How To Write Lead-Generating, List-Building Facebook + Instagram Ad Copy
Let’s break down your current situation. Meet Emma. Emma’s your ideal client. Emma’s on Facebook. Der. She’s not a monk living in enlightenment. She’s human.
Your business is on Facebook. Der. You’re not a monk living in enlightenment. You’re human.
Emma’s out at brunch. She’s scrolling through Facebook looking for something to entertain her while she waits for her Eggs Benedict to arrive. She barely takes her eyes off the screen while she takes a sip of her cappuccino. She’s scrolling through Facebook looking for something to entertain her.
Scrolling and scrolling, her thumb moves from top to bottom…
Oooo, stop. Rewind.
What was that? Hilarious mash-up of Rhianna songs narrating your week? Hahaha. Like.
And back to scrolling, she goes. On the hunt for something to hold her attention. And that post she's going to land on next could be your business.
The catch? Your business has about 0.5 of a second to get Emma’s attention, and then to keep it long enough to get her to click.
Your mission: Your ad needs to stop Emma scrolling in her tracks long enough to click your link.
Let’s do this.
The Secret To Facebook + Instagram Ad Copy That Gets Clicked + Costs You Less
Talk to a five-year old.
First, here’s what you need to know about Facebook Ads: Put your crafty, clever and compelling copy away.
FACEBOOK ADS ARE DIFFERENT.
They’re straightforward, to the point and even a little boring, that is to say: keep your clever to yourself. That ain’t going to get Emma to stop scrolling.
The Rules:
No flashy words. No clever brand-new trademarked way to say something. No snor-ies, that’s boring stories.
Imagine talking to a 5-year-old. That’s what we’re aiming for. We’re aiming to:
Stop the scroll.
Get Emma to want what you have and CLICK. That’s it.
Save your song and dance for the emails.
How To Write Facebook + Instagram Ads In 6 Steps
We’re going to focus on how to write the meaty bit of the ad that’s going to get you the click and cost you less.
Step 1. Make the first few words count
They will make or break your ad. It needs to grab their attention. It needs to present the single biggest pain point that your opt-in is solving.
Don’t say: ATTENTION BUSINESS OWNER!
With the correct targeting, that’s WHO you’re speaking to already. That’s the only person whose newsfeed you should show up in.
Don’t waste precious ad real estate on meaningless words. Get straight into their problem.
Say: Experts get paid. You’re an expert but you’re not getting paid.
Don’t say: If you already have more than ‘just enough’ money floating around in your bank account, then you don’t need this.
Say: THE BANE OF YOUR EXISTENCE. Your Achilles' heel. Money. Your relationship with money is affecting your whole life.
Don’t say: Every day someone sets a goal to lose weight, finally get in shape, and finally change their life. Are you one of them? And does your track record of actually achieving your goals fall flat?
Say: FREE How to Lose 5 lbs in 7 days with One Small Trick… and no, I’m not going to get you to eat weird herbs from Africa you can’t pronounce,
Got it? Awesome. Let’s move on.
Step 2. Focus on one specific problem.
Your opt-in is not the place to solve every single one of your client's problems. It’s the place to give them a quick win. And the only way to get a quick win is with something insanely easy to action.
It’s taking what your opt-in does at the core and making it super relevant to what your audience is experiencing right now.
Step 3. Offer a solution
This is a linking phrase that’s all about connecting the problems you painted earlier with your offer now being the solution.
It’s generally the key message around why they even need your offer.
Step 4. Introduce your free gift
It’s as simple as writing the word
Introducing….
And then giving the guide name. Make sure you don’t forget to let them know it’s free.
Step 5. Provide a summary of outcomes they’ll get from this.
These are all about benefit-feature-outcome dot points that are all about whetting the appetite for what’s inside your awesome free gift, and you’re also justifying why it deserves to be there, linking it to what they want.
Step 6. Call to Action
Tell them how they can get their free gift.
Want a fill-in-the-blank template to help you write your Facebook and Instagram ads in 10 minutes flat?