Creating Engaging Ad Copy

The easiest way to boost clicks that almost nobody tests? 1st-person CTA buttons. What would you click first? ➡️ “Register” or “Save My Spot”? - here is the details for Consumer and Business marketers... Stop telling people what to do. Start letting them step into the action. When the CTA sounds like the user talking to themselves, friction drops and momentum goes up. (Click-Throughs increase by over 20% for both Business and Consumer when CTA's are written in first person) [Source: Worldata Research Performance Report 2026] This works because first-person CTAs trigger ownership + emotional commitment before the click even happens. Here are simple flips that consistently outperform generic buttons: Consumer examples (instead of “Buy Now”): • Yes, I Want 25% Off • Claim My Limited-Time Deal • Get My Exclusive Discount • Unlock My Special Offer • Redeem My Gift • Snag My Immediate Discount • Hurry, Claim My Discount • I Want to Save • Claim My Flash Offer • Secure My 30% Off B2B / business examples (instead of “Register” or “Download”): • Save My Spot • Start My Free Trial • Send Me the Guide • Give Me Access • Reserve My Seat • Count Me In • I Want In • Send Me the Sample • Give Me the Insights • Show Me the Deals • Send Me the Coupon • Let Me Start Saving Small wording change. Big psychological shift. You’re no longer giving instructions. You’re helping someone take a step they already want to take. If your conversion rates feel stuck, this is one of the fastest tests you can run across: landing pages email buttons paid social popups event registrations Most marketers overthink design and underthink button language. The button is the decision moment. Make it feel personal.

I've been in the copywriting space for 10 years and have generated $100’s of millions of dollars for clients.  Here are the 9 most profitable copywriting lessons I've learned along the way: 1. Most Copy Follows the Same Pattern: Headline → Lead → Body → Offer → CTA. Use this structure for every piece of copy: sales pages, emails, ads—everything. Try this today: Take an existing sales page and rearrange it to follow this flow. Notice how it improves clarity. 2. Stop Selling to Everyone: A hungry niche is far more valuable than a big, lukewarm audience. Identify your top 2–3 customer personas and speak directly to them. Try this today: Rewrite one of your marketing emails to address a single, specific persona’s biggest pain point. 3. Your Headline is King: 80% of your effort should go into writing a headline that stops the scroll. Without a powerful headline, no one reads the rest. Try this today: Write 10 variations of a headline for the same offer. Pick the strongest one (or split-test them). 4. Write First, Edit Later: Separate the creative process (writing freely) from the critical process (editing). More words during writing; fewer words after editing. Try this today: Draft an email or ad in one sitting without stopping yourself, then cut it down by 30%. 5. Make it a Slippery Slope: Headline sells the subheadline → subheadline sells the lead → lead sells the body → body sells the CTA → CTA sells the click. Each section teases the next. Try this today: Structure each element on your landing page to create curiosity for the next. 6. People Care About Themselves: They want to know: “What’s in it for me?” Focus your copy on how your product solves their problems or satisfies their desires. Try this today: Count how many times you say “you” versus “I/we” in your copy. Aim for at least a 2:1 ratio. 7. Embrace the Rule of One: One product, one big idea, one CTA per piece of copy. Avoid confusing your reader with multiple offers. Try this today: If you have multiple CTAs in an email or ad, eliminate all but one to see if conversions improve. 8. Be a Friend, Not a Salesman: Show your personality: use relatable language, humor, empathy. Give value first, then ask for the sale. Try this today: Add a personal anecdote or inside joke in your next email to build rapport and trust. 9. Never Start from Scratch: Use proven frameworks (PAS, AIDA, FAB, etc.) to save time and improve results. Frameworks guide your thinking and help you hit the emotional triggers your audience needs. Try this today: Pick one framework (e.g., PAS) and outline your next sales email before filling it in with copy.

Many think they're testing creatives but really, it's just elimination. We come across it a lot where there isn't a robust system for testing creatives with accounts with scaled budgets. It's a lot of hit and hope or even worse... let Campaign Manager decide for you.... We approach it differently so that you can BUILD on performance, rather than dilute it. We separate it into 3 tiers: Tier 3 - New creative experimentation → 4-7 distinct ads live, each testing a meaningfully different → Budget isolated from your live scaled campaigns → Different angles, not just different images → Run long enough to generate real signals Tier 2 - Stress test what works → Strong signal creatives from Tier 3 go into a new campaign → Budget increases here, to stress test the positive signals → Many ads will start to die here, but some will survive Tier 1 — Scale what's been stress tested → Proven Tier 2 performers continue running with minimal intervention → These get a scaled budget and drive most results → This is where most of your results come from The biggest mistake I see is mixing test creatives in with current live performers. It can easily end up diluting what was working before and dumping performance or alternatively, the algorithm optimises toward the incumbent and your new creatives never get a fair shot. My last tip is to start tests with your warmest audience e.g. retargeting. Because if your creatives don't work with your most engaged. They're not going to work cold. -- I'm Rob from Tuned Social: LinkedIn Ads Agency. If you're spending $10k+ and want your LinkedIn Ads to be in the top 1% - drop me a message.

📝 The Art of Crafting Effective Ad Copy in SEM: Mastering the Language of Clicks In the fast-paced world of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), the art of crafting compelling ad copy is a game-changer. Your ad copy is the voice of your brand in the competitive digital arena, and mastering this art can significantly impact click-through rates and conversions. Let's delve into the key elements that make ad copy truly effective. **1. Know Your Audience: The foundation of impactful ad copy lies in understanding your target audience. What resonates with them? What pain points do they seek solutions for? Tailor your language to speak directly to their needs and aspirations. **2. Craft a Captivating Headline: The headline is your ad's first impression. Make it count. It should be concise, engaging, and immediately convey the value proposition. Spark curiosity, use power words, and align it with the searcher's intent. **3. Focus on Unique Selling Proposition (USP): What sets your product or service apart? Clearly articulate your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Whether it's a special offer, unique features, or exceptional service, let your audience know why they should choose you. **4. Conciseness is Key: In the realm of SEM, brevity is a virtue. Craft your message with utmost clarity and conciseness. Every word should add value. Eliminate unnecessary details and ensure that your message is easily digestible. **5. Create a Compelling Call-to-Action (CTA): The CTA is the bridge between interest and action. Whether it's "Shop Now," "Learn More," or "Sign Up Today," your CTA should be compelling and instigate immediate action. Make it clear what you want your audience to do next. **6. Speak the Language of Benefits: Shift the focus from features to benefits. How does your product or service improve the lives of your customers? Highlight the positive outcomes they can expect, creating an emotional connection that resonates. **7. Utilize Ad Extensions Wisely: Leverage ad extensions to provide additional context and information. Site links, callouts, and structured snippets can enhance your ad, offering users more reasons to click through and explore. **8. A/B Testing for Optimization: The journey to the perfect ad copy involves experimentation. Conduct A/B tests with different variations of your ad copy to understand what resonates best with your audience. Continuously refine and optimize based on performance data. In the realm of SEM, effective ad copy is a potent tool that can elevate your campaigns to new heights. By understanding your audience, communicating your USP, and continually refining your approach through testing, you'll master the art of crafting ad copy that speaks the language of clicks. 🚀💬 #SEM #DigitalMarketing #AdCopyMastery

10 Copywriting Rules (From a Dad of Twin Teenagers Who Knows a Thing or Two About Persuasion) Growing up with twin teenage daughters has been the ultimate crash course in persuasive communication. If I can get two teenagers to agree on dinner plans without an eye roll, selling anything to anyone becomes a breeze. Crafting a compelling copy? Surprisingly similar. It’s all about: • The right tone • Catchy phrasing • Knowing exactly what they want (even when they don’t). Here’s how these lessons translate to copywriting: 1/ Strong CTA = More Conversions Convincing teens to choose one restaurant? Like a CTA, it needs a “what’s in it for me” factor. “Click Here” works if paired with why they should care. Example: “Click Here for Mouthwatering Dinner Ideas.” 2/ Highlight What Matters In family debates, shouting the best option works (sometimes). In copy, highlight with: ✔️ Bold text ✔️ Visual cues ✔️ Testimonials Give readers reasons to trust—and choose—your offer. 3/ Symbols Speak Louder Than Words Teenagers scan for emojis. Readers? Scanning for key symbols. Use: ✔️ $ for discounts ✔️ ❌ to show what they’re missing without you. 4/ Numbers > Words “Be home at 1” is clearer than “Be home at one.” Numbers grab attention. Use them in headlines, discounts, or stats. 5/ Follow the “Goldilocks” Rule Too many options = indecision (or teenage rebellion). Limit choices to make decisions easier—group into 3-4 options. 6/ Meaningful Hooks “Dinner options” sounds boring. “Let’s try sushi tonight!” sparks curiosity. Same with copy: Your “Plans & Pricing” page? Rename it. Try “Find Your Perfect Plan.” 7/ Picture It Like a Conversation Persuading teens means sitting down and talking face-to-face. Write your copy like you’re chatting across the table with your audience. 8/ Explore Layers of Benefits Teens need more than “it’s good for you.” They want specifics: “You’ll feel great and your friends will love it.” Your copy needs the same. Features are nice, but benefits sell. 9/ Showcase Your Best Dinner debate strategy? Start with the best suggestion first. Your copy should, too: Feature best-sellers or top reviews upfront—don’t bury them. 10/ First & Last Impressions Matter In family arguments, what you say first and last is what gets remembered. Structure your bullets the same way: • Strongest point first • Close with a powerful takeaway Master these rules, and whether you're selling products or settling family debates, you'll win every time.

How to test Facebook ads creative in 2025 📊 Most brands waste thousands monthly on broken creative testing setups. Here's what I see repeatedly: mixing new creatives with winning ones, running tests without proper budget allocation, and scaling winners too aggressively. Here's the systematic approach that actually works: Phase 1: Which New Creative Is Best? Never test new creatives against your current winners. Old ads have delivery advantages - Facebook already knows they convert. A beauty brand was spending ₹2L on "tests" where new videos never got delivery because 6-month-old winning creatives dominated budget allocation. 5 Testing Methods: → Split-test campaigns (most accurate, highest cost) → Non-CBO with separate ad sets (balanced approach) → CBO with budget optimization (most cost-efficient) → Single ad set auction (let Facebook choose) → Auto-rules optimization (best of both worlds) Phase 2: New vs Champion Take your winning new creative. Test it against your current best performer. This is where most "winning" creatives fail. They looked good against other new ads but can't beat established champions. Phase 3: Scale Smart Found a real winner? Add it to existing campaigns but don't pause old winners immediately. The biggest scaling mistake: replacing all creatives at once with the "better" one that can't handle delivery volume. → Which testing scenario matches your current budget and accuracy needs? Creative testing isn't about finding perfect ads - it's about building systems that consistently find winners.

Your audience is smarter than you think I once read a SaaS landing page that explained what a calendar was. Not the product. A calendar. By the third sentence, I had already lost trust. That’s the trap so many companies fall into. But here’s the truth. Your audience is: - Intelligent - Busy - Already exposed to a hundred pitches They know when you are filling space instead of saying something useful. And the second they feel talked down to, you lose them. The copy that works takes a different approach. It: 1. Respects the reader’s context 2. Speaks to what they actually care about 3. Makes them feel understood instead of lectured If you want your copy to resonate, try this checklist: 1. Lead with insight, not fluff 2. Talk about real challenges, not surface-level symptoms 3. Use specifics because vague always fades away 4. Edit for clarity, not cleverness Prospects do not need to be convinced. They need to feel understood. So write as if you are speaking to someone smart across the table. Because you are.

These static ads are printing by nailing fundamental consumer psychology. Here's the strategic breakdown that'll change how you think about creative: 1. Jupiter: The AMA Psychology Masterclass This Instagram story-style AMA format is genius social proof in disguise. "How did you finally control your seborrheic dermatitis?" feels like genuine peer advice, not advertising. Personal storytelling ("I've had this since I was 12") creates instant relatability. Showing the product in a Target basket subtly communicates retail availability and mainstream acceptance. Strategic insight: Organic formatting bypasses ad resistance while delivering powerful testimonials. 2. Hims: Price Anchoring That Actually Works "Treat ED for less than $2/day" is textbook psychology perfection. Anchoring the price to a daily amount instead of a monthly subscription makes it feel dramatically more affordable. The copy is refreshingly direct: "Simple copy that tells people the problem that the product fixes." No fluff, no fancy language. Just clear problem-solution messaging. Sometimes the most effective copy is the most straightforward. 3. City Beauty: Handwritten Attention Psychology "LIFTS MY JOWLS INSTANTLY!! I was SHOCKED." This handwritten note captures attention better than any polished graphic could. Blurring the actual product creates curiosity that drives clicks. People need to engage to discover what this "shocking" tool actually is. Handwritten elements feel more authentic and personal than digital text, creating a stronger emotional connection. 4. The Deeper Psychology at Work Each ad succeeds because it: - Uses native platform formatting to reduce ad resistance - Applies specific psychological triggers (social proof, price anchoring, curiosity) - Matches customer language and communication styles - Creates emotional connection before logical evaluation

Persuasive writing doesn’t mean putting a gun at the reader’s head. Or… If you directly tell the reader to do, to buy, or to click with no valid reason first, they’re instantly out. I see a lot of content just focusing on the “do it” part. Well, I as a reader would think: ”Why should I do it? Is it good enough? If yes, tell me how. Is it a solution? If yes, tell me what for. Has it helped someone? If so, tell me who.” Readers don’t care if you say “do” a hundred times. It doesn’t move them an inch. (Unless you’ve already convinced them) What move them are: 1/ Talking about their pain People notice and act when they see what relates to them. It can be a problem they have. Or the solution to that. A pitch after a pain point is most likely to work. 2/ Describe and let them connect the dots It’s less convincing to tell them your offer is good and they should buy compared to telling them a story of someone who liked it and letting them decide themselves. 3/ Show more. Talk less. What? Let the reader imagine it, rather than just read it. For example: ✖︎ “You’ll love how energetic this snack is.” ✓ “You’ll feel like having steel arms when you eat this snack.” See the difference? 4/ Say it like you don’t care Not actually saying “you don’t care.” But showing (in your writing) that it’s their benefit if they buy/act and their loss if they don’t. The bottom line: People don’t buy because they’re just told. They buy because they’re given a reason. So give them that reason. Do you persuade with force or reason? PS. You can learn about writing with AI in my newsletter with a FREE weekly email. Join here: https://lnkd.in/eb7XjHdz

I’m still not convinced we’re doing creative strategy right…🫣 We launch ads. Test everything. Let the algorithm sort it out. More tests = more winners. More shots = more chances. More data = better decisions. …doesn’t it? I watched brands burn $50K+ a month on high-volume testing and come out with nothing but noise. Not better ads. Not scalable insights. Just… more confusion. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀. If you keep feeding your brand junk data, your ad account will eventually start to feel like crap. I’ve seen this play out over and over: •Brands launch 100+ ads •90% fail instantly •Meta optimizes for the cheap clicks •You chase ghosts in the data •You spend another $50K next month We call this “testing”. But most of the time, we’re just making more expensive guesses. If you throw 100 random darts at a wall without understanding what actually makes people buy, what are you really learning? I’ve learned that scaling isn’t about running more ads—it’s about running smarter, faster, more controlled experiments. Instead of feeding the algorithm junk, the brands that actually scale are the ones running 10-15 deeply researched ads: ✔ Subconscious identity triggers (what actually makes people buy) ✔ Emotional motivators (tied to your best customers) ✔ Psychological friction points (the real reason people don’t convert) When you test like this, you don’t just get a winning ad. You get a repeatable strategy. One that scales for 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴, not just weeks. So yeah, I get it. Volume feels like the way forward. But I also think we did this to ourselves in an attempt to make ourselves feel good about all the things we couldn’t control because “at least we’re doing something.” But it’s time to rethink the game, here. ❓ “But doesn’t high-volume testing work?” → If you test 100 ads and 90% fail, what did you actually learn? That most of your ideas suck? That Meta prefers cheap clicks over quality? Testing should be about learning, not just filtering out losers. A research-backed system gives you better inputs, so you’re not just playing Whac-A-Mole with bad ads. ❓ “We don’t have time to overthink ads—we need to move fast.” → Moving fast is good. But wasting $50K a month on random ideas isn’t speed, it’s friction. Slowing down to test better ads actually makes your scaling process faster in the long run. ❓ “Meta rewards volume testing. It’s how the algorithm works.” → Meta rewards strong signals—not randomness. A high volume of bad ads just tells the platform you don’t know what you’re doing. When you start with better strategy, you get stronger signals faster—without burning through cash. ❓ “Okay, but what if we test both? Volume AND research-backed ads?” → If you have unlimited budget, sure. But most brands don’t. Would you rather spend $50K testing 100 random ads or $50K testing 15 highly informed ones? One approach gives you a real growth system. The other just makes your media buyer look busy.