Word power words list

Ever wonder why some websites pump out viral post after viral post?

Or why some brands have products that fly off the shelves while their competition falls flat?

Or why you couldn’t resist clicking on a link you knew was a sleazy sales page?

The answer is simple.

These brands have smart marketers. Marketers who use power words.

Click here to get our FREE one page PDF of 401+ power words to hang on your wall!

These power words trigger an emotional response and pack some serious punch, getting us to click on ads, share blog posts and buy from sales pages.

But how do these power words work?

Watch the video below, then read on to see our full list of power words with specific examples of how to use them.

Why Power Words Amp Up Your Marketing

Power words crank up your marketing effectiveness by:

• Evoking emotion: People connect to emotion, not words. Studies show that content that elicits emotion (anxiety, amusement) is more likely to be shared than those that aren’t “emotionally charged.” Power words are key to evoking these “high arousal” emotions. Examples include words like “Instantly”, “Mistakes”, and “Hilarious”.^[*]
• Triggering curiosity: Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it makes the marketer’s life easy. Research found curiosity to be one of the most powerful triggers for virality. Since we have a hard time resisting our curiosity, strategic use of power words makes it almost impossible for us not to click, share, and read. Power words that trigger curiosity include words such as “Reveals”, “Proves”, and “Ridiculous”.^[*]

Take this BuzzFeed headline:

The power words “Cringeworthy” and “Poor” both elicit emotion, and their combination triggers curiosity (“Why are these notes so cringeworthy?”).

If this headline just said “14 Funny Sibling Stories”, you probably wouldn’t be that interested. But 14 cringeworthy horror stories? What entertaining surprises this article must contain!

The best thing about power words is that there are hundreds to choose from. 

Check out the list below.

The Massive 401+ List of Power Words

Want our personal Power Word list for creating epic headlines?

Click here to get the free one-page PDF (extra power words included!) now

Happiness	Indulgence	Prestige	Humor	Gravity
Heartwarming	Guilt	Expensive	Funniest	Gargantuan
Inspiring	Guilt-free	Glamorous	Hilarious	Gigantic
Profound	Indulgent	Luxurious	Laugh	Huge
Zen	Obsessed		Ridiculous	Intense
Alive	Ravenous			Massive
Light	Lazy			Gripping
Healthy				Goddamn
				Seriously
Memorability	Novelty	Lust	Simplicity	Beauty
Captivate	Challenge	Begging	Basic	Adorable
Genius	Discover	Crave	Cheat-Sheet	Awe-Inspiring
Memorable	Extraordinary	Decadent	Easy	Beautiful
Undeniable	Hack	Delirious	Effortless	Breathtaking
Unforgettable	Latest	Fantasy	Ingredients	Dazzling
Unpopular	Life-changing	Forbidden	Minimalist	Gorgeous
Impressive	Magic	Irresistible	On-Demand	Stunning
Embarrassing	Miracle	Naked	Painless	Swoon
	New	Provocative	Rules	Swoon-worthy
	Remarkable	Seductive	Savvy
	Revolutionary	Sexy	Simple
	Sensational	Sinful	Step-by-Step
	Shocking	Tantalizing	Stupid-simple
	Spoiler	Satisfy	Tricks
	Startling		Tweaks
	Suddenly
	Surprising
	Unexpected
	Strange
	Weird
	Odd
	Unusual
Excitement	Impatience	Sadness	Savagery	Completeness	Greed
Bold	Amp	Alarming	Agonizing	Completely	Affordable
Exciting	Blast	Crushing	Apocalypse	Copy	Bargain
Fascinating	Ignite	Dead	Armageddon	Detailed	Barrage
Intriguing	Jumpstart	Deceptive	Battle	Essential	Bonus
Riveting	Kickstart	Devastating	Corrupt	Impenetrable	Budget
Tempting	Launch	Excruciating	Crazy	Meticulous	Cheap
Thrilling	Quick-start	Exposed	Deadly	Overcome	Convert
Transform	Speedy	Heartbreaking	Disgusting	Painstaking	Double
	Supercharge	Sadly	Fight	Practical	Drive
	Turbocharge	Shaming	Frenzy	Recreate	Forever
	Smuggle	Suffer	Hate	Replicate	Free
		Avoid	Insane	Relentless	Immediately
		Demoralizing	Lunatic	Ultimate	Increase
		Problem	Menacing	Master	Instantly
			Painful	Perfect	Money
			Poison	Super	Never
			Rowdy	Create	Now
			Sabotaging	Step-by-Step	Off-limits
			Savage	Best	Overnight
			Sins	Truly	Profit
			Struggle	Packed	Promote
			Treacherous	Extremely	Sale
			Uncontrollable	Deep	Today
			Vicious	Better	Triple
			Violent		Unlimited
			Weak		Envy
			Wild		Master
			Dying		Lucrative
			Horrifying		Steal
			Attack
			Traumatized
			Insult
			Horribly
			Hell
Authority	Exclusivity	Pride	Safety	Mind-Blowing
Absolute	Admit	Absurd	Accuse	Alluring
All-Inclusive	Breaking	Achieve	Assault	Amazing
Authentic	Confess	Awkward	Beware	Astonishing
Authoritative	Confession	Blunder	Broke	Astounding
Authority	Divulge	Clueless	Catastrophe	Awesome
Backed	Elite	Cringeworthy	Caution	Badass
Bona fide	Emerging	Dumb	Cheat	Bomb
Complete	First	Fail	Dangerous	Brilliant
Comprehensive	Hidden	Fail-Proof	Diagnosed	Catapult
Conclusive	Insider	Failure	Dirty	Charming
Definitive	Little-known	Faux Pas	Emergency	Defying
Document	New	Fool	Ethical	Delicious
Expert	Popular	Foolish	Exactly	Delightful
Final	Priceless	Idiot	Fierce	Dreamy
Formula	Rare	Lame	Hoax	Epic
Genuine	Release	Last	Horror	Explosive
Guaranteed	Reveal	Mediocre	Jeopardy	Exquisite
Honest	Secret	Mistake	Lifetime	Greatness
Ironclad	Sly	Obvious	Protect	Heavenly
Legitimate	Sneak-Peek	Pitiful	Provoke	Incredible
Literally	Sneaky	Reject	Punch	Jaw-dropping
Official	Special	Rookie	Recession-Proof	Kickass
Powerful	Stealthy	Ruin	Sacred	Legendary
Proven	Trend	Senseless	Safe	Mesmerizing
Psychological	Truth	Shameful	Scam	Mouth-watering
Reliable	Unadulterated	Silly	Scared	Nail
Report	Unconventional	Stupid	Shaking	Spellbinding
Research	Uncovered	Success	Signs	Sublime
Results	Undercover	Threaten	Survive	Triumph
Solution	Underused	Triggers	Terrifying	Unbelievable
Strategy	Unique	Unknowingly	Unstoppable	Unleashed
Studies	Unseen	Useless	Belong	Polarizing
Surefire	Untapped	Waste	Promise	Dominate
Validate	Worst		Stop
Masterclass

Feeling dizzy? I hope it’s from excitement because now you’re armed with all the power words you need to turbo-charge your marketing, and have a few hundred in your arsenal.

Download all 401+ on a handy one page PDF here

Now you just need to use them. Here’s where you can use power words on your site:

Power Words in Headlines

Whether you’re crafting the perfect headline for your sales page or writing a viral-worthy article, power words can take a headline from mediocre to irresistible.

The magazine industry is notorious for their use of power words in headlines. Magazines like Elle, OK! Magazine, InTouch, GQ, and Seventeen use power words religiously to entice consumers to pick up their products.

Cosmo has some of the most click-worthy headlines out there:

Without power words, these headlines would be boring. Removing the power words (bolded below) makes the headlines above instantly less enticing:

• Watch This Baby Do Push-Ups and Instantly Feel Like the Laziest Person Alive
• Ariana Grande Debuted a Shocking Silvery New Hair Color

Us Weekly uses power words in almost every single headline they publish:

The words “Reveals”, “Sports” and “Show Off” pique curiosity and trigger an emotional response that acts as a magnet for clicks.

Use power words in your headlines to make them so irresistible readers can’t help but click.

Power Words in Sub-headlines

People don’t read your content. Research shows that they didn’t in 1997, and they certainly don’t now.^[*]

Instead of reading, they scan. Unless you can catch their attention.

How? By including power words.

Power words in your subheads capture attention and draw the reader into actually reading the content rather than just scanning over it.

My recent article about persuasive words had a 65% read rate (the average is 15-20%):  

I used power words in my subheads to keep people moving down the page: 

Use power words in your subheads to keep the reader’s attention on the page and ensure they’re actually reading what you’ve written.^[*]

Power Words in Product Names

You have two choices when you’re naming your products:

1. Be boring: Use words in your product name that simply describe the product (i.e. blue nail polish) but are otherwise boring.
2. Use names that pack a punch: Give your product a descriptive name, but kick it up a notch with power words.

Almost all product names fit into these two categories.

A company that leverages power words wonderfully in their product names is the nail care company OPI.

OPI could have just named their product after its function: “nail strengthener.” Instead, they used a power word (“Nail Envy”) to make the product more appealing.

OPI also uses power words in the descriptions for their products.

Their lacquer color could have just been “dark red”. But instead, they used a power word (relentless) to invoke emotion.

Another example of power words mastery in the online space is that of David Siteman Garland, who created a course on how to create online courses.

He could have just named his course “Create Online Courses”, but he spiced things up with a power word:

The word “Awesome” makes the product memorable and stand out in a crowded space.

Power Words in Popups

Power words are currently underused in the beloved email list building tool, the popup.

If you have List Builder, include power words in your descriptions and offers on the popup.

Check out how Onnit uses the power word “Ultimate” for their grocery guide freebie on their list builder pop-up: 

Another example is Rick Mulready:

He uses power words like “Mistakes”, “Avoid” and “Free” in his popup to convert visitors from casual readers to subscribers.

You can get a free Sumo account to create popups like this.

Power Words on Landing Pages

Landing pages are an effective way of blocking out all of the extra noise on your website and ensuring that the visitor is just focusing on one specific call to action.

Using power words on your landing page can get your conversion rates from “not now” to “gimme!”

Amy Porterfield is a landing page genius, and she strategically uses power words all over her landing pages:

“Free”, “Live”,“Master”, “5-Figure”, “Profitable” and “Strategy” are all power words, and they work together to make Amy’s landing page far more convincing than the power word-empty alternative:

Did that make you fall asleep? Well, wake up, more power word goodness ahead.

Power Words on Buttons

If you think you’re running out of places to include power words, think again. We haven’t even talked about using power words in button text.

We use power words in our button text on the Sumo homepage by inviting visitors to try Sumo for free:

Without the word “Free” that button would go needlessly unpressed way too often.

We’re not the only ones who do this. Bulletproof does as well on their shop button: 

The power word in this case is “Now” which works double duty by providing a sense of urgency.

Power Words in Testimonials

Remember how we told you testimonials are the granddaddy of social proof? 

One company tested using testimonials on their sales page and it increased conversions by 34%. They add invaluable credibility to your brand.

Make your testimonials work overtime for your business by featuring the ones including power words.

Marie Forleo does this on her testimonials page:

The words “Unique” and “Perfectly” take this testimonial light-years ahead of one simply containing the words “Great” or “Well”.

Unfortunately, it’s a bit tacky to ask your clients to use power words in their testimonials. 

Do the next best thing by featuring testimonials that include power words more prominently on your page.

Power Words in Email Subject Lines

You work your ass off to grow your email list. You hustle to create content they’ll love, yet still only 20-35% of your subscribers open your emails.

And you begin to wonder…

Is your email list disengaged? Is it the content you’re putting out there? Is something wrong with their spam filters?

Maybe…

But it’s probably your subject lines.

To turn up the heat on your email subject lines and attract more opens, clicks, and engagement, use power words in the subject line.

Pat Flynn uses this method in his email autoresponder series: 

See the power words “Super” and “Secret”? Feeling intrigued, aren’t you?

Jaime Masters from Eventual Millionaire does this too («Create», «Lucrative»):

Use power words in your subject lines to entice your subscribers to open your emails. You worked hard to write them, so they might as well be read by as many people as possible.

Power Words In Your Business or Domain Name

For all of you who have been considering starting a business online, one great place to use power words is in your business’s name.

Using a power word that describes what you do or who you do it for can make your marketing far more effective. For example, Elite Daily uses the power word “Elite” in the name of their business, which brings to mind exclusivity or high-quality.

Melissa Ramos puts power words to work in her business name, Sexy Food Therapy:

Derek Halpern, founder of the popular online training resource Social Triggers included a power word (“Triggers”) in his business’ name as well. Makes sense, since Derek teaches the psychology behind marketing, after all:

For your next rebrand or business (for all you serial entrepreneurs), incorporate a power word into your business’s name to ensure that you trigger (see what I did there?) an emotional response the second your customers stumble across your brand.

Power Words on Calls to Action

One of the most important places to use power words in your marketing is in any call to action.

For example, we use “Masterclass”, “Free”, “Best”, and “Step-by-Step”.
 

On AppSumo, they use one power word (“Kick-Ass”) on their Welcome Mat popup:

On Snowy Joey, they use the power words “Profitable”, “Fun”, and “Free” for their free video course:

James Clear uses power words in his menu as a call to action (“Free Newsletter”):

Start Incorporating Power Words In Your Marketing NOW

I just gave you hundreds of power words and showed you ten places to use them to make your marketing work on overtime for your business

Don’t just skip past this article and move on with your day. Take action and start including power words in your marketing today.

Choose one option from the examples in this post and apply the power words now. 

The easiest way to start? Incorporate power words into the calls to action and headlines in your List Builder tool, like this:

Set up a simple popup to trigger 5 seconds after someone visits your site. Make a “FREE” offer for visitors to get your most popular article, video, or something else that’s quick and easy for you to start growing your email list with power words. 

You can then track your performance inside Sumo, like this:

Get this set up on your site now. This link will give you a free Sumo account to do it.

Then, sit back and watch as your email signups take off.

If you want our personal Power Words list to print out and quickly reference on your desk for when you’re writing content headlines, landing pages, and email capture forms…

Click here to get the free PDF (extra power words included!) now.

P.S. Want to learn the 10 growth hacks we’ve used to grow our email list to over 100,000 subscribers with power words + Sumo? Click here for our most actionable growth hacking ideas to grow your email list and traffic.

Do you want to improve your conversions without spending a ton of time testing different designs and layouts?

You could see up to 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+ powerful words that you can cut and paste to boost your website conversions, sales, and revenue. We’ll also share the definition of power words and how to use each category of power words with real-world examples.

Let’s begin.

Exclusive Bonus: Download our 700+ Power Words Cheatsheet to Boost Your Conversions.

What are Power Words?

Power words are strong 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!

That’s likely the simplest power words definition, i.e., powerful words that trigger the desired emotion and action.

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.

Whether you want to entice your visitors to read a blog post, opt into your email list, or click the “Buy Now” button on your sales page, power words are arguably the quickest and easiest way to increase your conversion rates.

In fact, Teespring increased their conversions by 12.7%, just by adding a few powerful words to their call-to-action!

Are you ready to add the most powerful words to your marketing arsenal?

A List of 700+ Powerful Words

Here is a list of power words that you can use to trigger just about any emotion and increase your conversions, sales, or revenue.

We’ve categorized these most effective and powerful words into the following categories:

• Power Words That Trigger FOMO and Greed
• Power Words That Evoke Curiosity
• Power Words That Promote Ease and Convenience
• Power Words for Increasing Desire
• Power Words for Bragging
• Power Words That Increase Trust
• Power Words That Provoke Anger
• Power Words That Create Fear

1. Power Words: Greed and FOMO

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 FOMO (fear of missing out), or simply by making something sound more valuable.

Bargain Before Best Big Billion Bonanza Bonus Cash Cheap Deadline Discount Dollar Don’t miss out Double Economical Exclusive Expires Explode Extra Fast Feast Final First Fortune

Frenzy Frugal Gift Giveaway Greatest Guilt-free Hurry Inexpensive Instantly Jackpot Last chance Limited Luxurious Marked down Massive Monetize Money More Nest egg Never again New Now Pay zero Premiere

Price break Prize Profit Quadruple Quick Reduced Rich Running out Sale ends soon Save Savings Six-figure Skyrocket Soaring Special Surge Treasure Triple Ultimate Up-sell Value While they last Whopping

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!”

In the second popup, he tweaked the headline to include a few powerful words (circled in red below).

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%!

Another great use of greed power words is using them to promote giveaways and online contests. Learn how to run an online contest to grow your traffic and generate leads.

2. Power Words: Curiosity

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.

Astonishing Backdoor Banned Be the first Become an insider Behind the scenes Bizarre Black market Blacklisted Bootleg Censored Class full Classified Closet Concealed Confessions Confidential Controversial Cover-up Covert Crazy Cringeworthy Dark Elusive Extraordinary Eye-opening Forbidden Forgotten Hidden Hilarious

Hush-hush Illegal Illusive Incredibly Insane Insider Interesting Invitation only Key Limited Little-known Login required Lost Members only Myths Odd Off the record Off-limits On the QT Outlawed Priceless Private Privy Psycho Remote Restricted Ridiculous Secret Secrets Shh!

Shocking Smuggled Sneak peek Spoiler Strange Stunning Super secret Thought-provoking Top secret Trade secret Unauthorized Unbelievable Uncharted Unconventional Under the table Under wraps Underground Undiscovered Unexplained Unexplored Unheard of Unique Unlock Unsung Untold Unusual Wacky Withheld Zany

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.

The goal was to increase click-throughs to their private Facebook group by making subscribers curious to see what’s on the “other side.”

How many powerful words can you spot?

If you counted seven, you’re right!

3. Power Words: Ease and Convenience

Everybody loves ease and convenience. People are not usually motivated to do more than the absolute minimum work to achieve their goals.

The right power words can convey to readers how easy it is easy to do something. Because they don’t have to do much or put in a lot of effort, they are more likely to take action.

Accessible All-inclusive Basic Building blocks Cheat sheet Child’s play Cinch Clear Complete Components Comprehensive Copy Downloadable Easy Economical Efficient Effortless Elementary Elements Factors Fail-proof Fill in the blanks Formula Free

Freebie Gift Guide How-to In less than In record time Index Ingredients Instant Itemized Kickstart Light List Manageable Manifest Mere Minutes Model Mold No nonsense No problem No sweat Nothing to it Now

On demand Painless Pattern Picnic Piece of cake Plain Printable Quick Ready Replicate Report Roadmap Simple Simple as ABC Smooth Smooth sailing Snap Straightforward Steal Steps Swipe Template Tools Uncomplicated

You can 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.

How to Boost Conversions with Sloth Words

Here’s an example of a blog post headline we’ve used that works very well.

Can you spot all the power words?

Did you get all five?

4. Power Words: Desire and Lust

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 strong words to amplify that craving and encourage people to take action.

Alluring Brazen Captivating Charismatic Compelling Crave Depraved Desire Dirty Enchanting Engaging Exotic Exposed Fascinating Flirt Forbidden Hypnotic Intriguing

Lascivious Lick Lonely Lovely Lust Magnetic Mind-blowing Mischievous Mouthwatering Naked Naughty Obsession Passionate Pleasurable Promiscuous Provocative Riveting Scandalous Sensual

Sex Shameless Sinful Sleazy Sleeping Spank Steamy Stimulating Striking Sweaty Tantalizing Tawdry Tease Thrilling Uncensored Urge Wanton Whip Wild

How to Boost Conversions with Lust Words

List25 uses a lust word combined with curiosity words to make for an irresistibly provocative headline.

Did you spot the 3 power words in the featured headline on the right?

5. Power Words: Vanity and Bragging

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.

Ahead of the game Amazing Amplify At the top Attractive Awe-inspiring Beautiful Bold Booming Boost Boss Brassy Bravery Brazen Bright Brilliant Cheer Clever Conquer Courage Crowned Daring Dazzling Defiance Drop-dead Effective

Elegant Elite Enchant Epic Fearless Fortunate Foxy Genius Good-looking Gorgeous Guts Handsome Hero Jaw-dropping Jubilant Kick ass Knockout Legendary Lucky Magic Mind-blowing Moneymaking Notable Noteworthy Optimal Prosperous

Quick-witted Remarkable Sassy Saucy Sensational Smart Spectacular Spine Staggering Strong Stunning Successful Super-human Triumph Turbo charge Ultimate Unbeaten Undefeated Valor Vanquish Victory Wealthy Wonderful Wondrous You

How to Boost Conversions with Vanity Words

Snack Nation uses one carefully chosen power word to increase conversions on their popup.

Do you know what power word it is?

Yes, “hero”! They know that their customers love getting positive attention and praise from their co-workers, so of course, they would love to be seen as the “office hero”.

(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.)

6. Power Words: Trust

Have you ever thought that trust is really what content marketing and email marketing are 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 powerful words to speed up the trust-building process.

According to Accredited Anonymous Approved Authentic Authoritative Authority Backed Because Best Best selling Bona fide Cancel anytime Case study Certified Dependable Don’t worry Endorsed

Ensured Expert Fully refundable Genuine Guaranteed Improved Ironclad Lifetime Moneyback No obligation No questions asked No risk No strings attached Official Pay zero Privacy Professional Protected

Proven Recession-proof Recognized Refund Reliable Research Results Safety Scientifically proven Secure Studies show Tested Track record Try before you buy Unconditional Verify Well respected Worldwide

How to Boost Conversions with Trust Words

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.

The result of just this one tiny tweak in wording was a 12.7% boost in conversions! (That’s huge!)

7. Power Words: Anger

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 powerful words, then provide the solution.

Abuse Agitate Annoy Arrogant Ass kicking B.S. Backstabbing Beat down Boil over Broke Brutal Buffoon Bullshit Bully Corrupt Coward Crooked Crush Diatribe Diminish Disgusting Evil Exploit Fear

Force-fed Foul Greedy Hate Hostile Know it all Lies Loathsome Loser Lying Maul Miff Money-grubbing Morally bankrupt Nazi No Good Obnoxious Payback Pitiful Pound Preposterous Provoke Punish Raise hell

Rant Revolting Ruthless Screw Sick and Tired Smug Sneaky Sniveling Snob Snooty Snotty Stink Stuck up Thug Underhanded Vicious Victim Violent Waste Weak Worst Wounded

How to Boost Conversions with Anger 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.

Did you find all the power words?

8. Power Words: Fear

Fear is perhaps the most powerful motivator of all. It’s that primal instinct that keeps us safe, that keeps us alive.

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 strong 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.)

Agony Annihilate Apocalypse Armageddon Assault Backlash Beating Beware Blinded Blood Bloodbath Bloodcurdling Bloody Bomb Bufoon Bumbling Cadaver Cataclysmic Catastrophe Caution Collapse Corpse Crazy Cripple Crisis Danger Dangerous Deadly Death Destroy Devastating Disastrous Drowning Dumb Embarrass Epidemic Fail Feeble Fired

Fool Fooled Frantic Frightening Gambling Gullible Hack Hazardous Hoax Horrific Hurricane Insidious Invasion IRS Jail Jeopardy Lawsuit Looming Lunatic Lurking Meltdown Mired Mistake Murder Nightmare Painful Pale Panic Peril Piranha Pitfall Plague Played Plummet Plunge Poison Poor Prison

Pummel Pus Reckoning Refugee Revenge Risky Savage Scary Scream Searing Shatter Shellacking Silly Slaughter Slave Smash Strangle Stupid Suck Suffering Tailspin Tank Targeted Teetering Terror Terrorist Torture Toxic Tragedy Trap Trauma Vaporize Victim Volatile Vulnerable Warning Worry Wounded Wreaking havoc

How to Increase Conversions with Fear Words

Jon Morrow, known for his fear-inducing blog posts, uses powerful words to get his visitors to read and take action.

Here’s an example:

Did you spot the power words?

Conclusion (Power Word Style!)

Don’t be a slave to the endless grind of tweaking and testing when you can simply copy the words that the experts use.

With this complete power words list, you are now equipped to turbocharge your conversions in record time!

What are your favorite power words? Can you think of a few we missed? Let us know in the comments!

Exclusive Bonus: Download our 700+ Power Words Cheatsheet to Boost Your Conversions.

As a general rule, power words can change a person’s life. The right words spoken at the right time can mean the difference between success and failure. It is essential to be mindful when choosing words to avoid any potential negative consequences. How a word is said can significantly impact those around you. Be sure to use power words wisely to achieve your desired outcome.

Power words are important for strong introductions. They create a sense of drama and excitement that can hook your reader and pull them into the rest of your piece. Strong power words can also help to convey your message quickly and effectively. Here are some tips for choosing the right words to introduce your writing:

• Choose words that are active and engaging. Use verbs that convey movement and action, such as “thrust,” “strike,” or “burn.”
• Use adjectives to add color and intensity. Vivid adjectives will help to capture your reader’s attention, such as “gleaming,” “fearsome,” or “smoldering.”
• Be specific. Avoid general terms, and use concrete images instead. This will help engage your reader’s senses and create a more powerful experience.
• Use sensory language. Words can have a powerful impact on our lives. Learning to use positive words can help improve our mood and attitude. Saying positive things to ourselves is a critical way to stay positive. Words can also be used to hurt or damage others.

What are Power Words?

Power words are important for any writer, blogger, or marketer. They add punch and emphasis to your content. But what are power words?

Power words are strong verbs and adjectives that help your readers visualize and feel the emotions you want them to experience. They create a sense of urgency and compel your audience to take action.

If you’re looking to add some power to your writing, here are a few tips:

• Identify the emotion you want to evoke. Whether you’re trying to generate excitement or create a sense of urgency, start by thinking about the emotion you want to tap into.
• Choose strong verbs and adjectives. Once you know the emotion you’re targeting, look for powerful verbs and adjectives that will help convey that feeling.

Using power words in an introduction can help engage the reader and persuade them to continue reading. Power words are strong, descriptive verbs and adjectives that create a visual image for the reader and help convey the piece’s tone. Using power words in an introduction can immediately capture the reader’s attention and set the tone for the rest of the article.

Some common power words that can be used in introductions include: shocking, fascinating, alarming, amazing, incredible, terrible, wonderful, horrific, and terrific. These words can help evoke a strong reaction from the reader and draw them into the article. Choose your power words wisely to create a powerful opening for your writing.

List of Power Words

Power words are essential for any writing. They help to create a more powerful and impactful message. Incorporating these words into your work can engage your readers and convey your ideas more effectively. Here is a list of some of the most powerful words you can use:

• Action verbs: These words convey movement and action, which can help keep your readers engaged. Some examples include run, jump, swim, and fly, daring, delicious, dynamic, elegant, enchanting, excellent
• Strong adjectives: These words add intensity and power to your writing. Examples include huge, massive, colossal, and enormous. Here is the additional list of some powerful words that you can use in your writing: Amazing, awesome, beautiful, big, blockbuster, bodacious, brave, brilliant, charismatic, classic, colossal, courageous, creative
• Adverbs: These words modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs to add power to your writing. Examples include quickly, suddenly, fiercely, loudly, exciting, extraordinary, fabulous, fantastic, and fearless. Moreover, the following powerful words can help you be more successful in life: Resilience, Determination, Faith, and Perseverance.

Following are list of 680+ power words in English.

• Abuse
• Accessible
• According to
• Accredited
• Agitate
• Agony
• All-inclusive
• Alluring
• Amazing
• Amplify
• Annihilate
• Annoy
• Anonymous
• Apocalypse
• Approved
• Armageddon
• Arrogant
• Ass kicking
• Assault
• Astonishing
• At the top
• Attractive
• Authentic
• Authoritative
• Authority
• Awe-inspiring
• Backdoor
• Backed
• Backlash
• Backstabbing
• Banned
• Bargain
• Basic
• Be the first
• Beat down
• Beating
• Beautiful
• Because
• Before
• Behind the scenes
• Best
• Best selling
• Beware
• Big
• Billion
• Bizarre
• Black market
• Blacklisted
• Blinded
• Blood
• Bloodbath
• Bloodcurdling
• Bloody
• Boil over
• Bold
• Bomb
• Bona fide
• Bonanza
• Bonus
• Booming
• Boost
• Bootleg
• Boss
• Brassy
• Bravery
• Brazen
• Bright
• Brilliant
• Broke
• Brutal
• Buffoon
• Bufoon
• Bullshit
• Bully
• Bumbling
• Cadaver
• Captivating
• Case study
• Cash
• Cataclysmic
• Catastrophe
• Caution
• Censored
• Certified
• Charismatic
• Cheap
• Cheat sheet
• Cheer
• Child’s play
• Cinch
• Class full
• Classified
• Clear
• Clever
• Closet
• Collapse
• Compelling
• Complete
• Components
• Comprehensive
• Concealed
• Confessions
• Confidential
• Conquer
• Controversial
• Copy
• Corpse
• Corrupt
• Courage
• Covert
• Cover-up
• Coward
• Crave
• Crazy
• Cringeworthy
• Cripple
• Crisis
• Crooked
• Crowned
• Crush
• Danger
• Dangerous
• Daring
• Dark
• Dazzling
• Deadline
• Deadly
• Death
• Defiance
• Dependable
• Depraved
• Desire
• Destroy
• Devastating
• Diatribe
• Diminish
• Dirty
• Disastrous
• Discount
• Disgusting
• Dollar
• Don’t miss out
• Don’t worry
• Double
• Downloadable
• Drop-dead
• Drowning
• Dumb
• Easy
• Economical
• Effective
• Efficient
• Effortless
• Elegant
• Elementary
• Elements
• Elite
• Elusive
• Embarrass
• Enchant
• Enchanting
• Endorsed
• Engaging
• Ensured
• Epic
• Epidemic
• Evil
• Exclusive
• Exotic
• Expert
• Expires
• Explode
• Exploit
• Exposed
• Extra
• Extraordinary
• Eye-opening
• Factors
• Fail
• Fail-proof
• Fascinating
• Fast
• Fear
• Fearless
• Feast
• Feeble
• Final
• Fired
• First
• Flirt
• Fool
• Fooled
• Forbidden
• Force-fed
• Forgotten
• Formula
• Fortunate
• Fortune
• Foul
• Foxy
• Frantic
• Free
• Freebie
• Frenzy
• Frightening
• Frugal
• Gambling
• Genius
• Genuine
• Gift
• Giveaway
• Good-looking
• Gorgeous
• Greatest
• Greedy
• Guaranteed
• Guide
• Guilt-free
• Gullible
• Guts
• Hack
• Handsome
• Hate
• Hazardous
• Hero
• Hidden
• Hilarious
• Hoax
• Horrific
• Hostile
• How-to
• Hurricane
• Hurry
• Hush-hush
• Hypnotic
• Illegal
• Illusive
• Improved
• In less than
• In record time
• Incredibly
• Index
• Inexpensive
• Ingredients
• Insane
• Insider
• Insidious
• Instant
• Instantly
• Interesting
• Intriguing
• Invasion
• Ironclad
• IRS
• Itemized
• Jackpot
• Jail
• Jaw-dropping
• Jeopardy
• Jubilant
• Key
• Kick ass
• Kickstart
• Knockout
• Know it all
• Lascivious
• Last chance
• Lawsuit
• Legendary
• Lick
• Lies
• Lifetime
• Light
• Limited
• List
• Little-known
• Loathsome
• Login required
• Lonely
• Looming
• Loser
• Lost
• Lovely
• Lucky
• Lunatic
• Lurking
• Lust
• Luxurious
• Lying
• Magic
• Magnetic
• Manageable
• Manifest
• Marked down
• Massive
• Maul
• Meltdown
• Members only
• Mere
• Miff
• Mind-blowing
• Minutes
• Mired
• Mischievous
• Mistake
• Model
• Mold
• Monetize
• Money
• Moneyback
• Money-grubbing
• Moneymaking
• More
• Mouthwatering
• Murder
• Myths
• Naked
• Naughty
• Nazi
• Nest egg
• Never again
• New
• Nightmare
• No nonsense
• No obligation
• No problem
• No risk
• No sweat
• Notable
• Noteworthy
• Nothing to it
• Now
• Obnoxious
• Obsession
• Odd
• Official
• Off-limits
• On demand
• Optimal
• Outlawed
• Painful
• Painless
• Pale
• Panic
• Passionate
• Pattern
• Pay zero
• Payback
• Peril
• Picnic
• Piece of cake
• Piranha
• Pitfall
• Pitiful
• Plague
• Plain
• Played
• Pleasurable
• Plummet
• Plunge
• Poison
• Poor
• Pound
• Premiere
• Preposterous
• Price break
• Priceless
• Printable
• Prison
• Privacy
• Private
• Privy
• Prize
• Professional
• Profit
• Promiscuous
• Prosperous
• Protected
• Proven
• Provocative
• Provoke
• Psycho
• Pummel
• Punish
• Pus
• Quadruple
• Quick
• Quick-witted
• Raise hell
• Rant
• Ready
• Recession-proof
• Reckoning
• Recognized
• Reduced
• Refugee
• Refund
• Reliable
• Remarkable
• Remote
• Replicate
• Report
• Research
• Restricted
• Results
• Revenge
• Revolting
• Rich
• Ridiculous
• Risky
• Riveting
• Roadmap
• Running out
• Ruthless
• Safety
• Sassy
• Saucy
• Savage
• Save
• Savings
• Scandalous
• Scary
• Scream
• Screw
• Searing
• Secret
• Secrets
• Secure
• Sensational
• Sensual
• Sex
• Shameless
• Shatter
• Shellacking
• Shh!
• Shocking
• Sick and tired
• Silly
• Simple
• Simple as ABC
• Sinful
• Six-figure
• Skyrocket
• Slaughter
• Slave
• Sleazy
• Sleeping
• Smart
• Smash
• Smooth
• Smug
• Smuggled
• Snap
• Sneak peek
• Sneaky
• Sniveling
• Snob
• Snooty
• Snotty
• Soaring
• Spank
• Special
• Spectacular
• Spine
• Spoiler
• Staggering
• Steal
• Steamy
• Steps
• Stimulating
• Stink
• Straightforward
• Strange
• Strangle
• Striking
• Strong
• Stuck up
• Studies show
• Stunning
• Stupid
• Successful
• Suck
• Suffering
• Super-human
• Supersecret
• Surge
• Sweaty
• Swipe
• Tailspin
• Tank
• Tantalizing
• Targeted
• Tawdry
• Tease
• Teetering
• Template
• Terror
• Terrorist
• Tested
• Thought-provoking
• Thrilling
• Thug
• Tools
• Top secret
• Torture
• Toxic
• Track record
• Trade secret
• Tragedy
• Trap
• Trauma
• Treasure
• Triple
• Triumph
• Turbo charge
• Ultimate
• Unauthorized
• Unbeaten
• Unbelievable
• Uncensored
• Uncharted
• Uncomplicated
• Unconditional
• Unconventional
• Undefeated
• Under the table
• Under wraps
• Underground
• Underhanded
• Undiscovered
• Unexplained
• Unexplored
• Unheard of
• Unique
• Unlock
• Unsung
• Untold
• Unusual
• Up-sell
• Urge
• Valor
• Value
• Vanquish
• Vaporize
• Verify
• Vicious
• Victim
• Victory
• Violent
• Volatile
• Vulnerable
• Wacky
• Wanton
• Warning
• Waste
• Weak
• Wealthy
• Well respected
• Whip
• Whopping
• Wild
• Withheld
• Wonderful
• Wondrous
• Worldwide
• Worry
• Worst
• Wounded
• You
• Zany
• Crap
• Crappy
• Shit,
• Shitty
• Trash
• Trashy
• Junk
• Lousy
• Outrageous
• Icky
• Obscene
• Scuzzy
• Repellent
• To repel
• Repulsive
• Nasty
• Awe
• Mesmerizing
• Enchantment
• Enchanting
• To enchant
• Terrific
• Breath-taking
• Spellbinding
• To beguile
• To bewitch
• Trustworthy
• Reliable
• Reliability
• Faith
• Faithful
• Admiration
• To admire
• Scientific
• Science
• Research-backed
• Facts
• Factual
• Absolutely
• Authoritative
• Saint
• Fool-proof
• Sure-fire
• Love
• Loveable
• To love
• Falling in love
• Joy
• Joyful
• To enjoy
• Tender
• Tenderness
• Devotion
• Devoted
• To devote
• Nurturing
• To nurture
• Bliss
• Blissful
• Seduction
• Seductive
• To seduce
• To cherish
• Luck
• Ecstatic
• Triumph
• Triumphant
• Glorious
• Cra
• Rage
• Raging
• Fury
• Furious
• Hatred
• To hate
• Irritating
• Annoying
• Bitter
• To sulk
• Grumpy
• Tantrum
• Flare up
• Hysterics
• Frenzy
• Yearning
• To yearn
• Passion
• Craving
• Longing
• To long for
• Inspiration
• To inspire
• Enthusiasm
• To enthuse
• Charming
• To charm
• To woo
• Discovery
• To discover
• Mystery
• Mysterious

Conclusion

In conclusion, using powerful words can effectively engage your audience and create a powerful and persuasive message. Using strong verbs, adjectives, and adverbs can make your writing more impactful and memorable. So next time you sit down to write, choose your words carefully and use them to your advantage.

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Last Updated on March 30, 2023

Taking from this post by RankMath and their fantastic SEO Power Words list; detailing hundreds of Power Words for SEO that you to use to write and optimise your website page titles, headlines and blog content. We have distilled the list of Powerful Words down to over 300+ of the Shortest Power Words; that can give your Post Titles a CTR and SEO Boost. Take a look at our Short Power Words List to help you write click generating headlines.

Power Words for SEO in Post Title

A lot of research has been done to find out what makes a headline into a really snappy headline. The two most basic aspects of a good headline are specificity and emotion.

Write Specific SEO Titles & Headlines

Specificity – “the quality of belonging or relating uniquely to a particular subject”. This means that the headline is written with your target audience in mind. The idea is for your audience to feel that this headline was written just for them.

To that effect, the word “you” on its own is thought to be one of the most persuasive words in the English language; which again goes to show that keeping your target audience in mind while creating content is extremely important and effective for search engine optimisation.

SEO Power Words for Emotion

The other most important factor that will make a headline really work is emotion. A headline with real emotion not only gathers more clicks, it also gets more shares from other websites, blogs and social media channels. This is where Power Words can really help, increasing the emotion in your post title and enticing readers to click through.

…emotion not only gathers more clicks, it also gets more shares from other websites… Click To Tweet

How to use Power Words in SEO

All this talk about targeting emotional response in your blog post’s headline and we haven’t told you how to go about doing so. The best way to make your headline, post title or call to action more click enticing, is to use what are known as SEO Power Words; and in most cases it’s even better if you use Short Power Words for SEO purposes.

Post titles, headlines, email subject lines and call to action text often needs to be concise and to the point; with character limits enforced which prevent you from being verbose. When you’re looking for that perfect SEO Power Word, which sums up the exact emotion that you’re trying to convey; you don’t really want to be running up a page title that goes into several lines (2 at most), because the words you’ve chosen are too long. Keeping your words short can also help with your overall post reading score and conversion rates.

List of Short Power Words for SEO

Use our Short SEO Power Words list below to improve and optimise your headlines; to help you nail the perfect post titles and call to action text with powerful short words for SEO.

A Cut Above	Absurd	Abuse
Admit	Accuse	Amp
Advice	Alive	At Ease
Agony	Always	Avoid
Aware	Badass	Basic
Backed	Banned	Battle
Beauty	Belief	Beat Down
Behind The Scenes	Best	Belong
Better	Beware	Big
Black Market	Blast	Blood
Bloody	Bomb	Bona Fide
Bold	Bottom Line	Bonus
Brazen	Brave	Break
Brutal	Broke	Bright
Budget	Bully	Buy
Cash	Coward	Calm
Cheap	Crave	Case Study
Cheat-sheet	Crave	Cheat
Cheer	Crazy	Child-like
Corpse	Create	Clear
Cover-up	Crush	Copy
Covert	Desire	Dead
Danger	Direct	Deadly
Death	Doomed	Deep
Dirty	Double	Dreamy
Dollar	Drive	Dumb
Eager	Elite	Easily
Easy	Envy	Energy
Edge	Epic	Evil
Elated	Extra	Expert
Fail-proof	Final	Fail
Faith	First Ever	Famous
Faux	Fluid	Feast
Faux Pas	Fool	Fierce
Feeble	Foul	Fine
Fight	Free	First
Fired	Frenzy	Focus
Flirt	Frisky	Fooled
Frugal	Fully	Force-fed
Full	Fun-loving	Funny
Genius	Gift	Greed
Grit	Greedy	Guilt-free
Growth	Guilt	Guts
Harsh	Hack	Happy
Havoc	Have You Heard	Hate
Heart	Hoax	Hell
Hero	Horror	Hoak
High Tech	How To	Honest
Hope	Humor	Hurry
Huge	Idiot	Ignite
In The Zone	Iron-clad	Insane
Intel	Irs	Insult
Is Here	Jail	Jovial
Keen	Kill	Know It All
Killed	Kills	Last Minute
Last	Lame	Laugh
Lazy	Last Chance	Left Behind
Likely	Latest	Lick
Lonely	Launch	Lies
Lost	Little-known	Light
Lust	Loser	Love
Luxury	Lying	Magic
Marked Down	Maul	Master
Mired	Money	Murder
Naked	Nest Egg	Nail
Nazi	No One Talks About	Never
New	No Risk	No Good
Noted	Now	Odd
Odd	Okay	Off-kilter
Off-limits	Open-minded	Off-the Record
On-demand	Ordeal	Packed
Panic	Peril	Pale
Pas	Plague	Pay Zero
Placid	Plunge	Played
Pride	Poor	Pluck
Proven	Pound	Poison
Punch	Price	Prize
Punish	Prison	Profit
Pus	Quick-start	Quick
Quiet	Refund	Rare
Reject	Reveal	Reward
Report	Rookie	Risky
Rested	Ruin	Rowdy
Rich	Rules	Safe
Sacred	Sale	Savage
Sadly	Save	Scared
Safety	Scam	Scream
Savvy	Scarce	Secret Plot
Scary	Secret Agenda	Secure
Secret	Serene	Self-hating
Seize	Sexy	Severe
Sex	Shrewd	Sick And Tired
Should	Silly	Simple
Signs	Sinful	Sins
Six-figure	Sinful	Sizzle
Sleazy	Sneak-peek	Skill
Smash	Snob	Slave
Snotty	Soar	Sly
Solid	Spine	Smug
Steamy	Stable	Sneaky
Still	Steady	Snooty
Stoic	Step-by-step	Spank
Stop	Sturdy	Speedy
Strong	Super-human	Spirit
Stuck Up	Superb	Spunky
Stupid	Sure Fire	Steal
Stupid-simple	Surge	Suffer
Suck	Swoon	Super
Sunny	Swoon-worthy	Sure
Sweaty	Tense	Tease
Tank	The Truth	Tested
Tawdry	Ticked Off	Trade Secret
Terror	Today	Trend
Thug	Track Record	Tricks
Timely	Tragic	Triple
Toxic	Trap	Truly
Trauma	Tweaks	Turbo-charge
Truth	Up-sell	Unlock
Unique	Urgent	Upbeat
Unseen	Useful	Urge
Unsure	Valor	Verify
Value	Wanton	Victim
Weak	Wealth	Wanted
What No One Tells You	Whip	Waste
Wicked	Wild	Weird
Woozy	World	Worry
Worst	Zen	Zinger

More Content Optimisation Tips

We hope this extensive Short SEO Power Words List for SEO boosting was useful to help boost conversions. If you are looking for more tips and tricks to optimise your on page content and tags, why not take a look at our blog. You’ll find plenty to read and help you on your quest for the top of the search results.

Favourite Short SEO Power Words

Think there is something missing from our power words list? Let us know your favourite Short Power Words for SEO that have 6 letters or fewer; we’ll test them out for SEO purposes and add them to this list if they work for gaining increased conversions.

“Join us!”

“Sign up!”

These phrases litter the huge variety of email newsletter boxes you’ll come across online, and they generally serve the same purpose: Click here to give us your email address. They serve the same purpose, but do they say the same thing?

Can one word change the way you feel about a button?

In my experience, yes. I subscribe to the copywriting school of thought where every single word is absolutely worth stewing over and A/B testing because one single word can change everything. The difference between “joining” and “signing up” is the difference between fellowship and enlisting. A word changes the meaning, the mood, and the motivation.

To connect the dots then, you’re probably wondering: If a single word makes that much difference, then what words should I be using? Which words and phrases convert?

The science of copywriting, the psychology of headlines, and the art of CTAs has revealed quite a number of go-to moves for marketers looking to gain a linguistic edge in their words and pitches.

I’ve enjoyed saving several lists of these so-called power words and pulling them out to use in a pinch. I’m happy to share my lists with you of the phrases and words that convert. Do you have any power words that work magic for you? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.

Research reveals how a single word makes all the difference

You likely know inherently that specific words matter. You click on a headline because a single word strikes you. You click a signup button because a word creates an emotion.

The research behind this power of words is incredibly deep. Researchers have found that the word you use to describe a car accident (“contacted” vs. “smashed”) paints the way eyewitnesses view the event. Another study found that simple stock names that are easier to pronounce lead to quicker gains post-IPO.

Perhaps my favorite study is one shared by  Brian Clark of Copyblogger. Social psychologist Ellen Langer tested the power of a single word in an experiment where she asked to cut in line at a copy machine. She tried three different ways of asking:

“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?” – 60% said OK

“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?” – 94% said OK

“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?” – 93% said OK

I don’t know about you, but I thought Langer’s third request was rather elementary. Yet it didn’t matter. The trigger word “because” was all she needed. The takeaway: When you want people to take action, always give a reason.

Neurologically, we have an instinctual reaction to words and language. Researchers have found that we are hardwired to associate sounds with images, even in words we do not comprehend. Here’s a test for you, pulled from a study by

Wolfgang Köhler. Which of the two shapes below is a maluma and which is a takete?

The vast majority of respondents label the smooth, rounded image a maluma and the hard, jagged image a takete.

To go one step further into the power of words, you can look at Patrick Renvoise and Christopher Morin’s book about neuromarketing (see Peep Laja’s article at ConversionXL for a great analysis of the book). Renvoise and Morin highlight the three different brains we have: the new brain, the middle brain, and the old brain.

The old brain is the part that controls decisions, and it also happens to be the most primitive. In this way, the words you use to market to the old brain will often be the most direct, simple, arresting, visual words you have.

You’ll likely see a lot of these “old brain” words in the lists below.

The ultimate list of words and phrases that convert

A quick Google search can reveal pages of results for persuasive and powerful words. There’s no trouble finding them; there’s sometimes trouble applying them. The words you see below are split into a number of categories, along with some ideas on how I’ve used them in the past (and how you can use them, too).

The 5 most persuasive words in the English language

• You
• Free
• Because
• Instantly
• New

You’ve seen these words countless times before—and for good reason. The research behind these words has shown over and over that they work. Gregory Ciotti wrote about these five in a post for Copyblogger, showing exactly how each is vital for persuasive speech and copy. For instance, immediate words like “instantly” trigger mid-brain activity and feed our zest for quick gratification.

Where to try these words: Calls-to-action, headlines, email subject lines, headings, opening sentences and paragraphs

The 20 most influential words, via David Ogilvy

• Suddenly
• Now
• Announcing
• Introducing
• Improvement
• Amazing
• Sensational
• Remarkable
• Revolutionary
• Startling
• Miracle
• Magic
• Offer
• Quick
• Easy
• Wanted
• Challenge
• Compare
• Bargain
• Hurry

David Ogilvy is to advertising as Jimi Hendrix is to the electric guitar. His list of influential words you see above was first published in 1963, and many remain in vogue today.

Where to try these: Headlines, bullet points, subject lines

(Sidenote: For a fun blast from the past, courtesy of Ben Locker, here are a couple advertisements for power words that date back to 1961. A New York Times ad is on the left, a Washington Post ad is on the right. Ogilvy’s 20 influential words came out two years after these.)

• Join
• Become a member
• Come along

These community phrases provide a sense of togetherness to the user; they feel like they’re taking part in something larger than themselves. (You’ll notice that we use the word “join” in our email newsletter form.)

Where to try these words: Email signups, trial offers, in-app messaging

10 cause-and-effect words and phrases

• Accordingly
• As a result
• Because
• Caused by
• Consequently
• Due to
• For this reason
• Since
• Therefore
• Thus

Author Darlene Price, the originator of this cause-and-effect list, has great insight into what makes these cause-and-effect phrases so useful: “

Cause-and-effect words make your claims sound objective and rational rather than biased and subjective.”

Where to try these: Closing paragraphs, transitions

12 phrases that imply exclusivity

• Members only
• Login required
• Class full
• Membership now closed
• Ask for an invitation
• Apply to be one of our beta testers
• Exclusive offers
• Become an insider
• Be one of the few
• Get it before everybody else
• Be the first to hear about it
• Only available to subscribers

Garrett Moon of CoSchedule explains exclusivity as being like a club with membership restrictions. You want in because others are in. There’s a bit of social pressure with exclusivity wording, and it helps drive decisions and actions for the user.

Where to try these: Signup forms, links, calls-to-action, subheads

9 phrases that imply scarcity

• Limited offer
• Supplies running out
• Get them while they last
• Sale ends soon
• Today only
• Only 10 available
• Only 3 left
• Only available here
• Double the offer in the next hour only

The fear of missing out (often abbreviated as FOMO) is a common driver of action for marketers and advertisers. FOMO is essentially scarcity. By showing that an item or product is in limited supply, you hope to ratchet up demand.

Where to try these: Headings, promo copy

28 words and phrases that make you feel safe

• Anonymous
• Authentic
• Backed
• Best-selling
• Cancel Anytime
• Certified
• Endorsed
• Guaranteed
• Ironclad
• Lifetime
• Moneyback
• No Obligation
• No Questions Asked
• No Risk
• No Strings Attached
• Official
• Privacy
• Protected
• Proven
• Recession-proof
• Refund
• Research
• Results
• Secure
• Tested
• Try before You Buy
• Verify
• Unconditional

Boost Blog Traffic’s Jon Morrow collected a huge list of power words (his full list of 317 is well worth the read) and sorted the list by category. The above section is Morrow’s grouping of words that engender feelings of safety. It’s my favorite group from Morrow’s list because these safety words have an amazing effect on the person reading: They create trust.

Where to try these: Payment forms, signup forms, testimonials

47 ubiquitous power words

• Improve
• Trust
• Immediately
• Discover
• Profit
• Learn
• Know
• Understand
• Powerful
• Best
• Win
• Hot Special
• More
• Bonus
• Exclusive
• Extra
• You
• Free
• Health
• Guarantee
• New
• Proven
• Safety
• Money
• Now
• Today
• Results
• Protect
• Help
• Easy
• Amazing
• Latest
• Extraordinary
• How to
• Worst
• Ultimate
• Hot
• First
• Big
• Anniversary
• Premiere
• Basic
• Complete
• Save
• Plus!
• Create

Each employee on the circulation and email marketing teams at Interweave Press has these words printed and posted on their wall. The list, which was originally compiled Linda Ruth and Curtis Circulation Company, came from studying best-selling magazine covers, and Interweave’s Bob Kaslik found that the words work equally well on magazines as they do in promo copy and in email subject lines.

Where to try these: Email subject lines, headlines, calls-to-action

9 word for shareable content

• Secret
• Tell us
• Inspires
• Take
• Help
• Promote
• Increase
• Create
• Discover

Neil Patel put together the infographic you see below, based on research on each of the four major social networks: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn. His list represents the words that can get your content shared on social media. I’ve found success grouping some of these words with other power words as well.

Where to try these: Social media updates

If you’re looking for inspiration (and a few unique power words to keep in your toolbox), try keeping track of the words that get you to convert. Take note of the words and phrases that grab your attention. Keep in mind why a headline stands out more than another. Notice which words grab you in a bullet list of benefits.

As you find new words, you can build a list in Evernote or another note-taking app; then be sure to reference them when you’re in a pinch and looking for a powerful addition to your headline, copy, or post.

And once you’ve found the power words that help you convert, we’d love to help you share them to your social profiles at exactly the right times.

Do you have any favorite power words that have worked for you? Which ones from the list here might you be interested to try? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Image credits: CarbonNYC, Ben Locker, Conversion XL,

Full list of words from this list:

1. abate

   become less in amount or intensity

2. abhor

   feel hatred or disgust toward

3. abortive

   failing to accomplish an intended result

4. absolve

   grant remission of a sin to

5. abstruse

   difficult to understand

6. accolade

   a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction

7. accost

   approach and speak to someone aggressively or insistently

8. acquiesce

   agree or express agreement

9. acrid

   strong and sharp, as a taste or smell

10. adage

    a condensed but memorable saying embodying an important fact

11. adamant

    very hard native crystalline carbon valued as a gem

12. address

    the place where a person or organization can be found

13. adherent

    someone who believes and helps to spread a doctrine

14. affectation

    a deliberate pretense or exaggerated display

15. affluent

    having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value

16. agrarian

    relating to rural matters

17. agnostic

    a person who claims the existence of God is unknowable

18. allege

    report or maintain

19. allusion

    passing reference or indirect mention

20. aloof

    distant, cold, or detached in manner

21. ambiguous

    having more than one possible meaning

22. amenity

    something that provides value, pleasure, or convenience

23. amnesty

    a warrant granting release from punishment for an offense

24. amorous

    inclined toward or displaying love

25. apartheid

    a social policy of racial segregation

26. aphorism

    a short pithy instructive saying

27. apocryphal

    being of questionable authenticity

28. apprehensive

    in fear or dread of possible evil or harm

29. aptitude

    inherent ability

30. arbiter

    someone chosen to judge and decide a disputed issue

31. arcane

    requiring secret or mysterious knowledge

32. archetype

    something that serves as a model

33. astute

    marked by practical hardheaded intelligence

34. attrition

    the act of rubbing together

35. austere

    of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor

36. avow

    declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true

37. awry

    turned or twisted to one side

38. beget

    have children

39. belabor

    beat soundly

40. beleaguer

    annoy persistently

41. bequest

    a gift of personal property by will

42. bereft

    lacking or deprived of something

43. beset

    assail or attack on all sides

44. blatant

    without any attempt at concealment; completely obvious

45. blight

    any plant disease resulting in withering without rotting

46. blithe

    carefree and happy and lighthearted

47. burlesque

    a theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor

48. cadence

    the accent in a metrical foot of verse

49. cajole

    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering

50. callow

    young and inexperienced

51. candor

    the quality of being honest and straightforward

52. catharsis

    purging the body to stimulate evacuation of the bowels

53. celibacy

    abstaining from sexual relations

54. chagrin

    strong feelings of embarrassment

55. charlatan

    a flamboyant deceiver

56. choleric

    characterized by anger

57. circumvent

    surround so as to force to give up

58. clandestine

    conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods

59. clemency

    leniency and compassion shown toward offenders

60. clique

    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose

61. coalesce

    fuse or cause to come together

62. coerce

    cause to do through pressure or necessity

63. collusion

    secret agreement

64. complicity

    guilt as a confederate in a crime or offense

65. conciliatory

    making or willing to make concessions

66. conjecture

    believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds

67. connoisseur

    an expert able to appreciate a field

68. contentious

    showing an inclination to disagree

69. contiguous

    having a common boundary or edge

70. contingent

    determined by conditions or circumstances that follow

71. contrite

    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow

72. contrived

    showing effects of planning or manipulation

73. corroborate

    give evidence for

74. coup

    a sudden and decisive change of government by force

75. covenant

    an agreement between a god and the people

76. cynic

    someone who is critical of the motives of others

77. decadent

    relating to indulgence in something pleasurable

78. decimate

    kill in large numbers

79. definitive

    clearly formulated

80. deluge

    a heavy rain

81. despondent

    without or almost without hope

82. despot

    a cruel and oppressive dictator

83. dictum

    an authoritative declaration

84. discern

    perceive, recognize, or detect

85. disdain

    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike

86. edify

    make understand

87. efface

    remove by or as if by rubbing or erasing

88. effusion

    an unrestrained expression of emotion

89. egalitarian

    favoring social equality

90. elicit

    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response

91. equitable

    fair to all parties as dictated by reason and conscience

92. erudite

    having or showing profound knowledge

93. exacting

    severe and unremitting in making demands

94. exalt

    praise, glorify, or honor

95. exemplify

    be characteristic of

96. extol

    praise, glorify, or honor

97. exult

    feel extreme happiness or elation

98. facile

    arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth

99. farcical

    broadly or extravagantly humorous

100. fecund

     capable of producing offspring or vegetation

101. flout

     treat with contemptuous disregard

102. foible

     a minor weakness or peculiarity in someone’s character

103. foment

     try to stir up

104. fortuitous

     lucky; occurring by happy chance

105. genteel

     marked by refinement in taste and manners

106. glut

     supply with an excess of

107. hiatus

     an interruption in the intensity or amount of something

108. histrionic

     overly dramatic or emotional

109. idiosyncrasy

     a behavioral attribute peculiar to an individual

110. idyllic

     charmingly simple and serene

111. ignominy

     a state of dishonor

112. incense

     make furious

113. incessant

     uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing

114. incisive

     demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions

115. ineffable

     defying expression or description

116. inept

     generally incompetent and ineffectual

117. inexorable

     impossible to prevent, resist, or stop

118. injunction

     a judicial remedy to prohibit a party from doing something

119. inordinate

     beyond normal limits

120. insidious

     working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way

121. insipid

     lacking interest or significance or impact

122. insolent

     marked by casual disrespect

123. insurgent

     in opposition to a civil authority or government

124. invective

     abusive language used to express blame or censure

125. lampoon

     ridicule with satire

126. largess

     liberality in bestowing gifts

127. lugubrious

     excessively mournful

128. malaise

     a feeling of mild sickness or depression

129. malfeasance

     wrongful conduct by a public official

130. manifest

     clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment

131. matriculate

     enroll as a student

132. maudlin

     very sentimental or emotional

133. mellifluous

     pleasing to the ear

134. mercenary

     a person hired to fight for another country than their own

135. maxim

     a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits

136. milieu

     the environmental condition

137. mortify

     cause to feel shame

138. munificent

     very generous

139. nebulous

     lacking definite form or limits

140. nefarious

     extremely wicked

141. obfuscate

     make obscure or unclear

142. oblivion

     the state of being disregarded or forgotten

143. ostensible

     appearing as such but not necessarily so

144. ostentatious

     intended to attract notice and impress others

145. paltry

     contemptibly small in amount or size

146. panacea

     hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases

147. peremptory

     putting an end to all debate or action

148. perfidy

     an act of deliberate betrayal

149. peripatetic

     traveling especially on foot

150. perjury

     criminal offense of making false statements under oath

151. pernicious

     exceedingly harmful

152. perquisite

     an incidental benefit for certain types of employment

153. pertinent

     being of striking appropriateness

154. pervade

     spread or diffuse through

155. philistine

     a person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits

156. poignant

     keenly distressing to the mind or feelings

157. portent

     a sign of something about to happen

158. precept

     a rule of personal conduct

159. precipitous

     extremely steep

160. predilection

     a predisposition in favor of something

161. prerogative

     a right reserved exclusively by a person or group

162. proletariat

     a social class comprising those who do manual labor

163. promulgate

     state or announce

164. proponent

     a person who argues for a cause or puts forward an idea

165. proselytize

     convert or try to convert someone to another religion

166. purport

     have the often misleading appearance of being or intending

167. putative

     purported

168. rapacious

     living by preying on other animals

169. recalcitrant

     stubbornly resistant to authority or control

170. redolent

     having a strong pleasant odor

171. renounce

     turn away from; give up

172. reprehension

     an act or expression of criticism and censure

173. respite

     a pause from doing something

174. rudimentary

     being in the earliest stages of development

175. ruminate

     reflect deeply on a subject

176. saccharine

     overly sweet

177. sacrilege

     blasphemous behavior

178. sanctimonious

     excessively or hypocritically pious

179. sanguine

     confidently optimistic and cheerful

180. scrupulous

     characterized by extreme care and great effort

181. sequester

     keep away from others

182. sloth

     a disinclination to work or exert yourself

183. strife

     bitter conflict; heated or violent dissension

184. subversive

     in opposition to an established system or government

185. succinct

     briefly giving the gist of something

186. supercilious

     having or showing arrogant superiority

187. tantamount

     being essentially equal to something

188. temerity

     fearless daring

189. tenable

     based on sound reasoning or evidence

190. tenacious

     stubbornly unyielding

191. tenuous

     lacking substance or significance

192. transgress

     act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises

193. transient

     lasting a very short time

194. transcend

     go beyond the scope or limits of

195. trepidation

     a feeling of alarm or dread

196. turpitude

     a corrupt or depraved or degenerate act or practice

197. unctuous

     unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating

198. unremitting

     uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing

199. unwitting

     not aware or knowing

200. venal

     capable of being corrupted

201. verisimilitude

     the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true

202. vicarious

     experienced at secondhand

203. vicissitude

     a variation in circumstances or fortune

204. vilify

     spread negative information about

205. vitiate

     make imperfect

206. volition

     the act of making a choice

207. willful

     done by design

208. wistful

     showing pensive sadness

Created on June 12, 2013
(updated August 5, 2013)

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