the art of a single sentence with enough pizzazz to truly communicate what you truly intend. Every author wants people to hate the villain and fall in love with the hero. Whether it’s Apple or your local fruit market, the word choices we make are critical.

So, how can you use power words in your own writing? Here are some tips:

Different Types of Power Words

Of course, we understand that emotion does not always equal truth, we’ve all experienced the rise of fake news over the last several years, haven’t we? Someone once said that untruth circles the globe 7 times faster than a fact. Well, we don’t want to be untrue…

…but nor does emotion equal untruth.

You’ll do your best persuading when it’s something you truly believe in, and with which your readers connect.

When it comes to using powerful words, emotion is key.

You want those little call-to-action buttons to work, don’t you? Well, here’s how you can make them more effective.

• Choose a color that contrasts with the rest of your page. This will make the button stand out and be more noticeable.
• Second, use an eye-catching font that’s easy to read.
• Third, keep the text short, and to the point, and use a power word to entice your audience.

You want to choose words that will evoke the feeling you’re going for, whether it’s happiness, sadness, anger, or something else entirely. For example, if you’re trying to get someone to donate to a charity, using words like “heartbreaking” or “desperate” can be more effective than simply saying “please donate.”

Of course, there are way more than these seven general categorizations of power words, but it is a good place to start:

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Fear

FEAR is a powerful psychological trigger that can prompt someone to take action. Fear power words will grab someone’s attention, and that’s the whole point, isn’t it? So you could include words like:

• plummet – “The Top Three Reasons You’re Aircraft May Plummet to Earth Next Vacation”
• catastrophe – “How Your New iPhone Will Cause a Global Catastrophe”
• cripple – “7 Ways Your Pet Poodle Will Cripple Your Ability to Get a Job”
• crisis – “How to Survive the Current Watermelon Crisis“
• scary – “Scary Socks: Are Occult Forces at Work?”
• warning – “7 Warning Signs Your Parrot is Possessed”
• shocking – “The Shocking Truth About Spoons”

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Passion

What about PASSION?

Come on, you’re a genius.

Creative and persuasive storytellers are needed!

Yeah, I know, there are also a lot of people who don’t really care about marketing. They think it’s a boring sock filled with 23 grey pebbles and a twig; they don’t see the point in spending time on it. However, passion power words may cause them to look twice:

• captivating – “200 Captivating Hair-Styles from Tibet”
• charming – “7 Charming Colors for your Brompton Bicycle”
• passionate – “Passionate Plum Pudding Recipes for new Puppies”
• adorable – “Royalty? An Adorable Hoax for the Adoring Masses?”
• mouthwatering – “This Mouthwatering Organic Celery Will Boost Your IQ for 365 Days”
• charm – “How to Charm a Charging Hippopotamus in Under 5 Seconds”
• enchanting – “Enchanting Scotland: The Mystical Portals of Loch Ness”

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Encouragement

ENCOURAGEMENT: sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement. Just a few encouragement power words can be the difference between someone making that $199 spatula purchase or leaving your trendy comic shop empty-handed.

• life-changing – “Why Apple’s Latest Product is Life Changing. No, Really!”
• stunning – “Newly Discovered Sentient Shrimp Stuns the Nation”
• mind-blowing – “Mind-blowing Vaccine Inoculates Against Stupidity”
• power – “You’re Looking at the Golden New Supercar: A Power Utopia on Wheels”
• fearless – “Hey You! It’s Your Year to be Fearless“
• spectacular – “Yes, the Moon Smells like Spectacular Cheese”
• breathtaking – “Blue Bubblegum is Simply Breathtaking“

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Anger

ANGER can be a very powerful emotion. People sit up. People take notice. People do stupid things. It can also motivate people to take proper action. Anger power words, if used with care, can cause Batman to respond to the Joker in under 33 seconds:

• annoying – “Electroshock Treatments for Annoying Spiders”
• brutal – “Brutal Drug Lord Slaughtered in Undercover CIA Operation”
• rude – “So! Ya Got a Rude Boss? How to Gain a Wage Rise Anyway!”
• ravage – “Mad Owls Ravage Secluded Township”
• punish – “The Alien Plan to Punish the World’s Inhabitants by 2045″
• nasty – “Eeesh. Seriously! What Went Wrong with Nasty Netflix”
• bully – “How to Stop Bully Politicians Knocking Down Your Door”

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Desire

DESIRE is a natural human tendency – but beware, desire can morph into greed and lead you down a slippery slope of unethical and irresponsible marketing practices. You don’t want to be ‘not-awesome’ do you?

Once again use desire power words with care—and maybe all those ‘pure motivations’ of your wonderful readers will move from the dreary yawntastic to the spectacular:

• luxurious – “24 Luxurious Red Robes for Religious Zealots”
• money-saving – “12 Money-Saving Ideas for Middle Earth Wizards”
• fortune – “This Ollivander Wand Will Make you a Small Fortune“
• giveaway – “Don’t Miss our Free Lear Jet Giveaway: So What if it’s Pink”
• never again – “Never-again Order a Cucumber in Peak Hour”
• expires – “Sweet Crispy Cream Wonder-smash Expires Tomorrow”
• unbeaten – “We Tested 5000 Bagels: This One Remains Unbeaten“

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Safety

A SAFETY power word communicates trust and those gooey feelings of peace and tranquillity. No one wants to hold hands with a half-rabid muffin monster or purchase an orbital laser battery that randomly fires a salvo at your squirrel farm every 32 minutes.

Use safety power words to generate trust, promising that the laser battery will fire only when you issue a command:

• professional – “Distraught Bald Barber Gets a Professional Haircut”
• risk-free – “Why Our Port-a-Potty is Risk-Free”
• proven – “Proven Tik Tok Strategies to Achieve God-like Status”
• foolproof – “Foolproof Self Defence Techniques for Endangered Seals”
• no risk – “No Risk Investments in Stardust, Moonlight, and Faery Magic”
• worldwide – “How to Survive the Coming Worldwide Oxygen Shortage”
• lifetime – “9 Ways to Get Lifetime Supply of Strawberry Soap”

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Forbidden

According to the Great Classification Rabbis of the Internet, our final FORBIDDEN power words wink at that innate desire to do something you were told NOT to do. It taps into the mysterious world of your alter ego as an evil enchantress or John Rambo or King Charles III.

Use forbidden power words to inspire action rather than remaining a dull houseplant for eternity:

• secret – “The Secret to Interplanetary Travel Now Revealed”
• banned – “Why This Book is Banned in the USA, UK, China, & Chad”
• private – “Win a Private, One-on-one session with Galadriel on High Elven Magic”
• strange – “The 59 Strangest Laws in the Entire Multiverse”
• hidden – “Angels, Demigods, & Pug Dogs Reveal their Top-10 Hidden Pet Peeves”
• myth – “The Myth of Magical Hammers—A Ten Minute Tutorial”
• insane – “12 Insane Power Words Banned Before Time Began”