Top 13 Power Words That Engage Wellness Prospects and Motivate Them to Buy – A Copywriter’s Checklist

Wellness prospects are a tough crowd to motivate.

Yet…that seems to contradict the very nature of their struggle. Because folks who suffer a serious health, relationship, business, or personal issue will tell you they can’t stand it anymore. And want resolution at any cost.

You can imagine—experiencing chronic fatigue…dealing with cancer…handling a troubled teen…going through divorce—these should be enough to motivate any natural health or self-help prospect to try your solutions. Especially solutions that can instruct…provide clarification…or otherwise ease the pain of their challenge.

But remember, your prospect has heard it all before. They’ve gotten excited…tried other solutions…spent their hard-earned money…and been disappointed.

One way to break down their objections about trying your solutions is to engage them on a deeper emotional level.

Of course, you’re familiar with the saying…“people buy for emotional reasons, but justify it with rationale.”

So first, you must appeal to your prospect’s feelings. You must show them in your sales message that you understand their concern. And get right to the core of their concern…right away. Or you can forget about them sticking around long enough to consider your offer, much less justifying it in their head.

Truth is…all selling involves understanding what drives your prospects to take action.

And there are a multitude of formulas you can apply to your sales messages.

One of my favorite methods—and it packs a powerful punch—is to use words or phrases that have a natural ability to stir your prospect’s emotions.

Direct-response writers refer to these as Power Words.

Power words (or phrases) get your prospect’s attention. And pack a ton of motivation into just a few letters. They inspire…arouse curiosity…offer relief…and excite. And, they work by putting your prospect in a better place emotionally.

Your prospect usually has deep-seated positive feelings when they hear or see these words. And, is more inclined to hear your message and take the next required action—where otherwise she’d remain stuck.

Use power words in your sales messages wherever you want to stoke your prospect’s imagination or motivate them to take action. Some of the best places are:

• Headlines and subheads
• Email subject lines
• Calls-to-action
• Beginning of sentences or paragraphs
• Short ad copy
• Landing pages
• Order forms
• Bulleted lists

Also, because prospects often scan your sales copy or content for some indication of its relevance, power words serve to draw them back in…and get them to focus on your message again.

Now, using power words to persuade is not a stand-alone tool. Sure, they’re meant to motivate and engage. Yet they cannot boost response all by themselves.

But used in conjunction with other persuasive writing strategies, they work hard at motivating prospects to keep reading…click the link…hit the “subscribe” or “buy” now button…or leave a comment.

So whether you write you own promotions—or hire a competent freelance copywriter—check out this list of the strongest power words and phrases used by my clients to motivate their natural health and self-help prospects to act.

1. Name (your prospect’s, that is!)—It goes without saying, this is the sweetest sounding word to your prospect. Use it in your promotions. But don’t overdo it. Try too hard and they’ll see your message—and products—as hyped.
2. You—Like #1 above, this serves to assure the prospect you are communicating with them only…and have a genuine interest in helping them with their personal situation. Thus, they’ll feel “special”—and thank you for it with their membership or purchase.
3. Free—Perhaps the most powerful word used in marketing copy today. Free equates to receiving a gift (another power word that motivates). Also, “save” is a good word to use when referring to your offer.
4. Guarantee—This one is powerful in helping a prospect overcome their objections about taking the action you want. It usually is found in your sales message near where you introduce your product or service guarantee. When describing your guarantee…be sure to use phrases like “money-back”, “100% satisfaction”, “no questions asked”, “full refund”, “no risk”, or “limited time”.
5. Easy—Your prospects are burnt out…beat up…hurting…confused…and overwhelmed. They long for an “easy” solution. But once you get their attention, be sure to prove it’s as easy as you say. Using the word “simple” works well too.
6. Discover—Great word to arouse your prospect’s curiosity. Who doesn’t like to discover something new or profound? Words like “amazing”, “incredible”, “shocking”, “remarkable”, “latest”, or “surprising” work well to emphasize this concept of hearing about a new revelation. Or use “Know”, “How”, “Best”, “Top”, “Hot”, “Powerful” or “XX Ways” to emphasize you are revealing some powerful techniques no one else has.
7. Proven—Of course, this implies you have previously given adequate testimonials and proof about your claims. But don’t let this word be a crutch. It’s always helpful to restate claims again and again throughout your sales message.
8. Secret—A twin sister to “discover”. It implies the prospect is hearing about something first or you are breaking the rules by sharing it with him. Mix it up a bit using “breakthrough”, “revelations”, or “miracles”.
9. Plus—This is a great transition word for body copy. It implies you already gave your prospect something of value previously in your message…and you’re now adding to it. Use the phrases “as a bonus” or “but that’s not all” to get the same effect.
10. Boost—Great word for starting bullets or list of benefits. Boost immunity…boost energy…boost profits…boost self-esteem…boost, boost, boost! The words “increase”, “promote”, “build”, “protect”, “help”, and “improve” work almost as well in similar situations.
11. Instantly—Again, your prospect is often at her wit’s end. She wants a solution that works…and works now. Try substituting “immediately”, “today”, “before midnight”, or “right now” to communicate a greater urgency.
12. Solution—This word implies a fix. Not an attempt at a fix…but a sure thing. A once-and-for-all resolution to a long-standing problem. Add the word “real” in front of solution to imply your solution isn’t a “fake” one, one that doesn’t work, or one that everyone else is offering.
13. Eliminate—This word implies permanency. Because your prospect has had ongoing relationship issues…chronic arthritis…or multiple business failures, they’ll stand up and take notice—and hear what you have to say. Because—even though they have reached a point of despair—deep down, they still long for a return to their youthful, healthful, joyful self. And will pay a steep price if you can convince them your product can eliminate their concerns. How about using “rid”, “wipe out”, “blast away”, “defeat”, “soothe”, “melt away”, “evaporate”, or “fight” to change things up a bit.

I’m sure you can come up with other words that get your ideal prospects charged about your sales message. Enough so they buy more, more often, and at higher prices.

And, you may want to check out this post by Success Works to better understand what power words are and how they work.

Then go ahead and use these top 13 power words to motivate your wellness prospects to take action. Use it as a checklist. Apply it to your email subject lines, sales letter headlines and subheads, newsletter lift notes and space ads, blog posts—or any other place you need to persuade your prospect to act.

Along with other effective copywriting strategies, you can increase your chances of getting prospects to continue reading…click on a link…hit the “subscribe now” button…refer a friend…or leave a comment. Alternatively, hire a copywriter for all your copywriting needs.