Do you want to improve your conversions without spending a ton of time testing different designs and layouts? You could see a 12.7% increase in your conversion rates simply by sprinkling a few power words into your copy. In this post, we’ll share a list of 700+ power words that you can cut-and-paste to boost your website conversions.
Exclusive Bonus: Download our 700+ Power Words Cheatsheet to Boost Your Conversions.
What are Power Words?
Power words are words that smart copywriters use to trigger a psychological or emotional response. They’re called “power words” because they are so persuasive that people simply can’t resist being influenced by them!
But power words aren’t just for copywriters. They can be used by any marketer-even inexperienced ones-to motivate people to take a specific action on their website.
In fact, Teespring increased their conversions by 12.7%, just by adding a few power words to their call-to-action!
Are you ready to add some power words to your marketing arsenal? Here are over 700 of them that you can use to trigger just about any emotion, for any conversion goal…
Greed Words
Greed is the natural human tendency to want more stuff than we actually need.
These power words can trigger that tendency by playing on scarcity and loss aversion, or simply by making something sound more valuable.
How to Boost Conversions with Greed Words
Rich Page tested two different headlines on his exit popup. The first headline read, “Is Your Website Optimized for High-Sales? Grab my free conversion toolbox and start succeeding!”
This version converted much better than the first, and with this optimized popup, he was able to increase his signup rate from 12% to 50%!
Curiosity Words
According to curiosity-drive theory, curiosity is a naturally occurring urge that simply must be satisfied, similar to how we satisfy hunger by eating or thirst by drinking.
These power words will make your blog post headlines, email subject lines and landing page headlines impossible to resist.
How to Boost Conversions with Curiosity Words
Take a look at this example from a thank-you page on Mary Fernandez’s site after someone opts in for their email list.
How many power words can you spot?
Sloth is the avoidance of work: people are not motivated to do more than the absolute minimum work to achieve their online aims.
Use these power words to make your lead magnets sound more digestible, to make your products sound more useful, and to make your headlines more enticing.
Here’s an example of a blog post headline we’ve used that works like gangbusters…
Can you spot all the power words?
Lust is usually thought of as sexual, but it’s actually just an intense desire for any item. When we lust after something, we crave it so badly that we stop thinking rationally.
Use these tantalizing power words to amplify that craving.
List25 uses a lust word combined with curiosity words to make for an irresistibly provocative headline…
You may not think of yourself as “vain”, however, researchers have found that vanity is one of the chief driving forces that lead to purchase decisions.
The fact is, we buy into things because of how we think they will make us look: both to others, and to ourselves. And it’s not just that we want to look good physically, but we also want to look successful.
Use these power words to show how your offer (whether it’s a product, service, or lead magnet) will make your visitor look more attractive and more successful.
Snack Nation uses one carefully chosen power word to increase conversions on their popup…
(Bonus points if you also noticed that the words “without lifting a finger” is a great sloth power phrase, even though we didn’t include it in this list.)
Trust Words
Have you ever stopped to think that trust is really what content and email marketing is all about?
Whether you are writing blog posts, creating signup forms, sending emails, or tweaking your product pages, the real purpose behind all of that is to build trust between the consumer and your brand.
Use these power words to speed up the trust-building process.
In this test at Teespring, the power words “don’t worry” were added in the fine print below the call to action button and tested against a control…
Anger Words
Anger has a huge influence on our perception, reasoning, and decisions. It makes us irrational, which can lead to choices that actually have no bearing on the thing that initially made us angry.
Stirring up the emotion of anger in your visitors and customers is a bad idea, when it is targeted at your company. However, it can also work for you, if the anger is directed at something else.
Think about what makes your prospect angry about your industry. Stir up those emotions with these power words, and then provide the solution.
How to Boost Conversions with Trust Words
Advertisements that use anger have been shown to be highly effective. In a study by researchers from Dartmouth and Cornell, anti-smoking TV commercials that used anger to appeal to the viewer’s emotions were more persuasive than those that used sadness.
This ad from Harley Davidson received a lot of praise for blatantly stating the angry, rebellious thoughts on people’s minds in regard to the economy.
Fear is perhaps the most powerful motivator of all. It’s that primal instinct that keeps us safe, that keeps us alive.
How to Boost Conversions with Anger Words
If you want to inspire your readers to take action-whether that’s sharing your blog post, downloading your lead magnet, or buying your product-use these power words to make them fearful of what might happen if they don’t.
(Just make sure you don’t completely paralyze them with fear: also provide an actionable solution to their problem.)
Jon Morrow, known for his fear-inducing blog posts, uses power words to get his visitors to read and take action.
Here’s an example:
Don’t be a slave to the endless grind of tweaking and testing when you can simply copy the words that the experts use.
Power words are a cinch to implement, and they work like magic. With this complete list, you are now equipped to turbo charge your conversions in record time!
How to Increase Conversions with Fear Words
Exclusive Bonus: Download our 700+ Power Words Cheatsheet to Boost Your Conversions.