This headline is pure genius

It lowered their CPAs by 70% – here's why.

I normally recommend headlines that focus on the prospect’s desired outcome (e.g. “Now you can…). But sometimes it’s better to lead with their struggle.

For example, this headline is performing incredibly well:

“Being a mom is f*cking hard” cut Mindful Mamas' CPA by 70%.

But when should you lead with the problem? And how do you do that without sounding too negative? 

When does it make sense to lead with the struggle?

Some customers aren’t ready for solutions – they just need empathy.

Ads convert when they mirror a customer’s feelings. (Even in B2B. Especially in B2B.)

So ask yourself: What’s in your prospects’ brains when they see your ads? When you talk to new customers or run user testing, what’s on their minds?

If your prospects are thinking about their goals, talk about their outcomes. But if your customers are ruminating on their struggles… start there.

In B2B, this might sound like “I’m not ready for an audit,” “I hate cashflow surprises,” or “Our best engineers get approached constantly.”

How do you “go negative” without sounding, well, negative?

Negativity can backfire, for sure. But here are three ways to sound more empathetic:

• Use customer quotes: If you're quoting customers' actual words, you're on their team.

• Be as specific as possible: Talking about the challenges of being a mom? Great. Just pointing out that life is hard? Too vague.

• Write in the first person: “I'm not ready for an audit” identifies with the struggle in a more supportive way than "Are you ready for an audit?"

Once you acknowledge the struggle, end on a positive note by calling out the relief you'll offer. (e.g. "Let us bring calm to your chaos.")

What to do next

I can’t promise this will work. There’s no hard-and-fast rule. But ask yourself these questions to see if this could work for you:

1. Are your customers more problem-aware or more solution-aware? If they don’t know what the fix is, start by talking to them about what they do know.

2. Are you creating a category? If nobody is looking for your solution, talking about the problem may be a helpful bridge.

But at the end of the day, the only way you can really know? Test it out.

AcknowledgmentsThis ad was created and tested by our coach Hannah Parvaz and her team at Aperture. They are accepting new clients. (This is not a paid promotion, I just think they’re great!)