by Karon Thackston � 2004
http://www.learn-copywriting.com

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, run and hustle both indicate that someone is moving fast.

But run is a dull, ordinary verb while hustle evokes definite images in your reader’s mind.

Hadn’t really thought about it? You should! You can choose commonplace verbs like talk, make, and like, or you can electrify your copy instead with verbs like chatter, discover, and adore.

Look at these examples to see what I mean:

See the difference? The latter paints a more vivid picture of the comforter than the former.

Review this one.

What’s the difference? Why are the “afters” so much more powerful than the “befores”? 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 get into bed, we say, leap into bed. Instead of being cold and heat things up we say, shivering and snuggle.

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.

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 up-to-date directory filled with the best ways to learn copywriting then visit Karon’s directory at Learn Copywriting today for the widest collection of the most popular copywriting resources available. 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.