Ad copy: a step-by-step method and prompt

Ad copy is short text that earns a click from a specific audience and sets up the landing page. Write one ad per audience and intent, lead with a concrete hook, state one offer, and test a few variants that change one thing at a time. Then match the landing page to the winning message.

What it is

Ad copy is the headline, body text and call to action inside a paid placement: a search ad, a social feed ad, a newsletter sponsorship or a community ad. You pay for every impression or click, so each word has a cost.

Search ads and social ads work differently:

For Google search ads, responsive search ads accept up to 15 headlines of 30 characters and 4 descriptions of 90 characters, as described in Google Ads Help. Check platform help pages before writing, since limits change.

When to use it

• Launching a paid campaign on search or social
• A campaign has impressions but a low click-through rate
• You are adding a new audience or ad group
• You need fresh variants because results have flattened
• Writing a sponsorship blurb for a newsletter or podcast

Step-by-step method

1. Pick one audience and one intent. Write the ad group as a sentence: "People searching [query] who want [outcome]." Separate audiences get separate ads.
2. Collect hooks. List 10 possible hooks: a pain, a specific result, a comparison, a question, a number from your own product. Pull wording from reviews and search queries.
3. Define the offer. Choose one: free trial, free tool, demo, discount, guide. State it plainly, along with what happens after the click.
4. Write within the limits. Draft headlines and body text inside the platform's character limits. Front-load the key words, since text can be truncated.
5. Create structured variants. Keep the offer fixed and write three to five hooks. Later, keep the winning hook and test offers.
6. Match the landing page. Make sure the page headline repeats the ad's promise. Add UTM parameters so you can attribute results by variant.
7. Review and launch. Check policies, claims and spelling. Remove anything you cannot prove.
8. Read results and iterate. After enough impressions, pause losers, keep the winner, and write the next round of variants against it.

Ready-to-use prompt

You are a performance marketer writing paid ads for [PRODUCT_NAME].

Platform: [PLATFORM, e.g. Google search, LinkedIn, Meta, Reddit]
Character limits: [LIMITS]
Audience and intent: [AUDIENCE_AND_INTENT]
Search queries or interests: [QUERIES_OR_INTERESTS]
Offer: [OFFER] and what happens after the click: [NEXT_STEP]
Proof I can use: [PROOF]
Customer phrases: [SNIPPETS]

Tasks:
1. List 10 hooks in 5 categories: pain, result, comparison, question, specific detail.
2. Pick the 5 strongest and write a complete ad for each within the limits.
3. Keep the offer identical across all 5 so only the hook varies.
4. For each, give the matching landing page headline (max 10 words).
5. Suggest a utm_content value for each variant in lowercase with hyphens.

Rules: no invented numbers, no superlatives you cannot prove, no em dashes, no exclamation marks, plain words.

Checklist

• One audience and intent per ad group
• Hooks come from real customer or query language
• The offer is specific and the next step is clear
• Copy fits the platform's character limits
• Key words appear early in each line
• Variants change one element at a time
• Landing page headline matches the ad promise
• UTM parameters tag each variant
• Every claim is accurate and policy compliant

How Thig automates it

Thig's Writer agent drafts ad variants from your Marketing Strategy and Brand Voice documents, so hooks stay on message. You review each set in the feed before using it. Tag every variant with the UTM Builder, and use the headline writing skill to sharpen hooks.