The Compliance Checklist
( To Scale Without Getting Your Ads Shut down )
Dealing with compliance is one of the greatest struggles as a marketer in today’s world.
With Facebook and Google cracking down on income claims, outrageous health claims, and more, it’s harder than ever to advertise online.
And it’s only going to get harder.
In the past 6 months alone majority of people who advertise online have had their ads shut off and can no longer advertise profitably.
And in some cases, if they were flagged enough times because they couldn’t write compliant copy, they had their accounts banned.
(This can be completely avoided simply by following the compliance checklist you’re about to get your hands on.) This presents a massive opportunity for the people who know how to navigate compliance and play within these advertising platform’s rules.
Before, everyone could advertise online. You could promise people to “make a million bucks a year with no consequence” and you could make yourself a very wealthy online advertiser.
You could call out people directly by their traits or attributes such as, “are you sick and tired of being a loser with no friends?”
You could promise people to “double their fat loss and keep it off forever.”
But the rules of the online advertising game have Changed drastically.
And almost no one knows how to stay alive.
That’s why I’ve put together this compliance checklist.
To help you or your client scale your business fast without having to deal with compliance issues.
Think about it.
A ton of businesses that were depending on online advertising have been wiped out. And very few people know how to write compliant copy…
Let alone compliant copy that converts!
If you’re marketing online or you’re writing for someone who markets online, the harder compliance gets for your competition, the easier it is for you to stand out in the marketplace.
You could be the one of the few copywriters or online marketers in your space who can navigate Facebook and Google’s compliance with finesse.
If you’re marketing online and majority of your competition was wiped out, what would that do for your sales?
And if you’re writing for someone who markets online and majority of your competition to get copywriting clients was wiped out, what would that do for your income?
That’s the power of this checklist.We’re going to list out the items then we’re going to break down each in-depth.
So let’s get started.
NOTE: To achieve maximum compliance, you want every answer to the questions below to be ‘no’.
1) Do you call out personal attributes (both positive and negative) Y/N
2) Do you make deceptive, exaggerated, or false claims? Y/N
3) Do you make exaggerated claim-based guarantees? Y/N
4) Do you make vague claims? Y/N
5) Do you use graphics that are misleading, violent, or aggressive? Y/N
Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the list.
Each part of the checklist is crucial, and even if one thing is missed or not handled correctly, you could have an entire ad account shut down or banned.
So let’s break these down.
1) DO YOU CALL OUT PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
(BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE)
According to Facebook, “Ads must not contain content that asserts or implies personal attributes. This includes direct or indirect assertions or implications about a person’s race, ethnic origin, religion, beliefs, age, sexual orientation or practices, gender identity, disability, medical condition (including physical or mental health), financial status, membership in a trade union, criminal record, or name.”
For example:
“Are you Christian?” vs. “Want to meet Christians?”
“Car insurance for 18-24 year olds” vs. “Car insurance for teens”
“Do you have diabetes?” vs. “New diabetes Treatment available”
Using the word ‘other’ implies the reader has that certain attribute and that ad or landing page will get flagged.
For example:
“What do other moms have to say about my new product?” vs. “What are moms saying about my new product?”
2) DO YOU MAKE DECEPTIVE, EXAGGERATED, OR FALSE CLAIMS? Y/N
According to Facebook, “Ads, landing pages, and business practices must not contain deceptive, false, or misleading content, including deceptive claims, offers, or methods.”
For example:
“Lose 10 pounds in 10 days or less” vs. “Build a body that turns heads
“Make $1,000 in 30 days!” vs. “Turn your hobby into a profitable side-project”
“3 shocking tips to lose all your belly fat” vs. “3 tips to lose belly fat”
The worst offenders are usually making claims of unrealistic results in a specific time, exaggerated ‘tips or tricks’ and For every claim you write, remember: If someone doesn’t achieve the claim that you’ve created, how easy would it be for them to sue you?
One of the secrets to writing compliant copy that converts is to find out WHY they want a certain result.
And that result will depend on your audience, their needs, and what stage they’re at in life.
For example, instead of focusing on the thing (ie. make more money, lose more weight), focus on why they want the thing.
Let’s take the make money example. WHY would someone want to make more money?
To quit their job and spend more time with their kids?
So they stop missing their kids’ baseball and soccer games or their daughter’s ballet recital?
So they could show their family and friends that they’re not a loser and actually did something with their lives?
So they can take their spouse on vacation and give them a good life? To pay off bills and live a life of comfort or even luxury?
To never have to look at the price when order appetizers at a restaurant?
To look good in front of their friends or co-workers or in-laws?
These are just a handful of reasons why someone may want more money.
So instead of being lazy and say ‘how to make more money’ these are all great examples of things you can say to not only write compliant copy, but compliant copy that converts.
3) DO YOU MAKE EXAGGERATED CLAIM-BASED GUARANTEES?
For example:
“Guaranteed to make you 6 figures or your money back” vs. “If you don’t feel more confident in your ability to create your own eCommerce store, we’ll give you your money back no questions asked!”
4) DO YOU MAKE VAGUE CLAIMS?
If you promise someone could ‘live the life of their dreams’ or ‘create life by their design’ what does that mean?
Facebook doesn’t like vague claims or promises because it’s not clear to the reader what they’re going to get out of interacting with your ad.
It’s important to set clear expectations for the reader so they know what they’re getting into, they don’t feel misled, and so they are comfortable with the experience of going through your funnel.
One of Facebook’s top priorities is ensuring the reader has a good experience on their platform, and with the people advertising on their site [Facebook].
For example:
“Live the life of your dreams” vs. “Create a life where you no longer have to wake up to an alarm clock. You can spend more time with your family and friends. And don’t have to worry about a jerk of a boss.”
5) DO YOU USE GRAPHICS THAT ARE MISLEADING, VIOLENT, OR AGGRESSIVE?
For example, ‘before and after’ weight loss photos (Facebook calls this misleading because the results aren’t typical). A car crash. Or a gun pointing at the reader..
These are the 5 most important points to creating compliant copy that converts. This should have most of your bases covered. Now, there are different rules based on your industry, product, service, audience, and more.
