You're going to write ad copy for a variety of ads that you’ll run for your business.

The elements required for LinkedIn ads are similar to Facebook ads (minus the newsfeed, which is unique to Facebook). You’ll be creating one set of ads, which you can then apply to both social platforms.

First, we're going to come up with a giant pool of copy to draw from. Then, we're going to pick the best variations to make your first ad units.

Prerequisites:

• Value Prop Spreadsheet (from day 1)
  • You should already have at least three value props specific to your target audience from doing the exercise in the Strategy section. Do that if you have not done it yet.
• Audiences you're targeting (from day 1)

Phase 1: Write your ad copy pool

This will consume most of your project time.

Phase 1a: Setup

First, go to Ad Copy: Additional Resources > Template: Ad Copy, and make a copy of the doc.

Scroll through it. Where it says "Target Audience 1," fill in the audience you prioritized in your growth strategy doc from day 1.

Only add your top audience for now.

You can write copy for other audiences later, but it will be too time-consuming for you to write in the scope of the training. (You can apply what you learn to future copy you write.)

If you’re only targeting a General Audience for now, you can skip the Target Audience 1 section.

Second, open up this ad copy reference doc. It shows you the common mistakes students make when writing ad copy for the first time. Reviewing it will save you literally hours of rewrites.

Phase 1b: Copywriting

Then, fill out the ad template with variations of the following:

• Creative copy - 3-4 variations
• Headline - 3-4 variations
• Short body copy - (150 characters or less) - 2-3 variations
• Medium body copy - (150 - 250 characters) - 2-3 variations
• Long body copy - (250 characters or more) - 2-3 variations
• Social Proof - 3 variations

Each variation you write should either: A) cover a different value prop, or B) use a different phrasing or style to convey its value prop.

Steal from the reading where you can.

Then, if you plan to run ads on Facebook and Instagram, fill out the carousel section as well.

Warning: To reiterate...don’t stray from your value props! They’re what make you unique and they help you generate ad copy. You can sometimes rip ad copy directly from your value props doc to save time.

Please. Avoid vague language.

Phase 2: Count your characters

Next, copy and use this template to count your characters. Certain elements of your ad copy have strict character limits, depending on where you’re running ads.

Phase 3: Self-Review

Run through this checklist for each piece of ad copy you expect to run with. This is what we use internally at Demand Curve.

Phase 4: Group Together

Go to Ad Copy: Additional Resources > Template: Grouped Ad Copy, and make your own copy.

Make headers for each audience from the last doc.

Group together your copy from the pool you made. Make three complete ads per audience (General and Audience 1). So you should have 6 complete ads total. You’ll want to test different lengths and formats, so the 3 ads should be:

• 1 short or medium copy variation
• 1 long copy variation
• 1 carousel ad

Each ad should have:

• Creative copy
• A short text description of the image
• A headline
• Body copy (can be short, medium, or long)
• Social proof

These are the actual ads you'll be running on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. So put some effort into them. Be careful not to use the same phrasing in each section of the ad.

Every section (creative copy, headline, etc.) should fit with the others to hook the reader and compel them to click.

If a burst of inspiration strikes and you decide to write new, better-tailored copy when you group these ads together, that's fine. In fact, we encourage it.

Ultimately, we want to test wildly different ways to resonate with our reader.