How to Use Power Words to Compel Your Audience

Power words can alter the impact of your writing tremendously. They can take your writing from good to great. But they’re often used inappropriately because their function is misunderstood. In this post, we look at what power words are, why they’re important to use, and how to use them.

What Are Power Words?

Writers use power words to provoke a certain reaction from their readers and, ideally, get them to take a certain action (such as signing up for a newsletter, buying a product, or clicking a link).

Although these types of words are more common in copywriting, they appear in all digital marketing spheres (social, email, and content marketing) and even in fiction.

The eight main types of power words – curiosity, greed, fear, encouragement, laziness, lust, anger, and safety – are identified by the type of emotion they aim to trigger.

Using well-placed power words in your writing can help you achieve your goals and increase your conversions.

Why Use Power Words for Content Writing?

Used properly, power words can trigger a specific emotion in your reader. This response will make them more likely to take the action you want. A well-placed and well-written call to action (CTA) can increase your conversions and sales.

How to Use Power Words

Power words are effective only when used properly. But how can you use them to their maximum effect?

Choose the Right Word

Choosing the right word for the context is important. Otherwise, the word will lose its impact or give an impression completely different from the one you intended. The East Oregonian newspaper found this out the hard (and hilarious) way. When reporting on the debut of an ambidextrous baseball pitcher, they mistakenly called the person amphibious.

Don’t Overuse Them

It might be tempting to use as many power words as possible to pack a punch. But this practice tends to have the opposite effect. Power words begin to lose their potency when they’re overused. Using a few well-placed examples, rather than stuffing your content with them, is best. You’ll find this approach much more effective.

Don’t Overpromise and Underdeliver

Well-chosen power words are great at convincing readers to take a specified action, but readers will become frustrated if you can’t deliver on the promise you make. For example, if you promise to share a solution to a customer’s problem, you need to do so. Otherwise, the customer will feel misled and quickly “bounce.” That is, they’ll stop reading your content and won’t engage any further.

Sample Power Words List

Below is a list of example words you can use in your content, grouped under the emotion they’re intended to evoke. We hope you can use this list as a quick reference point when writing your content. Of course, the list isn’t exhaustive, and you can use other words.

Curiosity

Classified	Insane	Secret
Elusive	Myths	Unbelievable
Interesting	Outlawed	Forgotten
Remote	Unlock	Trade secret

For example: 

Lifetime’s Truly Unbelievable Movie Series Is Bringing New Movies to Your Saturday Nights

Greed

Bargain	Exclusive	Prize
Cheap	Fortune	Soaring
Treasure	Save	Bonus
Guilt-free	Pay zero	Quick

For example: 

5 Guilt-Free Foods in Your Kitchen

Fear

Apocalypse	Devastating	Teetering
Catastrophe	Gambling	Volatile
Embarrass	Disastrous	Tragedy
Caution	Nightmare	Jeopardy

For example: 

Five Things We Can Learn from Gambling About Finance

Encouragement

Astonishing	Dazzling	Jaw-dropping
Blissful	Genius	Spectacular
Stunning	Legendary	Awe-inspiring
Successful	Fearless	Brilliant

For example:

Advertising’s Legendary Letter

Lazy

Cheat sheet	How-to	On demand
Child’s play	Kick-start	Template

For example: 

The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Mastering Mobile Marketing

Lust

Brazen	Hypnotic	Obsession
Crave	Mind-blowing	Shameless

For example:

Mind-blowing Pringles ad reveals how you have evolved to eat the irresistible crisps

Anger

Boil over	Disgusting	Ruthless
Corrupt	Preposterous	Vicious

For example:

What You Can Learn from the Most Ruthless Marketing Campaign in the World

Safety

Authentic	Dependable	Scientifically proven
Best selling	Guaranteed	Well-respected

For example:

Becoming A Freelance Writer

If you’d like to see how power words fit into content marketing more broadly, take a look at our course. Becoming A Freelancer guides you through the process of writing blogs and articles, from researching and outlining to building a freelance business. If you’re still unsure about whether this career is for you, why not try it for free?