Emotional Marketing Value Words (EMV)
In order to be successful in marketing, you need to understand how to evoke emotion in your audience. After all, people make purchases based on how they feel, not just on what they need. If you can tap into that emotional side, you'll be well on your way to increasing your conversion rate and driving more sales.
But how do you do that? One way is by using emotionally charged words in your marketing material. In this blog post, we'll take a look at what emotionally charged words are and how you can use them to your advantage. Then, we present a handy list of emotional words you should use. Keep reading to learn more!
What Are Emotionally Charged Words?
Emotionally charged words are exactly what they sound like: words that evoke an emotional response from the reader. These could be positive emotions like happiness, love, or excitement. Or, they could be negative emotions like fear, anger, or sadness.
Either way, emotionally charged words are powerful because they tap into our basic human emotions. And when we feel something, we're more likely to take action—whether that's clicking on a link, sharing a piece of content, or making a purchase.
How to Use Emotionally Charged Words in Your Marketing Material
Now that you know what emotionally charged words are, let's take a look at how you can use them in your marketing material. Here are a few tips:
1. Use Them Sparingly
If you use too many emotionally charged words in your material, it's going to come across as forced and inauthentic. No one wants to be bombarded with emotional manipulation! So take it easy and use emotionally charged words sparingly. A few strategically placed words will do the trick.
2. Make Sure They're Relevant
It's also important that the emotionally charged words you use are relevant to the rest of your content and the overall message you're trying to convey. There's no point in using emotionally charged words just for the sake of using them—you want them to add something to your material and help further your message.
For example, let's say you're writing a blog post about the benefits of exercise. You could use the word "transformation" throughout the piece as it's relevant to the topic and evokes an emotional response (in this case, inspiration). On the other hand, if you're writing about the same topic but using the word "change" instead of "transformation," it wouldn't have the same effect because it's not as relevant or emotion-evoking.
3. Appeal to Multiple Emotions
When choosing which emotions you want to appeal to in your marketing material, don't just think about positive ones! Sure, it's great to make people feel happy, but sometimes other emotions can be just as effective—if not more so—in driving conversions. Fear, for example, is a powerful emotion that can motivate people to take action because they don't want to miss out on something or miss an opportunity.
The List of Words That Awaken Emotion
Loyalty
Along the way
Always
Cemented
Committed
Consistent
Cornerstone
Countless
Dedicated
Devoted
Embedded
Enduring
Entrenched
Evergreen
Everlasting
For over X years
Hallmark
Ingrained
Longevity
Maintain
Mission
Never
No matter what
Our promise
Our standards
Over the years
Pride ourselves on
Remain
Steadfast
Sustained
Tradition
Uncompromising
Unshakeable
Faithfulness
Bond
Community
Connected
Customer spotlight
Customer success
Evangelists
Family
Frequent flyers
Friends
Gratitude
Have stuck with us
Join X others
Like our own
Long-time
Members
Mutual
Neighbors
Regulars
Relationships
See why our customers keep returning
Throughout your/our journey
Together
Unwavering
Instill Confidence
Best-in-class
Caliber
Capable
Count on
Data-backed
Definitive
Deliver | We deliver on our promise of ______.
Depend
[Eliminate problem] for good
Equipped
Every single time
Evidence-based
Experts
Focused
Fool-proof
Forefront
Founded on
Hands-down
Market leader
Most reliable
Only
Pioneers
Proven
Recommended
Rely | [X] small businesses rely on our solutions to [reach desired goal].
Rooted
See who we’ve helped so far
Specialty
Swear by | See why our clients swear by our [solution].
The [company name] difference/advantage
Thorough
Top tier
Top trusted
Tried and true
Trusted by over X [brands, businesses, designers, etc].
Vetted
Why choose us? [then answer that]
Why [your product/service] beats [a larger competitor’s]
World-class
Foster Reassurance
Achieve
Authentic
Available
Backed
Become the ____ you’ve always wanted to be.
Belong
Certified
Clarity
Compassionate
Dependable
Doubt no longer
Eliminate the guesswork
Endorsed
Every step of the way
Fear not
From start to finish
Genuine
Guarantee
Guide
Got your back
Got you covered
In good hands
If you’re like most [members of niche]… (This is better than saying “It’s obvious that” or “Clearly”).
Informed decisions
Ironclad
Lifetime
Master
Meet you where you are
Money back
Move the needle
No matter where you’re at
No obligation
No risk
No strings attached
Official
Own your ______
Protected
Proven
Pull the trigger
Rest assured
Results you want
Rock-solid
Safe
Safety
Say goodbye to
Scientific
Secure
Secure
Sound decisions
Surefooted
Tackle
Take charge of
Take control
The support you need
Tips we swear by
Together we can [accomplish client’s vision]
Unconditional
Under our wing
Uncover the [ability/desired entity] you didn’t know you had
Verify
Walk you through
We’ll find a way
You hold the power
You’re not alone
Curiosity
Bonus
Brilliant
Change your mind
Choose your own adventure
Confessions of a
Confidential
Different
Discover
Dramatic
Eye-opening
Fascinating
Favorite
Find out/Find out why
Game-changing
Hidden/hidden gems
It’s not what you think
Jaw-dropping
Lesser-known
Little-known
Life-changing
Mind-blowing
Mind-bending
Must-know
Must-read
Myths
New
No one talks about
Odd
Overlooked
Remarkable
Rethink
Revealed
Revolutionary
Secret
Secret weapon
Shocking
Spoiler
Strange
Teaser
That you didn’t know you needed
That you’ve been waiting for
The last one is our favorite
Things nobody tells you
Truth
Unconventional
Unusual
Wait and see
Weird
What we found
What do you have to lose?
You’ll wish you knew/created/learned sooner
You will never guess
You won’t believe
Urgency
Deadline
Expires
Fast
Final
Hurry
Last Chance
Limited
Never again
Now
Quick
Running Out
Exclusivity
Ask for an Invitation
Available only to a select few
Be one of the few
Be the first to hear about…
Become an insider
Class full
Limited
Login required
Members Only
Only available to subscribers/existing customers
Secretive
Backdoor
Banned
Behind the scenes
Censored
Concealed
Confession
Controversial
Cover-up
Forgotten
Hush
Insider
Little-known
Off the record
Off-limits
Outlawed
Private
Restricted
Secret
Strange
Tried to hide
Unauthorized
Undercover
Underground
Unexpected
Unlock
Unspoken
Withheld
Fear or Missing Out
Agony
Alone
Are you ready/prepared/equipped?
Avoid
Backlash
Befall
Before it’s too late
Beware
Catastrophe
Caution
Collapse
Cost you
Crisis
Danger
Decline
Devastating
Devastating
Drop
Fail
Failure
Fall victim too
Fooled
Frantic
Frightening
Gullible
Hacked
Hazardous
Helpless
Hoax
Humiliation
Hurting
Jeopardize
Killing
Looming
Lose
Loss
Lurking
Meltdown
Miss
Mistake
Neglect
Never
Nightmare
Not enough
Painful
Panic
Peril
Pitfalls
Plummet
Prevent [bad outcome]
Preventing | Could your habits be preventing you from achieving [desired outcome]?
Protect your
Powerless
[Don’t] realize
Really | But are you really moving the needle?
Regret
Rejection
Revenge
Risk
Risky
Sabotage
Scary
Searing
Shame
Shatter
Shocked
Should | X scary stats every [target customer persona] should be aware of.
Silly
Suffer
Steal
Stress
Tanked
Targeted
Threat
Too late
Toxic
Tragedy
Tragic
Trapped
Victim
Volatile
Vulnerable
Warning
Waste | Are you wasting your time on strategies that don’t work?
What NOT to do
Why you need to [stop/get rid of] right now
Will you survive
Worry
Wounded
Anger problem-agitate-solution
Abhorrent
Abuse
Annoying
Arrogant
Atrocious
Blatant
Brutal
Burned
Can’t seem to
Cheat
Cocky
Coward
Crooked
Crush
Curse
Deal with
Demolish
Disappoint
Disgusting
Dishonest
Distorted
Driving you mad
Endless
Envy
Evil
Exploit
Fed up with
Fleeced
Frustrated
Greedy
Had enough of
Had it with
Hassle
Hidden
Infuriating
Irritated by
Jealous
Lies
Loser
Lying
Maddening
Misleading
Nasty
Never-ending
No good
Obnoxious
Pain in the ass
Payback
Pesky
Phony
Pollute
Pompous
Preposterous
Pretentious
Punish
Rampant
Ravage
Reached your limit
Relentless
Revolting
Rotten
Rude
Ruined
Ruthless
Infuriating
Pointless
Reclaim
Ruthless
Savage
Scam
Sick and tired
Sick of
Smash
Smug
Sniveling
Swindled
Trigger
Unacceptable
Useless
Victim | Even with consumer protection laws, many still fall victim to false advertising practices.
Violate