Marketing word of the day

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In the older days, whether selling detergents, applicances or food products, marketers often used the slogan: “new and improved!” to con consumers and to boost sales. The German online DIE WELT reports that companies have changed their marketing slogans to make their business more profitable and sustainable. The new slogan used to pitch products today is:

Almost every conceivable company is jumping on the enviro-bandwagon and claiming their products or services are “sustainable” and thus good for the planet, no matter if it’s an automaker, coal power plant, or an investment instrument. The “sustainable” product is better and safer for the environment. The movement indeed is religious. DIE WELT writes:

You can now invest sustainably, and even fight dandruff in a sustainable way.”

Well, I turned off the light in the room next door, and so now I’m blogging sustainably. In fact I just changed the slogan of my blog. I’m the first climate blogger to blog more sustainably – the world’s most sustainable climate science blogger. Blog here! Going to any other climate sicence blog means you’ll be ruining the planet.

Misuse of the word

As DIE WELT writes, not everyone is amused about companies slapping the “sustainable” slogan on the packaging of their products, and claim it borders on false advertising in many cases. (Not me. I really am blogging with the light off and drinking tap water). Author Ulrich Grober has written a book on the history of sustainability, and is quoted by Die Welt:

Indeed even oil companies like BP use the word “sustainable“ in their annual reports. ‘Recently in Switzerland the most “sustainable” autobahn of all time was inaugurated“, says Grober. it clouds the meaning of the word.’ “

Experts say the word “sustainable” is now being used so often and so incorrectly that it has virtually lost all its original meaning. Sociologist Klaus Kraemer says the word “sustainability is now being used in political debates as the ultimate moral argument. “Whatever is sustainable is not to be questioned.”

Use of the word “sustainable” is dangerous

The term being misused is one thing. But using the word for the purpose of marketing may be “dangerous”, says chemist Michael Braungart. Die Welt quotes Braungart:

The concept is backwards-looking and puts the brakes on creativity because it is connected with feelings of guilt.”

I agree with that. If you don’t buy a product that is labelled as “sustainable”, then you are someone who is harming the planet, and so you ought to feel bad about it. That’s how a religion works. So in the end, I think there is going to be a backlash with respect to this blind sustainability movement. The whole thing is rather Medieval. Back to the Dark Ages.

Educated consumers really ought to feel insulted

How do I feel when I see the “sustainable” slogan being targeted at me? Of course it annoys the hell out of me because I feel the seller of the “sustainable” product assumes that I’m actually stupid enough to believe all the CO2 nonsense. I’m insulted that they’d treat me like that. I’m not a blind zealot in a cult. It’s a slogan that maybe works well with morons, dupes and religious greens. But it certainly isn’t a way to communicate with people who think for themselves.

The enviro-sustainable hacks and bosses behind this movement don’t even believe it themselves. See how they jetset all over the world and live lavish lives while raking it in as duped consumers gobble it up. To the half-witted believers out there – wake up – you’re being duped by this utter nonsense.

To my loyal readers, please do not think that I’m targeting you with my new slogan. I know you don’t believe the CO2/sustainability crap. The new blog slogan is aimed solely at other people, like dana1981.

(PS: Actually I have the lights on – and it’s daytime.)

Every business owner is on the hunt for those silver bullet campaigns that will turn your organic website traffic, website pages, email newsletters, and other copy into dollar signs. Well, it doesn’t actually work that way. There are some staples, like quality and trust—that have to be woven up through the center of all your content to build that marketing material bridge from consumer to customer. The good news is, your word choice is your first line when building that trust, through your branded content, SEO efforts, online profiles, social media posts, and website and landing page copy, and more.

Words have the ability to inspire action in people—this is what copywriting is all about. But as many words as there are in the dictionary, coming up with natural, powerful, non-repetitive words and phrases that appeal to your audience is a challenge. This guide covers a list of words to give you a starting point in writing quality, trustworthy copy that will:

• Reduce risk
• Reduce uncertainty
• Build trust
• Invite purchasing
• Create urgency
• Spark curiosity
• Connect with your audience
• Communicate value
• Convey authority
• Infer growth or benefit

Consider this your guide to refer back to when you’re stuck on coming up with copy, whether for an ad, email, landing page, elevator pitch, etc. But don’t consider this your end-all. Use it as your launchpad to come up with your own words and phrases that reflect your brand voice and values.

And once you’ve gone through this list, check out our 273 (MORE!) Words to Use for Emotional Marketing Copy.

Marketing words & phrases that reduce risk

Minimizing a customer’s perception of risk will make them that much more comfortable making the decision to business with you. Try to use phrases in your marketing copy that communicate reassurance that they aren’t at risk of losing money or being tied into a long-term commitment. A sense of predictability or set of expectations is the goal here. Some words and related phrases include:

• Guaranteed or your money back
• You can unsubscribe at any time
• We won’t flood your inbox
• No obligation
• No purchase necessary
• Cancel at any time
• What do you have to lose?
• Free returns/full refund, no questions asked
• Try it first
• Book a demo
• Talk to [representative] to see if [business name or product] is right for you

Notice that the language here is not fancy jargon but everyday language that resonates with customers. In most cases, you should have a page that states your guarantee and return policies and how/why they work so customers can truly see that there are no catches. Of course, don’t offer anything you don’t promise or can’t describe in detail.

Marketing words & phrases that reduce uncertainty

Uncertainty is one of the biggest barriers to entry for any conversion action you’re trying to get your customers to perform within your funnel. Of course, the first step in reducing uncertainty is to build brand awareness, as the more familiar a consumer becomes with your brand, the more likely they are to trust and get to know you. The more they know about your brand, the more seamless their journey will be from browser to customer. Here are some powerful words that stand out to website visitors to help reduce uncertainty and boost confidence in engaging further with your business:

• First month/time period free
• See for yourself
• No hidden fees
• Check out a sample report

• Money-back guarantee
• The [business name] guarantee
• Risk-free guarantee

Marketing words & phrases that build trust

Reducing uncertainty is only the first part of the equation when writing effective marketing copy. You’ve also got to build up trust. Here are some phrases to include in your assets to give your customers more reasons to continue engaging with you:

• Check out our testimonials page
• See our reviews (Here’s how to ask for and get more of them)
• See our resource library
• Check out our FAQ section
• Chat live with a specialist

You’ll notice that some of the words and call to action phrases in certain sections overlap, since they help to communication different intentions depending on context.

Marketing words & phrases that invite purchasing

People must be able to visualize how your product or services will change their lives for the better. But the focus should not be on your product or service; it should be on the value your customers will get out of it and how easy it is for them to obtain it.

• [Achieve main benefit[s] you offer] and sign up today
• How can [business name or product] help you [achieve XYZ?] Find out for yourself!
• What do you have to lose?
• Give us a shot!
• What’s in it for you? [Then answer that]
• Take advantage of this special offer
• A bargain you can’t beat
• Do you want to/Are you ready to [insert benefits of your services here]?
• See the results you want/Real results
• Achieve growth/[other ultimate benefit your customers are seeking]
• Start achieving [XYZ] with [business name or product] now
• Become [adjective your customer wishes to become] with [business name/product]

Knowing the right feelings, benefits, and achievements to put into the brackets above will depend on your knowledge of your customer, but our copywriting psychology tips may help as well.

Marketing words and phrases that encourage urgency

Running a sales promotion for a finite period of time is a great way to get people to act. Try using these words in your next time-limited offer:

• Download now/today
• While supplies last
• For a limited time only
• Save your spot
• Sale ends [Saturday]
• Act now before time runs out
• Get it while it’s hot
• Last chance
• Don’t want to miss/Can’t-miss

• Offer ends soon
• Limited-time offer
• Download now
• Call today
• [Hours:minute:seconds] left to

Even if you aren’t running a finite offer, placing the word “now” or “today” after a call to action can make a difference in how it impacts the reader and encourages them to act.

GET THE GUIDE >> The Best Words & Phrases for Marketing with Emotion

Marketing words and phrases that spark curiosity

Copywriting strives to encourage customers to engage with you on many different levels. Whether you’re using words to get newsletter signups, more visits to your blog, or to write more compelling website copy, the key is to make them curious enough to take another step. And yet another step. Here are some words to bring about curiosity and engagement.

• What if…?
• Insider
• Scoop

• Special
• Learn how to…
• Join
• Discover
• Imagine…

• Uncover
• Get access to
• Unlock

• Find out
• See why

The key here is not to be too ambiguous. And to actually deliver on your promise. Make the value or key takeaway clear, then invite your audience to actually get there with the help of your business.

Marketing words and phrases that connect with your audience

Relating to clients on a personal level goes a long way in winning and keeping their business. As I’ve stated elsewhere in this post, think about your target audience’s problems, goals, challenges, and ideal situations. Describing these pain points and desires helps to demonstrate to your readers—in your website, promotional emails, landing page copy, and more—that you really know them, can empathize with them, and even be the answer to their problems. Try out these words and phrases as a starting point to this approach:

• Ever wish you could/Ever wish there was a…
• Finally, a …
• At last…
• Are you tired of…
• We get it…
• We’ve got you/We’ve got your back

• Discover what it’s like to…
• Look familiar?
• Experience a world free of…
• You deserve…

The underlying strategy with these words is the bridge after bridge strategy—the third of five effective copywriting formulas we cover in this post. The idea is to identify your potential customers’ pain points, then lead them down the imaginary road toward their new and improved self/situation made possible by your business. When people can visualize their better situation, the steps to get there become more appealing to them. To be clear, this is not a form of manipulation. It’s effectively articulating the problem your business solves or the ultimate benefit it brings to its customers.

Marketing words and phrases that communicate value

In addition to reducing uncertainty, it’s important to give that extra boost of confidence that your product, service, or special deal is worth it. Quality will never stop being important to the consumer and addressing it in your marketing and ad copy is essential:

• Top/top-notch
• Premium
• Best value
• Equivalent to
• New
• Safe
• Secure
• Efficient
• Quality
• Custom-built
• Only
• First
• Quickest
• One-of-a-kind
• Harness the power of
• [Location]’s best
• Get the most out of your money

Note that these are more broad statements of value to start with. Think about what is of most value to consumers within your niche—is it handmade? Eco-friendly? On-demand? Locally-sourced? The more specific, the better.

Marketing words and phrases that convey authority

Using authoritative words does not automatically grant you authority—writing quality content, promoting your business across various channels, building your reputation, and optimizing for Google’s ranking factors to get on the first page of Google helps with that as well. But if you are a stand-out business in your industry, niche, or community, try using words like these in your marketing content:

• Ultimate
• Top
• Best-in-class
• Premium
• Top-rated
• Expert-approved
• Cutting edge
• [Location]’s best
• [Location]’s only
• Leading
• [Location]’s #1
• Specialized
• Proprietary

Marketing words and phrases that infer growth or benefit

Getting tired of using the same words over and over again to convey the positive benefits your business will bring? Try some of these:

• Boost
• Improve
• Amplify
• Enhance
• Achieve

• Learn
• Reach
• Grow
• Prosper
• Fruitful
• Gain
• Reap the benefits
• Ramp up

Marketing words and phrases that convey savings

Price is a part of any consumer’s decision-making process. Use these phrases to convey to your audience that they are getting a good deal:

• Save now
• Affordable
• Get your money’s worth
• Without breaking the bank
• Easy on your wallet

• Without breaking the bank
• While staying within your budget
• Avoid unnecessary fees
• Earn rewards
• Collect

Language is powerful and using the right words will be the difference between marketing phrases that work and those that fall flat. Remember that a word or phrase that bodes well for one campaign doesn’t necessarily mean it will work across the board. As always, be strategic and conduct A/B testing to confirm you’re using these emotional marketing phrases properly.

B2B purchases usually begin with a business case centered on a particular result. Some common desired outcomes include improving productivity, increasing revenue, reducing risk, or cutting costs. A less common objective? Getting all the latest product bells and whistles.

Because salespeople are so familiar and immersed in the products or services they sell, they sometimes bog their presentations down with information on features.    But while these might be significant to the vendor and the rep, they’re anything but to the prospect.

In her book Nonstop Sales Boom, Colleen Francis, owner of Engage Selling Solutions, illustrates the difference between talking about «features» and talking about «value.»

«Customers don’t care about features and benefits,» Francis writes. «They only care about value and achieving their objectives.» 

Consider the following two sentences. Which is more compelling to you?

«In the new update, we’ve released 10 new features, which are on the cutting edge of X market.»

«The new update enables companies like yours to cut costs by approximately 20% in six months.» 

The first sentence stresses features, and explains why those features are important to the vendor. But the prospect doesn’t really care about what’s important to the vendor — they’re trying to solve a problem. On the other hand, the second sentence glosses over the new features and instead explains their ultimate value to the customer. Now the buyer’s ears are perking up.

The word «value» also gives salespeople ammo to fight the inevitable price objection. Prospects who appreciate the value of your product or service and understand the results it will enable won’t have as hard a time paying full price, since they feel they’re getting a lot for their money. If, on the other hand, the rep has not adequately expressed value, the prospect will balk at the price tag for what they perceive to be a jumble of semi-useful features.

Make sure your prospect sees the forest instead of a bunch of randomly assembled trees. Always lead with value over features. 

Verdict: recommended.