Facebook Ad Copywriting Tips: My Lead Gen Psychology Framework

Everyone says to get into the mind of the customer when you write ad copy, but very few people explain how to do it in a repeatable way. This is the process I use with clients. It’s the 80/20 of the psychology side, and it works even when your competitors’ ads are too weak to template from.

1. Start from existing demand. This is Eugene Schwartz’s big idea from Breakthrough Advertising. Go through Reddit, YouTube comments, Trustpilot and Google reviews (or get AI to) and pull out quotes about what people wanted and got out of a product like yours. For a Pilates studio, one quote was basically “after 45 I couldn’t do things physically like I used to, now I feel strong and nimble again.”
2. Rank the list by how common or intense each desire or problem is. There’s no point writing to a rare one.
3. Map each desire to a benefit of the product or service, so it’s obvious what to say about it.
4. Optional: add barriers. Hotjar breaks conversion down into drivers, barriers and hooks. Ask people who “finished the race” what almost stopped them, and answer that in the copy.
5. Write the creative headlines at the right level of awareness. Most Facebook ads talk to problem aware or solution aware people. Problem aware gets the problem identified and intensified, solution aware gets the solution and your product. I keep these to 12 words or less.
6. Keep ad unit headlines to the point: what the thing is, or its main benefit. FYI they don’t show on Instagram.
7. Use the description for supporting info like guarantees, ratings and dates.
8. Body copy is hook, offer, CTA. 5% or less of people read past the first line, so the hook does most of the work. Keeping it to three parts also means you know which one moved the numbers.
9. Check the breakdown report. Break your ads down by body text in Ads Manager to see which hooks, and which personas, are getting engagement.

If you’d rather read it, the long version of this process with AI prompts is how I write copy for Facebook lead ads. The Pilates example comes from running ads for Pilates studios.

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Want help with Facebook lead gen ads? Two ways I can help:

1. Try my DIY course. I made this for friends who asked for a speedrun on DIY lead ads. It is how I do what I do, condensed into a playbook.
2. Get me to run your ads for you. If you want done-for-you help, that is what I do, specifically for sales-led and education businesses. You can also book a free 15 minute call and I will look at your account beforehand.