Thursday, June 14, 2018

595 Power Words That’ll Instantly Make You a Better Writer

Looking for a quick way to give your writing more punch?

Maybe a little personality or pizzazz – that extra little “oomph” that makes the reader pay attention?

Well, good news:

“Power words” are the answer, and you can wake up put them in place in a matter of minutes. This post gives you areference lists of power words, examples of power words being used — everything you need to hit the ground running.

Let’s jump in.

What Is a “Power Word,” Exactly?


Rather than describe what I mean, let’s deconstruct an example from the great Winston Churchill:

We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.

Inspiring, right?

Well, there was a lot on the line. Under attack from Germany, Britain was fighting for its survival, and somehow, someway, Churchill had to find a way to inspire his countrymen to greatness.

He chose words. Or, to be more accurate, power words.

Let’s take a look at the passage again, this time with all the power words underlined:

We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.

Each underlined word makes the audience feel something. In this case, Churchill intermixes words that cause fear, such as “struggle,” “tyranny,” and “terror,” with words that cause hope, such as “strength,” “God,” and “victory.” The last, in particular, is repeated over and over, practically drilling the emotion into the minds of the audience.

It’s no accident. Smart speakers, as well as their speechwriters, sprinkle their speeches with carefully-chosen power words, drawing the audience from one emotion to another as skillfully as any novelist or screenwriter.

Granted, that’s not all they do. The best writers use an entire tool chest of techniques to create emotion, and power words are only one such tool.

But there’s good news.

For beginning writers, power words are one of the easiest tools to master. Unlike many storytelling strategies which can take years of practice to master, you can start sprinkling power words into your writing, and you’ll notice an immediate lift in the quality of your prose.

All you lack is a list of power words to use, but of course, I have you covered there too. 🙂

 

595 Power Words and Phrases to Start Using Immediately


For years now, every time I mentioned power words to my students, someone always asked:

“Where can I get a list? Is there a book I can buy?”

Sadly, not that I’m aware of.  That’s why I created this list.

Slowly, over a period of several weeks, I catalogued all the power words that jumped out to me, organizing them into categories based on the emotion you want to create, so you can easily find the right word. In the future, I’ll also update the list, adding new words on a regular basis to make it the most comprehensive list of power words available anywhere.

It costs nothing. All I ask in return is you share it with your friends and readers when appropriate, helping it reach the people who need it most.

Enjoy.

Our Giant Curated List of Power Words


 
FEAR ENCOURAGEMENT LUST ANGER
Agony Amazing Allure Abhorrent
Apocalypse Ascend Arouse Abuse
Armageddon Astonishing Bare Annoying
Assault Astounding Begging Arrogant
Backlash Audacious Beguiling Ass kicking
Beating Awe-inspiring Brazen Backstabbing
Beware Awesome Captivating Barbaric
Blinded Backbone Charm Bash
Blood Badass Cheeky Beat down
Bloodbath Beat Climax Big mouth
Bloodcurdling Belief Crave Blatant
Bloody Blissful Delight Brutal
Blunder Bravery Delirious Bullshit
Bomb Breathtaking Depraved Bully
Buffoon Brilliant Desire Cheat
Bumbling Celebrate Dirty Clobber
Cadaver Cheer Divine Clown
Catastrophe Colossal Ecstacy Cocky
Caution Command Embrace Corrupt
Collapse Conquer Enchant Coward
Corpse Courage Enthralling Crooked
Crazy Daring Entice Crush
Cripple Defeat Entrance Curse
Crisis Defiance Excite Debase
Danger Delight Explicit Defile
Deadly Devoted Exposed Delinquent
Death Dignity Fascinate Demolish
Deceiving Dominate Forbidden Desecrate
Destroy Effortless Frisky Disgusting
Devastating Empower Goosebumps Dishonest
Disastrous Epic Hanker Distorted
Doom Excellent Heavenly Evil
Drowning Excited Hottest Exploit
Dumb Extraordinary Hypnotic Force-fed
Embarrass Eye-opening Impure Foul
Fail Fabulous Indecent Freaking out
Feeble Faith Intense Full of shit
Fired Fantastic Intoxicating Greedy
Fool Fearless Itching Gross
Fooled Ferocious Juicy Harass
Frantic Fierce Kinky Hate
Frightening Force Kiss High and mighty
Gambling Fulfill Lascivious Horrid
Gullible Glorious Lewd Infuriating
Hack Glory Lick Jackass
Hazardous Graceful Lonely Kick
Hoax Grateful Longing Kill
Holocaust Grit Love Knock
Horrific Guts Lure Knock Out
Hurricane Happy Luscious Know it all
Injure Heart Lush Lies
Insidious Hero Lust Livid
Invasion Honor Mischievous Loathsome
IRS Hope Mouth-watering Loser
Jail Incredible Naked Lying
Jeopardy Jaw-dropping Naughty Maul
Lawsuit Jubilant Nude Misleading
Looming Legend Obscene Money-grubbing
Lunatic Life-changing Orgasmic Nasty
Lurking Magic Passionate Nazi
Massacre Marvelous Pining No Good
Meltdown Master Pleasure Obnoxious
Menacing Mind-blowing Provocative Oppressive
Mired Miracle Racy Pain in the ass
Mistake Miraculous Raunchy Payback
Murder Noble Risque Perverse
Nightmare Perfect Rowdy Pesky
Painful Persuade Salacious Pest
Pale Phenomenal Satisfy Phony
Panic Pluck Saucy Pissed off
Peril Power-Up Scandalous Pollute
Piranha Praise Seduce Pompous
Pitfall Prevail Seductive Pound
Plague Remarkable Sensual Preposterous
Played Revel Sex Pretentious
Plummet Rule Shameless Punch
Plunge Score Sinful Punish
Poison Seize Sleazy Rampant
Poor Sensational Sleeping Ravage
Prison Spectacular Spank Repelling
Pummel Spine Spellbinding Repugnant
Pus Spirit Spicy Revile
Reckoning Splendid Steamy Revolting
Refugee Spunk Stimulating Rotten
Revenge Staggering Strip Rude
Risky Strengthen Sweaty Ruined
Scary Striking Tantalizing Ruthless
Scream Strong Taste Savage
Searing Stunning Tawdry Scam
Shatter Stunt Tease Scold
Shellacking Supreme Tempting Sick and tired
Silly Surprising Thrilling Sink
Slaughter Terrific Tickle Slam
Slave Thrive Tight Slander
Strangle Thwart Tingle Slap
Stupid Titan Turn on Slay
Tailspin Tough Unabashed Smash
Tank Tremendous Uncensored Smear
Targeted Triumph Untamed Smug
Teetering Unbeatable Untouched Sniveling
Terror Unbelievable Urge Snob
Terrorist Unforgettable Voluptuous Snooty
Torture Unique Vulgar Snotty
Toxic Unleash Wanton Spoil
Tragedy Uplifting Wet Stuck up
Trap Valiant Whip Suck
Vaporize Valor Wild Terrorize
Victim Vanquish X-rated Trash
Volatile Victory Yearning Trounce
Vulnerable Win Yummy Tyranny
Warning Wonderful Underhanded
Worry Wondrous Up to here
Wounded Violate
       
       
GREED SAFETY FORBIDDEN  
Bank Above and beyond Ancient  
Bargain Anonymous Backdoor  
Best Authentic Banned  
Billion Automatic Behind the scenes  
Bonanza Backed Black Market  
Booked solid Bankable Blacklisted  
Cash Best-selling Bootleg  
Cheap Cancel anytime Censored  
Costly Certified Classified  
Discount Clockwork Cloak and dagger  
Dollar Endorsed Concealed  
Double Foolproof Confessions  
Explode Guaranteed Confidential  
Extra Ironclad Controversial  
Feast Lifetime Covert  
Fortune Money-back Cover-up  
Free No Obligation Exotic  
Freebie No Questions Asked Forbidden  
Frenzy No risk Forgotten  
Frugal No strings attached From the vault  
Gift No-fail Hidden  
Golden Official Hush-hush  
Greatest Permanent Illegal  
High-paying Privacy Insider  
Inexpensive Professional Little-known  
Jackpot Protected Lost  
Lowest price Proven Never seen before  
Luxurious Recession-proof Off the record  
Marked down Refund Off-limits  
Massive Reliable Outlawed  
Money Research Private  
Money-draining Results Restricted  
Money-saving Risk-free Sealed  
Nest egg Rock-solid Secret  
Pay zero Science-backed Smuggled  
Prize Scientific Strange  
Profit Secure Tried to hide  
Quadruple Sure-fire Unauthorized  
Reduced Survive Uncensored  
Rich Tested Under wraps  
Savings That never fails Undercover  
Six-figure Thorough Underground  
Skyrocket Trustworthy Under-the-table  
Soaring Try before you buy Undisclosed  
Surge Unconditional Unexpected  
Treasure Verify Unlock  
Triple World-class Unreachable  
Waste   Unspoken  
Wealth   Unveiled  
Whopping   Withheld  
 

The 7 Different Types of Power Words


As you can see in our giant list above, we’ve organized our power words into seven different types:

  1. Fear
  2. Encouragement
  3. Lust
  4. Anger
  5. Greed
  6. Safety
  7. Forbidden

These different types of power words all accomplish the same goal: They inspire emotion in your reader.

Let’s go over each type and see why they work.

Fear Power Words: Calling All Fearmongers

Fear Power Words

Let’s do a little experiment.

Just for a moment, stop reading this post, turn on the television, and go to a major news channel. Watch it for five minutes, listening for the words below.

Chances are, you’ll hear dozens of them. Here’s why:

Fear is without a doubt the most powerful emotion for grabbing and keeping an audience’s attention. To make sure you don’t change the channel, news networks load up with fear words, making you worry you might miss something important.

It’s effective. Granted, you can overdo it, but in my opinion, most writers don’t use these types of words nearly enough. They really do connect with people.

Here’s a bunch to get you started:
 

Agony Fool Plunge
Apocalypse Fooled Poison
Armageddon Frantic Poor
Assault Frightening Prison
Backlash Gambling Pummel
Beating Gullible Pus
Beware Hack Reckoning
Blinded Hazardous Refugee
Blood Hoax Revenge
Bloodbath Holocaust Risky
Bloodcurdling Horrific Scary
Bloody Hurricane Scream
Blunder Injure Searing
Bomb Insidious Shatter
Buffoon Invasion Shellacking
Bumbling IRS Silly
Cadaver Jail Slaughter
Catastrophe Jeopardy Slave
Caution Lawsuit Strangle
Collapse Looming Stupid
Corpse Lunatic Tailspin
Crazy Lurking Tank
Cripple Massacre Targeted
Crisis Meltdown Teetering
Danger Menacing Terror
Deadly Mired Terrorist
Death Mistake Torture
Deceiving Murder Toxic
Destroy Nightmare Tragedy
Devastating Painful Trap
Disastrous Pale Vaporize
Doom Panic Victim
Drowning Peril Volatile
Dumb Piranha Vulnerable
Embarrass Pitfall Plague
Fail Plague Worry
Feeble Played Wounded
Fired Plummet

 

Encouragement Power Words: Give Your Readers a Pep Talk

Encouragement Power Words

Let’s face it.

When they’re reading, most people aren’t exactly bouncing off the walls with energy and enthusiasm. They’re probably bored, maybe a little depressed, and almost definitely tired. And they’re looking for something, anything, that’ll wake them up and make them feel better.

The good news?

Your writing can do that for them. Use these power words to give them a pep talk and get them charged up again:
 

Amazing Fearless Score
Ascend Ferocious Seize
Astonishing Fierce Sensational
Astounding Force Spectacular
Audacious Fulfill Spine
Awe-inspiring Glorious Spirit
Awesome Glory Splendid
Backbone Graceful Spunk
Badass Grateful Staggering
Beat Grit Strengthen
Belief Guts Striking
Blissful Happy Strong
Bravery Heart Stunning
Breathtaking Hero Stunt
Brilliant Honor Supreme
Celebrate Hope Surprising
Cheer Incredible Terrific
Colossal Jaw-dropping Thrive
Command Jubilant Thwart
Conquer Legend Titan
Courage Life-changing Tough
Daring Magic Triumph
Defeat Marvelous Tremendous
Defiance Master Unbeatable
Delight Mind-blowing Unbelievable
Devoted Miracle Unforgettable
Dignity Miraculous Unique
Dominate Noble Unleash
Effortless Perfect Uplifting
Empower Persuade Valiant
Epic Phenomenal Valor
Excellent Pluck Vanquish
Excited Power-up Victory
Extraordinary Praise Win
Eye-opening Prevail Wonderful
Fabulous Remarkable Wondrous
Faith Revel
Fantastic Rule

 

Lust Power Words: Take a Page from Cosmopolitan (or Playboy)

Lust Power Words

Like it or not, lust is one of the core human emotions.

Just look at the men’s and women’s magazines in the checkout aisle, and you’ll see what I mean. Nearly every headline on the cover is either blatantly or indirectly about sex.

And it works, not just for men’s and women’s magazines, but for anything. As a writer, you can use words that inspire lust to make almost anything intriguing.

Here’s a lascivious list to get you started:
 

Allure Itching Sinful
Arouse Juicy Sleazy
Bare Kinky Sleeping
Begging Kiss Spank
Beguiling Lascivious Spellbinding
Brazen Lewd Spicy
Captivating Lick Steamy
Charm Lonely Stimulating
Cheeky Longing Strip
Climax Love Sweaty
Crave Lure Tantalizing
Delight Luscious Taste
Delirious Lush Tawdry
Depraved Lust Tease
Desire Mischievous Tempting
Dirty Mouth-watering Thrilling
Divine Naked Tickle
Ecstasy Naughty Tight
Embrace Nude Tingle
Enchant Obscene Turn on
Enthralling Orgasmic Unabashed
Entice Passionate Uncensored
Entrance Pining Untamed
Excite Pleasure Untouched
Explicit Provocative Urge
Exposed Racy Voluptuous
Fascinate Raunchy Vulgar
Forbidden Risque Wanton
Frisky Rowdy Wet
Goosebumps Salacious Whip
Hanker Satisfy Wild
Heavenly Saucy X-rated
Hottest Scandalous Yearning
Hypnotic Seduce Yummy
Impure Seductive
Indecent Sensual
Intense Sex
Intoxicating Shameless

 

Anger Power Words: Start a Riot

Anger Power Words

As writers, sometimes our job is to anger people.

Not for the fun of it, mind you, but because someone is doing something wrong, and the community needs to take action to correct it. The problem is, with wrongdoing, most people are pretty apathetic — they’ll wait until the situation becomes entirely intolerable to do anything, and by then, it’s often too late.

So, we have to fan the flames. By using the below power words, you can connect with people’s anger, and slowly but surely, you can work them into a frenzy. Just be careful who you target. Lawyers can eat you alive if you pick on the wrong person. 🙂
 

Abhorrent Gross Punish
Abuse Harass Rampant
Annoying Hate Ravage
Arrogant High and mighty Repelling
Ass kicking Horrid Repugnant
Backstabbing Infuriating Revile
Barbaric Jackass Revolting
Bash Kick Rotten
Beat down Kill Rude
Big mouth Knock Ruined
Blatant Knock out Ruthless
Brutal Know it all Savage
Bullshit Lies Scam
Bully Livid Scold
Cheat Loathsome Sick and tired
Clobber Loser Sink
Clown Lying Slam
Cocky Maul Slander
Corrupt Misleading Slap
Coward Money-grubbing TSlay
Crooked Nasty Smash
Crush Nazi Smear
Curse No good Smug
Debase Obnoxious Sniveling
Defile Oppressive Snob
Delinquent Pain in the ass Snooty
Demolish Payback Snotty
Desecrate Perverse Spoil
Disgusting Pesky Stuck up
Dishonest Pest Suck
Distorted Phony Terrorize
Evil Pissed off Trash
Exploit Pollute Trounce
Force-fed Pompous Tyranny
Foul Pound Underhanded
Freaking out Preposterous Up to here
Full of shit Pretentious Violate
Greedy Punch

 

Greed Power Words: Stomp on Their Greed Glands

Greed Power Words

The legendary copywriter Gary Halbert once said, “If you want people to buy something, stomp on their greed glands until they bleed.” Graphic, yes, but also true.

Skim through good sales copy, and you’ll find a lot of these power words. Many of them are so overused they’ve become cliché, but that doesn’t stop them from working.

The truth is, nearly every human being on the planet is interested in either making or saving money. Use these words to tap into those desires:
 

Bank Freebie Pay zero
Bargain Frenzy Prize
Best Frugal Profit
Billion Gift Quadruple
Bonanza Golden Reduced
Booked solid Greatest Rich
Cash High-paying Savings
Cheap Inexpensive Six-figure
Costly Jackpot Skyrocket
Discount Lowest price Soaring
Dollar Luxurious Surge
Double Marked down Treasure
Explode Massive Triple
Extra Money Waste
Feast Money-draining Wealth
Fortune Money-saving Whopping
Free Nest egg

 

Safety Power Words: Make Them Feel Safe

Greed isn’t the only emotion you want buyers to feel. You also want to make them feel safe.

They need to trust both you and your product or service. They need to have confidence you’ll deliver. They need to believe they’ll get results.

Of course, building that kind of trust starts with having a quality brand and reputation, but the words you use to describe yourself and your product or service also matter. To help your customers feel safe, try to use as many of these power words as possible:
 

Above and beyond No obligation Risk-free
Anonymous No questions asked Rock-solid
Authentic No risk Science-backed
Automatic No strings attached Scientific
Backed No-fail Secure
Bankable Official Sure-fire
Best-selling Permanent Survive
Cancel anytime Privacy Tested
Certified Professional That never fails
Clockwork Protected Thorough
Endorsed Proven Trustworthy
Foolproof Recession-proof Try before you buy
Guaranteed Refund Unconditional
Ironclad Reliable Verify
Lifetime Research World-class
Money-back Results

 

Forbidden Power Words: Offer Them a Forbidden Fruit

Forbidden Power Words

Remember when you were a kid, and someone told you NOT to do something? From that point on, you could think about little else, right?

The truth is, we’re all fascinated by the mysterious and forbidden. It’s like it’s programmed into our very nature.

So why not tap into that programming?

Whenever you need to create curiosity, sprinkle these power words throughout your writing, and readers won’t be able to help being intrigued:
 

Ancient Forbidden Smuggled
Backdoor Forgotten Strange
Banned From the vault Tried to hide
Behind the scenes Hidden Unauthorized
Black Market Hush-hush Uncensored
Blacklisted Illegal Under wraps
Bootleg Insider Undercover
Censored Little-known Underground
Classified Lost Under-the-table
Cloak and dagger Never seen before Undisclosed
Concealed Off the record Unexpected
Confessions Off-limits Unlock
Confidential Outlawed Unreachable
Controversial Private Unspoken
Covert Restricted Unveiled
Cover-up Sealed Withheld
Exotic Secret

 

Power Words in Action: 14 Places Where You Strong Words Can Help You


So, now that you have a big list of options to choose from, where are the primary places you should put power words to get the biggest “bang for your buck?”

Below you’ll find examples of power words being used in:

  1. Headlines
  2. Subheads
  3. Email Subject Lines
  4. Opt-in Boxes
  5. Home Page
  6. Sales Pages
  7. Testimonials
  8. Bullet Lists
  9. Business Names / Domain Names
  10. Product Names
  11. Buttons
  12. Author Bios
  13. Youtube Videos
  14. Book titles
  15. Ready to dive in?

#1. Using Power Words in Headlines

Any bloggers who’s been in the game for a while knows that the headline is the most important part of your article.

Its purpose, after all, is to entice the reader to read the rest of the article. If it fails to get attention, potential readers will ignore it when it shows up in their social media feed.

And just one or two power words in your headline is usually enough to make it stand out.

Just look at this headline from BuzzFeed:

Put Power Words in Your Headline

The word “Unveiled” makes it feel like a secret is being exposed, and the word “Breathtaking” makes you curious to see what the photo looks like.

Here’s another example from BoredPanda:

Put Power Words in Your Headline - BoredPanda

People generally love anything adorable, so this headline will easily catch attention. (The fact that it refers to snakes will only make people more curious.) The headline then drives it home by using the powerful verb “Conquer”.

Here’s one more from BrightSide:

Power Words in Your Headlines - BrightSide

While one or two power words are often enough, this headline proves you can use more when it fits. This headline has four powerful words, but they feel natural in the headline, which keeps it from feeling like over-the-top clickbait.

#2. Using Power Words in Subheads

Once people click on your headline, most will scan the post first to see if it looks worthy of their attention. Adding some power words to your subheads is a good way to make your post look like an interesting read.

For example, here are three subheads from our post on Ebook mistakes:

Use Power Words in Subheads

See how the power words in these subheads catch attention and make you want to read the text that follows?

#3. Using Power Words in Email Subject Lines

Having an email list is of little use if only few on your list open your emails.

And these days, most people’s inboxes are flooded, so they’re selective in which emails they open.

You can stand out in their inbox and raise your open rates by including power words in your subject lines.

Just look at this one from Ramit Sethi:

Use Power Words in Email Subject Lines - Ramit Sethi

If this subject line would’ve read “The rules of learning”, do you think it would be as appealing? The word “unspoken” is what makes it interesting.

Here’s another one from Cal Fussman:

Use Power Words in Email Subject Lines - Cal Fussman

Both “Triumph” and “Tragedy” are powerful words full of emotion.

And finally, here’s a good example from AppSumo:

Use Power Words in Email Subject Lines - Appsumo

The phrase “Unleash the power” makes you feel this email is hiding something incredibly powerful inside.

See how that works?

When you send out emails to your list, try and add a power word to your subject line to make it stand out in people’s inbox.

#4. Using Power Words in Opt-In Boxes

As a blogger, one of your main goals is to grow a large and engaged readership, and the best way to do so is through converting readers into subscribers.

That means you should have opt-in forms scattered across your website. You can place them on your homepage, at the end of your posts, in your sidebar, in a popup, or anywhere else.

But no matter where you place them, your opt-in boxes must catch people’s eye and make them want to share their email address with you. Because they won’t just give it away to everyone. (Remember, their inboxes are already flooded, so they’re not necessarily eager to get even more emails.)

Fortunately, you can use power words to make your offer more enticing.

Here’s an old popup from Cosmopolitan which is an excellent example:

Use Power Words in Opt-In Boxes - Cosmopolitan

This popup had power words everywhere, but it avoids feeling like overkill. I bet it converted like crazy.

Here’s a slightly more subtle example from Betty Means Business:

Use Power Words in Opt-In Boxes - Betty Means Business

It’s more subtle, but still quite effective.

Again, you don’t have to overdo it with the power words on these. A little can go a long way.

Here’s one final example from Renegade Planner:

Use Power Words in Pop-Up - Renegade Planner

Are you using power words in your opt-in boxes yet? If not, you should add some right away.

#5. Using Power Words on Your Home Page

Your home page is the face of your website and it’s usually one of the most visited pages. Many people who enter your website, will see this page first, and you want it to make a good first impression.

Some people use their home page to promote their email list, others use it to promote one of their products, and others use it as red carpet, welcoming new visitors and explaining what their site is all about.

In any case, your home page is a good spot to add a few power words, as it can determine whether people stay (and take the action you want them to take) or leave.

Look at this value proposition on the home page for Nerd Fitness:

Use Power Words on Your Home Page - Nerd Fitness

“Nerds”, “Misfits” and “Mutants” are unusual power words that work well for the audience Nerd Fitness is targeting. These words immediately separate his blog from all the other fitness blogs out there.

But they push it even further with “Strong”, “Healthy” and “Permanently”.

Here’s another value proposition from MainStreetHost’s home page:

Use Power Words on Your Home Page - MainStreetHost

It’s quite minimal, isn’t it? They just wrote down three power words and follow it up with a service they provide.

Of course, you don’t have to limit your use of power words to the top of your homepage. You can use it in other parts of the home page too, as Ramit Sethi does here in his list of what you’ll get when you sign up for his email list.

Use Power Words on Your Home Page - Ramit Sethi

Go look at your homepage now and see if you can find any areas you can spruce up with some power words.

#6. Using Power Words in Business Names/Blog Names

Your blog or business name should have an impact on people. Having a forgettable domain name is poison to your blog growth. You want a name that people can easily recall when they want to visit your site.

If you haven’t chosen your blog name yet (or if you’re thinking about rebranding),  you might use a power word to give it some punch. It’ll make you stand out from all the boring, forgettable brands.

Just take a look at the collection of blog names below and see how well they’ve incorporated power words:

Use Power Words in Business and Blog Names

#7. Using Power Words in Product Names

Just like you can use power words to spruce up your blog name, you can also use them to make your product names pack more of a punch.

It can make the difference between your potential customers thinking, “Ooh, this product sounds cool!” and them thinking, “Meh.”

Just check out this subscription product from Nerd Fitness:

Use Power Words in Product Names - Nerd Fitness

It has such a powerful name that you’d almost want to sign up without learning anything else. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a community of rising heroes?

Here’s another good example from Pat Flynn:

Use Power Words in Product Names - Pat Flynn Podcast

It’s a powerful name for his podcasting course that instantly informs you of the benefit.

So if you’re about to launch a product (or if you’ve launched a product with a tepid name), consider giving it a power word to make it pack a punch.

#8. Using Power Word on Sales Pages

You can also use power words to spruce up your sales pages and make them more effective at selling your products or services.

They will grab people’s attention when they arrive on the page, they will keep their attention as they scroll down, and they’ll help seduce readers before they reach your “buy” button.

Just look at this headline on Ramit Sethi’s sales page for his product 50 Proven Email Scripts (which also has a power word in its name):

Use Power Word on Sales Pages - Ramit Sethi

And as you scroll down, you see he keeps using power words throughout his sales page.

His headline is follow by subheads such as these:

Use Power Word on Sales Page Subheads - Ramit Sethi

And he even uses power words his guarantee:

Use Power Word on Sales Page Guarantees - Ramit Sethi

#9. Using Power Word in Testimonials

Power words are also tremendously effective in testimonials.

Of course, I’m not suggesting you change people’s testimonials to include power words. But you can certainly select  the ones that already use them to great effect.

Just look at this example from Betty Means Business:

Use Power Word in Testimonials - Betty Means Business

Or look at this one from Farideh’s blog:

Use Power Word in Testimonials - Farideh

And here’s another example from Renegade Planner:

Use Power Word in Testimonials - Renegade Planner

All these testimonials will lend extra credibility and excitement due to their power words and phrases.

#10. Using Power Words in Bullet Lists

Many sales pages include a list of benefits of the product that they’re selling. Many opt-in forms include a list of reasons you should sign up to their email list.

You can use power words in these lists to inspire more excitement in your reader as they read through it.

Here’s one example from Ramit Sethi’s sales page for his How to Talk to Anyone course:

Use Power Words in Bullet Lists - Ramit Sethi

And here’s another example from an opt-in form on Restart Your Style:

Use Power Words in Bullet Lists - Restart Your Style

Without these power words, these list wouldn’t convince nearly as many readers to buy or subscribe.

#11. Using Power Words in Button Copy

Yep, you can use power words in your button copy too, even if you only have a few words you can fit in there.

One of the most common power words used in buttons is “Free”, as in the example below:

But you can be more creative with buttons than you might think.

Takes this button from the sales page for the book The Renegade Diet:

Use Power Words in Button Copy

“Immediate”, “Money Back” and “Guarantee” are all incredibly powerful words, and the author manages to squeeze them all into one button.

Use Power Words in Button Copy - The Renegade Diet

And take this example from Tim Ferris’ popup:

Use Power Words in Button Copy - Tim Ferris

He could’ve used “Send Me the List” as most people would do, but “Unlock” makes it sound a lot more intriguing, like you’re getting access to something that’s been kept hidden away.

Now take a look at the buttons on your site. Do you see any opportunities to spruce them up with a power word?

#12. Using Power Words in Author Bios

Your author bio is another extremely important part of your marketing.

When you guest post for another blog, your author bio has the difficult job of making readers want to know more about you so they click through to your site.

That means your author bio needs to spark attention and interest. And you usually only get three sentences, so you need to carefully consider the words you use.

See this author bio from Henneke Duistermaat:

Using Power Words in Author Bios - Henneke Duistermaat

Henneke’s author bio is full of power words. It shows her uniqueness and makes her stand out from other copywriters.

You can tell she has carefully picked each word for maximum impact.

Here’s another examples from Sarah Peterson:

Using Power Words in Author Bios - Sarah Peterson

She opens strong immediately by mentioning her guides are insanely useful. And just the name of her report alone is full of power words: “Free”, “Reveal” and “Begging”.

Makes you want to get your hands on that report, doesn’t it?

#13. Using Power Words on Youtube Videos

If you’re publishing videos on youtube and you want to get more views, you should use power words in your titles as well.

All the biggest youtube channels do this. They understand that most of their views will come from their subscribers finding them in their feed, and from people finding them in the sidebar of other videos.

In both cases though, you’re competing with many other videos for their attention.

See how Philip DeFranco does it below:

Use Power Words on Youtube Videos - Philip DeFranco

“Disgusting”, “Punishment” and “Controversy” are all attention-grabbing words (and that’s besides the attention-grabbing names of Brock Turner, Star Wars and Kim Kardashian).

Note also how he has capitalized “Disgusting”. It’s another smart trick many youtube channels use to stand out more in youtube’s lists of video suggestions.

Style vlogger Aaron Marino often does it as well:

Use Power Words on Youtube Videos - Aaron Marino

By capitalizing the power words “Don’ts” and “Stupid”, his title catches a lot more attention (as you can see for yourself by the millions of views).

#14. Using Power Words in Book Titles

If you’re interested in writing your own book, adding power words to your titles will help it sell better. With all the competition in the book market these days, you need a title that grabs people’s attention and makes them want to peek inside.

Here are a few quick grabs from Amazon’s list of bestsellers in the self-help niche:

Use Power Words in Book Titles - Stephen Covey

I’m sure you’ve seen this title before. You might say Stephen Covey’s use of power words in his title has been highly effective. (See what I did there?)

Use Power Words in Book Titles - Mark Manson

Mark Manson’s bestselling title is packed with power. The power word “Subtle” juxtaposes well with the F-bomb in the title, and his use of “Counterintuitive” will spark some interest as well.

Use Power Words in Book Titles - Jen Sincero

Lastly, Jen Sincero’s encouraging book title makes you want to flip it open right away and read it in one go. The use of “Badass” alone will make it stand out in the self-development section, but her use of “Greatness” and “Awesome” in the subtitle truly seals the deal.
 

Go Ahead and Tell Me. What Words Did I Miss?


Yes, this is an enormous list, but so many power words are available, nobody can possibly catch them all on the first pass. What are some other words that seem to have that extra little spark of emotion inside them?

Leave your answer in the comments, and as time goes by, I’ll come back periodically and update the list. Eventually, I hope to have over 1,000 words here, separated and organized by category, making this the definitive resource for power words on the web.

Thanks in advance for commenting and sharing the post with your friends!

About the Author: Jon Morrow has asked repeatedly to be called “His Royal Awesomeness” but no one listens to him. So, he settles for CEO of Smart Blogger. Poor man. 🙂

The post 595 Power Words That’ll Instantly Make You a Better Writer appeared first on Smart Blogger.



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