Words that Work
Posted On: 2012-12-09
Over the years that I've been writing here and on Porn Resource I've often talked about power words ... words that we can use in our marketing that will have an impact on the people who read them. Words that human beings are hard-wired to react to ... usually subconsciously.
At first there were seven power words and all the experts agreed on what those words were. Then a year or two ago I saw someone else publish a list of power words that contained 15 words. I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to that list at the time because ... well ... those extra eight words all sounded rather weak to me.
However, as things happen on the Net, others took up that list and ran with it ... without stopping to check to see whether those extra words were worth worrying about or not. I preferred to stick with the seven that I knew did work so I don't know whether the 15 are still being promoted or not.
But now there some genuine experts who are suggesting that there are five words that really do have the power to make people stop and take the action you want them to take and there are studies that support the claim for each word in that list of five.
Obviously the most powerful word that we can use is 'you'. Nothing focuses a marketing message more directly on the person who is reading it than the word 'you'. It speaks directly to the person and makes them part of the marketing message.
There are no prizes for guessing which word ranks in second spot for getting people's attention and encouraging them to do what you want them to do. It's a word that even marketers like us respond to ... it's almost as if we can't help ourselves when we see the word 'free' used in a marketing pitch.
According to one recent study people are so hungry for free stuff that they will make completely different choices if they think that they're going to get something ... no matter how big or how small ... for free.
The third word is a totally new one on me. Who would have thought that 'because' had much, if any, power but studies are suggesting that it does. It seems that if you can give a person a reason ... no matter how weak ... for doing something they will allow you to do it even if it might inconvenience them.
Some experts suggest that we humans are conditioned to do things for others if we are given a reason for doing it. And, with most people wanting to know what is in it for them, perhaps we have a clue about how to use 'because' for our type of marketing.
Perhaps you don't remember what it was like before the Internet came along but for many people it was a time for patience ... especially if they were buying something that wasn't available in their hometown ... because they would have to wait for it.
There was no next day delivery then ... no expedited shipping ... you placed an order then waited for the order to reach the supplier and then wait some more while the supplier got round to shipping it out to you. You could wait for weeks for an item to arrive and it would have been excruciating torture for anyone from this time period who had gone back in time.
Today it's all about instant gratification and that's why the word 'instantly' has become so powerful when it comes to encouraging people to buy what you're selling. People want things now and if you can tell them that you will deliver what they want instantly then you're on your way to making a sale.
The final word in the big five selling word list is 'new'. While most of us feel comfortable about buying things that we have bought before ... a particular brand of breakfast cereal ... white goods ... even motor vehicles ... we are still attracted by new things.
Children like to play with new toys ... a new car is like a new toy to us until the novelty wears off. New action scenes will definitely attract more members than a rehash of what was on the site before.
So you can focus your marketing message on new stuff and have an expectation of getting sales ... but what if you were able to combine new things with something that was older and had more trust?
I hope that's given you something to think about over the weekend. We're still working away at building out a new online shop and that new list of five words has certainly given us something to think about.