This Writing Trick Will Give You Magic Powers Over Your Readers

This science-backed hack earned me $560 with one article

Scientists have discovered a tiny writing hack that rockets the power of your words.

I used this trick to earn $560 with a single article.

​Researchers analyzed 1000 customer service emails. And found some agents were excellent at making customers happy. By using certain words they got customers to buy more. Their simple tactic sold 30% more.

You can steal their trick and get your readers under your spell.

The secret writing technique is to use sensory words. Abstract concepts have a limited impact on a reader. But when you feed the senses you are impossible to resist.

The problem writers face

The challenge for creators is our brain has coded knowledge into concepts. This is how our long-term memory stores information. But you need to convert these concepts into sensory language. If you want to engage your audience.

We imagine the brain is like a computer. Downloading the information it receives. But the brain works nothing like that.

​John Stins placed research participants on a plate that measured their body movement. When people read a word with movement (‘the nurse lifted the patient’). Their body moved. Compared with ‘the nurse admired the patients’ there was no motion.

This is incredible news.

Sensory words do more than activate meaning in the brain. Neurons reenact the experience. The brain is not a digital dictionary that looks up the meaning of a word. This is crucial to understand. Because as you sit down to write, concepts naturally bubble up first. But you need to transform these into sensory language. If you are to impact your reader.

• words like tree or car light up our visual circuit
• cream cakes or coffee kickstarts taste circuits
• run or fall fires up the motor circuits

If your writing can trigger these circuits, you’ll powerfully affect your reader.

The customer research mentioned in the intro discovered these examples:

you will receive your money back shortly

you will receive your refund shortly

‘money back’ had more impact because it’s tangible. You can see money but refund is a concept.

Or compare these two:

those blue jeans are a great choice

those pants are a great choice

‘blue jeans’ was a more powerful phrase than ‘pants’. It creates a stronger visual image.

Science has found out why this happens.

3 advantages sensory words give writers

Faster and easier

Scientists use fRMI to measure brain activity. This has shown that readers react to sensory words faster than abstract words. This is easier on the brain. Sensory language makes reading more pleasing.

Easy to read gets read.

Memorable

Tests show readers remember sensory words better. Give someone a mixture of sensory and abstract words and they’ll remember more of the sensory ones.

If you want your words to stick in their mind. Use tangible words.

Persuasive

​Research shows sensory language is more persuasive. It fires more neurons in multiple parts of the brain. This is why concrete words are influential.

Now we know why this headline earned $560 with 2,700 views. Can you see it?

Improving your writing and you’ll grow a lot type of headline gets the sensory makeover.

• write with style provokes the image of a cool, stylish writer
• And you can’t help visualising a bucket load of attention

Simple changes with powerful results.

Use these insights in your writing

Writers who use words that stimulate sight, sounds, movement, and smell. Providing stronger hooks for their readers. It makes your writing more memorable and persuasive.

So swap abstract words for sensory ones. Anything that people can see, taste, or do works well. Add this to your editing checklist.

For example, take this typical sales pitch ‘this will save you time, money, and trouble’. All abstract and pretty ineffective. But swap it for:

‘this will let you close your laptop at 5 pm, pad out your bank account and soothe your stress headaches’

Your reader’s brains will light up like a Christmas tree. They’ll be captivated by your words.

I used this technique to update my course landing page. Instead of ‘improve your writing’. My course ‘puts the tools you need in your hands’. As I compare those two phrases I can see the astonishing impact.

Use words that people can see and touch.

Light up your buzzwords

The challenge with abstract words is you don’t even notice them.

So make a list of your typical words. 99% chance they are abstract:

• customer satisfaction
• high performance
• marketing
• nutrition
• educate
• writing
• health
• wealth
• pain

Come up with 3 alternatives for your buzzword. Ask ChatGPT for sensory replacements.

• customer satisfaction = make your customer smile
• pain = aching in the chest
• writing = typing

All sensory words aren’t equal

Some sensory words are weak because they are vague.

More specific phrases will fire up more neurons in the brain.

• parrot beats bird
• wipe beats clean

The extra detail encodes the meaning in the brain more richly.

Sensory words give you magic powers over your readers.

Use them well.

If you want more from me — then sign up for my 5-step writing system. It’s free: