Speaking of winning… 😉
If you haven’t been hiding under a rock lately (or wisely shutting down all media), you’re likely to recognize these phrases:
“Just… winning every second of my life.”
“These people don’t have tigerblood in their veins.”
“So… BRING IT!”
All addictively intriguing phrases from recent rants by Charlie Sheen.
And yes, there IS a relevance.
It was one of the last lessons I ‘got’ before I started really WINNING (tee hee) in copywriting… that is, not being afraid go use power words.
- Using power words creates emotion and attention(hey, sure seems to work for Charlie!)
- Using power words creates an invisible bond that gently forces people to hang on and expect more
- Ultimately, using power words creates a following that is willing to do what you ask (like, uh, buy from you?)
Some of the keys to using power words effectively are; mental imagery, repetition, and brevity. And repetition.
PS. Charlie Sheen just tweeted this:
“The title of my book has finally been delivered thru vast and extensive Lunar channels. “Apocalypse Me” Warlock Latin for WINNING. c”
Power words, anyone? Exemplary. 🙂
PPS. And yes, this post is also a shameless SEO experiment. Apologies if you came in looking for gossip. We only have money making wisdom here. See you around. 🙂
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Show comments Hide commentsI have been trimming down on the use of words just for the sake of using words. Basically I have been working on getting to the point on the most straight forward way possible.
Alot of internet marketing sales letters beat around the bush when it comes to what a product does.
So my point is to make sure you not using a word just for the sake of using a word.
What are your thoughts Juho?
Hey Shaun,
It’s very true that wordiness is a very common sin in marketing. Especially in online marketing where using more space doesn’t cost you any more.
This is particularly true with headlines 🙂 where 17-20 words tends to be the maximum people can comprehend, and sometimes even 2-3 word ‘shout out’ type headlines work best.
Clarity of communication is essential – if you can use power words in such a way that it doesn’t get in the way of the message, I’m all for it.
That’s usually what separates the great copywriters from even good ones – you don’t have to work hard to figure out what’s going on and what’s being sold. It just flows and pulls you in, shows you how you’re going to be better off.