ขSuper Verbsข Really Move Your Copy
by: Karon Thackston
Run or hustle? Eat or devour? Move or scurry? You can boost the power of your copy by boosting the quality of verbs you use. Verbs show action, and the way you describe that action can have a dramatic bearing on your readers. Why would you want to fill your copy with complacent words when you can conjure emotions and visual imagery in the hearts and minds of your readers? Sure, กrunก and กhustleก both indicate that someone is moving fast. But กrunก is a dull, ordinary verb while กhustleก evokes definite images in your readerกs mind.
Hadn’t really thought about it? You should! You can choose commonplace verbs like ‘talk,ก กmake,ก and กlike,ก or you can electrify your copy instead with verbs like กchatter,ก กdiscover,ก and กadore.ก
Look at these examples to see what I mean:
Before
Down Comforters Let You Get Warm
When itกs cold outside, get into bed and warm up with our genuine goose down comforters. Thereกs no reason to be cold when you can heat things up instead!
After
Down Comforters Let You Snuggle
When itกs cold outside, leap into bed and burrow down with our genuine goose down comforters. Thereกs no reason to shiver when you can snuggle instead!
See the difference? The latter paints a more vivid picture of the comforter than the former.
Review this one…
Before
Whether you’re doing aerobics, Pilates, or any other workout, Ziox sneakers will give you the support you need. Specifically made for indoor low and highimpact exercise, Ziox is created to keep you on the path to meeting your fitness goals.
After
Whether you’re performing an aerobic, Pilates, or other workout, Ziox sneakers will offer you the support you need. Specifically engineered for indoor low and highimpact exercise, Ziox is designed to keep you on the path to accomplishing your fitness goals.
What’s the difference? Why are the ขaftersข so much more powerful than the ขbeforesข? Because compelling verbs were used. Verbs bring the action to your copy. They give the reader (or at least they should give the reader) something to envision. You need Super Verbs to entice your readers. For example, instead of just ขget into bed,ข we say, ขleap into bed.ข Instead of กbeing coldก and กheat things upก we say, กshiveringก and กsnuggle.ก When you read that, you begin to envision what action is taking place in a very specific way.
Where do you find these Super Verbs? Everywhere you look! Here’s a short list. You can also visit free sites like http://www.thesaurus.com for more.
Verbs vs. Super Verbs
Accent – emphasize, underscore
Break – smash, crush, demolish
Eat – consume, devour, feast
Forgive – pardon, excuse, overlook
Hate – detest, loathe, despise
Imagine – envision, conjure, conceptualize
Improve – enhance, refine, perfect
Jump – leap, lunge, bound
Learn – discover, grasp, comprehend
Like – admire, adore, cherish, delight in
Make – create, engineer, design
Promise – vow, swear
Reveal – manifest, unveil, disclose
Take some time to go beyond the ordinary. Find a few Super Verbs to use in your copy in order to boost excitement and interest in the products/services you write about. That added attention, which Super Verbs bring, can easily correlate to additional sales.
By Karon Thackston © 2004
http://www.learncopywriting.com
About The Author
Karon Thackston is a professional copywriter with over 20 years of success. If you’re tired of endlessly searching the ‘Net in hopes of finding the latest copywriting techniques, or if you need an uptodate directory filled with the best ways to learn copywriting, then visit Karonกs directory at http://www.learncopywriting.com today for the widest collection of the most popular copywriting resources available.
IF PUBLISHING ON A WEBSITE, USE THIS RESOURCE BOX:
Karon Thackston is a professional copywriter with over 20 years of success. If you’re tired of endlessly searching the ‘Net in hopes of finding the latest copywriting techniques. If you need an uptodate directory filled with the best ways to learn copywriting then visit Karonกs directory at Learn Copywriting today for the widest collection of the most popular copywriting resources available.
This article was posted on December 08, 2004
by Karon Thackston