Please note, in an upcoming blog we will have Steve’s take on colors that will also help elevate your marketing.

Do you know who David Copperfield, David Blaine, Penn & Teller, and Lance Burton are? They are all world-famous magicians – sleight of hand, illusion, card tricks, etc. They often use magic words, “abracadabra” being the most famous among them.

Do you realize that, as business owners and marketers, you have your own magic words?

Pulling a prospect or repeat client toward your marketing campaign is easier when you use language that the brain and eyes both instantly understand. By using these words, you are not tricking people into seeing one thing and believing another; you are just tempting them to use your product. When you incorporate these five magic words or phrases into your copy, your sales might just grow like a beanstalk.

The 5 magic words:

1. “Free”

Who doesn’t love “free” everything? The word “free” in an offer is brain candy to buyers, whether it’s grocery store samples, every fourth tire or every eighth window they buy. If you can afford the giveaway, and it is appropriate for what you ultimately want to sell the prospect or client, go for it.

2. “No obligation”

When you use the phrase “no obligation” in an offer, you are telling your prospect, “I expect nothing from you in return.” Some believe it, while others might be skeptical. But for those who engage with your call to action, you must have a strategy for the next steps that does not involve their commitment, even if you’re giving them something free just for listening to your pitch or attending your presentation. The strength of your product or service should be enough for them to want to move forward.

3. “Details inside” or “see inside”

Stoke a little curiosity in your product or service. Multi-page postcards aren’t a thing, so this idea works best on landing pages when you can easily direct your prospect to exactly what you want them to read or see. If you prefer direct mail marketing, though, you can still tempt the prospect by crafting the postcard with the right language, visuals, and promise to cure them of the pain point they didn’t know they had – but are now curious to learn more about.

4. “Limited time”

You can use this phrase to target segments of your audience that have been slower to respond in the past, or if you’re offering a discount on a product or service, and you can’t afford to lose money on whatever it is for, say, an entire year. Put a deadline on a sale or promotion, make it concrete, and stand your ground. But monitor the results: Do you need to extend (or shorten) the deadline the next time you try the promo? If one more week of the special gets you four more clients, does that work with your expected ROI for the campaign?

5. “Announcing”, “at last” or “just released’

The implication of these phrases is that your prospect or client is on the front end of something no one else knew before you just told them. Exclusivity and the chance to be on the leading edge of an opportunity, trend, or even knowledge plays well with consumers and can boost your response rate.

You can find plenty of tips about direct response campaigns and postcard marketing across the web, but getting prospects and clients to buy your product or service doesn’t require a tuxedo or wand – and it doesn’t in any way imply using trickery to get sales. Because the words you use have influence, it only makes sense to use the best, most impactful, and most magnetic words you can.