29 Tips For Writing Headlines For Facebook Ads

writing headlines for facebook

There are many factors that go into the success or failure of Facebook Ads, including images, the copy, the description, the call to action, the targeting, etc…

But the most important factor to success is your ability for writing headlines for Facebook.  Eight out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only two will read the rest!

Therefore, understanding how to write headlines can be the difference between good and great PPC campaigns.  The good news is that becoming a better writer is actually pretty simple.  While many people may fear writing, becoming better at it is truly one of the easiest improvements you can do.  It merely requires doing it.

As an agency, we had a meeting recently to discuss tips for writing headlines for Facebook ads.  The suggestions that came from Joey & Howard were golden and I thought that we should share with you!

29 Top Tips For Writing Headlines For Your Facebook Advertisements:

  1. Arouse curiosity – While curiosity may have killed the cat, at least the cat read your blog before dying! Use a headline that makes the reader really really want, to see what is happening in the body of your text.
  2. Convey the benefit – People want to know how choosing your product or service will benefit them.  It’s the W.I.I.F.M. factor (what’s in it for me).  Don’t fall prey to talking about how great your or your product/service is… rather focus on how your product will solve your customer’s problem.
  3. Solve a Problem – People aren’t interested in buying things or trinkets… you want to have your problems solved!  Headlines that create the perception that you can solve a problem are much more clickable than those that don’t.
  4. Short and sweet – Keep your headlines under 70 characters
  5. Use action verbs – Think of the two most popular headlines in advertising… “Got Milk?” and “Just Do It“.  What do they have in common?  All action verbs.
  6. Avoid adjectives – Adjectives are too wordy and bring upon skepticism.
  7. We, they, or you? – Address the reader in the 2nd person.  For example, what looks better:
    1. 5 Tips People Should Use…
    2. 5 Way You Can Make More…
  8. Watch out for the grammer part – errrr, I mean Grammar.  Misspellings will make you and your business look sloppy, foolish, and give the appearance that you have poor attention to detail.
  9. Don’t be cliche  – Using cliches or puns may actually confuse people, especially due to language or cultural differences.  Plus, cliches aren’t very helpful… rather, they’re just plain lazy ways to write.  Best advice:  Just give it 110% and you’ll be fine.  See?  Did that cliche really help?
  10. Be clear – While people try hard to be clever, they may be outsmarting themselves.  It’s better to be clear and concise that clever yet vague.
  11. Use tools – Here’s a tool we’ll use in the Agency if we’re stuck to judge or rate the potential effectiveness of an ad ->
  12. Question headlines -Starting your header with “Can I…”, “Would You….” or “What If…” can immediately captivate an audience and create an open loop in their head.  This open loop demands an answer to close it.  Curiosity will cause people to click the link to close this loop.
  13. Tip headlines –  When your potential customer is searching in Google, they are looking for tips or suggestions.  Having copy with ‘Tips’ in the headline is likely to provide solutions to problems.  Want better results?  Place a  number before the word ‘tip’!
  14. How to headlines -Businesses succeed by solving problems, and no two words provide solutions better than ‘how to’.  Plus, remember that more search engines are revolving around voice command, and when it comes to voice command, ‘how to’ is the most frequently used type of question!
  15. Use Power Words – To view a list of top power words that are proven to work in ad headlines… click here.
  16. Testimonial headlines – Glowing testimonials as headlines can be powerful for you.  First, use quotation marks.  Second, make sure you’re choosing a direct benefit and using quotation, otherwise, you may seem like you mocking the statement.  For example “5 Minute Workout That Works” may seem like you’re making fun of the workout plan.  Instead “I Got Results In Just 5 Minutes” is much more effective.
  17. ROT formula -I was reading an article from Neville Medhora on how to create headlines.  What he likes to do to incorporate several of the above is use the R.O.T. formula, meaning:
    • R- Results
    • O – Objections
    • T- Timeframe

    –  Example:  Learn to speak Spanish in 20 days even if you have poor English skills!

  18. Watch what others do – view Howard Tseng’s Illustration on Copywriting here.  In school, cheating is bad.  In entrepreneurship, it’s good to copy what’s working!  This is why companies like SEMRush exist!
  19. Handwrite – don’t type it!  You get more of your creative juices flowing when you’re writing by hand than when you’re typing.
  20. Write like you talk – it will sound much more natural.  In addition…
  21. Record stuff and have it transcribed – A great tactic is to ‘ramble’ and record, then you can sort thru the mess later and pick out what’s good.
  22. Imagine your avatar and talk to that person – Another way of getting yourself to communicate.  You can write or talk (and record) to your avatar to get the creative juices flowing.
  23. Set a timer & start writing – This is the written version of transcribing stuff.  Set a timer for 10 minutes and just write, no matter how ridiculous.  Just write whatever comes to your mind.  Don’t stop moving that pencil!  Then, go back and decipher.
  24. If at first you suck, you’re doing it right – You’re not supposed to get it write the first time.  It takes practice.  Those not meant to write copy give up… those meant to persevere.
  25. Write from a first person perspective – Unless writing a blog based on the premise that you’re sharing advice from your team, you should always write from a singular perspective.  It’s much more personal that way.  ‘We’ is more corporate.
  26. Get up & walk around – Sometimes, getting up and walking around will get your creative juices flowing.  While you’re doing something else (not focusing on copy) a good idea will just ‘pop’ in your head.
  27. Write the headline last – Congruence is important.  Looking at text & images can give you a theme for which to write your headline.
  28. Be consistent in your media – avoid using any old image to compliment your headline.  You’ll have much better results if you provide a strong clue to the topic of the article through the majestry of image.
  29. Number headlines – People love this!  Numbered lists draws them in, plus, you know exactly what to expect before reading.  Another reason is that if you deliver on your promise of providing x quality tips, then people are more likely to click a link and opt in here

Any questions or comments about writing headlines for Facebook?  Leave them below

Want more information on Facebook Marketing?  Visit http://SocialMediaAdGenius.com

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Nick Bridges

Nick is an Award Winning web designer, is also the Creative Director for the Agency, assisting in areas like funnel creation, copywriting, Landing Page development, and more. Nick also oversees all of the technical components of the creation and implementation of Social Media Ad Genius.

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About The Author

Nick Bridges

Nick is an Award Winning web designer, is also the Creative Director for the Agency, assisting in areas like funnel creation, copywriting, Landing Page development, and more. Nick also oversees all of the technical components of the creation and implementation of Social Media Ad Genius.

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