One of the key ingredients of a successful Facebook ad campaign is the copy that you use in those ads. As a dropshipper, you need to ensure that your ads are visually alluring. But they also need to include well-written and efficient dropshipping ad copy that brings people into the sales funnel.

While you may think that it’s possible to recycle copy from other ads, it’s not a good practice. Not only is this unethical, but it generally doesn’t work the way you might anticipate. Instead, try to develop unique, high-quality copy for your ads. If you’re new to ads, you may not be sure where to start. But here, we’ll discuss how you can create engaging dropshipping ad copy that can help generate sales on the first day of implementation.

To get some ideas for creating winning dropshipping ad copy, we spoke with Jordan Strauss, our Copy Chief at Ecommerce Empire Builders. He was able to provide some advice for dropshippers just starting out with Facebook ads.

Know Your Big Three

In an ad, there are two main components: 

1. The content of the ad.
2. The structure of the ad that dictates the layout of that content. 

To determine both of those elements, you need to know what your “Big Three” are.

The “Big Three” consist of three main aspects that you want to push with your content in your niche. For instance, a men’s fitness magazine may push these three goals: Get abs, build muscle, and look 20 when you’re 40. All three of these points address the audience’s problems and the solutions in brief and concise ways. Knowing your own “Big Three” can help you determine how best to sell those products via cold traffic ads.

One of the mistakes that many people make with Facebook ads is that they treat their ads the same way they would an Amazon product listing. However, people who look for products on Amazon are actively searching for those products. Audiences on Facebook and other social media platforms usually aren’t. With those value points provided in your “Big Three,” you can attract people with your ads and hold their attention.

The best way to come up with your “Big Three” is listening to what people say they want the most. What are those three main benefits that your audience seems to be looking for more than anything else? Even if you find those three benefits that are worth pushing, you might realize that you need to change one or two out. You might even rework all three. The important thing is to be flexible but consistent with these items. They will be the key to developing your ads’ content and structure.

Optimize the Ad Headline

With your “Big Three” figured out and ready to implement, you can begin thinking about how you want to approach your Facebook ad headlines. Keep in mind that headlines in Facebook ads aren’t the same attention-grabbers that appear on the landing page of your sales funnel. Facebook ads are structured differently. The first item that people will encounter is the image, which is intended to get people to stop scrolling. Underneath that is the “headline,” which is the dark, bold text beneath the image. 

Despite its placement, that text functions as an ad’s headline that can attract people’s attention, making the content in that headline crucial for your ads. From there, you’ll see the body text. This can feature the main benefit of your product that you want to push.

The Headline Is Usually the Most Important Aspect of Dropshipping Ad Copy

The hierarchy of ad engagement, from the most attractive element to the least, tends to be: image, headline, and body text. However, for selling dropshipping products, the factor that tends to make or break Facebook ads tends to be the headline. An image can help get people to stop scrolling down their feed. But it’s that offer in the headline that will influence people to actually click through the ad.

In short, the headline is vital and needs to include an enticing offer that people simply cannot refuse. At the same time, you won’t be able to make an offer unless the people you’re selling to have a reason to jump on that offer.

The only way you can make an offer is if people:

• Know your product
• See a clear benefit that your product offers, or
• Have seen your product before

People at least need to know your product and know that they want it before you can develop the offer that reels them in.

Look at What Your Competitors Are Doing With Their Own Dropshipping Ad Copy

When optimizing the offers in your ads, you also need to consider ways to stand apart. Your ads should differentiate your ads and products from the rest — without making any claims that you can’t back up.

If you’re not looking at your competitors’ ads to find out what their approach is, you won’t know what’s working and what isn’t. You may also inadvertently wind up just doing what everyone else is doing, which will lead to your ads getting lost in the mix. Consider how people are commenting on your competitors’ ads. What are the offers that seem to be performing the best for similar products?

Only Focus on What Moves Your Audience From A to B

Many people tend to get too hung up on the length of ads when it comes to actually writing the copy. However, this is counterproductive; there is no magic formula for the perfect amount of content to include or other “tricks” that work every time. Instead, focus on producing copy that simply functions to move people from A to B. What hooks them in, keeps them engaged, and encourages them to click through your ads?

In your dropshipping ad copy, only say what you need to in order to help people get to know your product and inspire them to trust it. You can include as much content as you need to that will give people the information they’re looking for and bring them into the sales funnel, but it isn’t a matter of “short vs. long” or any other factor.

This is where that big benefit comes in, which will lead your ad copy. From there, you can go down the list, following that big benefit with:

1. What is the product?
2. How does it work?
3. Why does it work?

Depending on the product, you could also provide your audience with social proof, detailing what other customers say about that product. Finally, you would go into the offer that will ultimately help people get to that “B” step of buying your product.

Think of Your Ads Like a Mall Kiosk

As you think about how to move people from one point to the next with your ads, remember that people on social media aren’t looking to buy in most cases. They’re on there to find out what their friends are up to and make updates about their own lives, which makes your ads naturally intrusive. It’s similar to when you’re in a shopping mall and someone at a kiosk tries to get your attention — you may already know what stores you want to go to, but an engaging, attention-grabbing hook from one of those kiosks can quickly pull you off-track.

Many of those kiosks rely on demonstrations to show you the value of the products or services they’re selling. You can do this in your ads by discussing how and why your products work, which can supplement your offer.

Think of how you can get your audience to stop what they’re doing on social media and go for that offer in your ad. 

Make Sure Your Ads Drive Sales While Maintaining Compliance

All Facebook ads need to comply with Facebook’s ad policy. This is why we advise that you read the policy once and then two or three more times to ensure you understand what will keep your ads in compliance. Your ads should be appealing, but without doing anything that might get you in trouble.

When determining what to say and what to avoid saying, consider the details in Facebook’s “Personal Attributes” policy. This prevents advertisers from asserting or implying anything about their customers’ physical, mental, or other condition that your product addresses. However, you can address a particular problem without applying it directly to your audience.

You can try avoiding the second-person perspective by cutting the word “you.” Only say that your product helps solve a problem that the audience doesn’t necessarily have. Also, try to be as critical as possible of your copy. Don’t assume that it’s compliant. Any wrong word could create an issue that you might not have anticipated. If you are as careful about your content as possible, you’ll be able to avoid potential misunderstandings that might otherwise lead to frustrating unforeseen consequences.

Give Your Dropshipping Ad Copy the Attention It Deserves

Implementing each of these elements in dropshipping ad copy creation can help you create winning ads that grab and hold people’s attention. Excellent ads ultimately move buyers through your sales funnel to a purchase. By understanding your products’ three core benefits, optimizing your headline, understanding your product and how it works, and determining how to move people from A to B with compliant content, you can significantly boost sales with successful Facebook ad campaigns.

If you would like to learn more about how to drive sales for your dropshipping business and develop the perfect sales funnel, we can help. Reserve your seat at our free Ecommerce Masterclass today.