Have you ever wondered why everyone around you seems to have a much easier time building their email list, selling their products, or booking clients?
You may think it’s because they’ve got a better freebie, product, or service to offer than you do. But unless you completely misunderstand your audience and what they want, this probably isn’t the case.
So what’s going on? The successful entrepreneurs and bloggers around you are doing a better job at “selling” their offer. In other words, they’re making people feel like they can’t live another day without the freebie, product, and service.
The good news? You don’t have to sit on the sidelines and miss out on all the fun and success. (After all, you were born to do WAY more than that.) Instead, you can learn a simple trick to give your website, blog, landing page, and email copy an instant boost. And unlike other copywriting skills, which take practice to master, it’s a technique you can start implementing right away to get noticeable results.
What am I talking about? Adding power words to your biz or blog copy.
Keep reading below to learn what power words are and how they instantly boost the impact of your copy.
Need higher-converting copy for your website, blog, landing pages, or sales emails? Use power words.
Download my free list of 476 power words.
What are power words?
Before we can talk about how to use power words in your copy, we need to talk about what they actually are.
Power words are words that trigger an emotional response in people. They have strong meanings, help people visualize scenarios or outcomes, and may even invoke curiosity. Most importantly, however, they grab people’s attention and make them feel compelled to take action (for example, downloading your content upgrade or signing up for your webinar). In essence, they pack a powerful punch!
Power words tap into our most basic motives for why we do the things we do. These motives include the desire to reduce fear, satisfy our temptations, and feel safe. Here are some examples of power words:
- Affordable
- Profitable
- Crush
- Confidently
- Exhausted
- Successfully
- Disastrous
- Money-saving
Where to use power words in your copy
Now that you know what power words are, it’s time to learn where you can use them to give your biz or blog copy an instant boost. Check out these 8 key places to insert power words:
1. Headlines
It doesn’t matter whether you’re making a landing page or crafting your next blog post. You’re headline is one of the most important pieces of copy you’ll write. After all, if your headline is mediocre or confusing, your audience may not bother to read any further.
What’s the best way to turn a so-so headline into an irresistable one? Add power words. In a headline, power words grab your audience’s attention, form an emotional connection with them, pique their curiosity, and make them feel like they just can’t help but click or read further.
Related: 9 blog title generator tools to help you craft the perfect headline + 72 title templates
Example: On the landing page for Amy Porterfield’s now-retired Courses that Convert, she uses power words like “confidently” and “profitable” to create a kick-ass headline.
2. Subheadings
If you’ve been part of my tribe for a while, you know there’s a cold, hard truth about online marketing that I share from time to time: People usually don’t read copy on the web. They scan it. This means that most people don’t read your sales email, services page, or blog post from beginning to end. Instead, they jump from section to section based on what catches their attention.
How do you make sure scanners don’t bounce before getting the gist of what you’re trying to tell them? Place power words in the subheadings of your copy. They’ll make your most important points or ideas stand out. And they’ll encourage people to keep scanning or reading down the page or post.
Related: How to write scannable blog posts people actually read + free checklist
Example: Neil Patel adds the power word “secret” in this blog post subheading to get readers’ attention and pique their curiosity.
3. Opt-in boxes and forms
It’s one thing to give out free chocolate bars on a busy city street corner during rush hour. It’s another thing to get people to hand over their email address in exchange for your freebie.
What can you do to make your opt-in incentive more enticing? Use power words in your opt-in boxes and forms. Here, power words can convince people that they’d be silly to pass on your offer. They can also persuade them to convert now instead of deciding that they’ll come back later (which they probably won’t).
Related: 16 ways to get MORE people to see your email opt-ins + 19 emails to send to your list
Example: In this opt-in box, Nesha Woolery uses power words like “free” and “more” to make her offer stand out.
Need higher-converting copy for your website, blog, landing pages, or sales emails? Use power words.
Download my free list of 476 power words.
4. Home page
Not everyone who visits your website will land on your home page. But many people will, so it’s definitely a place where you want to be strategic with your copy.
There are many different ways you can make use of the space on your home page. You can use it to convey the value your brand provides, encourage opt-ins, or even promote some of your bestselling products or services. But no matter what your #1 goal is on your home page, power words can help. They let you establish an emotional connection with your visitors and convey why they should stick around on your site and explore.
Related: 9 things you need to include on your home page + free CTA cheat sheet
Example: By using power words like “needs,” “special,” and “only,” Marie Forleo creates an instant connection with visitors on her home page.
5. Landing pages
The goal of a landing page is to present a single offer and get people to download, sign up for, buy, or book it (depending on what it is). Unlike on a home page, where you may just need to get people to stick around, your landing page has to persuade your audience to act and to act NOW.
How do smart marketers craft landing pages that maintain people’s attention and convince them that converting is the only logical option? By sprinkling power words throughout their landing page copy.
Related: 11 tips for writing landing page copy that converts + free template
Example: Melyssa Griffin uses power words like “powerful,” “fool-proof,” and “rapidly” to express the benefits of her listbuilding course on its landing page.
6. Calls to action
You can write stellar blog posts, sales emails, or services pages. But if you don’t take the time to write rock-solid calls to action (CTAs) for them, you won’t get subscribers, leads, or sales. Your CTAs really are that important.
One of the easiest ways to boost the quality and impact of your CTAs is to add power words to them. It’s hard to get people to act if your copy doesn’t trigger an emotional reaction in them. So add those power words to your CTAs and let them work their magic.
Related: How to write a strong call to action for your website + free cheat sheet
Example: By using the power word “lose” and tapping into people’s fear of failure, Caitlin Bacher makes this CTA hard to ignore.
7. Email subject lines
It’s great to have a large email list. But if you want to leverage your list to make money, you need to convince your subscribers to actually open your emails. (I know—it’s easier said than done.)
Fortunately, there’s an easy way to improve your email subject lines and increase your open rate: use power words. If you’re writing a direct email subject line, power words will convey that there’s massive value inside your email. And if you’re writing a blind email subject line, they’ll hook your subscribers on curiosity.
Related: The 7 most effective email subject lines + 63 free templates
Example: In this email subject line, I used the words “easier” and “faster” to get my subscribers’ attention and encourage them to open the email. People are always looking for hacks that make tasks easier to tackle. So using words like these can help you create subject lines that really resonate with your audience.
8. Product names
When it comes to naming your products, clarity should *always* trump creativity. But this doesn’t mean that the names of your products need to be boring. In fact, unless you’re selling something that no one else is selling (and let’s fact it—you probably aren’t), you’ve got to make your product stand out.
How do you do this? Give your product a descriptive name that also includes power words. When you use power words effectively in product names, they express a key value or benefit tied to the product. They also make the name of your product more memorable, which means that your audience will be more likely to remember it when they’re ready to buy.
Example: Drunk Elephant uses the power words “rise” and “glow” to give the name of this skincare duo kit a pop.
Start using power words today
If you want to build a successful biz or blog, you can’t just have great content, products, or services to offer. You also need to convince your audience that what you offer is one of the key things that they’re missing in their life.
Fortunately, you don’t need to be a professional copywriter to make your offer seem irresistible. Instead, you can give your copy an instant boost by adding power words to it. Start using them today to grab your audience’s attention, create a stronger connection with them, and convince them to convert.
Need higher-converting copy for your website, blog, landing pages, or sales emails? Use power words.
Download my free list of 476 power words.
