Knowing Power Words For Persuasive Writing
Triggering an emotional and psychological response can impact the perception of the audience. For that writers need persuasive power words to influence their readers.
This article discusses what power words you should use in your writing, whether it be content, or copywriting to leave an impact and persuade the reader to do the desired action.
Contents
1.
What are Power Words?
These words have a strong emotional impact.Content marketers can use them in a blog post, sales copy, email subject line, calls to action, sales pages and landing page to generate an emotional response from the target audience.
This response guides the buying behavior and increase conversions.
Want your words to live effectively in the reader’s mind?
Persuasive words are powerful, they can stay longer inside the mind of the readers, lurking in the background slowly and eventually cajoling and pulling their emotions to bring about action.
The emotional response the words trigger may not only be positive but also negative.
Nonetheless, it can still trigger a desired action from the audience.
Interesting, isn’t it?
Competent writers and speakers can switch between these emotional triggers to persuade the audience.
These go beyond generally speaking and writing but in social media posts, case studies, opting for the email list, inspirational quotes and much more.
As long as you make them feel, you have a chance of influencing them.
What Are The Benefits of Power Words
Persuasive language is impactful in marketing and sales where you need click-through rates, conversion rates and desired outcomes.
A single word can make a difference in how your copy is received.
Thus, to achieve the desired customer outcomes, words work in persuading the target customer.
Moreover, once you have an idea of the words that are effective, you can leverage that in making inspirational marketing messages.
After all, the way you communicate with others whether through speaking or writing leaves an impact on the receiver.
It will further influence how they respond to it and guide their behavior as well as emotions about your brand, products and its marketing.
There are words that can very strongly influence and affect people’s moods and abilities.
These can generate both negative and positive feelings.
Therefore, once you know how to use these words properly, you can relay persuasive messaging that influences the people around you.
As a marketer, using power words for headlines, power words for customer service, in sales posts and in copywriting can leave a huge impact on your audience.
They will generate and evoke the feelings and emotions you want your audience to feel.
The main types of negative and positive power words include:
- Curiosity
- Fear
- Safety
- Lust
- Greed
- Forbidden
- Anger
- Encouragement
- Sloth
- Trust
- Vanity
Besides this list of power words, there are other words in the English language that invoke emphasis and emotions profound enough to be convincing.
Let’s know more about all of these impactful words below!
2.
Examples of Power Words
Marketers mainly use these words to incite emotions that will propel them to take the desired action.
Therefore, in this list of power words, you will find words with an impact strong enough to persuade.
Let’s find out what are these below!
Curiosity
The curiosity drive theory says that the urge of curiosity is similar to that of hunger and thirst.
You feel the need to satisfy it immediately.
Hence, by using these words, it is hard for the reader the resist it any longer.
These can be especially useful in blog headlines, meta descriptions, email subject lines, and landing page headlines.
You basically want the reader to click and open or continue rather than stop so that they can fill their curiosity.
Popular curiosity words include:
- Members only
- Limited
- Off-limits
- Login required
- Restricted
- Top secret
- Spoiler/li>
- Be the first
- Censored
- Be an insider
All of these words generate curiosity about something you may not know but would like to know.
Fear
Fear is the strongest emotion to keep your attention alongside keeping us safe, motivated and also alive.
Generating fear on marketing can be in the form of FOMO.
Fear of missing out will persuade them to take action immediately.
Use it for sharing your content or buying products.
However, when it comes to using this kind of fear words, you would not want to fill up the reader to an extent that they are paralyzed with fear.
In fact, also give a solution to combat the problem that is causing the fear.
These include:
- Dangerous
- Crisis
- Dumb
- Caution
- Risky
- Warning
- Scary
- Last Chance
- Panic
- Shame
- Mistakes
Safety, Lust and Greed
Safety
Fear may propel a strong action but safety also generates a feeling of comfort that some people desire.
This is when they have confidence in what you will deliver to them.
Thus, safety is similar to trust. More on that later!
Using safety words you can describe your brand so that the audience feels safe buying from you.
Such as:
- Authentic
- Best selling
- Backed
- Certified
- Refund
- Guaranteed
- Moneyback
- Dependable
- Secure
- Verify
Lust
In marketing, lust words can be used to elicit a desire for any item.
You can make copies interesting by using this desire in subheadings, ad copy, email list and line sent to the email address of subscribers and more.
This can make the copy intriguing so that the reader proceeds to click.
These include:
- Divine
- Climax
- Ecstacy
- Alluring
- Exotic
- Thrilling
- Uncensored
- Intriguing
- Enchanting
- Engaging
Therefore, there can be plenty of words that can be used in the marketing copy without having to refer to the typical connotation of lust.
Hence, use them wisely in your copies.
Greed
Looking into this human tendency, it arises when you want to get more stuff that is needed.
Greed works well in marketing as it incites feelings of scarcity, loss or aversion.
This raises the value of the item more than it actually is.
Moreover, using words that indicate making or saving money can be very effective for marketing.
Examples of that will be:
- Discount
- Bargain
- Don’t miss out
- Hurry
- Instantly
- Sale ends soon
- Cheap
- High-paying
- Exclusivity
- Ultimate
- Last Chance
Forbidden, Anger and Encouragement
Forbidden Words
Anything that is mysterious and forbidden generally insinuates curiosity.
The more you are stopped from doing something, the more you like to do it instead.
Hence, sprinkle your copy with some of the see words so that the tempted audience will be enticed.
- Never seen before
- Private
- Unheard of
- Super secret
- Illusive
- Invitation only
- Login required
- Undisclosed
- Unspoken
- Insider
- Little known
Anger
Generally, anger is a bad sentiment.
It can ignite irrationality which later leads you to make choices, and influence decisions, reasoning and perceptions that are laced with regret later.
Anger in marketing and writing can work when it is targeted at someone else rather than you.
Hence, you need to be strategic with anger.
Focus on what makes your audience angry about the industry you work in.
Furthermore, use the power words to fan the flames but only adequately.
Use words such as:
- Annoying
- Know it all
- Greedy
- Weak
- Exploit
- Blatant
- Hate
- Lies
- Rant
- Agitate
- Misleading
Encouragement
Want people to feel enthusiastic through your writing?
Then add some encouragement words for people to bounce off that energy.
Moreover, these words can feel like giving a pep talk that motivates and you are tempted to read more.
They include:
- Life changing
- Awe-inspiring
- Miracle
- Eye-opening
- Defiance
- Effortless
- Unbelievable
- Jaw-dropping
- Strengthen
- Persuade
Sloth, Trust and Vanity Power Words
Sloth
The opposite of encouragement is sloth.
This is when you are not motivated and want to put in minimal effort to get the work done.
Hence, you want to get things done easily.
You can use sloth words in lead magnets for people looking for quick solutions and also for product descriptions so that your products look enticing.
Such as:
- Downloadable
- Freebie
- Accessible
- List
- Template
- No problem
- Fail-proof
- Child’s play
- Smooth
- Easy
Trust
It is all about trust.
Once you build up trust with your audience, they can believe in your business and purchase from you regularly.
Using trust words is the same, blog posts, social media posts, email marketing, and sign-up forms.
Such as:
- Accredited
- Recognized
- Genuine
- Guaranteed
- Moneyback
- Worldwide
- Endorsed
- Proven
- Bonafide
- Authentic
Vanity
Why do you think humans buy things?
It can be for their use or it could also be because of how we would like to think about how we look with it, to ourselves and others.
You will be surprised to know that it is one of the main driving forces that leads to purchase decisions.
Hence, the goal while buying is not only to look good but also successful.
Therefore, using these words for the products will aim at making the audience look successful and attractive.
These generate positive emotions in them about their own outlook and the perception of your product or service.
These include:
- Fearless
- Awe-inspiring
- Ahead of the game
- Elegant
- Undefeated
- Courage
- Moneymaking
- Noteworthy
- Successful
- Genius
- Gorgeous
- Dazzling
- Handsome
- At the top
Summing Up
Using these power words you can directly impact your audience.
As a writer, these are an effective tool for marketing your copies.
Thus, if you want to leave your audience with an impact, possible sales and conversions, then use these words wisely.