Buying Words: 25 Words That Make People Buy (With Examples)

Writer:
Gabrielle Hass
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Published: Dec 22, 2021
Last Updated:
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Have you ever bought something online on impulse? You may have read a piece of content so convincing that you made your purchase without really thinking about it. The copy was so persuasive that you saw no reason to wait. If so, you've experienced the power of buying words.

Good buying keywords send strong signals to the reader to convert without necessarily engaging the analytical part of their brains. By including buying keywords in your content marketing, you can turn prospects into customers. The legal, financial, insurance, and technology industries have some of the highest keyword costs on the search network due to higher pay-off and higher customer lifetime value. (revenueriver.co)

person holding credit card to a card reader

Keep reading to learn all about buying keywords and why they're so powerful — and discover a list of 25 buying words that will make people buy from you.

What Are Buying Words?

A buying word is a term that's highly effective at encouraging readers to do what you want. Most buying words are emotionally charged, so they're great at pushing past buyer hesitancy and convincing them to click a link or make a purchase. They also make copy more interesting in general, helping to keep your audience’s attention.

There are two basic kinds of buying words:

  • Buying Verbs: These are active words that describe the action that your content, product, or service will help the reader perform.
  • General Terms: These buying words are non-verbs that pull the reader in and get them interested in the product or service.

Both kinds of buying words have important roles in marketing. You can combine them to make highly effective taglines, headlines, ad copy, and calls to action (CTAs).

Why Use Power Words for Sales?

Why are buying keywords so important? It's simple. Marketing is almost entirely a verbal process. Whether you're making sales in-person or writing copy, words manage most of your persuasion for you. Images support your efforts, but even the best picture still needs words to guide your audience's actions.

That's precisely what power words do. A good buying keyword grabs your audience's attention and instructs them on what to do next. Buying words do this by shaping the readers' emotions in several ways:

  • Appealing to their ambition
  • Instilling a fear of missing out (FOMO)
  • Making them feel good
  • Making them feel nervous
  • Making them feel seen
  • Offering hope
  • Providing a sense of a community

In general, these words create an emotional response that makes your brand more appealing. Using them correctly can help you build trust with your audience and persuade them to make their next purchase.

25 Buying Keywords To Attract Potential Customers

Buying words are a powerful force for your marketing efforts — but which words are most effective for your target customer? Below, you'll find a list of 25 buying words that make sales. These persuasive words pull in your audience and convince them to keep reading. You can refer to this buying keywords list to develop more persuasive headlines, CTAs, and ads.

General Buying Words

The most effective buying words are some of the smallest. These simple terms can be used strategically to encourage attention and make your marketing materials more appealing.

1. Because

If you're trying to convince someone to do something, it's essential to give a reason why. "Because" can act as part of your explanation or as part of your title. The word can be used or just implied; the important thing is to explain why people should do the thing you're suggesting. Chevy uses it to explain why it's donating to charity and why people should like the brand.

Chevy Cares ad

2. Free

People like getting something for nothing. If you're offering anything for free, make it clear that you're doing it. You'll get more interested readers and build customer loyalty. This Spotify example uses the word multiple times to hammer home the idea that the prospect could get free music.

Spotify free advertisement

3. Instant

No one likes to wait around. If you can honestly use the word "instant" about your product, whether you're describing fast results or response times, then do so. It appeals to the desire for immediate gratification and promises that you won't waste the reader's time. Slidequest uses it to imply that the reader will save time at work.

Slidequest advertisement

4. New

People like a novelty. If something is considered "new," it's perceived as "better" and more attractive. Using the word "new" in your copy can intrigue readers and make the advertised product or service more appealing. This press release by Cars.com highlights how the new site is a significant improvement, making the business a better investment.

cars.com press release

5. Now

This word can have multiple purposes in your copy. It can be part of your CTA ("Call Now!"), or you can use it in titles and taglines ("Now's the Time to Find Sales"). Either way, it provides a sense of urgency that gets people to click and bypasses hesitancy. The Google ad for Soma Auto below uses "Call Now" as a strong call to action.

soma auto call to action

6. We

Brands can come off as blank monoliths. Using "we" to refer to your business or customer base adds a personal touch to your messages. It also helps make the reader feel like part of a community. Headspace uses "we" to humanize its brand and support its reputation for keeping its audience's wellbeing.

headspace advertisement

7. You

People care more about things that may directly affect them. That's why using "you" in your copy can make a significant difference. Something as simple as directly addressing the reader can significantly impact your audience's perception of your message. Nike has made the most of this with the empowering phrase "Yesterday you said tomorrow," holding the reader directly accountable for their actions.

nike advertisement

Buying Verbs

To get more specific, buying verbs are excellent at getting attention. They may suggest a solution to the reader's problems or give the reader a clear next step. Either way, these words are essential to making your copy pop.

8. Act

The word "act" is found in millions of CTAs. "Act Now" would be a cliché if it weren't such an effective phrase. The UN has developed an entire campaign around climate change titled "Act Now" to make the most of this effect.

peter rabbit advertisement

9. Achieve

Modern culture is all about doing more and better. The word "achieve" is a great way to trigger people's desires to meet their goals. Slip it into titles and CTAs to make the most of your audience's ambition. Google makes its Performance Max tool guide powerful by starting the title with "Achieve," hooking the reader from the very beginning.

Google performance max advertisement

10. Avoid

Not every product or service is intended to provide something. Many are developed to help prevent something, instead. The word "avoid" can be powerful for drawing in prospects who want help preventing a problem entirely. This OK.com video covers how using the site helps the watcher avoid awkward situations altogether.

ok.com video advertisement

11. Build

If your audience prides itself on self-sufficiency, the world "build" can have a significant impact. This word gives your audience agency while reinforcing that your brand will help them do the things they want to accomplish. You can also use it to reinforce your own brand's creativity and competency, like Adcade does below.

adcade homepage

12. Conquer

There aren't many more powerful words, period. Using this verb in your ad copy lets your audience feel commanding and in control. Falken Tire makes the most of this by pairing the word with an impressive image, positioning itself as a brand that supports its customers' pioneering spirit.

falked tire advertisement

13. Create

Most people like to see themselves as creative types. Using this word in your copy lets your audience connect itself with a creator archetype, whether it's something artistic or more practical. Good Will uses the word to help people feel better about taking an action that's already good for them.

goodwill advertisement

14. Deliver

The world has discovered the convenience of easy delivery. If you provide delivery, just adding the word to your copy can pull in a convenience-oriented audience who will appreciate your extra service. McDonald's did just that with its clever ads for its new delivery service.

mcdonalds advertisement

15. Explore

If your audience is on the daring side, you can use the word "explore" to encourage people to learn more. This word is excellent in CTAs designed to get people to click through to landing pages. Jeep reinforces its reputation as an adventurous brand with the word explore in this simple ad.

Jeep advertisement

16. Fix

One of the simplest buying words is "fix." Consumers look for brands that can solve their problems. The word "fix" specifically declares that your brand will do just that. Nike uses this to great effect in its Ultimate Quick Fix shoe ad.

Nike shoes advertisement

17. Focus

A common complaint in the modern world is the inability to pay attention to things. By using the word "focus," you can promise readers that your product will help them accomplish their goals. This Bose ad does that for its noise-canceling headphones with a clever bit of wordplay.

bose headphone advertisement

18. Imagine

A large part of marketing is getting people to imagine the future with your product or service in it. You can use the word to directly trigger that process. In the Tweet below, Headspace uses the term to encourage the reader to imagine engaging with their app and how that might improve their lives.

headspace social media post

19. Improve

Everyone wants things to be a little better. The term "improve" is a versatile buying word that can be used in any part of your copy to get people excited about the solutions your brand offers. Kraft makes this work for the brand by stating that its macaroni and cheese has gotten better without changing what the reader wants.

kraft macaroni and cheese advertisement

20. Master

Brands focusing on learning, quality, and expertise can use "master" to great effect. Telling your audience your brand can help them master new skills leans on their desire to improve themselves and show off. The site Master Your Card makes the most of this in its ads to reinforce the Mastercard brand and demonstrate its position as an authority.

MasterCard advertisement

21. Resist

This word is often paired with "can't." Stating that your audience "can't resist" your product or service permits them to indulge themselves. Heinz uses the word to position its ketchup as desirable and an irresistible part of the french fry experience.

heinz ketchup advertisement

22. Save

People enjoy saving money and time. You can use this word to trigger the desire to get something for less, imply that people are getting a deal, or explain how your brand will give people more free time. The food app Crave made a highly effective ad campaign entirely based on the idea of saving money that pulled in more than a hundred thousand views.

crave app sponsored post

23. Simplify

A major trend in the modern world is a simplification. Your audience probably wants to make things easier somehow, and your brand should help with that. You can use "simplify" to explain how your brand will relieve the prospect's pain points. Larabar does this in a minimalist ad that lists all the ingredients in its bars and implies that this will improve the reader's life.

larabar advertisement

 

24. Transform

This word has a powerful implication of a complete change for the better. You can use this word to explain to the reader how your brand will make their lives easier. The Florida Department of Health uses the term to encourage immunizations by describing how they make the process easier.

Florida Department of Health advertisement

25. Win

Everyone likes winning. By describing how your brand can help people win things — respect, free time, promotions, money, friendships — you give readers a powerful reason to follow your CTA. This Interplay IT ad uses the word to trigger competitive spirit and ambition, then tells the reader that working with the company will help them accomplish their goals.

Interplay IT advertisement

Start Implementing Buying Words in Your Writing

There's no time like the present to begin implementing buying words in your writing. These powerful words for sales make all the difference in audience engagement. You can make your marketing copy more convincing and increase your conversion rates with the right phrasing.

You can get started with buying keywords today. It's as simple as spending a little extra time to include more persuasive words and phrases during your copy creation process. You'll be surprised at the difference these simple words make to your marketing efforts as a whole.

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