Which is why majority of a copywriter’s energy is diverted towards deciding what words to include while they are on a pursuit of calling people to act.
Digital advertising is often referred to as a game of inches, and rightly so. A few words here and there, and the statistics alter exponentially. It becomes important for businesses, especially small, to work out a strategy for Ad writing to make sure the money they have rolled out for the same gets utilized to its fullest potential.
A study by Forrester found that 58% of marketers are challenged with targeting or segmenting their audience. And still companies pour out huge chunk of their advertising budget to marketing.
In this article, we give you 10 ways to create an effective Ad copy.
1. Determine your target audience: When you start to write an Ad, you should be very clear with who your audience is. A lot of well-written, well-structured content does not get the mileage it deserves because it does not bother about its target audience.
And sometimes, a sentence as simple as, “Beauty awaits you.” works wonders for a cosmetic product Ad because it takes care of the demography and their end goal.
A study by HubSpot tells you that Only 61% of marketers believe their marketing strategy is effective.
And the lack of its effectiveness is proven to come majorly from the unfocussed approach in dealing with their target audience.
What follows after determining your target audience is to figure out what they want, why they are looking for your product.
2. Keep your reader’s goal in mind: Having your target audience defined helps you to streamline their needs more effectively. Your Ad should not be focused on what you want to say but it should be expressive of what your readers want to read.
The first question you should start with is, “Why is my potential customer searching for what he is searching for?”
For example, if the answer to this is “He is searching for a Gym around him because he is seeking a healthy lifestyle.” Then the next step to your strategy becomes to design and write your Ad in a way it expresses those benefits explicitly.
You may want to say that your Gym is the latest in town or a fancy fact that you may like about it, but the readers want that nudge to hear that it will hold their hand to a healthy lifestyle. And your Ad should aim to do exactly that.
3. Create a need: Some of the best products we have got are the ones we didn’t know we needed. So, if your product does not come under the category of satisfying a pre-existing need, your Ad should aim to create one.
This technique is used successfully mostly by clothing companies. Most of the time, we end up ordering a dress we didn’t know we needed until we saw it.
It also fits homeware appliances to an extent. We are bombarded with devices and appliances we have zero ideas of existence and usage but the portrayal of its need is compelling enough to nudge us into buying.
4. Be a problem solver: There are always two probable reasons for a customer searching for your product. Either he has a need to be fulfilled or there is a problem to be solved. Often the need is a problem to be solved. And as an Ad writer your responsibility is to recognize the problem and make a promise through your Ad to get it fixed.
The immediate reaction to a problem well understood is trust. Once the trust is established between your company and the reader, the solution you offer will be accepted by him in no time.
An example for this could be,
If your company manufactures quick fix adhesives, the need of your customer is oftentimes, a problem to be solved, a pot to be fixed or a cupboard to be assembled.
And your Ad should focus on the solution for the same.
5. Personify your Ad: The customers today, in this social media age, are in habit of interaction. An automated conversation or an address that is not targeted directly to them won’t get your attention. Your e-mails, Ad copies, etc. must always address the reader as YOU. The reader should have an exclusive feeling of being talked to. It is one of the most neglected parts of Ad writing but one of the most crucial ones.
Your reader will be more attentive to your Ad, will remember more of it, and is more likely to act.
6. State the benefits: It is always advised to the copywriters to state less of the features on your Ad and more of the benefits.
A reader is more likely to be impressed by a 5% discount he might get than some unheard certification that you might want them to know.
And if at all, you consider the feature essential to be included in your Ad, it must not occupy more than 20% of its space.
7. Creating a sense of urgency: The fear of missing out is real among all of us. To use that in a positive sense in the pursuit of persuasion is a crucial skill copywriters today need to master.
Anything that involves an urgent call to action would hold your potential lead’s attention much longer than with some Ad having no sense of urgency.
*Click to avail an additional 10% discount, offer ends in 2 hours.*
The Ad given above represents the most common ones that we see on an e-commerce website. And there is a reason why it wins. It qualifies for all that is required to make an Ad successful.
8. Be clear in your words: Any Ad that uses complicated industrial jargon is bound to disinterest the reader. Your aim should be as clear as you can while delivering an Ad. The words, as simplified as they can be.
Short sentences, bullet points, highlighted keys, simple words- wins.
9. Be specific in your delivery: An Ad that mentions that you can avail of a clear 10% discount offer than the one which mentions about ‘some discount’ offer is more likely to be clicked because of its specificity.
People like being talked straightforward. They like to be given important details without asking. An Ad gives us less time and space comparatively to deliver the details that we want to. You, as a copywriter, must not waste a single character in your Ad in telling a piece of information that is vague and eventually of no use.
Be as clear, and as specific as possible.
10. Call to action: A study by HubSpot found that personalized calls to action are 202% more effective.
So, even if you do everything right, and finally don’t call people to action, you miss out on a lead who could have been highly qualified.
Call to action means giving a direction to what they must do next.
Visit the website, click on the link, buy the product, etc. The call can be for anything, but actions bring them closer to your product making your Ad a success.
However, there is never a right or a wrong with Advertisements. Some Ads work even without any formulas behind them, they understand the psyche of their target audience in a way it doesn’t require any generalized formulas to connect with them.
But, there is always a point to start. Having a structure would take you to a point you know your work. Then, for your work to be known, you have to go beyond formulas.
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