Your Ad Sucks! 7 Reasons Your Ad Copy Is Not Performing (& Exactly How To Fix It!)
Sorry, we just came right out and said it.
YOUR AD SUCKS.
We’re known for being straight shooters… so why change that now?
Listen… it’s not personal. (We promise.)
That’s the thing about creative work… it can be REALLY easy to get attached to your work, especially when you’ve spent so much time and energy on it.
But sometimes… well, sometimes our work falls flat. And there’s no easier place to see that than in our ADS.
Engagement, views, click-throughs…. your ad will show you exactly how well it’s performing — or not.
There are a number of reasons why your ad might suck, we’ll show you exactly how to fix them:
1. IT’S TOO DAMN BORING
Let’s face it - your ad is boring.
It’s cookie-cutter. It’s blah-ze. It’s a snooze fest.
Spice it up! Tell a story. Add a list of benefits. Tell your audience why you’re DIFFERENT than all those competitors out there. Sprinkle in a review or two. Create a sense of urgency or an air of mystery. Add some more adjectives. There are a million ways to spice up your current copy without having to completely rewrite it. Go on, you got this.
2. IT’S STUFFY & PROFESSIONAL
Unless your audience is specifically targeting the rich, formal, and bougey, skip the professional speak and talk to them like a person. Have a chat with a friend. Invite them for coffee. If you were telling a friend about this cool new blender you bought, you wouldn’t pull out the manual and start reading the specs. (At least, we hope not). You’re gonna tell them what cool things you made with it, how it’s way easier than the other blender you had, how the rev of those blades makes you feel something in your deep, dark, soul… (No? Just us?)
3. YOU’RE TALKING TO TOO MANY PEOPLE
I KNOW you want to sell to everyone in the whole dang world, but that’s just not reasonable. If you’re trying to sell to EVERYONE, you’re gonna sell to NO one. But… if you speak directly to your target audience — if you call out their specific pains and problems — that’s when you make the sale. Hell, you can and SHOULD say their “name” in the copy or headline! Using phrases like busy moms, overwhelmed marketers, broke college students, or injured athletes IMMEDIATELY targets your audience and eliminates those that fell through the cracks of your audience targeting.
4. YOU’RE USING TOO MUCH INDUSTRY JARGON
Chill Dictionary.com. We know that you know your industry better than anyone else. You know who DOESN’T know all the industry terms? Your audience. So dial back the fancy words and use causal, colloquial language to get the point across. If you use too many industry terms or complicated words, you’ll come across as unapproachable and cold. And all customers want these days are transparent, approachable, human-like companies. (P.S we like to use www.hemingwayapp.com to help us keep our writing at a 5th-grade level)
5. NOT ENOUGH SOCIAL PROOF
People don’t want to buy from companies — they simply don’t trust ‘em! You know who they do trust? That random dude online who left a review and said that product changed his life. Cool. I mean… I grew up being taught not to trust strangers, but… here we are. The point is — if you’ve got good reviews, USE THEM. You should have at LEAST 2 ads with social proof running in your funnel. Whether it’s a video testimonial (these work best) or a quote in the body of the copy, people want to hear from people they can relate to. Bonus points if you can include the reviewers’ picture and first name.
6. YOU’RE NOT USING ANY HUMOR
Come on, crack a joke! Run a meme as your ad imagery. People are so worried about "getting canceled” that all advertisements have lost their fun. Nothing sells quite as good as making someone laugh. Run your copy or image by a few people in your company to make sure it’s a-okay, and then let ‘er fly! We run lots of funny ads and it’s resulted in hundreds of thousands of sales for us, and a handful of cranky keyboard warriors. We know which we’d take :)
7. YOU’RE NOT MAKING AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
If you can get them in the heart, you’re going to make a sale every time. Connect with your audience on an emotional level. Tell a story. Talk about feelings. Provide the solution to their problems. If you’re selling a bidet, don’t just say “this bidet makes bathroom time a breeze”… reach out to those busy moms, who have never-ending Zoom calls and needy kids… whose only break in the day is the 5 minutes they get in the bathroom to scroll Instagram… Tell them that they’ll be transported into a spa-like experience right in their own home….NOW we’re talking.
Just remember, when it comes to ads — sometimes they flop and sometimes they fly! It’s okay if you don’t hit the mark all the time. There are lots of other factors (like the algorithm) that can affect your ad’s performance, but using the above tips/tricks will help you get closer to having winners every single time.
So, are you ready to spice up your life* now? (*ads)
