Making a Lasting Impression: How to Write a Radio Ad

Did you know the radio reaches 93% of adults every week?

It’s no wonder companies are looking for ways to expand their marketing including the radio.

If you’re new to the radio advertising business, don’t let writer’s block get in your way.

Read on to learn how to write a radio ad that shines.

How to Write a Radio Ad

When radio first came out in the 1920s there was a single advertiser that would sponsor the entire radio program they those. In today’s world, a radio ad is more like a television commercial. It’s usually a 30-60 second advertisement.

Many people that commute listen to the radio during their commute putting you in front of people that will more than likely not change the radio station during a commercial break.

With such a short amount of time to capture someone, it’s important to learn how to write a radio ad that engages the listener. You have to find the right message to present it in a creative and captivating way for the listener to take action and not tune your ad out.

Why Radio Ads?

Like mentioned above the radio reaches a large percentage of adults on a weekly basis. If a radio ad is done properly that business will experience a large amount of growth. Many radio stations have loyal listeners that will listen to the ads instead of tune them out.

Radio ads will help a company grow when they engage the listener. Growth is one of the main goals of any business which is why radio ads are a smart investment and you can read more here about how radio advertising is still relevant today.

What Do You Want to Say?

First, you want to be clear on what exactly you want to say and what your brand is. You also want to be clear on your goals for the ad and clear on who your listener is. This will help you stay on track while creating what you want to say. It’s easy to lose track of the intended message when you have a ton you want to share. 

Write down all of your ideas and condense everything to one sentence. Read your sentence back to yourself out loud and if it doesn’t sound clear to you re-write it until you feel the effect that you want the listener to feel.

The key when sharing your message to be as simple as possible while still being clear and not confusing. 

Who is Your Audience?

You want to be clear on who is listening to make sure you appeal to them. If you’re advertising in a music radio station keep in mind this listener is there to listen to music so you will want to catch their attention for them to not tune you out. If you’re advertising in a talk radio station, that audience is there to listen to people talk.

Although they are already there to listen you have to catch their interest. This works best if your ad goes with what is being talked about. The question here is how can your product or service help the listener? 

The best radio ads will create an authentic connection with the listener and your service or product. When the connection is authentic your company automatically becomes more human and credible.

Tell a Story

Every good ad no matter the platform will share a story to engage their target audience. Every story needs a problem and a solution. If you keep it simple and to the point, you can create a powerful story in 60 seconds or less.

People will spend money with a business that they can relate to and care about. Telling a story in your ad will make you more relatable in turn creating 

Benefits

A radio ad is short there’s no need to waste time with long explanations or long introductions. You have to get straight to the point and point out the benefits. If you’re cheap say that, if you’re the fastest share that. 

Make a list of your benefits to get yourself clear on what benefits you want to drive to the listener in the 30-60 seconds you have available. 

Call to Action

The point of having an ad anywhere is for the audience to take action. You want to make sure you create a call to action that is simple and clear. 

You can tell them to go to a certain site and register or call a certain number to enter something. Basically, something that will take the listener to you so that you can stay connected. 

Adding the call to action at the end of the ad will keep the action fresh in the listener’s mind vs having the call to action in the beginning. By the end of the 30 or 60 seconds, they might’ve forgotten what you wanted them to do.

Go Write Your Next Radio Ad like a Pro

With the points above you will be able to create a radio ad that will keep listeners engaged instead of tune you out. You will also have results as long as you create a clear and simple call to action. Learning how to write a radio ad doesn’t have to be overwhelming or drive you insane once you have an idea of what will keep listeners engaged.

Now that you know what it takes to write a great radio ad it’s time to start writing.

Are you looking for more writing tips and tricks? Check out our writing guides to take your writing to the next level.