How to Make an Ad—Your Journey Starts Here

According to my university professor, advertising was invented in ancient Rome. Apparently, it happened the same year they also discovered graffiti. People were writing on the walls of the eternal city, and their messages were trivial yet engaging. Simple times, the best quality mackerel, and plenty of vertical placements all over town.

The inscription on this mosaic reads Garum of Scaurus, the best quality of mackerel, from Scaurus' workshop. Pour. G(ari) F(fate) SCAM(bri) SCAURI | Photo: Claus Ableiter / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Marketing degrees were not imperative back then. But today, the marketing world seems oversaturated and intimidates newcomers with high performance and big budgets. And yet, you are thinking… If you were to make an ad, how do you make a good ad?

And you know what? You should try—we’re rooting for you. In this article, we’ll walk you through the process of ad creation and give you some inspiration, along with some pro tips and useful tools for you to create your first ad right now.   

How to make an ad: a step-by-step guide 

It’s actually not that frightening. You are not about to use up meters of film, run out of chemicals for your camera, or run out of duck feathers for writing. Neither is there a textbook on “How to make an ad and not fail once.” If your ad doesn’t come out great the first time, you can always try again. Keeping in mind this fear of being stuck in the loop of endless revisions, let’s take the first step.

Step 1: know your audience

The most crucial part of creating a successful ad is not coming up with viral creative—it’s understanding your target audience.

Who are they? What problems do they face? What solutions are they looking for? What need is your product filling, and what problem is it solving?

By diving deep into demographics, interests, and behaviors, you will tailor your ads to address the specific pain points of your TA. The better you know your audience, the more your ads will resonate with them.

Pro tip: Create detailed customer personas. Include information about their age, gender, occupation, interests, and challenges. Regularly update these personas to reflect possible changes in your niche.

Step 2: set clear goals

Defining your ad objectives is a must. Knowing your ad objective will help you choose the correct channel and placement. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, drive traffic or engagement, generate leads, or drive sales and app downloads? Each goal requires a different approach. 

Pro tip: Set your advertising goals using the SMART framework (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). It’s important to assess your progress regularly and adapt your strategies if necessary.

Step 3: simplify

When it comes to communication, less is often more. Find one key message or benefit of your product and channel it into your ads. Don’t fill your ad with too much information. Remember, the attention span of modern humans is very, very short.

Pro tip: Use short sentences and simple language. Focus on the main benefit of your product or service so your straight-to-the-point message can pierce through your customer’s mind.

Step 4: choose the right platform

Different platforms attract different audiences and have unique ad formats. Choose platforms where your target audience spends time and that align with your ad goals. Consider factors like ad costs, targeting options, and potential reach.

Pro tip: Research the demographics and user behavior on each platform to ensure it matches your target audience. Customize your ads to fit the specific formats and best practices of each platform for maximum engagement.

Step 5: wow visuals

Creative or beautiful visuals can stop scrollers in their tracks. Use high-quality images, bold colors, or short videos with powerful hooks that get your message out there. Remember, your visuals should mutually complement your copy, not fight it.

Pro tip: Double-check your ad format and ensure it will be properly displayed. Also, regularly try out different visual elements to see what resonates best with your audience. 

Step 6: write catchy copy

Just do it! Got milk?

Write your ad copy to be clear, compelling, and action-driving. Use active language, highlight benefits (not just features), and include a strong CTA (call to action). Don't forget to adjust your tone to the channel and your target audience.

Pro tip: Reduct, read, reduct again—this is how pros do it.

Step 7: test and optimize

Don't just set and forget your ads. Regularly test different elements (images, copy, CTAs) to see what performs best. Use A/B testing to compare option A to option B and improve your ads based on educated guesses.

Pro tip: Evaluate different ad components on a schedule. Don’t forget to keep track of what you’re testing. Proper naming conventions should help.

Step 8: monitor performance

Watch your ad closely to replicate its success: Track key metrics like click-through rate, conversion rate, and return on ad spend. Use these insights to tune up your strategy and slay future campaigns.

Pro tip: Set up a regular reporting routine. Identify trends and patterns in the data to understand what’s working and try to understand why. The future of your campaigns depends on data-driven decisions.

Inspiring ad examples

Let's look at some real-world examples to get your creative juices flowing. Looking at good ad examples might just be the best way to learn how to make an ad yourself. More in our other post.

Spotify Wrapped

The ad: Colorful and whimsical homage for Taylor Swift fans

The format: Instagram Reels

Why it works: Spotify Wrapped utilized perhaps the world’s biggest army - “the swifties.” As a result, this reel has 20.5 million views.

You can get many more ad ideas for Instagram in the Meta Ad Library.

Apple's "The Greatest" iPad accessibility ad

The ad: Powerful storytelling shows how real people are using accessibility features

The format: YouTube video ad

Why it works: Everyone has limitations. If we’re lucky, they can be lifted by technology, so our lives can become better. Showing practical use of products while maxing out on emotional appeal—great job.

Fiverr on Google

The ad: Few sentences; lots of meaning. It's almost a haiku.

The format: Google search ad

Why it works: It’s simple, and simple is good. Very concise. Please, help, I can’t stop.

Uniqlo on Facebook

The ad: Influencer preparing for a drama.

The format: Facebook video ad

Why it works: A charismatic influencer is using a humorous drama setting to explain the importance of complimenting that beautiful Uniqlo outfit. 

Recommended read: How to make a Facebook ad

Lego on Instagram

The ad: Unusual for Lego, this ad is not showing the end result

The format: Instagram ad

Why it works: Seriously, there isn’t a man alive who has never wondered what the small pocket is for. 

Disney+ on TikTok

The ad: A movie trailer

The format: TikTok ad

Why it works: A very good fit for the platform demographic, this ad was running for months, accumulating up to 20 million original viewers. 

Unilever on Google

The ad: A simple snippet of useful information

The format: Google search ads

Why it works: People have problems, and it’s very encouraging to know some problems can be solved by an easily accessible product.

The best 3 tools to make an ad

Since writing on the streets of Rome doesn’t seem to be an original marketing strategy, let’s see what else is there. There is plenty of help available to you during your “how to make an ad” stage. Take a look at three tools that will help you make ads that will go great. While Madgicx focuses on ads for Meta, two other tools can be used to make any imaginable creative, from business letters to full-scale digital art.

1. Madgicx

Madgicx is a real game-changer for anyone struggling with Meta advertising. After you have created your Meta business account and poked around it, you will see how much more control Madgicx provides over ad creation.

What's cool about the Madgicx Ad Library is how it inspires you with examples of how to make an ad in various styles and formats. You get so much inspiration, which can be a lifesaver when you don’t know where to start or when the creative well runs dry. It's a perfect option for those who aren't exactly Picasso.

I like to search it as if I were in a museum. For example, I really like pixel art, so this creative by Headway App actually inspires me to do something of this sort for my brand.

And if you are far from being Picasso, there’s a part of Madgicx called Sparkle, our in-house creative agency. Here, you can send your brief with inspiration directly from the Library. You will have your tailor-made ad in 48 hours. 

For data lovers, Madgicx is more like a space museum. You can see exactly how the ads are performing and make real-time changes. It's a super powerful tool for boosting Meta ad performance. Check it out yourself; there’s a free trial.  

2. Canva

Canva is the go-to tool for anyone whose artistic skills peaked in grade school. It's surprisingly fun to use, even for those who usually dread design tasks.

The platform offers templates for almost everything imaginable. Social media posts? Check. Banners? Yup. That oddly specific size for a company newsletter? Probably that, too.

The drag-and-drop interface is super intuitive, and there's a massive library of fonts, images, and graphics. It's easy to get lost just browsing through all the options.

When you start a creative, you are immediately offered a format and size, so you won’t have a fear of a blank page.

It's great for teams working remotely, allowing multiple people to hop in and make changes in real time. It's not always perfect - sometimes, things don't align quite right and need some careful tweaking and loud cursing. But for quick, Insta-worthy designs, Canva is great.

3. Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud is in a league of its own. Opening Photoshop for the first time can feel like staring at a spaceship's control panel. But for those who stick with it, the possibilities are endless.

Even after years of use, there's always some new trick to learn. Some of our good friends have fallen into the abyss of Adobe. Now, we only see their slouched backs, and we never hang out anymore. 

The suite includes a ton of programs - Photoshop for images, Illustrator for graphics, Premiere for video, and more. Despite looking like a periodic table, they all work together seamlessly, which is a huge plus when juggling multiple projects. Of course, if you have a lifetime to learn… 

Fair warning, though: this isn't something you master overnight. There will likely be moments of frustration and %^&* because something seemingly simple might just not work. But when you finally crack it and create that perfect, professional-grade ad, it's incredibly satisfying.

Conclusion

The world of advertising might not be for everyone, but it’s fantastic. You can spend hours in it or get stuck for years, willing to do nothing but A/B testing. In any case, your journey starts here, with small steps to big sales. And remember, we’re rooting for you.