John Lincoln — November 14, 2016 Follow @johnelincolnLooking for some great new ideas that will bring people in your target market to your website? Try online advertising.
But not just any type of online advertising. It’s too often the case that digital marketers play a “shoot in the dark” game when they’re running ads on other websites.
Afterwards, they justify their actions by saying that they’re doing split-testing.
In other words, they’re playing guessing games and hoping that something works. Often, both the “A” and the “B” side of their split-testing equation isn’t very effective.
If your text loses, all you did was waste time!
It’s not enough to just try an advertising strategy in hopes that it’s a better than another option. It’s best to put principles of great advertising into place at the start and split-test the finer points of a campaign with an outstanding track record.
Along those lines, here are some proven ad hacks that will send a stampede to your sales funnel.
Get Thee to Copywriting School
If you want to get more clicks from your ads, you need to give people a reason to click. That’s best accomplished with outstanding copywriting.
If you want to be effective at copywriting, you’re going to need to learn from the pros. Fortunately, that’s easy to do thanks to Amazon.
For some reason, many marketers discount the effectiveness of outstanding ad copy. That’s a shame, because it can literally make the difference between an effective campaign and one that loses money.
Ask yourself this question: why did you click on this article? Chances are pretty good that it was because of the catchy title. That kind of title is exactly what you should use in your ad copy.
So before you invest another penny in graphics, keyword research, and consultants, learn the basics of producing compelling copy that begs people to click.
Tell Them About Benefits, Not Features
There are simply too many ads in existence that describe features over benefits. It’s not likely that they have a very high click-through rate.
Why? Because features don’t answer the all-important WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?) question.
When writing your ad copy, envision people in your target market asking “What’s in it for me?” as they read you advertisement. Make sure that you answer that question by describing benefits and not features.
If you’re unclear on the difference between features and benefits, here’s a primer:
- Features describe product attributes. For example, features of a laptop include its weight, RAM, and hard drive space.
- Benefits explain why the customer will appreciate the product. For example, a benefit of a laptop is that it has lightning-fast processing, enabling its users to accomplish more in less time.
Do you see the difference? Sadly, many marketers to this day don’t see the difference because they keep on advertising with copy that describes features and not benefits.
Your ad copy shouldn’t just describe your product, it should compel people to want to purchase it.
Enlist the Aid of Experts
If you’re running an ad on a network that severely limits your headline character count (we’re looking at you, AdSense), you’re going to have to rely on something catchy to reel in customers.
One tried-and-true trick that goes back to the Dark Ages of copywriting involves using experts to make your case for you in just one sentence.
Here’s an example of an expert-driven ad headline: “Tom Brady Explains His Treadmill Routine for Staying Fit in the Off-Season.”
That’s a great headline if you’re selling treadmills. Think about it: you’re not trying to convince someone about the importance of using treadmills to stay fit, you’re letting Tom Brady convince your customer about the importance of using treadmills to stay fit.
It’s safe to say that most Americans view Tom Brady as someone who’s physically fit.
The secret here is to scour news sources for expert tips related to your niche (as you see with the Tom Brady example above). Then, rewrite those news stories into ad copy that sells your product or service.
Share a Secret
Another oldie but a goodie that still works wonders is to let people in on a secret. It’s an effective strategy because human nature hasn’t changed since copywriters started using it decades ago.
The trick here is to create a headline that lets people know that you’re sharing a “secret” that’s only benefited a select few (or even just one person) up this point.
If we stick with the Tom Brady theme, a “secret” headline might read something like this: “Tom Brady Shares His Secret to Staying Fit in the Off-Season.”
That’s okay but the word “secret” seems to be a bit overused these days. A more effective copy might read: “Finally: Tom Brady Explains What He’s Been Doing to Stay Fit in the Off-Season.”
That second headline has the “aura” of a secret without actually using the word. Good secret-themed headlines often use words like “unlock,” “hidden,” or “reveal.”
Secret-themed headlines also work great with the aforementioned expert source, as we see in this example.
Make ‘Em an Offer They Can’t Refuse
Another way to turn your ad into clickbait is to simply make an irresistible offer in the headline.
Legendary copywriter Ben Settle cites this example as an offer headline: “Free Fuel for a Year With Purchase of a New Car – Today Only.”
That headline is powerful for a couple of reasons.
First, who doesn’t want free fuel for a year? That’s an obvious benefit to any consumer that you don’t even have to explain.
Second, note the sense of urgency that the headline creates. The offer is good only for today. That’s enough to get people hooked right away, even when it comes to making a major purchase like a car.
Of course, an ad like this will definitely have an impact on your cash flow. Run the numbers and find out what you can afford to offer people that they absolutely can’t resist.
Then your ad accordingly.
Get Started Now
The key to advertising, social media, content marketing and more is copywriting. Get good fast to maximize your marketing.
Digital & Social Articles on Business 2 Community(29)
