Creating promotional dropshipping ads can be a costly endeavor. The goal is to see a return on investment that covers each ad campaign’s cost through sales generated by the promotional efforts. However, without the right process out in place, that’s unlikely to happen.
Fortunately, there are many simple steps you can take to create an effective ad. Here are some simple tips for creating an effective ad, from using business video ad templates to conducting A/B testing.
Segment Your Audience
The skilled marketers know that quality trumps quantity every time. Many business owners and entrepreneurs make the mistake of opting to reach over engagement when posting an ad. However, the more targeted your content, the more it will resonate with the potential customer who is likely to purchase your product.
A core part of your business should be the clearly defined target demographic. When creating dropshipping ads, you’ll want to niche down even further to get the best possible return on investment. For example, while the overarching target demographic may remain the same, you might scale your efforts for customers in the decision stage of the sales funnel. These people will already know about your business and aren’t as “cold” as the newcomers who are just building awareness.
Another way to look at it is the experience level with your product. If you run a dropshipping store that focuses on the fitness niche, your messaging to someone who hasn’t worked out before should be different from your messaging to a seasoned athlete.
Implementing segmentation when creating a dropshipping ad will help viewers feel like you’re speaking to them rather than at them.
Set Goals and Performance Metrics
Set clear goals and performance metrics to help you measure your success. When most people think of advertising, they think of conversions and sales. However, marketers also use ads to attract new customers into the funnel to start building a rapport.
If your goal is to make direct conversions, break out the costs of creating your ad campaign as a baseline for your targets. Determine how many customers you’d have to attract or completed transactions it would take to cover those costs. From there, ad your additional revenue goals.
You should also use performance metrics after your campaign is complete to shape the next one. If you have high views but low clicks, perhaps your messaging is convoluted or irrelevant to the viewing audience. This information tells you that your next campaign needs some adjusting.
Conduct A/B Testing
There’s nothing worse than putting your full marketing spend behind an ad launch and having it fall flat, especially if you put another idea on the backburner. It takes time to determine what truly resonates with your audience; it would be unfortunate to strike out before you find that secret sauce.
One simple idea to determine which direction to take your ad campaign is to conduct A/B testing. Instead of doing a full launch with one ad, consider doing a beta launch with two. Choose a smaller market sample and dedicate a portion of your overall spend to this initial testing phase. After a few days of running both dropshipping ads, compare and contrast using the data presented to you. If you determine that one ad is dramatically more effective than the other, you know which one to put the money behind.
This approach is also a fantastic way to get ahead of the metrics and determine whether there’s room for improvement before the full launch.
Use a Simple Format
The simpler and clearer is your dropshipping ad, the better your results will be. Rather than wasting time getting caught up in artistic transitions and creating the world’s next confusing perfume commercial, please keep it simple.
Using business video ad templates is one of the best ways to stick to a simple structure for your ad. These tools take the guesswork of developing your ad’s structure so that you can focus on the important bits: the messaging and the visuals.
You can also use complex video editing software but that’s only necessary if you plan on making movie-quality videos or have a large budget.
Develop a Storyboard
A storyboard is one of the most foundational tools you can use to outline dropshipping ads. Using this simple template can help you figure out the sequencing and elements of your ad, from graphics to voiceover. This tool can also help you get a better idea of your time constraints. As a result, you can create something with that timing in mind, rather than cutting parts later.
When creating a storyboard, it’s essential to add annotations with the important aspects of each scene. For example, you might outline when a close-up occurs or if the camera is in motion. This exercise will also help you outline key scenes that act as the cornerstone of your ad.
Highlight Your Value and Benefits
Don’t forget that selling isn’t about highlighting a product’s features; it’s about showcasing the value you offer and the benefits the customer will experience.
Car commercials manage that balance exceptionally well. Consider a commercial showcasing an obstacle alert system. The visuals in the commercial will show the feature and how it works. However, the messaging is far more profound, showing the happy couple avoiding a tragic accident of hitting a child who chased a ball onto the street, creating an emotional response.
A well-worded voiceover enhances this message that further clarifies the value offered by this car. Instead of saying, “that’s a cool feature,” viewers are now thinking, “that feature is necessary for protecting myself and others.”
Consider how you can showcase the value and benefits of your product. Remember, you’re not trying to make a sale for your business— you’re trying to solve a problem for your customer.
Use a Compelling Hook
The first three seconds of your dropshipping ads can make or break your campaign. It’s within those three seconds that someone decides whether they’re going to keep watching or scroll past.
To stop potential viewers in their tracks, you need a compelling hook. The hook could be anything from a beautiful thumbnail to a mysterious event. The key is to create an immediate emotional response, whether it’s curiosity, fear, or simple intrigue.
Sometimes, it’s specific words that create an emotional response. Terms like “new” and “coming soon” are frequently utilized to capture the viewer’s attention before delivering the message. Once the hook is in place, the meat of your message should follow immediately after.
Prioritize Professional Quality
Now more than ever, small businesses and entrepreneurs can compete at a global level. This shift is mainly in part to the accessibility to high-quality video recording and photography tools. Implementing the lighting and editing software is more affordable than ever, making it simple to create a professional-grade ad.
However, this increased level of accessibility has also bred complacency. Businesses of all sizes need to create high-quality work and prioritize professional quality. Having clear audio, proper lighting, and clean editing is essential for success when creating an ad. As mentioned previously, implementing business video ad templates can help. Otherwise, it’s worth working with a professional.
Create a Sense of Urgency
A large part of marketing and advertising is psychological. Some of the common psychological marketing tactics include scarcity, exclusivity, and urgency. In many cases, these focal points overlap.
Create a sense of urgency by implementing a strong call-to-action (CTA) in your ad. Tell viewers what they should do next and how to complete that action. For example, “click here to solve all of your problems.” Of course, your message won’t say that, but that’s the implication.
Another way to invoke a sense of urgency is to add a time limit. This concept is where scarcity comes into play. Adding a deadline tells customers that they need to act now or they’ll be left out. This deadline could pertain to a limited sale or a value-added offer during a specific period.
Balance Text and Visual Components
Whether you’re creating a static ad or a dynamic ad, one of the most integral components is balancing text and visuals. In fact, in the past, Facebook would reject dropshipping ads with too much text as a part of the graphic.
While dropshipping ads of the past relied on strong audio components, the way we consume media has evolved. Mobile media consumption has far outpaced television viewing in recent years. This means that many of those who view your ad will be doing so while on the go. As such, they might not be able to listen to the audio components. Thus, text components and strong visuals are essential for advertising success.
If text isn’t a part of your ad itself, consider adding closed captioning to your video to ensure everyone has a chance to partake.
Answer Their Questions and Concerns
In addition to highlighting your offering’s benefits and value, it’s also important to address common sticking points that prevent people from completing a transaction. In other words, you need to respond to questions and concerns proactively.
An example of this strategy in practice is the classic money-back guarantee. People are worried about spending their money on something that doesn’t do as promised. A money-back guarantee alleviates that concern and moves them further into the sales funnel.
You don’t have to offer a money-back guarantee. Your solution might include trial periods, or just answering a frequently asked question.
Final Thoughts
Another way that can help you attract customers would be to also upload real life videos and images of your products. This will also help you to test the quality of the product you are going to sell first-hand and to evaluate if your suppliers respect the shipping times they promised.
If what you are looking for is a reliable supplier who can source for you high-quality products and fast ship your products to your final customers then you should try Yakkyofy.
Yakkyofy can source in just a few minutes over 12 million products, and give you back a quotation in real-time. This means that the days of you wasting time to wait for AliExpress suppliers’ replies are over, choose Yakkyofy and you will no longer have to get in touch with hundreds of resellers to source your best-seller. We will get you the products you need at B2B prices, while also automating the whole fulfillment process of your dropshipping store.
Use our simple tips for creating an effective ad that attracts new customers, improves conversions, and keeps people coming back to your business for more.
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BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR:
WENDY DESSLER is a super-connector who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in digital marketing and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans depending on the industry and competition.
