Work That Pays Dividends
There’s no way to avoid what is coming, the assignment you’re about to do is a big one — but, don’t worry, I’m going to walk you through it.
You’re going to write a long-form (600-1,000 word) Facebook ad.
But… why long-form? And, why Facebook?
Well, I’m glad you asked!
First, this is an opportunity to completely transform how you think about paid traffic. The length of this ad will force you to make some key clarifications that other ad formats would let you get by without considering, to your own detriment. These clarifications are:
- A deep dive into the value you can offer
- Who will benefit most from that value
- And, perhaps most importantly, who won’t.
(You probably recognize those from the assignment in “Wide-Net Weariness.”)
Second, long-form ads have enough content that they can be a valuable part of the overall offer funnel. This is useful to keep in mind because it will help bring cohesion to the language and messaging you use in the rest of your offer. This kind of congruence in your marketing only adds to its effectiveness.
Third, a long-form ad acts as a filter for your prospects. The length of the copy will pre-qualify prospects and dramatically increase the quality of the leads coming through your eventual traffic engine. Higher quality leads means: less refunds, better conversion rates, and (potentially) a higher lifetime value across the board.
The unsung hero of this process — the really big benefit — is the ability to repurpose content into new forms. For example, this series you’re reading right now comes from coursework we drafted over a year ago for Wabbit EDU.
We could easily turn it into a video series for YouTube, or a multi-section blog post designed to draw people deeper into the Wabbit world, before presenting the visitor with an opt-in.
Writing great copy is a lot of work, most of which happens before the ad is drafted.
It would be silly to go through all this effort for something we can only use once. So, while we won’t focus on how to repurpose content here, let it be a comfort that this work you’re about to do has value far beyond the ad itself.
Before you begin writing, it is good to know that Facebook has a few (we suspect AI driven) policies to steer very clear of:
- No claims (or promises) within time-frames. Like, you can “lose 10 lbs in 10 days” or “grow yourself a 6-figure business in 6 weeks.”
- No digits — no numerals.
- Avoid using “you” and “your” in the ad copy. Facebook doesn’t like direct address.
Each of the rules outlined are intended to help avoid algorithmic disapproval. Full stop.
I’m usually all for bending rules to their limit but, in this situation, don’t do it.
Your tone in the copy matters too. Because Facebook is a social platform, you need to make sure the ad copy feels social first, meaning that you want to write as if speaking to a friend — which I’d lay money is dramatically different than the way you speak when trying to sell to a prospect in an ad. That difference can be problematic in general when marketing, but it is especially troublesome on social networks. So, keep in mind, this point about tone is a general advertising principle and not directly related to a Facebook algorithm.
You wouldn’t walk into a wedding with a megaphone and shout about saving money on your phone bill, right?
Know your audience and respect the conventions of the environment where you are trying to reach them.
There’s one last thing I want us to be clear about…
What I’m about to share with you are guidelines, not a template to follow religiously.
The point is to grease the tracks and get you thinking. None of this is set in stone. We are giving you a map, not a paint-by-number prescription. You will need to walk the path in your own way, and in your own unique voice.
Alright, gather the three lists you made in Wide-Net Weariness, you will need them for reference.
Start with the list of 5-7 benefits your product or service provides, and choose the one that you think is most important to your prospects. Then, do the following:
- Ask what gain it provides and/or what problem it solves
- Frame the answer as a question directed at the prospect
Don’t rush this process, think about this for as long as it takes — whether that means an hour or a week for you.
Here are a couple examples to get your wheels turning:
If I’m writing an ad with the intention of speaking to you, I might say something like:
“Are there secrets professional marketers know that the average small business owners don’t?”
Why? Because there is an unfortunately common perception that we marketers must know some secret growth hack that regular mortals don’t.
Or, if I’m targeting new parents with a program that helps them build a college fund for their child, I may identify a classic fear and say something like:
“Ever woke up in the middle of the night wondering how to give a new baby the best possible future?”
We use questions because they are opportunities to connect — on a deep level — with the concerns of our ideal prospect. The goal is to ask them the question they’ve been asking themselves over and over again as they lay awake at night.
The first two lines of your ad are the attention grabbers, also called a hook — and testing different hooks can help you dramatically increase ad performance. Rather than overwhelm you with the myriad tactics for writing hooks, we suggest opening with a strong, insightful question — because questions are fantastic hooks. We want to grab attention quickly and powerfully — and that is what a hook does.
Note: Work diligently on this, but don’t worry about getting it exactly right the first time. Modern digital advertising makes it fantastically easy to test variations — and this “split-testing” is a classic approach to honing one’s messaging.
Once you have your prospect’s attention it is time to start talking with them, but, instead of “writing an ad,” I want you to try something different…
Imagine you are sitting on a plane next to someone whom you’ve just discovered is your ideal prospect. They’ve seen you writing the question you formulated in step one, and they mention they’ve been asking it of themselves for years. What do you say?
You probably wouldn’t bludgeon them with your credentials or experience or accolades — instead, you would probably start by mentioning how you’ve been thinking about it for a long time too. You might mention the context for why you’ve thought about it so much.
To build off of the new parents example, maybe (if it is true) we end up saying something like:
“I’ve thought a lot about this too. I work in finance, and my spouse and I just had our first baby. As I was researching the common advice, I found myself getting more and more agitated with the borderline useless information out there. I think I have some ideas worth sharing.”
There’s no need to name drop, or to list all the stuff we’ve accomplished, or awards we’ve won. In fact, listing off testimonials would be completely out of place in this hypothetical conversation.
Similarly, you don’t need to be too humble either — there is no need to minimize your expertise. As they say, it isn’t bragging if you can do it.
Once we’ve established credibility and authority, the first priority is relaying a few things that are critically important about the question. Again, without getting into the weeds, we want to:
- Share the 3-5 most important things for the prospect to know.
- Explain the most important reasons this might not be a good fit for the prospect.
Remember, you’re talking to a friend — meaning, it has to be genuine. Don’t set up objections just to further the sale. Steer clear of over-the-top statements like:
“If you’re not interested in making a fortune effortlessly while sipping frozen mojitos out of coconuts on a black sand beach, and you already have enough Lamborghini’s made of solid gold, then this isn’t for you.”
Don’t do that, it’s gross.
Finally, give them clear instructions on what they need to do next, and be very clear about anything they will need to do after they take that action.
For example: If, after clicking, the prospect will need to go sign up for a webinar, and attend it at a specific date and time… say so in the ad copy. Don’t wait until the landing page to reveal that fact. Mentioning it now will cause friction for those that don’t want to take those steps, which will inevitably make the data cleaner because only really interested prospects will proceed.
Alright, I’ve given you a lot of information to take in. Here’s the summary of the process:
- Ask a compelling question with deep personal meaning to the prospect
- With the utmost brevity and humility, explain your experience (and expertise) relative to the question
- Using clear, common language (no buzzwords or industry jargon), share your top 3-5 insights about the question. Be careful to stay out of the weeds, and remember that the prospect doesn’t know what you know so, be clear, and ensure you don’t go over their heads as you explain these insights
- Be honest about any factors that would disqualify someone from benefiting from whatever you’re offering
- Tell them what to do next and what will be involved. Don’t justify or minimize anything — if they need to watch an hour-long webinar to understand your offer, be upfront about it
One final thing before we close out this section…
While there aren’t any real secrets to writing great ads, there is one tactic I’m personally very fond of — and I use it for nearly everything I write.
Grab your three lists, and something you can use to record audio.
Note: Most phones already have apps installed that can do this. If not, head to whatever app store you use and find a free one.
Rather than stare blankly at your screen, take your lists, and the outline I’ve given you, and record yourself having the conversation with your imaginary prospect. It may feel awkward at first, but once you relax into it you may find the process useful for getting ideas out.
Better yet, if you can, record yourself having the conversation with a real prospect.
Once you have the raw material, you can transcribe it, make some light edits, and arrange that raw material into a first draft.
In our experience, most of the top-performing ads use some version of the map we’ve outlined here.
Now, it’s time to get to work!
Take your time. I’ll see you in the next section.