The Art of Copywriting Ads

Have an advertising campaign but not seeing the results you want? You can offer all the deals you want, and spend all your budget, but in the end, if your copy is wrong, you’re not going to achieve your goal result.

So what do you need to do to ensure you’re writing the best copy for your ad?

1. Keywords

   The number one and most obvious thing within your ad is the use of keywords. Otherwise you’re going to have a more difficult time ranking and gaining customers. Use keywords, but use them naturally within the ad copy. Your sentences should still flow and read well.

2. Know your customers

   You can’t really write for your customers if you don’t know who they are in the first place. You won’t know who you’re targeting, or what they want and need. This means your ad won’t be as accurate as it could be and won’t achieve its full levels of success. Before you start any ad campaign, it’s important to undertake market research. This allows you to accurately gauge who your customers are and who you could target as potential customers. Market research should include primary research - interviews, surveys, focus groups - as well as secondary research - data that has already been published. You can use both qualitative and quantitative research to find out exactly who your target market is, and if there are any gaps or problems which you can address. You can use tools such as Google Analytics to analyse your online audience and gather the quantitative data.

3. Put yourself in the customer's shoes

   You know what you want to accomplish with your ad, but what about the customer? What do they need to know about your product or service? This will help your ad be more appealing to your customers.

4. Write a catchy headline

   Five times as many people read the headline as they do the rest of the copy. So the headline of your ad is one of the most important aspects. After all, it’s what people are going to read first, so you want to make a good first impression. Consider using numbers in your headline. When people are looking for a product or service, they generally already have a price range in mind. If you’re putting the numbers in the headline you’re more likely to gain the attention of customers. You can even include numbers throughout the copy as well. Consider including the price of your product or service, or if there is a sale, how much they could save or the discount you’re offering. However, use this with caution. If your product comes across as too cheap, you may lose the trust of your customers. People want to know the product is affordable, but of good quality as well.

5. Trigger emotions

   Your ad copy shouldn’t be boring. Instead, you should aim to trigger an emotional response from the customer. Our emotions heavily influence our purchasing decisions. In fact, 90 per cent of all purchasing decisions are made subconsciously. In regards to advertising, a person’s emotional response to an ad has a far greater influence on them than the ad copy.
   Consider using emotions such as humour or affirmation. While it can be tricky to subtly put these emotions into your ads, it will increase the chance someone will click.

6. Why should they buy?

   You’ve got the great headline. Now you need to focus on the body of your ad. Within this, you need to let the customer know why they should buy your product. What’s in it for them? What benefit will they receive from buying your product instead of a competitor's? Do you have a good deal? Are you more trustworthy and established than the competition? Without answering the question of why someone should buy your product within the copy of you ad, customers will likely continue onto another ad rather than clicking yours.

   

   Note the incentives included in the ads for home insurance. Save 30%, 24/7 phone and online claims services, trusted by over 1 million Queenslanders, save 19%, $10k giveaway. Including a reason why they should buy from you is far more convincing than simply stating that you sell home insurance.

7. Spend time writing copy

   Your ad copy shouldn’t be something that isn’t thought about and is rushed. Copy can often be treated as more of an afterthought rather than something of importance. However, the copy is how you are communicating with your potential customers and selling your brand. To produce the best copy for your ad, make sure you dedicate the necessary time and energy into creating an ad that will help sell your business.

Following these steps will assist you in creating copy for your ad that is targeting the correct market and actually makes them want to buy your product or service.