When creating an ad, it’s easy to focus on the imagery. You have to catch the eye of your audience, especially because most people want to avoid ads for the most part. But it’s not usually the imagery that sells your product or service. It’s the ad copy. Once you’ve caught their eye, you have to pitch your product in a way that is concise but effective. This can be the trickiest bit to manage.
Fortunately, you can learn how to craft the perfect ad copy with these tips.
#1 – Keep It Short
Again, audiences, as a rule, don’t have much patience for ads. You want to make sure that your ad doesn’t feel like it’s wasting their time. They may only give your ad a few seconds glance. Is your copy short and sweet enough to convey everything you need in that time?
Remember, you don’t have to describe your product in your ad copy fully. The ad is to hook the audience enough to follow the link to your website. When they do reach your website, they’ll already be interested in your product. You can give them the description there. Your ad copy just needs to be one or two lines, getting right to the point of it. For instance, something like “30% off, today only! Hurry!” can be ad copy.
#2 – Offer Relevant Solutions
What problem was your product created to solve? What issues are your target audience facing that your product could help with? Ensure your ad copy is upfront about how your product could help them. Even if the solution is that your product is more affordable than the competition, you should use this as your hook. The more your product speaks to your audience’s specific problems, the more likely they will be to purchase your product.
#3 – Use Hard Numbers
Anyone can say, “we’re the best” or “this is a great product.” In fact, it’s said so often that customers tend not to trust it. Instead, consider using hard numbers in your ad copy. This could be statistics, such as how much of the market your product has cornered (something like “70% of startup entrepreneurs use our software”), promotions and discounts, or benefits such as “make your workload 50% more efficient.” These numbers will attract your audience whereas broad claims might not.
#4 – Use Keywords
Search for keywords that are relevant to your audience and to your market. Make sure to work some of these into your ad copy, as well as your alt text. This will help to ensure that your ad is more likely to be seen by your target audience.
You don’t want to choose keywords that are too saturated or keywords that are too obscure. Look for keywords that are searched frequently enough to be relevant but keywords that you could easily corner. Make sure that these keywords are worked into your copy naturally, without keyword stuffing.
#5 – Provoke Emotions
When writing ad copy, you want to provoke the emotions of your audience. Make them excited about your product. Make them angry about something the competition is trying to get from them. Make them impatient to learn more about your product and services.
This may sound cynical, the idea of manipulating emotions in your audience, but consider how much this is a part of your everyday life. When you complain to friends about an unpleasant interaction you had in the grocery store, you tell the story in such a way that they can feel how annoyed you felt. When you invite someone to your party or your wedding or your birthday, you want them to feel excited.
Take the same skills into your ad copy. Make sure you put yourself in the shoes of your target audience, too. Reach out to them empathetically, and they are more likely to respond enthusiastically to your ad.
#6 – Keep Things Positive
No one wants an ad that’s only going to bum them out. You want to pinpoint a problem your audience faces, but only to show your product as the solution. Don’t spend too long slamming your competition. You will be more effective by focusing on the benefits of your product and the ways it will positively change things for your customers. You may have to dip into the negative very briefly, but be careful how you do so. Use negatives sparingly and remember that this story should have a happy ending because of your product.
