So there I was, learning all about Facebook ad copy with Infusionsoft (now Keap) resident Facebook ad genius, Cody Barlow.
I was getting paid as copywriting “hired gun”, but this guy really knows his stuff when it comes to Facebook ads.
So, after taking tons of notes, I got back to work and wrote a good half dozen or more ads for attendees at the accelerator Cody and I were at.
And I think they came out pretty good.
Heck, some of those ads may even be hard at work for their owners right now as you read this.
So here’s what I learned about writing Facebook ad copy:
Once you’ve identified your target audience and what you’re going to offer them (another whole conversation for another day…), it’s time to start thinking about your prospect.
Let’s say she’s got back pain, and you have an eBook on healing your own back pain… What’s her state of mind? What she’s thinking about? What fear, frustration or desire about that might she be experiencing right now that you can help her with?
Remember, she’s probably not searching for back pain solutions – she’s checking family and friends’ posts…
The weirder, the better…
So you might start with an image – The weirder, the better – to a point… You need something that grabs attention, that interrupts how she normally thinks.
I’ll go to images.google.com and type in the topic I’m working on, let’s say “low back pain”. You’ll get some ideas there – but don’t use any of those images, unless you know how to filter for the royalty free ones.
Next, or at some point, you’ll need a short sentence or phrase, kind of a ‘pre-headline’ that calls out to your audience, to go above your image. 3-5 words is about right, if you can boil it down to that.
Then you write a headline that quickly summarizes your offer in a captivating way. This actually goes below the image – this really confused me at first, that the “headline” was below the “text” (pre-headline) and below the picture. But that’s where it goes. The shorter, clearer and more directly to the point, the better.
Then, below your headline you can add a description – Something that elaborates on the message. Here you can squeeze in a few more words, but, again you need to stick to the point – Attention spans on Facebook are measured in nanoseconds…
That’s it – You’re done. Time to start testing.
You’ll want at least one variant to test. The more you test, the greater the odds you’ll hit on something that clicks… in other words, that gets clicks.
Here’s an example:
In that ad, for a variant, I might rewrite the headline to say, “Ask The Genie…”
And that second sentence in the description I’d say, “Let the Genie put his team of specialized experts at your command.”
So there you go. Pretty doggone simple, right?
In full disclosure, I wish I could share the results you, but I with everything else going on, I never heard back from the clients.
But heck, you’ve got enough now to try this on your own.
Your results will vary, of course.
But test, and let them be your guide.
Even if you don’t have time to do this yourself, at least now you’ll have a better idea of whether a pro whose services you’ve invested in is actually helping your cause or not.
See which ads work and which ones don’t, then tweak from there. That’s the beauty of digital media: Instant feedback, at very low cost.
Keep trying different things until you hit on what works. Ideally, you get a cost per lead that contributes to a positive ROI for your entire marketing funnel.
So now you’ve at least got enough of a head start to create a decent set of ads.
And if you’re not using Facebook ads, you’re probably leaving money on the table.
Want more free traffic to your website (without getting “Google Slapped”)?
Check out our Social Media Content Writing Service.
