7.04 – Learn How To Make Ads That Work
Crafting Compelling Ads
Creating effective ads requires the same dedication to engaging content as educational materials. Your focus should be on compelling themes and strong writing skills.
Breaking Through the Clutter
To make your ads stand out and grab attention from your target audience, consider these strategies:
Being Dramatic
Tell a compelling story, create suspense, or draw your audience into an event in the life of an interesting character they can relate to. Good storytelling principles work well in marketing. The best stories create a powerful reason for your audience to stop, read, and share.
Creating an Emotional Response
Identify the emotions that most effectively inspire attention and action. Consider whether your product appeals to fear of loss or anticipation of reward. Does it make people feel more accomplished or self-actualized? Define the most compelling emotion and present it persuasively.
Surprising the Audience
Use startling headlines, unexpected visuals, unusual openings, or daring displays to surprise your audience. For example, a headline like “We run low every day” has more stopping power than “We have everyday low prices,” even though both communicate the same message.
Ensuring Sticking Power
In addition to stopping power, your ads need to be memorable. Facts may fade, but stories stick. A compelling brand story about your mission, history, or movement to change the world can leave a lasting impression if it resonates emotionally. Connect your ads to your brand stories to present a relatable, authentic company with products and ideas that customers want to associate with.
Consistency is Key
Repetition of a clear, focused message ensures it is remembered. Maintain consistency in presenting your brand’s value and competitive advantages across all marketing content and channels. Consistent, frequent repetition helps people remember your message.
Persuasive Advertising
Effective marketing content requires pull power, which can include limited-time offers, QR codes for mystery deals, or unique experiences. Strong emotional appeals that resonate with your customers’ “wannabe” personas, create self-actualization, or solve immediate problems are essential.
To ensure your written materials are persuasive:
Avoid Sales Clichés
Don’t sound like everyone else. Before finalising your ad copy, review competitors’ ads, websites, and social media. If your message sounds similar, find another way to say it.
Steer Clear of Overused Power Words
Words like incredible, guaranteed, amazing, and exclusive are so overused that they often fail to deliver results.
Show, Don’t Tell
Use clear, simple language and illustrations to show your product’s success. Share statistics, examples, and customer testimonials. Focus on facts, not opinions.
Utilize YouTube Videos
Demonstrating product use in YouTube videos embedded in your social media, website, and blog can be highly persuasive.
Present Your Brand’s Persona
Reflect your customers’ personality, interests, and lifestyle in your copy, headlines, and stories. Keep the message simple and avoid trying to appeal to everyone, which can dilute your message.
Professionalism in Advertising
Trust and transparency are best shown through examples, offers, and testimonials, rather than hyped-up claims. Here are some tips for maintaining professionalism:
Proof Your Work
Have others proofread your work to catch mistakes you might miss. Hiring professional proofreaders can fix grammar issues, typos, and layout problems, making you appear polished to customers.
Source Your Information
Always cite your sources to avoid appearing as if you’re taking credit for others’ work. Including URLs linking to the actual studies you cite is crucial for maintaining trust.
Practice Makes Perfect
Keep writing, reworking, and rethinking your content until it is clear and concise. Stop writing when you’ve achieved clarity in the fewest words possible.
Building Trust and Engagement
Maintain a conversational tone, inspiring message, real promises, and actionable offers in all channels. Building trust takes time, often requiring at least five touch points before consumers engage with a brand. Keep your content relevant and meaningful, and don’t stop your efforts prematurely.
By following these guidelines, your ads will not only attract attention but also build long-lasting relationships with your audience.
