

10 Powerful Marketing Words and Phrases to Start Using
Today, we are going to take a deeper look at words and, along with words, emotional appeals. Now, logical appeals are often effective in grabbing people’s attention and motivating them to act, but emotional appeals should not be overlooked. Emotional appeals can be highly persuasive if used correctly. With these powerful marketing words, you can reach qualified leads and grow your business.
Powerful Marketing Words and Emotional Appeals
Alright, so, you may be thinking, “You’re asking me to manipulate my audience?”. No, that is certainly not what we are asking you to do. It is true that there is a fine line when it comes to emotional appeals, but if you think ethically, you can come up with emotional appeals that do not force people to act irrationally. Your goal is to be persuasive, not manipulative or devious.
Example.
Good mother to son: If you eat your veggies, you are going to grow up to be healthy and strong. Then you can be a strong firefighter like you always dreamed of.
Bad mother to son: If you don’t eat your veggies, you will get fat and all your friends will make fun of you.
- Never body shame your children.
- This mother is exploiting her child’s need for love and acceptance to get him to act in the way that she wants him to. She is asking him to choose between two things that are important to him, using extreme consequences to motivate him. She is also overgeneralizing and using his ignorance to power her argument. That is not the route that we want you take.
We cannot know what emotional appeals will be most helpful for you or your business, but we can give you some words that tend to have strong, persuasive effects.
10 Powerful Marketing Words
1. You. People want to know how your message, service or product is going to affect them. If it does not apply directly to them or their lifestyle, they are less likely to be interested. A great call to attention is to throw the word “you” into a message to make people listen.
2. Free. This one is likely very obvious. I mean, who doesn’t like free stuff? Amazon Prime has to be the most fabulous shopping creation ever because of the free two day shipping. Am I right? “Free” is pretty universal for evoking positive responses.
3. Instantly. This word is likely so powerful because of what American culture values in the business world. Americans prioritize timeliness and efficiency so highly. “Time is money.” So, when something is “instant” it is essentially free. (See how that came full circle?)
4. Easy. Let’s look again at “time is money.” Most of us are extremely busy people, so when something is quick and painless, it makes us think we are getting a good deal. We are saving ourselves time, by choosing this “easy” option. I mean, think of all the things you could be doing with that saved time.
5. Limited-time. Speaking of time… This is a great phrase to use because it evokes a feeling of urgency in people. Sometimes when people wait to make a decision, they forget all about that decision and never take action. When something is available for only a short amount of time, it causes people to think critically about what sort of actions they are going to take.
6. Don’t miss. This is the emotional appeal for all the emotional appeals. The king. People want to feel accepted. We love that sense of community and fellowship that comes with being around people that are like us. This appeal gets people to act swiftly because it infers that a timely decision needs to be made, and it gets people thinking that they will be left out if they don’t join. (Just don’t take this one too far.)
7. Risk-free. We often like taking risks because of the exciting side that can accompany them. There are lots of fun, valuable risks that we can take in life. When it comes to purchases, though, we often are risk-averse. So, these words are music to many ears when in an advertisement.
8. There’s more. (I hope you read that in an infomercial-ly voice!) People like to get a good deal. Adding more to the deal just sweetens the whole thing. Need we say more?
9. New. This is a word that causes us to come up with all kinds of questions. We become curious what the new item/service is. How is it better than other things like it? Why is it worth my money? Do I want to try that? This grabs people’s attentions and gets them looking deeper into whatever it is that you are offering.
10. Better. Here is another great word for getting people to think more about your product. What makes it better? How does it compare to something I already have? Keep them wondering.
11. Save. (Bonus word!) Once again, money. American culture is so money-conscious, and “save” is great way to appeal to this consciousness. We like to think about the things we can do with that extra money we saved. There is a futuristic aspect to this word.
Related post: What NOT to Say: 5 Phrases Marketers Should Never Use
Words are powerful tools that can easily be overlooked, but a few words can make all the difference when it comes to making appeals. So, you really should think about the appeals you are currently making so that you can make your new appeals better. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes, and do your best to make people your business.
If you have questions about your written emotional appeals or anything marketing related, contact us here.
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