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What Makes Someone Actually Click?

by
Row of envelopes with one glowing envelope standing out, representing what makes people clic

I was looking through a list of ads in my inbox the other day.

Just scanning through them the way most people do.

And honestly… not many of them made me want to click.

That’s not unusual.

But it got me thinking.

What actually makes someone click?

First, You Have to Get Noticed

Before anything else happens, an ad has to get your attention.

If it blends in with everything else, it doesn’t matter how good the idea is.

It never gets seen.

One thing I noticed while scrolling is how similar most ads look.

Same kinds of words.
Same kinds of promises.
Same overall feel.

After a while, your brain just filters them out.

The Ones That Stood Out

The ads that caught my attention weren’t necessarily better.

They were just… different.

They didn’t look like typical ads.

They didn’t lead with the usual words like:

– exciting
– opportunity
– viral
– bonus
– launch

Instead, they felt a little more natural.

Almost like something I’d actually want to read.

That alone was enough to make me pause for a second.

Attention Comes First. Curiosity Comes Second.

A lot of people talk about curiosity like it’s the main thing.

And it is important.

But it’s not the first step.

Curiosity only happens after you’ve already stopped scrolling.

If your ad doesn’t get noticed, nobody ever gets curious.

That’s the part that’s easy to miss.

The Moment Something Feels Different

The ads that made me want to click had one thing in common.

They didn’t immediately feel like ads.

They felt like something slightly unexpected.

Something that made me think:

“What is this?”

That moment is where curiosity starts.

It Still Has to Be Relevant

Even if something gets your attention, you’re not going to click it unless it connects with you in some way.

Most ads in my inbox were promoting the same types of things:

– traffic
– opportunities
– systems

And after seeing enough of those, they all start to feel the same.

But every once in a while, something shows up that promises something a little different.

Sometimes it’s something I didn’t even realize I was interested in until I saw it.

Those are the ones that get clicks.

What This Means

If I had to break it down simply, it looks like this:

– first, it gets noticed
– then, it creates curiosity
– then, it connects

Most ads try to skip straight to the last part.

But if the first two steps don’t happen, nothing else matters.

Final Thoughts

Looking through that inbox was a good reminder.

People aren’t sitting there waiting to click your ad.

They’re scanning.

They’re filtering.

They’re ignoring most of what they see.

If you want someone to click, you don’t just need a good idea.

You need a way to present that idea so it actually gets noticed first.

Then curiosity can do its job.

Why Some Ads Just Don’t Work

by
Marketing workspace showing contrast between cluttered ideas and clear messaging strategy

Every once in a while I’ll run into an ad that just doesn’t do anything.

No clicks.
No response.
Nothing.

And the first instinct most people have is to assume something bigger is wrong.

Maybe the traffic isn’t good.
Maybe the platform doesn’t work.
Maybe the offer just isn’t converting.

Sometimes that’s true.

But a lot of the time, it’s something much simpler.

The Message Is Weak

If the offer is good…

And it actually makes sense for the audience…

Then the problem is usually the message.

Not the idea.

Not the traffic.

Just the way it’s being presented.

Same Idea, Different Results

One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is how much difference the message can make.

You can take the exact same offer and present it in two different ways and get completely different results.

One version gets ignored.

The other gets clicks.

Nothing changed except the message.

That’s always a good reminder that people aren’t reacting to your offer directly.

They’re reacting to how they understand your offer.

Most Ads Don’t Give People a Reason to Care

A lot of ads fail for a very simple reason.

They don’t give people a reason to stop and look.

They might explain what something is.

They might list features.

They might even be accurate.

But they’re not interesting.

And if something isn’t interesting, it gets skipped.

It’s Not About Being Clever

When people hear “message,” they sometimes think it means being clever.

Coming up with something flashy or different.

That can work sometimes.

But more often, it’s just about being clear.

Clear about:

– what it is
– who it’s for
– why it matters

If that isn’t obvious right away, most people won’t stick around long enough to figure it out.

What I Usually Do

When something isn’t working, I don’t immediately go looking for more traffic.

I look at the message.

I’ll ask myself a few simple questions:

– Would I click this?
– Does this actually sound interesting?
– Is it obvious what I’m trying to say?

Sometimes the fix is small.

A different subject line.

A different angle.

A slightly different way of framing the idea.

Other times it takes a few tries.

When to Change Things

There’s always a balance here.

You don’t want to change things too quickly.

But you also don’t want to keep pushing something that clearly isn’t connecting.

Over time you get a feel for it.

If something is getting views but no response, that’s usually a message problem.

That’s when I start trying different angles.

Final Thoughts

Not every ad is going to work.

That’s just part of the process.

But in a lot of cases, the difference between something that works and something that doesn’t comes down to one thing.

How the idea is presented.

Same offer.

Same audience.

Different message.

Different result.