So you’ve put together a strong advertorial (or maybe our copywriting division wrote it for you 😉). Something with some real persuasive power – its going to sell like a champ, has an incredible layout… the page just WORKS.

Now, all you need is eyeballs on the page to get some conversions. Sounds simple enough, right?

Technically it is, but in practice… this can be one of the hardest parts of the copywriting process.

Head over to USA Today, click on any article and scroll to the bottom of the page to check out the sponsored posts, they’ll look something like this.

When I look at this grid… nothing stands out. Neither the copy, nor the creative have the selling power needed for me to click through. Some of these offers and services could be life-changing for me… but they’re not the strongest ads out there.

Certainly not strong enough to encourage me to click through. 

Let’s head over to msn.com

Again, we have some ads where the copy doesn’t quite sell the service… and you have creatives that are not eye-catching. Take the Hearing Aids Comparison creative. It’s dark and a little difficult to quite figure out WHAT they’re trying to sell.

How about these ads? Take the one on the right explaining that savvy seniors can get life insurance from just £4.32 a month, yet the creative shows a guy with an angry/disappointed look on his face. 

Something just isn’t adding up here.

Now… I didn’t have to go searching for these ad examples. The first site I went to look at was USA Today, and the second was MSN. And from this, I can really see that ad headlines and creatives are a real problem for native advertisers. 

It’s a tricky process to get the right combination that brings enough intrigue to click through and read your advertorial. But it is arguably one of the most important parts of your entire funnel.

1. If you don’t get it right, you don’t get eyeballs on your advertorial

2. No eyeballs on your advertorial, no customers to buy your product

3. No customers to buy your product, no profit. 

So how do you write great ad headlines?

Your ad headlines need to be directly related to the advertorial that you’ve written (so if you’re split-testing multiple pre-landers, then it’s a good idea to have separate ad headlines depending on the lander you’re sending traffic to). 

As they need to be directly related, you should always write your ad headlines LAST.

Go through what you’ve written and assess the key selling points to find creative ways to create intrigue for this selling point. 

If you’re running a campaign for a teeth whitening program, and your advertorial covers Hollywood smiles – use this to your advantage

Get that Hollywood smile from home

Get your yellow teeth camera ready

Worried about yellow teeth? This device makes your smile Hollywood ready

Another part of your teeth whitening campaign talks about how the process is “pain-free”, so start to brainstorm some ad headlines based on this

The pain-free way to whiten your teeth from home

Straighter and whiter teeth from home… without the pain?

When our copywriting division work on ad headlines, they will typically go through each of the main points of a lander, write a couple of headlines based on each, and then submit the top ones. This could mean writing 20 or 30 ad headlines, removing 20 that won’t work, and running the top 10. 

The process takes longer than quickly throwing together 2 or 3 options in 5 minutes, but the clicks will follow. 

But this all leads me to my next point… split testing

Split test your headlines

Running a single headline is about as amateur as you can get for a campaign. If this headline doesn’t work and doesn’t resonate with your customers, they’re going to ignore it. But a similar headline with a different twist could lead to a huge level of clicks onto your lander. Think:

How I saved $2,000 on my life insurance

Vs

How you can save $2,000 on your life insurance

A small change in angle that says the same thing… but could speak entirely differently to your audience. 

On top of this, if someone sees the same headline 5 times in 1 day, they will become immunised to it. Psychologically skimming past your ad without even considering it. This is why we always recommend split testing multiple ad headlines AND multiple creatives. 

How to find winning creatives

This is really easy… dont be boring. 

You need to pattern interrupt readers with your creatives. 

• A picture of a man who’s lost weight
• A picture of a CLOWN who’s lost weight
• A picture of a woman who’s lost weigh

Which is going to catch your eye the most?

If your creative is just someone holding up a cheque, a piece of paper or a picture of a toenail… theres nothing fun or creative to draw in the interest of your soon-to-be-customers. 

As with your ad language, your creative needs to be consistent with the style you’re using for your pre-lander. If you write in a fun and jovial way, then use fun and jovial creatives. 

If your product offers a dramatic weight loss opportunity, instead of just showing someone having lost weight, show a before and after with the sheer joy on the face of the after picture. Something that the average reader can resonate with.

You have every opportunity here to connect with your readers – so use this advertising real estate to start that relationship with them. 

Next steps

If you want to turn your ads into a click magnet, just follow these three steps:

1. Throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. Write dozens of different headline options and start to whittle them away. If you write 50 headlines that build intrigue and demonstrate value, you will be able to find 5-10 of them that can convert. 
2. Use creatives to start the customer relationship. Pictures evoke emotions in humans. As you’re looking through libraries of creatives, try to find creatives that will resonate with your customer – that could be through pride, curiosity, excitement, intrigue, fear… the list goes on. 
3. Analyze what works and test test test. As you run your campaigns, you’ll find certain ads will get higher clicks than others. They could all be profitable, but some more than others. Start to analyze WHY this is the case, and lean into it. Write more ad options and constantly test your headlines against your winners. Your aim here is to always improve your campaigns, so don’t just rest on a winning campaign and move on. 

If you are struggling to find winning ad and creative combinations, the ROI Marketplace copywriting division has recently introduced a new offer to help with this. 

We can help to write your ad headlines for you AND get some great creatives for you. Saving you the time and effort from coming up with dozens of options – we can do it for you. 

If you’re looking to get your ad copy and creatives sorted, all you need to do is click here and complete our contact form, and our team will reach out to you to put a plan together. Or, email jack@roimarketplace.com and get in touch with the team directly!