I’ve discovered the power of turning AI into a strategic ad partner using prompts that dive deep into buyer emotions, target high-intent audiences, and tackle objections.
Many of us are already tapping into various generative AI tools to breathe life into our marketing ideas and boost the effectiveness of ad campaigns.
Using prompts isn’t just a solo brainstorming alternative; it’s a productivity booster that opens up a world of possibilities.
In this guide, I’ll share some of my favorite marketing prompts for ad campaigns, designed to spark creativity in crafting your own prompts.
Why Use Prompts for Online Ads?
Prompts are your fast track to brainstorming ad elements like triggers, emotions, actions, and your target audience.
The beauty of prompts is they’re versatile. You can tweak outputs across different channels and initiatives like ads, emails, and social media.
Getting closer to optimal campaigns from the outset means saving time, a real boon for low-budget efforts that are hungry for feedback.
The prompts themselves make all the difference. Craft strong questions to extract valuable insights from large language models (LLMs).
Feeling stuck? Ask AI tools for prompt recommendations or use mine. Here’s a selection I often use for online ads.
Emotional Trigger Prompt
Purchases are fueled by emotions, so it’s essential to tap into what makes your audience feel.
Try this prompt: “What are the top emotional triggers that would make X audience buy Y product?”
As an example, I explored what emotional triggers would prompt parents to purchase math learning software for their kids. The LLM highlighted key triggers alongside scarcity and urgency hooks:
- Fear of falling behind: Anxiety and a protective instinct. Example: “Ensure your child never falls behind in math.”
- Desire to give kids a competitive advantage: Ambition and pride. Example: “Equip your child with math skills that top students develop years ahead.”
- Relief from homework stress at home: Relief and peace of mind. Example: “Say goodbye to math homework battles at home.”
Purchase Intent Prompt
Explore these questions to identify who’s ready to buy your product or service now:
- Who is most likely to buy immediately?
- Who needs convincing?
- Who will never buy?
To prevent wasting ad spend, focus on audiences poised for purchase and steer clear of those unlikely to buy.
Keep probing which audiences are most likely to convert. Use the LLM’s feedback to get more specific with your ads.
In the math software scenario, the LLM advised that parents of struggling kids in math were the best converters due to high urgency and low friction.
The second-best group? Homeschooling parents, motivated by the need to manage the entire curriculum. This insight allowed us to craft ads and test conversions.
Overcoming Objections Prompt
Addressing objections is crucial for sealing the deal. Ask for three to five potential objections buyers might have about your product.
In our math software example, the LLM identified these objections:
- My child already has too much screen time.
- Will this actually improve my child’s math skills?
- It’s too expensive.
Next, craft a persuasive counter-argument for each using logic, emotion, and evidence. For “it’s too expensive,” consider:
- Logic: “Less than the cost of a tutor.” Establishes a higher anchor, making the price seem reasonable without calling it cheap.
- Emotion: “Don’t let your kids fall behind in math.”
- Proof: “80% of students improve by one letter grade in two months.”
Psychological Profile Prompt
Request a comprehensive psychological profile of your ideal customer from an LLM. Use questions like:
- What are your ideal customer’s fears?
- What are their frustrations?
- What do they envy?
- What do they pretend doesn’t bother them?
- What keeps them up at night?
In the math software scenario, I asked, “What or who do my ideal customers envy?”
The response indicated parents envy children in enrichment or advanced classes, seeking future educational opportunities.
Here’s a message for them: “Help your child stay ahead instead of playing catchup.”
The Lifetime Value Prompt
Sustain long-term success by focusing on customer lifetime value (LTV) instead of one-time sales.
Consider these questions:
- Why might your customers stick around?
- Why might they buy more?
- What retention strategies are effective?
For a luxury furniture brand, we turned these into a brief playbook to boost LTV. The LLM suggested shifting from a transactional relationship to a long-term design partnership.
For instance, segment your customer base and use direct mail for your highest-value group by sending a lookbook. Though it seems old-school, it can result in a higher LTV than general mailings.
Your clients deserve strategic thinking and clear priorities. AI tools help us achieve that, supporting both strategy and execution.
Fix Lagging Average Order Value Prompt
When performance dwindles, it’s tempting to ask sweeping questions about metrics like return on ad spend (ROAS).
But that’s a path well-trodden, often leading to generic, uninspired checklists.
We grapple with B2C and B2B search query overlaps. Focusing on B2B users is challenging but crucial for securing high-value, long-term customers.
We noticed a likely cause of a B2B client’s lagging ROAS: average order value (AOV) as reflected in Google Ads’ Value/Conv. Smart Bidding had shifted to high-converting but lower-quality sessions, impacting performance.
We enlisted an LLM to ascertain and address the issue.
With Ads Advisor (Gemini) in Google Ads, the initial response focused on trivial consumer scenarios, like holiday themes.
Upon refining the prompt, we received more targeted, actionable suggestions, saving valuable time.
We doubled down on audience targeting, emphasizing specific Google audience segments and first-party audiences with value rules.
AOV increased. While it didn’t promise higher order values, it honed focus on B2B intent and reduced low-priority consumer purchases.
Key performance metrics improved, guiding the path to growth and profitability.
Better Prompts Lead to Better Campaigns
Begin simply — incorporate one or two of these prompts into your next campaign, tweak the outcomes, and expand from there. Over time, you’ll establish a repeatable system where AI becomes integral to your marketing workflow.
Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
