Lesson 2 of 4 · 5 min
Pain-point framing
Your ads open on the reader's problem instead of your product's features.
An ad that opens on a feature asks the reader to work out why they should care. An ad that opens on a problem they recognise has already earned the next two seconds.
Steps
- Write down the thing your customer was doing before they found you, and why it annoyed them.
- Write the ad's first line about that, with no mention of your product.
- Let the product appear as the answer, not the subject.
- Read the first line on its own. If it only makes sense to someone who already knows your product, rewrite it.
Why this works
Recognition is faster than comprehension. A reader who sees their own problem described does not have to think about whether it applies to them.
What to watch for
There is a failure mode where the problem is stated so dramatically that it stops being recognisable. Real annoyances are small and specific. "Your ads take three weeks to get through legal" lands. "Marketing is broken" does not.