How to write ad copy that stops your customers mid-scroll

All of us are bombarded with ads online, most of which we scroll past without a second thought. But every now and then, when the stars align, and the copywriter is having a great day, there’s an ad that makes us stop mid-scroll. It’s the kind of ad that makes customers want to buy the product because the ad copy speaks directly to them. 

In this article, we’ll go over how to write ad copy that grabs your potential customers’ attention and makes them want to buy what you’re offering. 

What is ad copy? 

Ad copy is, to put it simply, a bit of text that prompts the reader to act. The most common goal is to get a potential customer to make a purchase, but it can also be used to get readers to sign up for a webinar, book a consultation, or explore an online portfolio. 

Ad copy must first and foremost capture the reader’s attention amidst all the digital noise. After that, it should convince them that the product, solution, or opportunity being presented is exactly what they need or want. 

How important is ad copy? 

Good ad copy is crucial because it boosts your conversion rate and ensures your target audience remembers your brand.

The visual elements of your ad are important too, but no matter how great they look, it will be hard to sell anything if your ad copy isn’t persuasive and doesn’t appeal to your audience. 

Where is ad copy used? 

Ad copy is used in many types of advertising, both offline, such as in print ads in newspapers, magazines, and on buses, and online on digital platforms.

In this article, our focus is on digital ads. Here are some of the most common digital advertising platforms:

Social media 

You can create ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. However, the competition here is fierce, not just from other businesses’ ads but also from cute kitten pictures, holiday snapshots, and memes.  

Your ad copy needs to be entertaining or stand out significantly to have a chance of catching customers’ attention.  

Paid search ads 

Google Ads are the most common type of paid search ads, but you can also create search ads on other search engines like Microsoft Bing. These ads appear above the top-ranked search results when a user enters a specific keyword. At first glance, they resemble regular search results, but they’re marked with a small “sponsored” tag in the top-left corner. 

In paid search ads, you’re limited to a certain number of characters – 30 for the headline and 90 for the description. When writing search ads, it’s essential to start with a keyword analysis to select the best keywords. 

Display ads

Display ads are ads that appear on websites, in apps, and on social media. They typically combine text with images, GIFs, or videos. They come in many sizes and formats, depending on the platform they’re displayed on and the user’s device. A common display format is the banner ad. 

For display ads, it’s crucial that the text is short, sharp, and visible. Leave plenty of white space around the text. This improves readability and ensures the design and visual elements do their part. A small banner packed with text is too hard to read, and the potential customer will likely lose patience before they understand the ad’s message. 

Video ads

Video ads are both popular and effective. They appear in various formats, including display ads, on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Ad copy for video ads can include both the script and text that appears alongside or within the video. 

Video ads offer great opportunities to get creative with your text, and the video itself reinforces your message – and vice versa. Your main task is to ensure the two elements work seamlessly together. 

How to write compelling ad copy: 8 tips 

Even for seasoned copywriters, crafting ad copy that drives action can be challenging. It takes practice to communicate effectively while maintaining a consistent tone of voice that aligns with your brand and business. 

Luckily, many copywriters – including those at one.com – have tested many strategies over the years and identified what works best. 

Here are 8 tips to help you write compelling text for various types of ads 

1. Understand your target audience’s needs

Effective ad copy grabs the reader’s attention by showing an understanding of their needs and challenges. If you haven’t already identified your target audience, now is the time to do so.  

Understanding your audience is beneficial not just for writing ad copy but for all your communications, whether on your website, social media, or when adjusting your product offering. 

To learn more about your audience’s needs and challenges, you can: 

• Read online feedback – both for your business and your competitors. 
• Dive into customer service inquiries. 
• Conduct surveys. 

Pay attention to the words your audience uses when expressing or asking for something in their feedback or comments. Use those same or similar words in your ads to increase the likelihood of capturing their attention. 

2. Study your competitors’ ads

Understanding your audience is crucial, but you can also learn a lot by studying your competitors. Visit their websites, read their product descriptions, browse their landing pages, and examine their social media profiles. If they advertise on Facebook or Instagram, you can likely find their ads using Meta’s Ad Library. 

Take notes: What’s working? What’s missing? What can you do better or differently in your ad copy?  

If your competitors rely heavily on jargon or overused marketing phrases, take a different approach. Stand out in your audience’s feed with a playful or personal tone. Describe a relaxing moment with coffee made from the coffee beans you sell, or highlight why your solution is easy to use, instead of focusing solely on low prices and great deals. 

3. Speak directly to your customer

Write your ad copy as if you’re speaking directly to a customer sitting across from you. Use “you” and “your” as often as you can. For example, if your goal is to sell a subscription for a meal kit you offer in your online shop, you could write:

Your dinner is ready in 5 minutes – meal kits with fresh ingredients delivered straight to your doorstep.

instead of:

Our meal kits make it possible to have dinner ready in 5 minutes. We offer home delivery.

The first example puts the reader at the centre, which is far more effective because let’s admit it, most of us secretly enjoy being in the spotlight. 

4. Why can’t they live without your product?

Be specific when describing the benefits of your products or solutions in ads. When you work closely with your own products, it’s easy to adopt jargon and technical terms that might sound great in a meeting room but make little sense to potential customers. Even if they do understand, these terms are often too vague to capture their interest. 

Instead of saying that the air fryer you’re selling is “multifunctional, user-friendly, and innovative,” explain exactly what it can do for the customer in their kitchen. Use storytelling to describe a scenario where your product solves a problem or makes daily life easier, more fun, or less stressful. 

5. Keep it short and simple

Even if you’re eager to share all the amazing features of your solutions, it’s best to keep your ad copy sharp and concise. You only have a few seconds to grab the reader’s attention, and the more words you use, the more effort you demand from them. Write multiple drafts and challenge yourself to convey your message in fewer and fewer words. 

The exact word count will depend on the ad format and message, but shorter texts generally perform better and look more appealing in ads. Avoid filler words that don’t add value and use simple, everyday language that suits your brand. 

If you find it hard to shorten the text, you can ask an AI writing tool to suggest various shorter versions of your text and pick the one you like best. 

6. Use powerful CTAs

Din CTA eller call to action, er din opfordring til læseren. Selvom din annoncetekst Your CTA, or call-to-action, is your prompt to the reader. Even if your ad copy is spot on, its impact can fall flat if the ad lacks a clear CTA, showing curious readers what to do next. 

Your CTA should tell the reader what to do after reading the ad and link to the page you want them to visit, such as a landing page.

Examples of common yet effective CTAs include: 

• Order tickets 
• Learn more 
• Sign up 
• Explore the collection 
• Buy now 
• Donate now 
• Contact us 

Our examples here are quite generic. It’s always better if you can make your CTA more specific and related to what you’re offering. 

For instance, if you’re selling an accounting solution for businesses, a more tailored CTA could be: “Simplify your accounting today.” 

7. Write ad copy that reflects your landing page 

Earlier, we mentioned that a CTA in ad copy often leads readers to a landing page. Whether it takes them to your online shop’s homepage or a specific product page, it’s vital that the ad copy aligns with the page your potential customers land on after clicking your CTA. If your ad copy says one thing and your landing page says another, you risk confusing or disappointing your new visitors, causing them to leave. 

Describe the same benefits in both places and use the same tone of voice so the transition from ad to landing page feels natural. On your landing page, you can expand on something you’ve already mentioned in the ad. The key is not to contradict yourself or let the customer down by not delivering on the ad’s promise. 

Your ad’s design should also resemble the design of your landing page – with matching fonts, colours, and style. 

8. Test, analyse and optimise

The first ad copy you write is rarely the best. While you might get lucky, it usually takes both practice and data to figure out what works best. Use tools like Google Analytics and built-in analytics features on social platforms like Meta to see which of your ads gets the most clicks and leads to sales or conversions. 

As you gather more data, you’ll gain a clearer understanding of what works and what needs improvement. 

You can also compare the performance of two different versions of your ad copy right from the start by running A/B tests. These tests show different versions of your ads to different segments of your audience. This will help you find which version resonates better with your audience. You can find more information about A/B testing ads on Facebook. 

Ad copy – 4 examples

Before we wrap up, here are a few examples of good ad copy we found in Meta’s Ad Library and on Google. If you’d like to see more examples, you can explore the ad library mentioned previously. Google ads can be found by searching for various keywords and looking at the sponsored search results. 

IKEA

Facebook ad: Advent offers on kitchen equipment. Below the text, there’s a video showing several people cooking at a stove.

Ad copy:

Facebook ad: Advent offers on kitchen equipment. Below the text, there’s a video showing several people cooking at a stove. 
 
Ad copy: 
 
“Are you looking for a gift for the cooking enthusiast, the new homeowner, or do you want to upgrade your kitchen before the many holiday gatherings?” 
 
CTA: See more 

Blackwell’s (bookstore) 

Google ad: Below the text, there’s an image of a crime novel. 
 
Ad copy: 

“Offering a broad selection of titles. Shop now. Celebrating over 140 years of book selling. Student Price Match. Largest academic shop.” 

Since this is a search ad, the CTA is included within the ad copy itself, and customers are directed to the online shop when clicking the headline. 

British Museum

Facebook ad: Below the text, there’s a carousel of images featuring different paintings and figures.

Ad copy:  

” Beat the winter blues with our programme of talks, performances and workshops.”

CTA: Book now

Online pet supply shop

Facebook ad: A picture of a happy pup in the outdoors, sitting on a haystack next to multiple bags of dog food.

Ad copy: 
 
” Dog food that celebrates the best of the British ingredients and the Great British Outdoors 🌲”

CTA: Shop now  

Time to write! 

Good ad copy is customer-focused and written with the audience in mind. If you manage to write ad copy that grabs the reader’s attention in a world full of digital noise and convinces them to click, you’re well on your way to increasing sales – no matter which platform you’re advertising on. Good luck at the keyboard!