(Because We All Want More Sales, Right?)
Ever wonder why you clicked on a button, alert, link, or webpage? Don’t feel bad if the answer is no—most of us don’t. And we shouldn’t, at least if the copywriter is doing their job. The reasons we hit that button vary from user to user, but from a writer and company standpoint, the goal is the same: to convert that initial interest into a sale.
So, how do you grab attention? Convert interest into action? In today’s social media and Internet-driven world, consumers have become overexposed to marketing trends and therefore desensitized to most forms of advertising. A professional copywriter—one who is good at their job—invests time and experience studying words and phrases that not only strongly influence customers but also best fit your business and communication goals.
Words sell. Put them together in phrases that grab interest and fire imagination, and you’ve got great copy that generates a reaction. Here are just five that many marketers and content copywriters consider the most persuasive.
YOU
Make your copy personal. Show your brand is conscious of its customers in our fast-paced instant-gratification world, where we are exposed to masses of generalized messages that often seem like propaganda. Messages that feel personalized give a pause and generate more attention.
FREE
Free might be the most powerful word in marketing copywriting. Yep, it still works. Who doesn’t like the idea of getting something for nothing? It also lowers barriers, and, according to Dan Ariely in the Atlantic, “Reciprocity is a very, very strong instinct. If somebody does something for you, you really feel a rather surprisingly strong obligation to do something back for them.”
Just be sure you’re using the word as you should. No one likes a bait-and-switch move. Pull one of those, and you’ll lose your buyers’ trust forever.
BECAUSE
This little gem has been proven to Increase conversion rates in a variety of scenarios. According to Kevan Lee, “When you want people to take action, always give a reason.” A recent study on the persuasiveness of the word “because” found that when faced with sound reasoning as to why they should do or buy something, a person’s natural instinct is to react positively.
INSTANTLY
The use of this word also has high conversion rates. “We’ve come to expect things so quickly that researchers found people can’t wait more than a few seconds for a video to load,” says Christopher Muther of The Boston Globe. Basically, consumers want things right now, or preferably upon waking yesterday. Give them the impression they will get something, or it will happen immediately, and you’ve piqued their interest.
NEW
Capitalize on the constant outpouring of the latest and greatest. Who doesn’t like having exclusive access to something, and more specifically, who doesn’t want to be a trendsetter? If you give your potential customers something to aim for, you might be surprised at how quickly conversion rates pick up.
To generate interest, conversion, click-through, and the end goal of sales, influential language is often the difference between someone following through and navigating away. However, you should never just toss conversion and power words into your marketing and website copy and expect them to work, kind of like what I did with the title of this blog (unless it worked, and then, hey, yay me!). Always keep in mind what you know and expect from your target audience and what you want to achieve with your copy to tie into your overall business goals.
We know these and a lot of other words that are perfect for encouraging leads to convert. If you need some help, drop us a line. We’ll respond instantly.
