How to Write Effective Ads

Effective advertising is not about delivering information; it is about delivering persuasion. Don’t tell your audience how to feel. Make them feel. Great ad writers are secret poets. Poetry is not about making words rhyme. Poetry is about leading people to a realization. Poetic ad writers open your eyes and cause you to realize. They lead you to a conclusion, then let you discover it for yourself. Great writers don’t tell you. They show you. This poem will do that: What of the watchman on the wall? What says the watchman? “It is 10pm, let the night begin.” What says the watchman? “It is 11 at night, everything is all right.” What says the watchman? “It is midnight, the bell has rung. Every song has been sung.” What says the watchman? “It it is 1am, I am all alone. I am all alone.” What says the watchman? “It is 2am, scrolling on my phone.” What says the watchman? What says the watchman? What says the watchman? What says the watchman? The watchman watched his phone. The enemy arrived. The watchman is gone. Don’t just deliver information. Deliver persuasion. Open their eyes. Make them realize. When they see what you see, they will do what you want them to. Win the heart and the mind will follow. The mind will always create logic to justify what the heart has already decided. Roy H. Williams Cheryl Strauss Einhorn helps executives, entrepreneurs, and leadership teams make smarter, more confident choices and avoid costly mistakes. As a Decision Science strategist, Cheryl developed the widely used AREA Method, a framework designed to help leaders challenge assumptions, reduce cognitive bias, and improve judgment in high-stakes situations. In this week’s episode of Monday Morning Radio, Cheryl explains to roving reporter Rotbart that while “gut instinct” plays a valuable role in business, too many leaders rely on it entirely, rather than grounding their decisions in real-world testing, stakeholder input, rigorous analysis, and evidence. Listen and learn at MondayMorningRadio.com

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How to Write Effective Ads is an episode from Wizard of Ads by Roy H. Williams.

This episode is 03:30 long.

This episode was published on May 18, 2026.

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