Can you sell a pen in 6 words?

You know you’re good with words but do you aspire to write copy that sells?

Want to build the knack to write the right copy at the right time?

We’ll show you how.

First, let’s start with the basics.

What is ad copy?

It is the writing of copy for advertisements such as posters, social media ads, banner ads, and other forms of advertising. It is essentially the caption or message you read on billboards or advertisements that show up on Facebook.

The role of a copywriter is intriguing. You must understand the assignment and produce the concept in a few words. While writing copy, it is best to approach the process with a typical copywriting formula called AIDA. It stands for attention, interest, desire, and action.

Here’s how your copy should work:

• Attention - You grab the attention of the readers with your copy.
• Interest - Build interest in them with fresh and appealing content.
• Desire - Nurture them by explaining what your brand can offer.
• Action - Get them to take the next step.

This formula is mainly used by copywriters in marketing and sales for attracting and engaging customers and eventually converting them into leads.

Good copy, bad copy

Good copy is persuasive, engaging, and effectively communicates the benefits and value of a product or service to the target audience. It grabs attention, evokes emotion, and compels the reader to take action. Good copy is clear, concise, and tailored to the needs and desires of the target audience. It effectively communicates unique selling points and creates a strong connection between the brand and the consumer.

Meanwhile, bad copy is ineffective, unengaging, and fails to resonate with the target audience. It may be vague or overly verbose, making it difficult for readers to understand the message or value proposition. Bad copy lacks a clear call to action, cannot highlight the benefits or solve the audience's problems, and may use jargon or technical terms that confuse the reader. Ultimately, a bad copy fails to generate interest, persuade, and drive conversions.

Explore your industry

Learn your product

Understand what is your product or service and why you’re writing about it. Learn what’s the unique selling point (USP) of the product and its benefits and features to have a clear idea of what you’re writing. 

Research your competitors

A staggering 77% of businesses use social media to connect with customers. So, before brainstorming on your copy, it’s also important to see what’s out there. It’s always a good idea to study your competition and learn what makes your product different from them. This way, you can come up with multiple ideas for your copy. When your target audience sees your ad, they are likely to look at your competitors’ products as well before making a choice. So, better to step up and show why they need to buy your product. 

Analyze your target audience

The key to writing effective ad copy is to have a deep understanding of your target audience. Research and identify their demographics, interests, needs, and pain points. This knowledge will allow you to tailor your ad copy to resonate with their desires and motivations.

Know your platform

You need to finalize where you’re running your ads, be it print or social media. Depending on the platform you use, there will be changes in the ad sizes, algorithms, and word limits as well. So, it’s crucial to know where you’re going with your ad copy. Keep scrolling to know more about the ad copy specs for social media.

Writing copy that grabs eyeballs

Brainstorm ideas

Keep brainstorming and do relevant research on ideas for your copy. Even if you’re a beginner or professional, there will be times you feel you’re at a dead end. At that point, you can always ideate with your team and go through your competitors’ work for inspiration and add your twist to it. You could also use a ChatGPT prompt or a creative automation tool where you can generate relevant copy which you could tweak and use it.

Clear and concise copy

In today’s fast-paced digital world, people have limited attention spans. Keep your ad copy concise and to the point. Avoid jargon and technical terms that might confuse your audience. Clearly communicate the value proposition and call to action (CTA).

Start with a question

One way to grab the attention of your audience is to start with a thought-provoking question. Write copy by putting yourself in the shoes of your audience. Think about how would they respond to your question and whether it applies to them.

Capture attention with your headline

Your headline should grab the reader's attention instantly. Use strong, action-oriented language and highlight the key benefit or USP of your product or service. Consider incorporating numbers, questions, or power words to evoke curiosity and entice the reader to continue reading.

Acknowledge the pain points

When running a travel agency, you want your audience to be drawn by the travel packages that you’re offering. Pain points indicate customers’ frustration or tiredness. Show them you can solve their problem with your tour packages by addressing their pain of not being able to relax or step outside of the home. This could click with your audience. 

Clear CTAs

Tell people what you want them to do after they read your ad. Do you want them to visit your website? Sign up for your email list? Make sure your call to action is clear and easy to understand. Use action verbs to prompt your audience to take the desired action, such as "Buy Now," "Sign Up Today," or "Learn More." Make the CTA stand out visually with bold or contrasting colors, and ensure it is easily clickable or accessible.

Besides the simple text, this CTA stands out because it puts the customer's voice to use.

Wordplay

You don’t need to play big with the words to capture attention. But depending on the situation and relevance of the idea, you can always include puns and rhymes and be witty with your copy.

Stick to your brand voice

Keeping consistency across all platforms is crucial for brands to ensure their audiences understand the brand value and message instead of feeling confused. Incorporating brand asset management while creating ad copy can help you better understand how to write for your target audience.

You are speaking to normal people

Approach your audience with a personalized touch so that they feel closer to your brand. Make your copy conversational and relatable. Be informative and make them feel like they’ve been seen. Communicate in such a way that each viewer should feel like the message was curated especially for them.

Bonus tip: Write as if you’re writing to an individual and not a large group of people. This will help you personalize the message. 

Be Topical and up-to-date

The digital age has helped a large part of the audience to be instantly aware of the events that are happening around them. To stay in the competition, it is essential to create content that is associated with current events. Trending topics easily catch the attention of the audience and you contributing to it can improve reach for the brand.

Create FOMO

People tend to have the fear of missing out and you can use them to get traction for ads by executing the right copy. Create copy in such a way that it creates a spark of curiosity among your audience and they click on the CTA button to find out more. 

Bonus tip: Adding a relevant number or data to back up your statement could build trust among your audience.

Add visuals

A picture speaks a thousand words, and for effective advertising, use strong visuals to grab attention. The visuals and colors evoke the viewers and make your ads more convincing.

Also Read: 26 Beautiful Color Combinations That’ll Inspire Your Next Design

Track the performance 

Writing effective ad copy requires continuous testing and optimization. Experiment with variations of your ad copy to identify what resonates best with your target audience. A/B testing can help you determine which copy performs better and refine your approach accordingly.

Another way to test and optimize your ad copy is by adopting a creative automation tool like Artwork Flow. Not only can you reduce spending on traditional A/B testing but also generate multiple variations of your creative that resonate with your target audience.

Writing ads for social media

When you’re writing ad copy for social media, there are a few factors to consider to win the favor of the platform’s algorithm. Here are the text recommendations for image ads for popular social media platforms:

1. Facebook

• Primary Text: 125 characters 
• Headline: 27 characters 
• Description: 27 characters 

Also Read: Facebook Ad Sizes and Specs for 2023

2. Instagram

• Primary Text: 125 characters
• Headline: 40 characters
• Hashtags: 30 (maximum)

3. Twitter

• Tweet copy: 280 characters 

4. LinkedIn

• Ad name (optional): 255 characters
• Headline: 70 characters
• Introductory text:  150 characters
• Description (LAN only): 70 characters

By following these tips, you can create effective ad copy for the above platforms that will help you reach your target audience and achieve your marketing goals.

Make or break ads 

Copywriters are in demand, and you must produce excellent copy to stand out from the crowd and drive ROI. By understanding your target audience, crafting captivating headlines, focusing on benefits, and incorporating urgency, you can create ad copy that engages, persuades, and drives conversions. Remember to keep it concise, include a powerful call to action, and continuously test and optimize your copy to achieve optimal results. And most importantly, believe and improve the writer in you with these tips.

To see what is the hype around creative automation, check out Artwork Flow’s free 7-day trial or book a demo.

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