What's the best Meta ad for growing a local newsletter?
Short answer
Mine is an event FOMO ad: a short, fun video of a local festival or market with one line on top, like "Are you tired of missing all the fun events in your town?", plus "subscribe for free." It works in all 20 or so of my markets, it runs for months, and I can make it without any help from the publisher.
My own ad is one line, "Are you tired of missing events?", over an eight-second video. It's the concept I keep coming back to, and it keeps working.
What's in the ad?
- A fun background video. Mine was literally me filming a festival in town: a bounce house, tents, people selling honey.
- One pain-point line on top. "Hey, are you tired of missing all the fun events in [city]? Sign up for the newsletter."
- Free, said loudly. "Subscribe for free" as text on the ad.
I've run the same video in all 20 locations because it's nondescript. You can't tell where you are. Nobody can tell the grass is too green or the sky is blue. It's just an event.
Why do events work so well?
"Everybody wants to be healthy but nobody's excited to go eat their salad. What's happening around you that's fun is the thing most people are interested in."
The ad is meant to stop people from scrolling. The reason to stop is: ooh, this looks fun, and I don't want to miss it. Fun things happening near you is the biggest thing you can get a lot of people in for, cheap. Then you win them over with the content.
How long does it keep working?
Way longer than people expect. Everybody else says a great ad lasts a week. I've used this one for three months in places and it was still pretty darn good. It slowly degrades, then I refresh with small variants of the same concept. On one operator's account it was still running so well that I said I couldn't believe it. It must be something magic.
Why is this my default?
Because I can do the whole thing without help. No interview, no newsroom footage, no UGC. For brands that actually cover events, it's the fastest path from zero to a working campaign.
When doesn't it fit?
When the newsletter doesn't cover events. If a political or investigative outlet promises events in the ad, the reader signs up for something they won't get. Those brands need a different hook, which takes more work from the business. I cover the options in ad hooks for news newsletters that don't cover events and advertising serious journalism on Meta.
Answered by TJ Larkin. From publisher coaching calls and Local Media HQ podcast episodes, 2025 and 2026. Last updated .