How I write copy for Facebook (Meta) Ads in 2024
I started writing meta ads copy like most people do: referencing winning ad copy from competitors and iterating from there, trying to find a home run - then beat that over time.
But there are problems with this:
It doesn’t build an understanding of what points are actually cause clients to take action
The awareness level of the client is hit at random, depending on what your competitor was doing
It’s difficult to make improvements in a modular, structured way
While I’m no copywriting pro, I’ve refined my methods over time for better performance. So this may be interesting to you if you’re just starting out and want to avoid the same mistakes.
Here’s what I do now:
1. Pick the awareness level
A framework I like is that there are 5 levels of customer awareness which guide how you write to a customer:
Unaware of the problem/need
Aware of the problem/need but no ideas about solutions
Aware of solutions but not specific products
Aware of specific products but haven’t fully understood it
Aware of the product, how it works, just haven’t bought yet
Note: We all know copy for ads isn’t set and forget. But this is also an iterative process for finding the right messaging for each level of awareness.
That’s why I pick a level of awareness to set the direction of the copywriting task.
How to:
One way is to use a tool like Perplexity.ai to research what are the current challenges, complaints and issues people are having in your target market.
Make sure you set the search to look for discussions on social platforms or YouTube, to get more realistic results.
See example results on Perplexity (link)
Example:
Say for advertising my own newsletter, I want to promote it to solopreneurs, coaches, etc.
I can start reviewing the different awareness stages people may have:
Since I wager that there aren’t many people on Facebook already thinking about signing up to a newsletter about FB ads, I chose instead to go up the funnel to talk to people who have problems that could be solved by facebook ads.
“I want to get leads from social media but it’s so hard to get traction.”
That means I’ve chosen to target the ‘problem aware’ stage.
2. Develop copy angles
For each awareness stage, I’ll brainstorm (typically with AI) the angles designed to touch psychological points of the readers.
These can be different drivers of action
Persuasive angles, designed to get people over the line
Barrier removals
Example:
3. Write headlines
Now I write the headlines based on these angles and the awareness stage.
Typically curiosity or statement based headlines
For just plain old to the point, offer pitches. E.g. “Free Newsletter: How-to FB Ads for Solopreneurs”
Communicate the product/service quickly in the headline because of length limitations
Note: Headlines aren’t shown on Instagram, but may appear as overlay text. Worth doing even if not targeting FB platform only
I like to write at least 3-4 different headlines to start, based on the major messaging angles.
4. Write openers
Body copy gets truncated on Facebook Ads. See the screenshot above.
And it’s even shorter on Instagram:
After learning from this tutorial by Andrew Hubbard (link) I’ve started focusing on writing the beginning of body copy such that they lean into this.
Make them short so that they don’t get cut-off pre-maturely
Make open loops of curiosity or squeeze in the pitch
Make the follow up sentences close the loop opened by the first.
Example:
The first sentence leans into the pain of wasting time on social media. The 2nd sentence closes the loop with empathy.
I like to write at least 2 openers, so that I can at least a/b test the ads once they launch.
5. Body
Now we need to write the rest of the body copy (in blue).
What to write depends on the framework you’re using, such as AIDA. If you’re doing before after bridge (BAB), you might write your openers as ‘before’ statements, then your body copy as the AB part.
Personally I like to stick to the classic AIDA for predictability and simplicity.
I often make 2-3 variations, based on:
Leaning into different barriers/hooks/drivers (see the Hotjar CRO framework above) into the copy
Adding or removing detail
Different CTAs
I typically use a neutral body copy version for the first launch of the campaign and then start complicating it from there with the variations of the body copy once I’ve found a winner.
By now, I’ll have written:
3-4 headlines
2 openers
1-2 body copies
Now we’re ready for launch.
6. Testing and iteration
With the copy done, now it’s time to test it.
Keep the creative/video neutral to begin with to better see which copy wins
Use a different adset for each messaging, not multiple ads in 1 adset. To separate the budget
Make sure to match the headline with the opener that leans into the same psychological point
Run for at least 7-14 days
Once a winner is found, I can start repeat the process, iterate the body copy and test creatives centered around the winning copy.
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