how to create bulletproof ad campaigns
good morning media folks ☀️
It’s no secret Ads in media entities work. Especially in newsletters.
For the advertiser, they don’t have to do all the hard work to find info about the audiences they’re targeting, dealing with lookalike audiences, messing with CPC/CPM costs, and more. The media brands have done all that work for them. Which makes it one of the most targeted channels that exist. Yet only 10% of advertising budgets are being spent on newsletter channels. This means there’s a huge opportunity if you’re a media operator.
But as an advertiser, where the advantage lies with these channels is Ad creative. You have so much more at your fingertips to come up with really unique and high-performing campaigns, that can speak to your target audience directly. It’s like having a billboard, and the people who see your billboard are ACTUALLY interested in your product. 99/100 times.
So media companies need to think like a creative agency to embody this ethos. That’s should be the motto.
So today we’re going to talk about how you can create high-performing Ad campaigns: what it should look like visually, messaging, how personalized you should be getting and examples of folks who are doing it really well.
what are the key elements of a successful ad campaign?
understanding the audience
If you’re a media company, and you’re producing a campaign for advertisers, you need to have a strong understanding of who your readers are. Because it’s twofold: you’ll be able to provide as much value as you can for your audience but also create high-performing campaigns for your advertisers.
Get that first-party data ASAP. Then build personas around it. Then let it trickle down to the rest of your process: how you speak to advertisers, what your sales materials look like, how you create Ad campaigns... even editorial. The more you know your audience, the easier it is to be able to sell campaigns and execute them.
overarching themes
The next step is to have a holistic and overarching theme for your ad campaign. For example, if you’re audience is an older demo (65+) and you’re pitching a hospitality product, there needs to be a pillar for your messaging. In this case, we can safely assume that boomers have deeper pockets and have a ton more time on their hands since they’re more than likely retired. So our theme here will be “Rediscover the World, Rediscover Yourself.” Everything that you create, assets, copy, etc... should roll up to this theme.
copy
If your campaign is planning to have multiple iterations throughout the partnership, your copy needs to be connected. And it can’t be boring shit that you get direct from the partner. You need to own this, own the story, and own the narrative. Again, remember as a media company, you know your audience better than anyone. You’re at an advantage. You also have a theme to roll up to, so that makes this much easier. And you’ll be repurposing this copy across other channels. One of your first thoughts should be “Would the advertiser love it so much they would use this on their own?”
visuals
I always say you should never use stock, or visuals given to you by the advertisers. The reason is that you don’t know how your audience will react to rudimentary graphics and designs they aren’t used to. Your visuals should feel like your brand as the media company, with the partner sprinkled in. That’s how you’ll gain the most trust from your audience and get performance for your advertisers. The campaign should be custom, and your graphics should feel custom too. Again, think like a creative agency and about your overarching theme... how can you push the envelope on your visuals?
Over the past weeks, we've shown you the secrets of digital alchemy:
- We introduced you to Webflow - the philosopher's stone that liberates media founders from traditional web development constraints. With it, you can turn your creative visions into revenue-generating powerhouses.
- We shared the success story of Spin Master, the wizards behind PAW Patrol. They used Webflow to boost organic search by 400% and cut website creation time from six months to just eight weeks.
- We revealed the secret formula for high-converting websites, from understanding your audience to crafting compelling CTAs. Those six steps are your recipe for digital gold.
It's time for you to execute. You now have the power to turn your ideas into stunning, high-performing websites. No complex coding required - just your vision.
Get 20% off your annual subscription by signing up here.
cta's
Call to action is important, yes, but with everything discussed previously, if you have done it right they should have already decided if they’re going to buy the product you’re advertising. You can still push them over the edge with an enticing offer that only you’re partnership has available. Or hit at the heartstrings with some quick and punchy CTA’s that some up the ad campaign experience. Either way, your CTA’s should always roll up to the overarching theme and never deviate from it.
different formats
Advertiser fatigue is a real thing. If you keep advertising the same copy, and the same visuals in the same places over and over again... performance will tank and it’ll just stop working. So you need a mix of different assets all over the place to make the campaign holistic. Things like long-form, videos, short punchy copy, 3 - 4 different visuals in different places like newsletters, on websites in social... moving locations for these placements, and more. Fight Ad fatigue by getting ahead of it and providing new and interesting ways for your audience to engage with your advertising partner.
data
This shouldn’t be a surprise... but you should always be thinking about how you can make your campaigns better as you go. That means you should be looking at engagement rates religiously to make sure your campaigns are executing the way you expected. And if they’re not... that’s ok. Self-assessment is great to keep building on what’s worked and what hasn’t. And keeping your advertisers in the know about how you plan on fixing performance. But again, if you do the things previously discussed.. then your campaigns should execute flawlessly 90% of the time.
a good example
Front Office Sports is doing such a great job with this, I had to call it out. One campaign that caught my attention was their campaign with Gatorade. They’re mixing in copy, a video series, long-form content on their site, and changing up ad locations in their newsletters. Creating copy around their audience's interests and more. They use the exact science I’m talking about that’s making this campaign a high performer and providing a ton of value for their readers:
Breaking this down, here’s what you should be focusing on:
- aligning ad content with newsletter themes
- personalizing ads based on subscriber segments
- brand consistency across campaigns
- respecting the audience with newsletter integrity
If you focus on these things, you’re audience will want more. And so will your advertisers.
see you next week,
shaan
New here? You can sign up for the money tlks! newsletter - delivered to your email every week (sort of... haha). We bring together the most pertinent info you need to be successful in #media.