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362 Verbs that SELL When Writing Copy for Your Website

Posted by Marty Dickinson on Dec 4, 2008

This is really more of a list for me than anything. I always find myself getting hung up on finding verbs to use in my writing copy on the web.

Writing features and benefits of a product is always the toughest part for me about copywriting for the web; just that first word in the sentence. There’s no better word to begin a with than a verb when it comes to bullet points.

Verbs are “action words” which goes to show why they’re so important in copywriting. Without verbs, we would never get anyone take action with anything.

There would be no “Click Here” or “Sign-up Now!” Verbs are not only just “important” to have in your sales writing, they are the very heartbeat of any sales process, online or off-line.

So, with that in mind, here is a list of verbs that sell. Let me know if they help you in your copywriting efforts and make sure to add a comment if you can think of a verb that I haven’t listed here.

Verbs that Start with A:
Accelerate
Accomplish
Achieve
Acquire
Act
Activate
Adapt
Adopt
Address
Administer
Advise
Alter
Amaze (added)
Analyze
Anticipate
Apply
Appoint
Appraise
Approve
Arrange
Astound (added)
Assemble
Assess
Assist
Assure
Attain
Audit

Verbs that Start with B:
Believe (added)
Boast (added)
Brief
Budget
Build
Buy

Verbs that Start with C:
Calculate
Chart
Check
Claim
Clarify
Classify
Cleanse
Click
Close
Coach
Collect
Command
Communicate
Compare
Compile
Complete
Compose
Compress (added)
Compute
Conceive
Conceptualize
Conclude
Conduct
Confront
Conserve
Consolidate
Construct
Consult
Continue
Contract
Control
Convert
Coordinate
Correct
Correlate
Counsel
Create
Critique

Verbs that Start with D:
Deal
Decide
Define
Delegate
Deliver
Demonstrate
Depend
Designe
Detail
Detect
Determine
Develop
Devise
Diagnose
Direct
Discover
Dispense
Display
Disprove
Dissect
Distribute
Divert
Double
Draft
Dramatize
Draw
Drive

Verbs that Start with E:
Earn
Edit
Educate
Effect
Eliminate
Enact
Encourage
Endure
Enforce
Engineer
Enhance
Enlist
Ensure
Entertain
Establish
Estimate
Evaluate
Examine
Exceed
Execute
Exhibit
Expand
Expedite
Explain
Experiment
Express
Extract

Verbs that Start with F:
Facilitate
File
Finalize
Finance
Fix
Follow
Formalize
Form
Formulate
Find
Found

Verbs that Start with G:
Gather
Generate
Govern
Graduate
Guide

Verbs that Start with H:
Handle
Head
Help
Hire
Hypothesize

Verbs that Start with I:
Identify
Illustrate
Imagine
Implement
Improve
Improvise
Increase
Induce
Influence
Inform
Initiate
Innovate
Inspect
Inspire
Install
Institute
Instruct
Insure
Integrate
Intensify
Interpret
Interview
Introduce
Invent
Inventory
Investigate

Verbs that Start with J:
Judge
Justify

Verbs that Start with K:
Keep

Verbs that Start with L:
Launch
Lecture
Lead
Learn
License
Lift
Listen
Locate
Log

Verbs that Start with M:
Maintain
Magnify (Recent Addition)
Manage
Manipulate
Manufacture
Map
Market
Measure
Mediate
Memorize
Mentore
Model
Modify
Monitor
Motivate

Verbs that Start with N:
Name
Navigate
Negotiate
Nominate
Normalize
Note

Verbs that Start with O:
Observe
Obtain
Offer
Officiate
Operate
Order
Organize
Oriente
Originate
Overcome
Oversee

Verbs that Start with P:
Paint
Participate
Perceive
Perfect
Perform
Persuade
Photograph
Pilot
Pinpoint
Pioneer
Place
Plan
Play
Praise
Predict
Prepare
Prescribe
Present
Preside
Print
Process
Procure
Produce
Profess
Programm
Progress
Project
Promote
Proofread
Propose
Protect
Prove
Provide
Publicize
Purchase

Verbs that Start with Q:

Qualify
Question

Verbs that Start with R:
Raise
Rank
Rate
Realign
Realize
Reason
Receive
Recognize
Recommend
Reconcile
Record
Recruit
Reduce
Refer
Regulate
Rehabilitate
Reinforce
Relate
Relax (added)
Remodel (added)
Render
Renovate (added)
Reorganize
Repair
Report
Represent
Research
Resolve
Respond
Restore
Retrieve
Restructure
Review
Revise
Risk

Verbs that Start with S:

Satisfy
Schedule
Secure
Select
Sense
Separate
Serve
Service
Shape
Share
Show
Sketch
Simplify
Sell
Solve
Sort
Specify
Speak
Stimulate
Streamline
Structure
Study
Succeed
Suggest
Summarize
Supervise
Supply
Support
Symbolize
Synthesize
Systematize

Verbs that Start with T:
Tabulate
Tackle
Tackling
Talk
Target
Teach
Test
Train
Transcribe
Transfer
Transform
Translate
Treat
Travel
Troubleshoot
Tutor
Type

Verbs that Start with U:
Unify
Unite
Update
Upgrade
Use
Utilize

Verbs that Start with V:
Verbalize
Verify

Verbs that Start with W:
Weigh
Win
Write
Wrote

Are there any verbs I left out from this list? Please let me know by adding a comment.

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5 Comments »

Very, very nice list.
Here’s a couple extras:
Amaze – “AMAZE” your friends
Relax -”RELAX” in the comfort of your new “whatever”….

December 9th, 2008 | 12:30 pm

Thanks Pavlicko! I added those to the main list. Let me know if you come across any more.

December 11th, 2008 | 12:41 pm

Hi Ruben and thanks for the question. We got our own dedicated servers and have been hosting our client sites on them since 2004.

September 27th, 2012 | 2:28 pm
Alexandra:

Nice list. But what about words like get and grab?

May 29th, 2014 | 4:06 am

Handy list, but “effect” is not a verb: It’s a noun.

April 21st, 2015 | 10:30 am
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