How to write the perfect banner ad copy – 4 simple steps

Laura

If you’re thinking of running an advertising campaign and you don’t know where or how to start, you’ve come to the right place. Probably one of the biggest challenges when you want to start a campaign are the creatives: how should your banner ads look like? More importantly: what copy should go on the banner?

Coming up with what to say is the hardest part whenever you’re creating something. Banner ads are no exception. Don’t let size mislead you. Though small, that 728×90, 160×600 or 300×250 banner ad holds one of the keys to your online advertising campaign’s success.

It would be great if you had a copywriter on call 24/7 so he or she would come up and lend a hand whenever you need help. But, as we all know it, the 1-800-COPYWRITER-NEEDED still needs to be invented.

One of the most important elements in the banner ad is the value proposition: what you’re offering your customers and the words you’re using to “dress” up your offer. A good value proposition attracts your users’ attention, it gives people an incentive to click and it gets them on the path to conversion.

Still – don’t despair. You don’t need to be a professional copywriter to craft the copy for a banner ad that converts well. And we’re going to show you how. We built a framework using 4 steps to help you make your banner and identify the most important elements for the value proposition in your banner ad copy.

Take a few moments, answer the questions and combine them carefully. Look for a quiet place, the best ideas come when you have the time and the space to focus on them. You’ll be amazed at the results.

Step 1: Write what are you selling?

This is the question you need to start with. Think of it this way: the people who will see your banner ad have never heard of you before. They don’t know anything about you or anything about what you’re offering. So, what it is that you’re selling? What is the actual product or service that you want your users to purchase?

Even if you’re starting a display advertising campaign focusing on increasing brand awareness (as opposed to direct response and conversions), this is still an important question. Even if people don’t complete a purchase right away, they can connect your product or your service to what they need later on.

Think in terms of direct benefits: what will your users get when they complete a purchase or fill in a lead generation form with you? The main point here is to make it as clearly as possible what you’re selling, the actual product instead of brand names. Unless you’re planning a retargeting campaign, don’t try to push brand names that don’t speak to your audience, they won’t be interested to learn more.

Also, if you’re offering a service, consider what will customers get when they use your service? (for instance for Bannersnack, the actual product would be the banner ad maker, but what you’re getting when you use it are the actual banners, see more in the examples )

Step 2: Write what makes your product/service/company different?

This question will help you find the characteristics that will set you apart from the competition. It will give you the competitive edge and it will help you craft a clearer position in your audience’s mind.

So, how is your product, service or company different from the competition? Do you offer free shipping all year round? Do you provide excellent customer support? Where are your products or services made? Is it placed in a great location?

Make a list as comprehensive as possible of all the attributes that make your business different. Shoot for quantity and don’t worry about wording. However, don’t lie and add benefits that are not actually available.

Step 3: How can you say that differently?

If you’ve done the work in step two by now you should have a list of items that can be used to describe your business. This requires a bit of creativity, but when in doubt you can always try thesaurus.com or any other online dictionary to find alternatives.

Note: You don’t always have to rephrase the benefits. Sometimes the benefits you’ve outlined in the previous steps are good enough on their own. For instance, if you’re selling

Step 4: Combine words and get the perfect ad copy

Take the product and the service that you’ve outlined in step 1 and create combinations of it and the attributes or the variations you’ve come up with in the subsequent steps. Don’t be afraid to combine one or two attributes with the product or service.

Also, don’t worry if you come up with more than one copy versions for your banner ads. See to which one your audience responds best by running an A/B test with one or more banner ads.

Let’s take a couple examples:

Example 1: Zappos.com.

1. What are you selling?

shoes and clothing for women, men and kids

 2. What makes your product/service/company different?

3. How can you say that differently:

4. Banner ad copy:

Example 2: Bannersnack

#1. What are you selling?

banner maker app, Flash/HTML banners, online advertising campaign management platform

#2. What makes our product/service/company different?

#3. How can we say that differently?

#4. Banner ad copy:

 

Bonus tip: Always speak as plainly as possible. Unless you’re in the business to business sector or unless you’re targeting a very specific audience, it would be recommended to stay as far away as possible from complicated words and expressions. Use plain, simple language that everyone can understand.

Also, very important: Don’t forget to add a call to action. Follow up on the value proposition that you’ve outlined earlier with a relevant call to action. Tell your users exactly what you would want them to do.

We came up with this quick framework so you could create good copy for your banner ads as fast as you can create banners with Bannersnack. If you’ve tried it and you have feedback for us, let us know in the comments.

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