No matter in what industry or the type of advertisement that you’re using, effective ad copy is fundamental to driving consumer action, qualified leads and increasing revenue for your business.
In today’s marketing landscape, despite having numerous advertising channels, innovative technologies, and clever new tactics, it’s more difficult than ever to get your message to stand out. This is where writing smart, effective and compelling advertising messages, or “ad copy,” comes into play.
And it matters because ad copy often does the heavy lift: communicate your brand, share the value of your product or service and convert your audience, all within seconds.
So in this blog we’re going to crack the codes to writing effective and winning ad copies that’ll help you drive the conversion of your business website. Let’s dive in.
What is Ad Copy
Ad copy refers to the copywriting of advertisements—the combination of headline, main body, and call to action written to form an ad.
It’s a very specific type of content designed to encourage a potential buyer to take action and purchase a product. By evoking an emotional response, communicating value and addressing doubt, effective ad copy can increase a company’s sales and profits. And for every brand it requires a different approach to writing, adjusting for style and tone, as the copy needs to be memorable but also sharp and easily digestible.
The ultimate goal of ad copy is to increase conversion rates and thus revenue. When used properly, ad copy achieves this by highlighting the key components of a product or service and communicating them to potential customers in a way they can relate to.
Types of Ad Copy
Let’s take a look at some of the most common types of ad copy.
- A.I.D.A.
A.I.D.A. stands for Attention, Interest, Decision, and Action. Each of these 4 tenets represent a stage the ad copy must take the consumer through to become a customer. Ads that use this formula are generally only about 3-4 sentences.
- Short-Form Ad Copy
The short form ad copy is very small and includes a headline, one or two sentences about the product and a CTA. It needs to be written in a way that quickly resonates with your audiences involving persuasive and least amount of words possible.
- Long-Form Ad Copy
A long copy allows you to include more details in your ads, such as additional benefits, company stories, anchor text, and testimonials. It means that you can have all of the points that are relevant to the reader, but presented in a way so they can pick and choose what to read.
These high quality content pieces can generate a higher conversion rate as instead of feeling less manipulated by advertising techniques audiences see them as helpful guides when making their purchasing decisions. Take this from KFC for example:
- Social Proof
It’s an old-school technique to earn credibility and influence potential customers to take action. Brands use numbers of customers, testimonials from an influencer, or opinions of other customers as proof of their product’s effectiveness.
- Clickbait
A form of short copy, “clickbait” intends to do as its name implies—bait audiences into clicking, regardless of how reputable a product or service is. Readers are more likely to click on ads with headlines containing sensational or emotional phrases that they want to learn more about-even if it may not contain any valuable information-than ones with less attention grabbing titles.
What Makes for Effective Ad Copy?
Ad copy goes beyond just providing information about your product or service, it is meant to drive action.
Before you begin to write,you need to think up a strategy to determine how to best reach your audience. There are three steps to developing one that will work for you:
1. Know your audience: Find out the right audience for your business so you can target them. Their demographic, interest. Determine the action you want your audience to take.
2. Know your product or service: Highlight its most important benefits. Communicate in a way that doesn’t mislead your customers. Consider: How can your product solve customers’ needs or challenges? What makes it unique or better?
3. Do the analytics: So that you can learn what is working and what isn’t so you can continuously keep on improving.
4. Also consider the user’s purpose and address their concerns.
With a thorough understanding of your audience and an effective strategy, your ad copy is sure to promote action and drive sales.
That being said, success and effectiveness of an ad copy is typically found from its impact in the sales data. However, from a creative standpoint, there are certain parameters that constitute effective ad copy:
- Credible
- Engaging
- Benefit driven
- Concise
- Inoffensive
- Relevant
Guide to Writing Effective Ad Copy
Now that we’ve talked about ad copy, the types, and what you must know before creating your copy, it is time to discuss how to actually write one. This guide will help you make your ad copy reach the right people and make them convert.
- Show your audience how the product will solve their problem
Before you create an ad, consider what the user on the other end wants to accomplish and how your ad promises to help solve their problem. Instead of trying to push their service’s features and quality, a good copy focuses on the end-solution that solves customers’ problems. Sometimes which may not involve even a single word! Take this ad campaign by Glassex Window Cleaner laying the efficiency and cleaning capacity of the product.
- Grab their attention with headlines
Study shows 8 out of 10 people will only read the headline of content.To stand out, your ad headline needs to mirror the visitor’s end goal. So the headline of your ad copy should be short and sweet, about 5-6 words, yet powerful and punchy enough to invoke some kind of emotion in the readers and resonate with them. It should tempt them to read it further or engage in a meaningful way.
- Use the right keywords
The impact of SEO, that SEO drives 1000%+ more traffic than organic reach and may increase engagement up to 100%,can’t be ignored at any cost. The ad copies with relevant keywords will boost the traffic and Click Through Rate (CTR). However, you should avoid keyword stuffing and only use the most relevant ones (which is going to need some research) for success.
- Creating a sense of urgency: Implement FOMO
Yes, the fear of being left out can be a catalyst to get visitors to your business. People don’t want to miss out on a great opportunity. So tell them what they’ll lose if they don’t act. Using phrases like “act now” and “limited time offer,” or mentioning a limited stock available can be extremely effective at fostering a sense of urgency in your audience.
- Include emotional triggers
All marketing, in some form or another, uses emotion to get points across.If people read something and experience a strong emotional reaction, they will click through. It is the emotions that deepen the engagement and make the content go viral. The six emotions that resonate the most with the sentiments of the audience are Joy, Sadness, Fear, Surprise, Anger and Anticipation. So consider it to be a priority to make the copy emotionally appealing.
- Focus on benefits, not features
When it comes to writing the body of your ad, it’ll be wise not to waste time by stating how amazing your brand is. Instead, tell the visitors how your brand or your product will improve their lives. Begin with your strongest benefit, then expand on it. Also, remember to make it personal (use “you”) and demonstrate how your service can benefit the visitor.
- Think visually: Ensure your ad copy complements your visual
Smart copywriters know that it’s not only what you say that’s important, but also how you say it. So using appropriate graphics, numbers, symbols, or white space, for example, can cut through the clutter.
However if the image doesn’t go together with the copy, it presents a jarring experience for the audience, leaving them to wonder what the ad is actually advertising. So it’s important the ad copy lines up with the visual, and vice-versa.
- Use simple language
Writing ad copy is not about high literature. When someone sees your ad, they should immediately know: what you’re offering, how it benefits them and what to do next. Consider this ad from Ricola showing how a misplaced cough could ruin the meaning of a sentence. The copy being funny, slightly edgy (without being offensive), relatable, simple conveys the message just right.
- Present your CTA
Have a clear call-to-action. Make it easy for your audience by telling them what you want them to do and what they can expect by seeing/clicking on the ad. A call-to-action with personality can add intrigue to your brand voice, but with so much clutter online, some users prefer a clearly defined action.
- Do not forget the basics
No matter what tricks and tactics you apply to write a great ad copy, it should not compromise with the basic elements of ad copy namely:
- Original
- Accurate
- Relevant
- Visually appealing (images, videos, infographics)
- Storytelling style
- Zero grammar and spelling mistakes
Writing your ad copy is not easy. The more you practice, the better you will get.
With competition online only getting more intense, writing compelling ads is a powerful tool to drive conversions. Effective ad copy strategies can not only prove your brand’s authority and value to potential buyers, but make a mark on their emotions. Though it takes time and practice, following the guide above will help you get ahead of your competition.
