“Never assume people understand what you’re talking about. If you’re selling something technical or complicated, write as if you’re explaining it to your grandmother.”
David Ogilvy
These are the ads of one of our clients at K&J Growth.
- Ad A had 0.61 out of 100 people click through to their website.
- Ad B had 2.87 out of 100 people click through to their website
We wrote and designed the second one. Here are two rules we implement when creating ads for our clients.
1. Hook The Reader In The First Three Seconds
The University of South Carolina estimates that we see 5000 ads per day. This means we have a very limited window to grab people’s attention. It takes roughly three seconds to read five words. This means you need to call out your customer in five words.
In our example above – here are the first five words:
❌ Ad A – Is Rea The Real Deal?
✅ Ad B – Full Scholarships Available For Māori
Once you’ve got someone’s attention, they will keep reading. This leads up to our second point.
2. Be as specific as possible
The first ad doesn’t call out the customer; the second tells the reader who the ad is for.
Being specific does two things:
– Stops you from wasting advertising dollars on people who aren’t going to buy
– Calls out your ideal customer
If your ad isn’t clear, specific or targeted to who your buyer is in the first three seconds, they will move on.
Notes: There are always exceptions to these rules, so we test everything when creating ads.
Starting rules like these stop you from trying to be “too perfect” and allow you to get work out into the world.
Ready to transform your advertising strategy? Contact us at K&J Growth to learn how we can help you create compelling ads that drive results.
For more insights and tips, connect with us on LinkedIn: K&J Growth
Make sure to check out our Co-founder on LinkedIn too: Kale Panoho
