Copywriters and marketers wear a lot of hats. They write and market many different types of content targeted at a variety of audiences. With each type of content created, they must adapt to the style and flow demanded to succeed. One type of content that is prevalent and used by businesses everywhere is advertising copywriting. Everything You Need to Know About Advertising Copywriting.
What is Advertising Copywriting?
Advertising copywriting has a distinctive purpose: to get readers to take action. Basically, it takes the place of a salesperson—and in some ways, can be thought of as sales copy, or copy designed to encourage a sale. It should offer key features of a product or service, address objections a consumer may have, and give benefits of a purchase.
How is Ad Copywriting Used in Marketing?
As stated above, ad copywriting replaces your salesperson. Online interaction is typically content. That means there is not usually someone there to answer questions, address concerns, or encourage the sale. Instead, your advertising copywriting is the content that does it in lieu of a salesperson.
The main goal of ad copy is to increase conversion rates (i.e. number of completed sales divided by number of website visitors). This can be achieved by offering content that features the product or service and highlights it in a way the audience understands. It’s the sales letter. Good ad copy will contain specific components that include:
- A strong title/headline
- Copywriting that appeals to a potential consumer’s logical and emotional reasons to purchase
- Motivation for consumers to take action
5 Tips for Writing Effective Advertising Copy
Now that you understand what advertising copywriting is and its role in the marketing world, it’s essential to understand what a writer must do to create it. Here are five tips to get you started:
Tip #1: Identify audience objectives and use them
What does your audience want to accomplish with a particular product or service? How will it benefit them to have it? The goal should be to identify these objectives and weave them into the content. In other words, they should mirror the objectives back to the reader.
Tip #2: Utilize emotion to trigger action
Most people have reasons for purchasing things, and underlying those reasons is an emotion. For example, an ad for a smart doorbell with a camera may play on fear, which often comes from the desire to keep a family and home safe. Other emotions commonly utilized are happiness, sadness, anger, humor, disgust, or nostalgia. The ad copy should be written from the standpoint of a persona that’s been created.
Tip #3: Address objections
While buyers have reasons to invest in a product or service, they often have objections to it as well. In ad copywriting, objections should be identified and addressed. Some common objections are:
- Cost
- Your product/service versus a competitor's
- Any hassles involved
Tip #4: State the benefits
If you’ve addressed the objections, it’s just as crucial to state the benefits. Why is your product or service worth it? How will it improve the consumer’s life? Why do they need it?
Tip #5: Don’t be afraid to use numbers, stats, and keywords
As with most content, proof is helpful. This is where numbers and stats come in. When possible, don’t hesitate to use them. You’ll also want to have top keywords and incorporate them into your ad copy. This will draw readers to the site and offer them the words they want to see. If you can get stats and/or keywords into your headline, even better.
Advertising copywriting takes practice and skill. Like any form of marketing, the better you understand it, the better your chances of implementing it successfully. Research good ad copywriting examples, and create strategies, personas, and goals of your own. Most importantly, get a great copywriter to execute the type of ad copy that will effectively increase your conversion rate. Learn how to find the best freelance content writers by checking out our white paper, "Using Auditions to Find the Best Freelance Content Writers."
