Lessons learned from Ernest Hemingway… on Facebook copywriting?
Ernest Hemingway may have passed long before he could experience the joy of using Facebook advertising to grow his business and customer base, but that doesn’t make his writing advice any less spot-on when it comes to constructing Facebook ads.
Creating a successful Facebook ad is no easy feat.
SUCCESSFUL ads require the perfect combination of text, imagery, congruency, and delivery to a targeted audience at the perfect time.
Finding this ideal combination requires both experience and testing.
Testing to construct the perfect ad is what we do best, because we agree with Hemingway, “Man is not made for defeat.”
6 pieces of advice for Facebook Copywriting we believe Hemingway would have offered:
1. “I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.”
Pay attention to what your readers, customers and clients tell you and you’ll know how to speak to them through advertising. Get to know your avatar, your people, your buyers. What language, words, manner of speaking do you think will resonate with them? Emulate this in your ad copy.
You don’t need a degree in English. Persuasive copy should be written informally, as if you are engaging your buyers in conversation.
2. “The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
Your buyers are already actively conversing about what they want and what’s important to them. Join the conversation that’s already taking place in the mind of your buyer and participate: learn what already influences them. Trust that your buyers already know what they want.
Don’t waste your time trying to sell to everyone. Concentrate your advertising efforts on your viable market.
3. “Never mistake motion for action.”
We see many ads offering a freebie that doesn’t lead the buyer down the buying continuum. Only give away free content in your ad that moves your buyer toward your bigger sale. Otherwise, you’re moving but not acting toward a sale.
4. “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
Yeah, we know: writing ad copy is exacting work! But if you’re going to write the kind of copy that persuades, moves, inspires and drives your buyer to act, you might have to ‘bleed’ a little.
5. “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one becomes a master.”
As much as we want to argue with this one, it is FACEBOOK we are talking about here. And we all know Facebook is ALWAYS changing the rules. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, they change the rules and you must relearn what is allowed and what is not.
This is actually one of the more crucial pieces of working with Facebook. They can ban ads and profiles if the ‘rules’ are not followed.
6. “Use short words, short sentences, short paragraphs and active language.”
Finally, and most importantly, every single word you choose must do some work in your Facebook ad copy. You’re limited in how many words you can use. Aim to be as concise and specific as possible.
Facebookers are inundated with posts, ads, dark posts and targeted ads. They’re generally going to be skimming, scanning and scrolling.
Be sure to you know how to catch their eye, and lead them down your buying continuum.
And as far as ad copy goes, we’ll close with Hemingway’s final piece of advice:
“There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.”
Curt Maly
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