The other day, I was in a Toastmasters meeting where we had a usual meeting with three speakers followed by three evaluators. We also had some guests and everybody did a great job that night.
However, something that drew my attention was a comment from one of the guests who appreciated one of our evaluators like this (and I paraphrase):
“What I appreciated the most was the way you did your evaluation for the speaker #2 in such an uplifting manner. You used empowering words like ‘phenomenal’, ‘absolutely’, ‘terrific’ and ‘amazing’. By using those words, you not only uplifted the speaker but also everybody.”
That remark by the guest made me think about what happens in the online world. Why is that I get so impressed when I watch Robin Sharma’s videos? And why don’t I watch videos by some other accomplished people that much?
Speaking of Robin Sharma, I have heard him talk and use words like ‘Dramatic Distractions’, ‘World Class’ , ‘Passion’ and amaze his audience (me included, of course!). He is just an awesome speaker!
The Use Of Power Words Play A Big Role In Your Writing
Similarly, have you noticed some blogs you start reading and you feel great while others, not so much?
Some headlines get your attention instantly and others, not so much?
Some sales pages convert well while others, don’t get any conversion. Why does that happen?
The answer lies in the use of words. How well content is written and whether or not it will attract readers, largely depends on how the words are crafted and whether or not a few power words are used.
That is the topic of this discussion today.
So, what are power words and how can you use them in your blog posts or sales pages to improve your traffic, engagement and conversion?
6 Power Words To Empower Your Writing
There are two power words I would like to first mention which are very well described in this post from Copyblogger.com. These two power words are the most important words in blogging according to them. For your reference, the words are :
1. YOU
The idea is to write your post aiming at solving a problem or adding value through your writing to your reader. So, when you use the word “you” in your writing, you are talking to the reader and it is very powerful. If you already visited the post by Copyblogger, you know what I am talking about.
2. BECAUSE
This is a persuasive word which aims to answer a question that your reader has. When you talk about the question, and answer their “why” with your “because”, your writing grabs their attention. It is one of the best ways to writing engaging content. They have beautifully explained it as well.
However, if you notice in their article, the author grabs your attention with a smartly used power word about which the author doesn’t even talk. But that word is very important.
That word, I think, is the key power word of that entire post. Okay, so the third power word, I think, is one of the most attention grabbing words out there and is:
3. IMAGINE
Imagine is an incredible word not just in the world of blogging but also in the world of public speaking. Have you notice how some of the most powerful speakers start their talk by saying something like:
Can you imagine…..
Imagine that ….
And people get hooked onto their ideas because this word pulls you to the speaker and takes you into the world they want you to mentally travel with them…
It is a word that is almost hypnotic. I’ve seen that by asking their prospects to imagine the outcome of using their product or service, good sales people easily bypass that wall of objections and bring the resistance down instantly. This is a great tool for making the sale with less argument!
I call the word ‘Imagine’ as a dream builder world. It is a great way for you to build dreams, make your audience imagine things and feel connected to your ideas. This word is a great way to draw word pictures!
4. FREE
Even though there is nothing that comes for free in this world, we love things that we think, is free. We love free stuff!
That is why, in the world of marketing, the word FREE is so popular and true to its fame, people tend to open emails that have the word FREE in the subject line, read posts that have the word FREE in the title. The word is almost magical. People who use this word effectively in their marketing campaigns, see massive success.
We are constantly looking for free tools, free plugins, free accounts, free resources and so, naturally, if your blog has this word in Titles, descriptions, special offers you will have higher traffic, higher conversions, higher email open rates, etc. This is one of the most popular power word and you should play with it to see how it plays out for you!
5. EASY
There are many complexities in our lives and that is why we crave for easy ways to get our work done. I am sure you search on Google too, for easy way to write blog posts, easy ways to manage WordPress, easy ways to remember names, easy methods for solving this problem or that problem etc.
That means, when you find a title that says it is about to teach you to do something in easy ways, you are more likely to open the post and go through it. I know I do it all the time.
So, as a blogger, when you are engaged in content marketing, you want to use the power word ‘Easy’ in your titles, descriptions, sub-headings to make sure your target audience is able to notice the word when they come across your post/page. This simply increases your chances of getting your blog posts read. Your blog simply gets empowered to have higher open rates and better traffic in an easy way!
6. NEW
People love New things (to the extent that they sometimes, are ready to forget the reality for sake of something new). People are willing to believe in fantasy for something which seems new. It’s amazing and here is the newest proof I came across recently.
The other day, I was with a family friend here and at dinner, they were so excited to show me a new Hindi TV series by entitled, 'Mahabharat' currently running on Star Plus channel in India. Since, I didn’t know about it, they showed me one episode of this New Mahabharat and I was completely disgusted the way the producers and directors have misrepresented the entire epic. I feel that the script is an intentional attempt to distort the original story of Mahabharat and a complete insult to its original author.
But people seem to be spending time watching this distorted New Mahabharat because they are loving the graphics and the drama.
The word new, brings a sense of latest and usually, we see to love it. New gadgets, new albums, new songs, new movies and so on. Everyone seems to gravitate towards the newest, the latest.
Similarly, if you plan to leverage the power of ‘New’ in your blog posts, you are set to attract more visitors to your website. You can share some reviews on new products and services, new guides to do things, new techniques to fix some problems etc. If you try this technique, you will reap the benefit of this power word!
My Question To You
Have you implemented some of these power words in your blogging career? Have you used these power words in your online marketing campaigns so far? How have these impacted your marketing strategy?
Please share your thoughts/experience or recommendations of new power words through your comments. Thank you kindly!
Hi Kumar, and welcome back 🙂
Nice to have you back, and I’m sure you had a lovely and rejuvenating trip 🙂
Oh yes….I’ve used all of these power words, but never gave it a thought that they were perhaps making my content or post better. I use a lot of these words in my post and work, and you are right about using the word ‘You’, as it addresses the reader and they feel as if the post is written just for them, thus, they relate much better to it.
Similar is the case with the rest of the words. Lol….I know the serial you are talking about because my kids started watching a little of it, but once they realized it wasn’t the real version, they let go of that serial. But as you mentioned, anything new, different, or unique, gets all the eyes of people. It’s the same with blogging and writing our content. I think what matters most is that you add that punch into your lines, which happens only through the power of such words that make an impact on people….we need to think of more of them, isn’t it?
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Hi Harleena,
Yes, people seem to love the word NEW. Otherwise, that New Mahabharat is nothing more than any other serials like “Kyon Ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi” with average dialogues, disrespectful dialogues and unauthentic scenes. But, it amazes me how people tolerate such things.
But then, coming to our business, glad that you liked these words and I am sure you have used them many many times. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Regards,
Kumar
Hello Kumar,
I’ve used those 6 and a few more, simply as part of the writing process. A book you may be interested in that I have and recommend is entitled, “More Words That Sell” ~ A thesaurus to help you promote your products, services, and ideas.
The author is Richard Bayan, who uses a number of categories such as cerebral, emotional, health and fitness.
Here are a few from the magic-response words section:
Amazing
Bargain
Bonus
like magic
Powerful
Save
Special discount
Do have an excellent day, my friend! Remember: You’re awesome! 🙂
Hi Bill,
I am certainly going to get a copy of this book. I think, coming from you, it is definitely a must read. Thank you for sharing about the book and also, these additional power words!
Regards,
Kumar
Hey Kumar,
I liked some of the power words, but the one that i never thought of using was NEW!
Like HELLO! It seems so obvious especially since I’m such a tech nerd, I always want the coolest and the newest things to tinker and toy with, so why would my audience (like minded people) want the same stuff!
I’m going to work on implement, NEW recipes, NEW workouts, and NEW tools into the mix!
Thanks,
Zach
Thank you for dropping by and sharing your thoughts Zach.
Glad to know you found the post useful. You are doing a great job with your blog as well.
See you around!
-Kumar
Hi Kumar,
This post of yours goes hand in hand with the post I wrote 3 weeks ago about “hypnotic writing.”
The reasons why those words work so well on people is because they are what is called “hypnotic” which means that they make people react, and react in a positive way, for the most part.
When you know how to use those words at the right place and time, you make the reader or listener pay attention and act in a positive way because it makes them feel good.
Thank you for this interesting topic, because more people need to know about this.
Thank you for the reminder of that post Sylviane! I remember going through the post and yes, these words can be classified in the same categories! Great point!
Hope you are having a great start of this brand new week!
Regards,
Kumar
Kumar,
What a timely post for me. I’ve been dabbling with titles lately. These are great words to use and good reasons why. I have to get it in my mindset when I’m writing to use these words, not only in the title but the content too.
YOU is powerful “because” it is talking to an audience. When I see that word, my mind immediately responds to it. (mental note…..use You more often!)
New is another word that captures attention. Everyone wants to see something that is new. Even you did! The conversation you had made you take action and watch that show. Even though it is terrible, you watched it! I fall for that stuff all the time too. lol
I must say Kudos to Bill Butler’s comment. He has such a great way with words!
-Donna
Hi Donna,
I agree with you about Bills amazing ability to play with words! If I can go to somebody for suggestions on words, undoubtably it’s him 🙂
And yes, that terrible TV show is still popular among people in cities. I guess people have all kinds of taste these days 🙂
Have a great week!
Regards,
Kumar
Hope you are not suffering from jet lag 😉
Anyways, good to have you back, Kumar!
Some of these words are amazing (I do use them regularly…but that just happens. I don’t really plan ahead and try to use those words. Perhaps I should :D) while others (like free) don’t really seem charming. I understand the effects, but I remember reading a study/research on the effect of having words like free on the email subject (the study claimed that people are less likely to open those emails..since so many people use those words – so the power they have over people decreases).
I personally think it depends upon the person (I mean, if we are in marketing, we may be able to detect these and avoid potential time wastes and/or scams).
Anyways, thank you for sharing this, Kumar 🙂 Hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Yes Jeevan, I am back to normal now. No jet lag anymore 🙂 Thanks for checking!
And you are right about the word FREE that it gets abused by a lot of people in ways it should not be used. But then, that’s their problem. It’s just like money. Money is powerful tool in your hand. If you use it for the right causes, it brings more power and admiration to you. However, you use it the wrong way for the wrong reasons, and you can be in trouble.
With great power comes great responsibility. We must know how to use these power words so we benefit from them.
Great points by the way. You really made me think today 🙂
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar! It’s so great to see you back.
Power words or words that make people take action are words I spend a lot of time researching as an online marketer and business owner.
Not only are they powerful within blogs and titles, but also in our email headlines and other marketing collateral. We have such a short amount of time to grab someone’s attention. Every letter and word needs to count!
Hello Rebekah,
Thank you for the warm welcome and Happy New Year to you!
You are right about the amount of time we have to get somebody’s attention. We better make use of that opportunity the best way possible!
Have a wonderful week!
Regards,
Kumar
Hey Kumar,
In the past I never gave this much thought actually because I didn’t consider myself a writer so I never understood what draws people in, etc. I had to go through that learning stage and that’s when I stepped back myself and had to ask those same questions, what drew me in the most about what they shared.
I have a whole list of power words but although I don’t pay attention as much with my content as far as specifically using some I know they work wonders for my sales material. They definitely do make a huge difference my friend and especially in those headlines.
Thank you for pointing this out and I’m sure those who weren’t aware of how powerful some words can be will definitely pay attention more now.
Have a glorious week.
~Adrienne
Thank you Adrienne! I am sure I am having a great week so far! I hope you are having a great time as well!
The concept of power words are really awesome and it amazes me how much impact these words make in the way we impact people around us.
I am still building my list and I am excited about reading the book Bill suggested today!
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar,
Nice. I’ve never heard about using ‘power words’ for your blog or knowing that some words have such power. Absolutely awesome. I definitely appreciate this and will now work to incorporate them into my posts.
I like best ‘you’ and I have used that throughout because it always made me feel like I was talking directly to the reader. Great to know I was using a power word without knowing it. Awesome.
These are great and I will be working to use them to help my blog for this year. Thanks for the advice.
Thanks,
Barbara
Hi Barbara,
Some of us are gifted and some of us need to learn 🙂
I needed to learn these communication techniques as I progressed with my career and met other successful people.
Nevertheless I am still learning and growing and this list of power words and their usage is still growing. I am sure you feel the same way.
Have a successful week!
Regards,
Kumar
Nice to see you back Kumar, I try use these words often – not always in the blog posts but via social media when sharing content. I will try to use these more often in headings or sub headings. I’ve also head How To is a another one that works well. I’ve used “you” often but I do not think I’ve used “because.” Something to consider, thanks for sharing these with us!
Hi Lisa,
Yes, it’s nice to be back in action. Thank you 🙂
Glad you found it helpful. I have personally felt compelled to read something that solves a problem and ‘because’ is a great way to get the attention for people like me.
Have a successful week!
-Kumar
Hi Kumar, I love using easy in my posts but I didn’t realise it was a power word until I read your article.
I’m always using words like terrific, fabulous and amazing. I get told how terribly un-British I am for doing so, but that’s also how I speak so I’ll keep doing it!
I’m now going to try a few more on your list 🙂
Hello Sarah,
In this Information Age, we are all equipped with all kind of statistics and intelligence! A couple of decades ago, getting this kind of data, this kid of research would be almost impossible for common people. Today, we can learn these techniques and empower ourselves and our businesses with this kind of research based statistics. Isn’t that amazing?
Glad to know you have been using some of these power words already and also, thank you for sharing your words of appreciation.
Regards,
Kumar
Hi Kumar,
Great post with awesome advice. I have been using some of these words and not realizing they were helping as much as they do. Thanks for sharing.
Monna
Hello Monna,
Thank you for dropping by and sharing your testimonial about some of these power words.
Glad to know you found it helpful.
Have a great week!
-Kumar
Hey Kumar,
As I was reading this post, I was thinking about this book by Noah St. John entitled “The secret Code Of Success”, where he used empowered questions called afformations instead of using affirmations to help motivate and improve yourself.
There is a unique, attractive energy within these words that you mention. I’ve used these words in my blog and in person and it makes a difference when people respond to you. I use a headline analyzer for my blog titles and the first sentence of my post. Whenever I come up with a title, and put these words in them, I tend to get a higher score with the analyzer. Especially when I add the word ‘You’.
These words, as i look at them, gives some type of positive reinforcement that we all long for. I guess you can say it conjures up who we really are deep down inside. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, you really use scientific methods to measure how impactful your headlines are going to be? That’s incredible!
And you are right about these power words being positive, connecting and empowering. These words cause us to connect with the author and motivate us to act or find an answer.
Thank you for sharing about the book. Now, I’ve two book recommendations from two people on this post! I guess my post has been a source for learning for me too 🙂
Have a successful week!
-Kumar
Hello Kumar,
All that you’ve mentioned here is very true and if used properly, is sure to garner success especially in all manner of challenges that generally involve emotion and persuasion.
However, I am not very comfortable with the inclusion of the ‘new’ element. This is because, using the term ‘new’ has many possible reversals or undesirable effects which you may not be able to foresee.
For instance, while a new movie, gadget or car may generate interest and a lot of curiosity, a new idea that challenges our faith or the dumbness of our ideas may not be well received. This is because man has ego – and a serious one at that!
When using the word ‘new’ in persuasion or sales, it is my one cent that it should only relate to things that actually make your client feel good, enjoy himself better or boosts his ego and not ideas and ask him/her to think, change their belief system or exposes the absurdity of their thoughts.
Great article I must say…one of the most inspiring I have read this year!
Always,
Terungwa
That’s absolutely true about “NEW”, Terungwa. However, the point is not about what happens as an aftermath of the using this power word. The whole idea is about getting attention of the reader or persuading them to take action, isn’t it?
Now, no matter which power word we use, if our intentions are not right or, if we are not really adding value to the reader, the end result will be a disaster anyway, right?
That’s what I am talking about here. Anyways, what I guess you are suggesting is that we should also be genuine in our approach and writing. And that is a very important thing. Thank you!
Regards,
Kumar
Thanks for the response, Kumar…but you got me wrong. My thoughts are to the effect that in some cases (listed in my original comment), ‘no’ may not be a power word. Infact, it may negatively affect the whole persuasion process!
Always,
Terungwa
Hi Terungwa,
May be I didn’t catch your perspective. However, we are not far off the central point of our discussion still. There is no word which can be universally used in every situation. A little common sense always needs to be applied in pretty much everything.
There are many situations where you can’t even use any of these power words. For example, you can offer a FREE ebook. But you can’t offer many other things for FREE. The idea is that these are powerful words which can be helpful in persuasion/motivation process if used in the right sense.
Any power, used incorrectly is always destructive. We need to be careful and that word of caution is definitely is a personal responsibility we all must take. Do you agree?
Thanks for dropping by again and extending this conversation 🙂
Regards,
-Kumar
Hello Kumar,
I must acknowledge your genius in what you do. I must also say, ‘hey Kumar, you’ve got the gist of what I was saying now!’
There’s no law without an exception – or caveat. It’s excellent that you’ve expressed that.
I enjoy our conversations very much!
Always,
Terungwa
Hi Kumar,
I have at some point in my blogging used all of these words. But the most powerful and useful word I would say is “You”. By using this word, we can actually make the reader relate with the content and make him feel as if the whole thing has been written specially for him or her. And that is the basic idea behind blogging, to engage your readers with your content.
Thanks for throwing light on this issue.
Regards,
Vineet
I also like the word “You” Vineet and I should mention it, it’s not easy during the initial days. As a new blogger, I used to fear using that word thinking people might feel offended or might think I am trying to teach them something. However, eventually I realized that by not talking to the reader directly, I am not connecting with them 🙂 and then things changed.
Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts today. Have a great rest of the week!
Regards,
-Kumar
Thanks sir to sharing your such a great words ,it’s really helpful for me.Now i will try to follow your all words.it’s trully great article for all the readers and your followers evryone should follow all these words to achieve success in their life.I like this website alot.
Great tips Kumar. Other than YOU and FREE, I never really thought about others. Your list has opened a who new array of ideas for me. Thanks for the steady stream of wonderful ideas!
Hello Kumar, First of all Congratulation to you for nice post. You received a positive response with this post. Well, now be honest Kumar, yes I have used these common words in my career. These are daily use's words & I use them daily But I'm not a professional writer. I'm not only one person who has used these words but most of people daily use these words.
I read number of post on the content writing and in all the websites almost all the post are about how to write content. In no one’s post it is about the power words. I am hearing first time about the power word and it’s really meaningful and unique post. I also want to know more power words.
Hello Kumar! What a great post I do know that words are powerful and have written these down. Like the Nike says”Just Do It!” great post my friend Thanks for sharing Chery :))
Hi, Kumar!
As usually your post taught me new things. In my posts I try to use the word YOU, but still need more practice to use it correctly. Now I’ll know more powerful words when writing my blog posts. Thank you!
Hello; This post was an eye opener. I had no idea these words had such power. I have never personally used them on purpose to cause higher email open or click through rates. and i wanted to complement you on how much your writing has improved. since i first started reading your posts. Your words flow much more smoothly now. I’m very impressed. Thanks for the post. Take care, max
Hello Max,
Thank you for the compliment and I am sure I agree with you 🙂 I see my own previously written posts and I can’t believe how much improvement can we make if we just stay consistent and work towards getting better, not just in blogging but in pretty much every area of our lives.
Happy New Year to you and I want to tell you that it’s so great to hear from you 🙂
Have a glorious week!
Regards,
Kumar
It looks like such a simple list of humble words, doesn’t it? But they are powerful in the message they send to our readers. Funny how that works. Tom “Big Al” Schreiter has a number of short phrases that work well when talking face to face with prospective business partners. Phrases that take the pressure out of the equation and make the other person lean toward you rather than making him want to run from you. That’s the best way to do it, I think. People don’t like to be sold. It’s so much better when what you say makes them WANT to hear more.
Willena
Hi Kumar,
I agree that “free” is one of the most powerful power words. I also agree that it will get you “higher traffic” and “higher email open rates”.
However, let me tell you why I use it very rarely. The traffic itself doesn’t pay my bills. The open rates themselves don’t pay my bills. Etc. We need money to pay the bills, don’t we? Well, the freebie hunters usually won’t pay the bills…
Everyone likes something free, there’s no doubt. Giving something for free to your loyal readers (not visitors) is just fine – if you do it from time to time. I repeat it… from time to time. However, if you’re too generous, you’re educating your visitors the wrong way…
Have you seen blogs that have tons of traffic while their bloggers publish embarrassing income reports? Guess why! The traffic itself won’t buy anything from you. The higher open rates don’t mean anything if very few people buy your stuff. The quality matters a lot. By targeting freebie hunters you’re not looking for quality 😉
I’ll stop here. I already revealed too much and if I don’t push quicker the button “Post Comment”, I’ll start to regret this comment. The rest is revealed in the book I write. Stay tuned. Shameless plug 🙂
Aha! That sounds very interesting Adrian! I will definitely look forward to your ebook.
And I agree with you about making money. But, as you said, we do it from time to time and whenever we do, it gets attention!
Thanks for sharing. Appreciate you adding value through your thoughts here!
Regards,
Kumar
YOU BECAUSE IMAGINE FREE EASY NEW from now i will use this concept to write any
post for my blogs
Few more can be… deal, discount, offer but i think they depends or your niche…
Totally excellent post Kumar!
Those six power words, without a doubt should be strategically sprinkled through out all of our
on and offline copy. And videos too!
Numbers 2,3 & 5, will definitely become more included in both my blog posts and instructional videos going forward. You really
did a fabulous job in demonstrating how to expertly apply them! Thanks!
Thank you Mark! I appreciate you taking time to go through them and then sharing your experience. That is awesome! I will be heading to your blog and explore your usage of these words soon 🙂
Have a productive week my friend!
Regards,
Kumar
Hi, Mr. Kumar. I just only use ‘Free and new’ words, in my blog. May be next time i will use another power words in my blogs. Thanks for ideas
Thanks for inspirational article.it will help all readers to increase confidence and achieve success in life. feeling glad on being here!
Hi! Kumar Gauraw,
I really appreciate your way of writing about how to make a better content. I am sure now on words i wrote any article i’ll take care above point in my life time.
Thanks for sharing this tips.
Thanks for Wonderful article.it will help all readers to increase confidence and achieve success in life.
Hi,
Great Post. Thanks for sharing. It will help a lot to develop writing skills 🙂
According to me YOU and FREE! Recently i have discovered 26 brilliant words to be used on Internet. Check them out 🙂 It will make you laugh