Are you trying to take your blog to the next level by improving your writing skills? This is a great idea! Good writing is the foundation of a great blog. If you don’t have that, all of the videos and infographics in the world cannot help you.
One way to increase the effectiveness of your writing is to use power words. These are words and phrases that grab the reader’s attention and evoke an emotional reaction or a desire to take some kind of action. Here are 100 power words that you can begin incorporating into your blog, and some notes on how and why they are effective.
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Power Words that Encourage
These words are words that create a sense of encouragement. When readers see these words they feel courageous, ready to take on a difficult task, and empowered. These are great words to use when you want readers to be certain that they are not limited by personal difficulties. These power words are perfect when you wish to provide assurance that a difficult event or period of time is not insurmountable. Many of these power words can be used to lead into a call for action. This is because your readers will feel energized and more motivated to take action. Here are a few power words that encourage:
- Triumph
- Bravery
- Mind-blowing
- Magical
- Sensational
- Fearless
- Courage
- Hope
These are by no means the only power words that bring people encouragement, but they are quite powerful. Hopefully, knowing these words will help you to identify other power words that you can use when you want people reading your blog to feel encouraged and empowered. If you are posting on a subject that is heartbreaking or upsetting, you may find that these power words provide a needed balance to the news you are delivering.
Power Words that Make People Angry
Why would you want to make your readers angry? Actually, there are many reasons. Are you blogging about social issues? Are you trying to make your readers passionate about doing something to eradicate some horrible disease? Is there an injustice somewhere that you want to motivate your readers to address? Well, you do that by using power words that make them angry about the issue and ready to take meaningful action. Is your blog something that you use to market your products and services?
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If so, do not skip this section. You too can benefit from using power words that make readers angry. Shouldn’t they be angry if they have been receiving poor customer service from your competitors? Shouldn’t they be angry if they have been overcharged all this time? Take a look at these power words that evoke a healthy sense of anger:
- Arrogant
- Bully
- Underhanded
- Disrespectful
- Loathsome
- Crooked
- Foul
- Deceitful
- Lying
- Taken advantage of
- Misleading
Hopefully, when people see these words in your blog they feel the kind of anger that motivates them to get out and make changes. Try using these words in your blog posts, and you can motivate your readership to do anything from donating to a cause, writing a letter to the editor, or converting to your products and services.
Related: Tips That Will Get You in Your Writing Zone
You may wish to combine these power words with some power words that cause encouragement. After all, who is more effective than a person who is justifiably angry and who believes that they are capable of making a difference?
Power Words that Tempt People
Everybody wants to be in on a secret. They want to access to information that others do not have. They want to do things that are ‘forbidden’. They want to see themselves as insiders, and as part of an elite, exclusive group.
Power words that tempt people evoke curiosity. It makes them want to find out more. It encourages them to find out what it is that they might be missing out on. These are some of the strongest call-to-action words that any blogger can use. Here are the power words that tempt:
- Unauthorized
- What they don’t want you to know
- Off limits
- Limited Access
- Elite
- Behind the Scenes
- Secret
- Banned
- Black market
- Insider
- Controversial
- Concealed
- Locked Away
- Cover up
- Confidential
- Limited Edition
- Insiders Only
- Forbidden
These power words are very effective if you want to attract more readers to your content, to create viral content, and to publish content that starts conversations. Have you ever played with the idea of using special rewards and the promise of access to premium content in order to get new subscribers and followers?
These power words do an amazing job of sending out a call to action to those who crave VIP status, and who love being the first among their friends to get insider information. Of course, if you promise insider deals, special access, or to reveal secrets, you have to follow through.
Power Words that Evoke a Love of Money
Who doesn’t like getting something for free, or at least at a deep discount? People love feeling as if they are getting a great deal, or as if they will be getting something for nothing. Power words that manipulate people’s desire for freebies and special deals have been in use for years.
In fact, you will probably recognize many of these words from advertisements that you watched your entire life. Some of them may seem a bit corny, but they do work. Check out these greed inducing power words that you can use on your next blog:
- Skyrocket
- Freebie
- Giveaway
- BOGO
- Rewards
- Discount
- Free
- Jackpot
- Markdown
- Savings
- Rock Bottom
- Barely Used
- Employee Discount
- Insider Discount
- Special
- Pennies
- Dollar
- Cheap
- Slashed
- Limited Time
- One Time Only
- Just for Loyal Customers
- Inexpensive
- Gift
- Fortune
- Advantage
- Triple
- Double
- Prize
- Gift
People love sales, free offers, door prizes, deep discounts, and coupons. Use these power words and you’ll keep your sales staff busy for days as they field calls and inquiries. If you are creating a post announcing a future sales event, you will gain significant traction with your audience if you incorporate just a few of these words in your posts.
Power Words that Evoke Feelings of Fear and Terror
Fear words are extremely effective in grabbing and keeping the attention of your readers. After all, fear words are what many media outlets use to keep people watching. Fear can be used as a call to action. It can be used to convince people that something deserves their attention. Fear can also be used to convince people that they will miss out on something if they do not continue reading.
There is definitely a danger of abusing these words and using them to unfairly manipulate your audience. But, as long as they are used judiciously and you are honest with any facts that you present, these words can really make your blog ‘pop’. Here are some fear-mongering power words that you may be able to use when writing blogs in the future:
- Refugee
- Banished
- Backlash
- Abuse
- Hurricane
- Gullible
- Revenge
- Victimized
- Crime
- Assault
- Prison
- Horrific
- Scream
- Risky
- Tainted
- Prison
- Jail
- Taxes
- Debt
- Lurking
- Terrorists
- Shadowy
- Instability
- Lawsuit
- IRS
- Nightmare
- Devastating
- Virus
- Infectious
- Inflicted
- Heinous
- Shocking
- Toxic
These words don’t just evoke fear. They evoke a desire to learn more, to stay tuned, and to get more information. Fear words may be initially shocking to read, but eventually, shock will turn into a desire to take action. You can use these words to create a formula that moves your readers from shock and fear to action. Then, your job is to simply guide them to the action that you would like them to take.
A Final Note on Power Words
It may be difficult to imagine how 100 words and phrases can have such an emotional impact, but the truth is these words create responses in ways that other words don’t. If you combine the use of power words with other marketing techniques that are used to promote and market blogs/websites online, increase user engagement and make content viral (SEO, mobile-friendly, social media, right keywords, etc.), you will be well on your way to increasing your readership and your internet presence.
So, why not give a few of these words a try on your next few blog posts. Then, take a few measurements. You will likely find that shares and comments increase. If you don’t see results right away, don’t be discouraged. It can take time to get into the groove when it comes to using power words effectively.
