An effective marketing campaign can make the difference between whether your small business succeeds or fails. Using the right words in an advertisement can entice readers to inquire about your services or even buy your product. Finding the right words is an art in itself, but copywriting experts have developed a list of words that tend to have the best chance of success.

Free

One of the best emotional trigger words is simply "free." If you give away free samples of your product, you give people a simple, risk-free way of finding out how great your product is. If you offer a small service for free if a person fills out an online form, then you've gathered a list of potential future customers that you can contact with more marketing copy. The key is attracting the customer with a free item and then keeping him when he realizes the high quality of what you are offering.

Now

The word "now" creates a sense of urgency that can lead to impulse purchases. It works similarly to another good trigger word, "limited." When something is scarce or a discount is only available right now, this can drive a person to emotionally want the product more. He would rather get a product he might be interested in now than risk not being able to get it later.

You

Words such as "you" or "your" are emotionally powerful trigger words. Using the word "you" in marketing copy makes the advertisement more personal to the audience. It creates an emotional connection with the reader. A person may feel more comfortable about a service or product that she has an emotional response to and thus be more likely to purchase it.

Guaranteed

If you want a reader to feel comfortable with a product and less worried, use the word "guaranteed" in your copy. The word "proven" has a similar effect. Pharmaceutical companies use these words frequently, such as saying a drug is "proven" to work by the FDA. Another example is a roadside assistance company saying that a short response time is "guaranteed." When a person knows that a product or service has been tested, the risk factor is diminished and he is more likely to buy. By putting your company's reputation behind a product, you also show that you believe in what you're selling.

Save

People like to save money, so seeing the word "save" in advertising copy will give the reader a positive emotional response. The word "discount" has a similar effect. Retail stores may raise prices so they can give discounts later and entice visitors to save money. Saving money, time or work are all things that encourage people to make purchases. This is also why words such as "quick" and "easy" can be powerful; they indicate that the customer will save time by using the product.