Selling Online? Cut Out the Adblock

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I was completely shocked when I found out how prevalent ad blocking has become. I felt like I was thoroughly out of the loop with how everyone is living their life. Apparently it’s the norm to extract ads out of your life in every way possible, whether browsing the web on a desktop/laptop or on a mobile device. To someone like me – an online product seller – it’s worrying that one in five people may never see any ads I throw out to the world, and that everyone’s moving in that direction. It makes it harder for me.

Knowing this means I probably need to warn a certain demographic that they ought not to join that growing adblocking populace.

You Can Learn So Much from Ads

I fell into copywriting by complete accident, but it really made me appreciate the quality of good advertising. When I undertook a module on the topic at university, it all clicked how well-constructed the copy was, and how easily it can convince people to take action. These lessens made me a better eBay seller, made me create better product descriptions for my own things, and eventually set me up for when I started running my own online adverts.

Are They All That Bad?

Ads definitely hinder your online browsing experience, but they’re considerably less prominent than they once were. If you were around for the popup days, you’ll understand that things aren’t nearly as bad as they once were. I’ll admit that I’ll jump at the chance to use one that specifically targets auto-play videos. Other than that, I’m largely blind to display ads. Most people probably are.

Native Advertising is Everywhere

People (and the Advertising Standards Agency) will be shocked to discover how much content you read online is discreetly sponsored by clever advertisers. New publishers these days (well for the past 15 years or so) are everyday people. They know nothing about things like ASA, media law or any requirements of them to disclose relationships with advertisers. On the other

So Remember

If you sell things online, I’m of the opinion that you’ll do better if you’re consuming some ads. I’m not saying that I don’t skip after 6 seconds on YouTube ads or nothing but if I’m browsing a website, I want to be exposed to all of the display ads. I want to know how they’re targeting me and how I can adapt those techniques for my own benefit. I never thought I would be in a position where I ran ads, but the more I see, the better I get at making my own.

One of the things I’ll miss about living in London – and the only thing I’ll miss about commuting on public transport in London – is the quality of the advertising. The ability to condense complex things into so few words just fascinated me. I licked off gunfingers every time I saw a perfectly written ad, and took photos of as many as I could. It made me a better writer and I’m sure many more feel the same.