How Small Businesses Can Craft Persuasive Ad Copy to Reach the Right Audiences

In a market flooded with online ads, small businesses need smart strategies to stand out. Once you’ve set up your digital marketing and paid media campaigns, writing compelling ad copy becomes essential. But crafting messages that truly resonate with your audience can be tough. This guide offers clear, actionable steps to help your small business create ad copy that connects with your ideal customers.

Step 1: Know What Type of Ad You’re Writing

The foundation of any successful ad campaign begins with understanding the type of ad you’re creating. Ad copy comes in various forms, including PPC (Pay-Per-Click) ads, social media ads, and display ads, each with its unique set of rules and limitations. Complicating matters, different channels within each type have their own rules. Before you can create ad copy that resonates, you have to understand the requirements of each ad. Familiarize yourself with the nuances of the platforms you intend to advertise on, such as Google Ads, Facebook, or LinkedIn, to tailor your ad copy accordingly. The following lists some of the most commonly used channels for ad placement and their copy specs:

• Google Ads:

• • RSA (Responsive Search Ads)

• • • Headline 1-15: 30 characters

• • • Description Line 1-4: 90 characters

• • Responsive Display Ads:

• • • Short Headline: Up to 15 characters

• • • Long Headline: Up to 30 characters

• • • Description: Up to 90 characters

• • • Business Name: Up to 25 characters

• • • Logo Image: Square (1:1), at least 120×120 pixels

• • • Image: Landscape (1.91:1), at least 600×314 pixels

• • • Image File Size: Up to 5 MB

• Bing Ads:

• • RSA (Responsive Search Ads)

• • • Headline 1-15: 30 characters

• • • Description Line 1-4: 90 characters

• LinkedIn Ads:

• • Sponsored Content:

• • • Intro Text: 150 characters

• • • Headline: 100 characters

• • • Description: 150 characters

• Meta (Facebook/Instagram):

• • Text in Ad: 125 characters

• • Headline: 25 characters

• • Link Description: 30 characters

• TikTok Ads:

• • In-Feed Ads:

• • • Title: 12-100 characters

• • • Description: Up to 100 characters

• • Branded Hashtag Challenge:

• • • Hashtag: 4-16 characters

• • • Description: Up to 100 characters

Step 2: Understand the Value You Provide Your Customers

One of the most critical steps in crafting persuasive ad copy is to understand and articulate the value your product or service offers to your customers. Your ad should answer the question WIIFM or “What’s In It For Me?” from the perspective of your target audience. To do this effectively, you can review customer testimonials, pain points outlined by the sales team, case studies, and product reviews. Then use those items to identify the most compelling reasons why your happiest customers chose your business and how your offering solved their problems! Highlight these key value propositions in your ad copy to engage potential customers.

Example: Company that sells automotive seat covers

• Values: Premium leather and made in the US
• Description Line: Elevate Your Drive With Our Premium Leather Seat Covers, Made in the USA. Buy Today!

Step 3: Research Your Market & Your Competitors

To craft ad copy that connects with your audience, you need to be aware of the latest market trends as well as who your competitors are and what they’re doing. Utilize your industry knowledge to get a sense of the ideal ad copy that aligns with your specific market. Study your competitors to understand what they are doing well and how you can distinguish your business from the rest. This market research will provide the context needed to stand out and effectively communicate why your product or service is the preferred choice.

Ask questions like:

• Are there specific industry-related words or phrases that are essential to include in my ad copy?
• How can I highlight the benefits of my product/service rather than just listing features?
• What unique value do I deliver compared to my competitors?
• Can I offer special promotions or incentives to entice potential customers?
• Are there seasonal or timely events I can tie into my ad copy to boost relevance?

Persuade customers to choose your business over the competition by using industry-specific language, unique selling points, and clear differentiators in your ad copy.

Step 4: Consider the Decision-Making Process

Crafting ad copy that resonates with your audience requires understanding where potential customers are in their decision-making journey. Different customers are at different stages of the buyer’s funnel, and your ad copy should cater to these varying levels of familiarity with your brand or product. By tailoring your message to align with the decision-making process, you can create a personalized connection with your audience, alleviate confusion, and reduce friction, ultimately leading to higher engagement.

Step 5: Use Original Value Propositions with Emotive Words and Phrases

Emotion plays a vital role in motivating consumer action. Human beings are naturally inclined to respond to emotionally engaging content. Incorporate emotive words and phrases that resonate with your audience and trigger a strong emotional response. For instance, words like “with ease,” “seamlessly,” “effortlessly,” and “stress-free” can evoke feelings of comfort and relief. Ad copy that makes customers feel something while demonstrating value is more likely to result in conversions. Immerse your audience in the experience your product or service provides.

Step 6: Craft Catchy, Yet Direct Headlines

The headline is often the first element of your ad that catches the reader’s eye. Creating a compelling headline is crucial to capturing the reader’s attention and encouraging them to engage with your ad. Align your headline with industry-related keywords that users are likely to search for in the platform where your ad will be displayed. Think of headlines as digital bumper stickers, meant to stand out and convey their message quickly. The character limits for headlines vary by platform, so be sure to adapt your headlines accordingly while remembering you want to try to max out as many characters as possible.

Step 7: Write a Compelling Call-To-Action (CTA)

The call-to-action (CTA) is a pivotal element of ad copy that is often underestimated. A well-crafted CTA should motivate the audience to take immediate action, be concise, and indicate what the reader will gain by clicking on the ad. Examples of effective CTAs include “Talk To An Expert,” “Register Today,” “Get A Demo,” or “Buy Now.” Once you’ve piqued a potential customer’s curiosity, guide them directly to a product or service page that delivers on the value propositions highlighted in your ad. Ensure that these landing pages also feature CTAs to maximize performance.

Step 8: Test, Test, and Test Again

When it comes to writing successful ad copy, one of the last but most important steps is to test your ad copy to see what works and resonates with your audience. A/B testing is a valuable method for evaluating ad performance. Compare two or more ad variations within the same ad group, altering one variable at a time. By analyzing the results, you can discover which aspects of your ad copy are most effective with your target audience.

Not entirely sure how to set up an A/B ad copy test or measure results? Talk to one of our experts today and receive a free digital marketing audit! 

Step 9: Implement Additional Best Practices

To create ad copy that truly connects with your target audience, consider incorporating the following best practices:

Implement Ad Extensions:

Ad extensions provide users with additional information and opportunities to act directly from search results. Different types of ad extensions can enhance your ad’s visibility and guide users toward the information or action they seek.

Below are some of the most common ad extensions in Google Ads that can enhance the performance of your campaigns:

1. Sitelink Extensions
   What it does: Allows you to add additional links to specific pages on your website beneath your ad text, such as product pages, contact forms, or special offers.
2. Callout Extensions
   What it does: Lets you include extra text in your ads, highlighting specific features or benefits of your products or services, like “Free Shipping” or “24/7 Customer Support.”
3. Structured Snippet Extensions
   What it does: Provides additional information about specific aspects of your products or services, such as types, categories, or services offered.
4. Promotion Extensions
   What it does: Highlights sales or promotions in your ads, such as “20% Off” or “Buy One, Get One Free,” to attract attention and encourage clicks.

Create a schedule:

Evergreen vs event-based

Evergreen ads provide a steady and continuous brand presence, promoting core offerings consistently, while event-based ads are designed for specific occasions, creating urgency and capitalizing on timely opportunities, resulting in a balanced marketing strategy that builds long-term awareness and seizes immediate, event-driven engagement.

It’s clear that crafting persuasive ad copy that resonates with the right audience is a vital component of small business marketing. By following these steps and implementing best practices, you can create ad copy that not only stands out but also engages and converts your ideal customers. Mastering ad types, knowing your value propositions, conducting market research, aligning with the decision-making process, adding emotion, crafting catchy headlines, and writing compelling CTAs are key to successful ad copy. Moreover, always be open to experimenting and optimizing your ad copy to achieve the best results and continue reaching the right audiences.

Contact us to talk about how Unfair Advantage can help you reach your business goals.

Want to learn more? Read about how we used paid media to increase our automotive aftermarket client’s revenue by 157% or how to use local digital marketing strategies to grow.