Words

As a general rule, 65 to 85 words is the limit for a 30-second commercial. However, be aware that this can vary depending on how many sound effects you use. Also keep in mind that your copy block for a 60-second spot will generally only be 30 to 45 seconds, as you will want at least 10 to 15 seconds at the end to include a call to action, phone number, Yellow Pages mention or web address.

Also remember that radio is a “background” medium. Most people listen to the radio while doing something else, such as driving or working in the garden, so it’s important not to put too much information into your ads. You should focus on a single theme, or the “big idea” you want to get across. The general rule is “one focus, one ad.”

I found a number of good articles on what makes a good radio script which I will post below. However, I want to make a point that is sometimes not explicitly stated.

Radio listeners will not be listening to your advertisement in same way that you will. When you listen to your radio commercial to give your approval for it to be used, it will be in a quiet place with your entire focus on the radio ad. However, the audience for the commercial may only be partially listening to it or may hear only part of the radio advertisement. Additionally, real listeners will likely also be engaged in another activity, which means that you cannot ask them to use their brain to think about your content.

 

Describe a solution that provides an immediate benefit…

Before you develop your offer and write your ad, make sure you base your creative strategy on solving a current problem, filling an urgent need or providing an immediate benefit.

People don’t respond well to ads promising to prevent problems from occurring or save you from a future need. “It’s just human nature. People think, ‘Why should I worry about a problem I don’t have when I already have a pretty good top 10 list of problems going already?’ ”

Instead, highlight an immediate benefit: a product that will help regrow hair, not prevent you from ever going bald. Once you determine your customers’ urgent need, you can articulate how your product provides a solution.

 

Make your offer distinctive

The success of your campaign will depend in large part on making the offer unique. In some cases, the distinctiveness of your offer comes from the inherent uniqueness of your product. But in many categories, you can face dozens of competitors with similar products, where simply saying, “Our product really works,” won’t cut it.

You can approach distinctiveness from different angles:

 

– An inward focus on what makes your company different. Perhaps there’s a unique story about the company founder or product inventor, a different aspect of working with your company over another or a side benefit that no other product or service offers.

– A strong initial offer or premium. Depending on the strength of your business model and your ability to develop long-term customers with high lifetime values, you can experiment with ways to drive trial sales, such as free samples or subscriptions or two-for-the-price-of-one deals.

– A unique marketing position. If everyone in the industry is marketing their product based on one benefit, find another one. For example, mortgage offers typically focus on low interest rates, but some marketers have struck out in a new direction with offers that promise no closing costs. “Someone found out that one of the big impediments to refinancing was coming up with closing fees and that people felt like they were being gouged, so they created a zero closing cost offer when everyone else was talking about low rates.”

 

Copywriting tips

Without images to help deliver your message, copywriting becomes the crucial element of your ad. Astor suggests taking an intensive approach to the copywriting process, starting out with a detailed campaign brief document.

Begin with what your offer is going to be and then list the following:

  • The product’s features and benefits
  • The target audience
  • How that audience’s needs and wants match the product’s attributes
  • Any concerns or objections they might have

From this, brainstorm a host of concepts for possible approaches, narrowing them to two or three versions with the strongest possible message. Then, make sure your copy includes these features:

– An appeal to emotion and logic. Buyers’ interest is triggered by an emotional appeal that taps into that urgent need or want. You want to make an emotional appeal at the beginning, with something that will get people’s attention. Then, you can address the logical aspect of people’s thought processes with elements such as a free trial offer, an invitation to call or visit a Web site for more information or a money-back guarantee.

– A succinct account of the product’s key benefits. Distill that comprehensive list of features in your campaign document to the three strongest features that will be most attractive to your potential customers. While some ads attempt the kitchen sink approach, Astor says, most marketers have success with a tightly focused approach.

– Remember that a marketer’s favorite benefits may not be the most important to the audience, so turn to any primary research you have on your existing customers. If you don’t have that data at the outset, you can incorporate benefit options into your testing phase (more on that later).

 

– A call to action. Offering a trackable telephone number or unique URLs enabled with Web analytics are the most important way to determine the effectiveness of your ad. The call to action also should break down barriers that might keep the audience from contacting you, such as an offer for a free trial, a money-back guarantee or premium for quick response.

– Tight, direct language. Eliminate any words that don’t have a purpose to make that 60-second spot as potent as possible. This means careful editing of the script to take out any fluff or wordy constructions. For example, instead of saying, “The product is designed to do X,” say, “This product does X.”

– Legally acceptable claims. Each product or category has its own set of regulations governing what claims you can make, so be sure to craft your message accordingly. For example, nutritional supplements cannot be said to “cure” conditions; they can only be said to support certain positive outcomes, which must be substantiated with some kind of research.

 

 

Sounds

Choosing the right sounds. If your want your commercial to stand out from the rest, you need to consider some additional factors regarding voice-overs and sound effects. You may be tempted to voice the commercial, but think again–unless you have a really good voice for radio.

To find a good voice-over talent, keep in mind whom you’re trying to reach, and choose someone with a voice that’s believable and that relates to your target. If you decide to use a local announcer, keep in mind that he/she probably won’t be able to use terms such as “us” and “we.” If you want the reader to sound like a representative of your company, you may need to source outside talent.

Sound effects are another important consideration. They can help create a mental picture for your clients. For example, the clutter of dishes in a kitchen setting or the sound of a lawn mower in the background while two neighbors talk can create an effective mental picture for what you are selling. Your local station will have a number of different effects from which to choose. You may even decide to have your commercials recorded “live” in store–especially if you have a large retail location. This allows you to create the impression of your business being a popular, vibrant place.

You’ll also need to give some thought to the type of music you will use. Music is optional, but if you decide to use it in your commercial, keep in mind that it must suit the mood you’re trying to create. While music can help attract your prospects’ attention, it should not distract them from your selling message.

Also know that popular music is subject to royalties and usage fees, so if you are looking for your favorite hit from last year to back your spot, be prepared to pay for it–and it may not be available for commercial purposes.

You want your ad to sound professional and feature elements that tell the story without taking away from the offer or the call to action. Marketers may be tempted to load their ads with additional production elements in an attempt to catch listeners’ attention, but beware: These bells and whistles may end up distracting listeners.

 

Here are a few production elements to pay close attention to:

– Sound effects. Use sparingly and only when the sound effect is relevant to the appeal. Astor remembers an ad for an herbal supplement to minimize smoking cravings. The message focused on the health benefits of quitting smoking and used a sound effect of a beeping heart monitor to drive home the point about smoking’s negative effects.

The best way to deal with sound effects is to think about them while the ad is being written — not treat them as an afterthought for the production team. If you save the decisions until the editing/production process, you run the risk of getting “lost in effects for effects sake.”

– Music. Marketers new to radio often assume they need music in their ads, and in certain instances, music can work well. Other times, though, music can make your message blend in with the programming that comes before or after it. It also can make it difficult for listeners to make out all the words in the message. “A large percentage of the time, no background music is way better than having background music.”

– The voiceover. Develop an idea of the kind of voice you want to speak your script as you are writing the ad. You may want an authoritative male voice or a faster, more upbeat reading. With this focus, you can work with your agency or a voice talent bureau to find four or five people to audition reading the script.

While the voiceover is important, Astor recommends not worrying too much about choosing who reads your ad. Typically, by knowing from the outset what type of voice you want for your ad, you’ll find something close to how you imagined it sounding within those four or five professional auditions.