Some Words Are Mightier Than the Sword: Powerful Words to Trigger Emotions

I look at and study a lot of copywriting and get asked frequently to review and critique other people’s sales copy.

Time and time again I find the same things missing and one of the most important missing elements are “Power Words”.

montage bloghalfsize Some Words Are Mightier Than the Sword: Powerful Words to Trigger EmotionsPower Words are a great way to improve your conversions and to grab the prospects emotions and should be used, judiciously, in all your sales copy.

They are so important that I have a list of the most powerful ones pasted to my wall just next to the computer screen I am writing this on.

The best words make the reader “feel” and “imagine” an object, scene or situation; note imagine can be a great power word!

How they work is they tap into some of the more “primal” emotions and desires and trigger off more intense reactions than other words. Of course, not all words will trigger absolutely everyone but true power words will draw out stronger emotions is almost everyone.

The most common example, and the one some people call “the most powerful word in the English language”, is the word free.

The reason is people love to get something for nothing. This probably goes back to “cave man” days when it could be the difference between surviving and not surviving.

Another, non-marketing example that has power is the proverbial screaming “fire”, it usually trigger a strong emotional (and physical!) response.

With Power Words so critical in a sales letter and so many people are neglecting them I’m going to look at how to use them to really improve your conversions and your profits.

Psychology professors at Yale did a study of the English language and found that some words have significantly more “power”, that is, trigger stronger emotions, than other words. Their top 10 list of the “most powerful words”, and how to use them, is:

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The Most Important Marketing Principle

A sales letter is just like a salesman that works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Its job is to sell your products.

To do that, so you are highly successful, the sales “gods” have passed down to us through the decades and centuries some “can’t fail” methods.

These methods were put together in a classic marketing principle around 1925 and I am amazed how many copywriters still don’t know about it; those are the ones struggling icon smile The Most Important Marketing Principle

Anyway, like any salesman, a sales letter should follow this long time marketing principle called…

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What Drives the Internet Marketing Industry?

There are really few limits to what can be sold on the World Wide Web. Anything, from digital products to tangible goods to services promised, can be sold online.

But how to sell them? And how do you convince people to buy from you?

That, of course, is the key question.

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Grades are in, did you pass?

Last week I told you that I just got a “B” in Gary Halbert’s copywriting quiz and had you take it also.

Below I have listed each question again along with the correct answer and a reason for that answer, if one was given.

I have also given my answer and my analysis of the answer.

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How Good Are You Really? Take Gary Halbert’s Quiz to Find Out…

I just took this copywriting quiz developed by the late Gary Halbert; if you don’t know who he is you really need to check him out and his teachings – he was about as good as you can get when it comes to copywriting and direct response marketing.

I did okay, I got 16 out of 20 — a B back in my school days, but not as well as I had hoped (or, truthfully, expected). It was an interesting and humbling experience (made me remember that I don’t know as much as I thought icon smile How Good Are You Really? Take Gary Halbert’s Quiz to Find Out... and I really wanted to share the quiz with you so you could benefit from it also.

GaryHalbertQuiz How Good Are You Really? Take Gary Halbert’s Quiz to Find Out...One thing I suggest is taking the test twice, once without thought and analysis, just your immediate gut reaction, and the second time use the rules of copywriting you know.

Compare the differences in results and find out where you are strong and where you are weak. Also, it will help you understand how well you can trust your instincts.

Some people are good representatives of their prospects and some aren’t and you need to know which you are, this is very important; you’ll be losing sales if you use the wrong viewpoint, that is, use instinct when you should use analysis and vice versa.

For example, my partner took the test both ways and got 40% more right when she analyzed. This suggests that she is atypical of the general public and things that attract them probably don’t attract her.

Post your answers to the blog and, who knows, there may be something nice for the person who scores the highest.

Beware, make sure you actually read each headline/question, I missed a few by thinking I knew it without properly reading it.

Here’s the quiz…

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